Stephanie Monaghan, teacher, BEST High School
Kudos to Stephanie Monaghan, Lake Washington School District’s “Staff Star” for October 2011
Giving students options and working with them to be successful is a big part of Stephanie Monaghan’s job at BEST High School. Stephanie teaches English, social studies and a culminating project class, helping students to prepare for graduation.
Stephanie is in her fifth year of teaching at BEST High School. Before that, she taught at Eastlake High School from the year it opened, 1993, until 2006. She was hired at Eastlake on receiving her teaching certificate from the University of Washington in 1993 (after completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1992). A teacher resigned from the school a week before it opened and after the normal hiring process was complete. Stephanie began working the day before the students started and the building was not even complete – she could not even get into her classroom!
Stephanie loves teaching at BEST for a number of reasons. “I love how comfortable and supported the students feel here. There are no cliques and people know they need to be kind to each other in such a small school,” she said. She also likes that students have options, including online classes, regular classes (day or night), self-paced but guided independent study, WANIC, and Running Start.
Her co-workers speak highly of her work as well, “Stephanie is an outstanding teacher who goes out of her way to make her classes relevant to students and their lives. She often incorporates very current events to illustrate concepts she is teaching in History or U.S. Government. Her goal for these classes is to give students the skills to be able to function as informed citizens once they leave high school.”
The educational environment at BEST is more personalized then at most high schools. Just a few examples of this include the smaller class sizes and students calling teachers by their first name. The school year is divided into eight sessions. Each session focuses on specific learning targets that are demonstrated in summative assessments at the end of the session. Students get credit for proficiently completing the summative assessments. They cannot complete some assignments and not others. They have to demonstrate achievement in all learning targets.
Stephanie sees BEST as a safety net for students who have tried other schools and have not been successful. Some have babies, some suffer from anxiety, some have burned too many bridges at their old schools, and some have even been in treatment facilities. Whatever their history with school, they graduate with skills, well-earned confidence and optimism.
“I get to help them improve at reading, writing and reasoning. I get to help them identify their talents and develop them through the Culminating Project. I get to help them plan for their futures through our Core class, by helping them research educational and career opportunities,” Stephanie said.
“I am proud on a daily basis. I get a chance to work with the same students for several years in a row. I get to see the results of my efforts and their efforts. By the time they graduate, students are confident and optimistic about their futures,” Stephanie said.
About BEST High School:
BEST High School is one of four choice high schools in Lake Washington School District. The school accepts a maximum of 190 students in grades 10-12, allowing the emphasis to be on individual student learning styles and tailored educational opportunities to specific student goals. The focus of BEST is to provide a unique educational program that helps students be the best people they can be academically, emotionally, and socially. Thus, BEST provides a place that starts with the student and builds his or her ability to perform academically while shaping a positive view of self. For more information, visit the BEST website.