Take a moment to think back to your teen years and the time you spent in school. What was your favorite class? What made this class so special? Was it the content of the class? Was it the classroom environment? Or was it, perhaps, the classroom engagement and connection with a great teacher that you remember fondly?
At Sunrise Academy we are keenly aware of the power positive relationships hold. We recognize that through a personal connection with each of our students, we are able to create a safe environment – one that allows young ladies to make lasting changes toward a more healthy future. This feeling of safety encourages many students, who have previously struggled in other academic settings, to achieve great success in school and learn skills to return to more traditional academic environments.
In addition to strong relationships and a safe environment, we are focused on the importance of engaged learning in our classrooms. Rather than lecture-based classrooms with little teacher / student engagement, our teachers work to create hands-on experiences that increase learning. Whether these activities include hikes that allow our photography classes to capture breath-taking pictures of their surroundings; experiments conducted by our environmental science classes using water samples gathered from local water sources; volunteer opportunities at local soup kitchens and elementary schools; or trips to Southern Utah University where our students recently competed in the Utah High School Shakespeare Competition; our atmosphere of engaged learning is increasing student success.
Research has shown that engaged learning leads students to earn higher grades, experience a greater sense of belonging, set and meet personal goals, increase persistence toward accomplishing a tasks, and value education to a higher degree. In addition, engaged learning leads to less behavioral problems in the classroom and higher scores on college-entrance exams. As students are able to feel, smell, hear, see and even taste in classroom environments, learning increases and information is retained at a higher level.
Given our strengths in building strong relationships, creating a safe environment, engaging students in learning, and demonstrating a passion for education; it is no wonder that our students at Sunrise Academy are experiencing so much academic success!
– written by Janette Thomspon, MS, Education Director