ENGLISH TEACHER INTERVIEW

                              W/ MS. KIMBERLY LAHM

 

  Horizon High School Interview Questions (Teacher)

 

 1.  What is the biggest difference in being a Virtual School or alternative teacher vs a face to face   instructor?

 

The biggest difference that I’ve noticed teaching at an alternative high school is the size of my classes. The traditional high school    in our district has an average of 18-24 students in each English class. At my school, we have roughly 65 students enrolled this semester. We take 12-14 junior high/middle school age students each year and the remaining openings are available to high school students only. My largest class this semester has 12 students and the smallest has 8.

 

 2.  How does Horizon High School online education benefit the at-risk population better than a face to face environment?

 

I’m not sure our online classes actually benefit our population more than our face-to-face environment. Many of our students apply to our school because of the small class sizes and the ability to work more one-on-one with the instructors. We have various options for students to earn credit online, but we still have a teacher in the room with our students to help with questions and keep them on task. We have a virtual high school program offered in the district, however I am not very familiar with the program.

 

3.  What do the students say they like most about your school?

 

Our students really like the smaller classes and the one-on-one tutoring opportunities with our staff. Many of the students comment that our school feels like an extended family to them, rather than an educational institution. We pride ourselves on creating a supportive culture that offers opportunities to our students that many would not have the ability to experience otherwise. Some of our out-of-school trips include going to Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend live theatre productions and trips to Moab, Arches, and Capital Reef in southern Utah for a weekend camping trip.

 

4.  What would you say the school could do better to improve the Virtual School educational component of the program?

 

Our Virtual School component is more closely tied to Evanston High School, so that if a student completes their coursework online, their diploma will come from EHS. I’m not sure if I would recommend a more active role for the virtual school in our building. Many students come to our school when the traditional high school is either not an option or they are very short on credits. You may want to contact Jaraun Dennis in our district or one of our superintendents. They would have more information on our Virtual High School in the district.

 

 

 I hope I was able to answer your questions completely. Good luck with your continued work in your program. If you have any other questions or need clarification, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Kim Lahm

Horizon Jr./Sr. High School