Wahluke’s Sentinel Tech: Helping students succeed

MATTAWA — This year Sentinel Tech, the alternative high school in Mattawa, had a 100 percent graduation rate. That is a major accomplishment for a school that has had a low graduation rate in the past.

Wahluke High School teacher Lauren Venera was put in charge of Sentinel Tech this past school year. Prior to her arrival, there had not been any consistency in teachers at the school.

“It was a program that got lost,” Venera said. “It had a low graduation rate. We have been working to increase the graduation rate and change the program.”

Venera has been working with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to improve the Sentinel Tech program. She has also been working on how the school is run and on how to tailor classes for her students.

“COVID has been a blessing in disguise,” she said. “It gave me time to dig into the program.”

Sentinel Tech uses an online curriculum, with Venera as supervisor and counselor. Students are required to put in 28 hours of school work each week and check in with Venera at least once a week for two hours.

“One of the things we’re doing is a student learning plan,” Venera said. “It is their road map for the year – what classes they will take and what it will look like.”

Students are given a month to see how they are meeting their goals. If a student is having difficulties, they are put on an intervention plan.

“I really look at the kids,” Venera said. “Some kids would never have to come in and be fine. There are other kids that probably need to come in every day, even for a couple of hours. It is not a one-size-fits-all. That never really happened at Sentinel Tech before.”

Venera said that the students at the alternative school are not bad kids, as some people assume.

“They are no different than any other kids,” she said. “They need a different way to learn.”

Venera said that she had one student who was having trouble learning in the traditional classroom, but did well in Sentinel Tech because it matched his style of learning. She had another student who wanted to work. Sentinel Tech allowed him to keep up with school while getting the work hours he wanted. She has also had young moms in her program, who have benefited from the flexibility that Sentinel Tech offers.

Sentinel Tech uses an online program called Edgenuity that offers a wide variety of classes at the same level as the classes at Wahluke High School. While the students in the high school take several classes at once, Sentinel Tech students take one class at a time, allowing them to concentrate on what they are learning. Verena said that it usually takes a month for students to complete one class.

“It is the same number of hours as a semester class,” Venera said. “They have the same, if not more, expectations of the kids.”

As Venera has been looking at the curriculum, she has found that the classes can be customized to the student. She is hoping to individualize classes even more next year.

“We’re meeting kids at their level,” Venera said.

One of the things that Venera did during that last school year was have monthly parties for her students. She said that it was her way helping all of her students feel included and like they weren’t missing out.

This past school year, Sentinel Tech received an award for closing the gap in growth and achievement for English Language Learner (ELL) students.

“I was surprised to get it,” Venera said.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.