SRS Emphasizes Career and Technical Education Opportunities

Sorenson’s Ranch School emphasizes providing Career and Technical Education opportunities for its students. From ranch work to food service, residents have the opportunity to engage in multiple hands-on vocational activities. CTE classes significantly boost post-secondary success across the country. Students who complete high school CTE pathways are more likely to graduate on time, to enroll in two-year community colleges, to enter high-demand fields like healthcare, and obtain vocational certificates or associate degrees. As a result, community college graduates from CTE programs see substantial earnings bumps. Vocational degrees and certificates yield average returns of 12% to 23%, with the healthcare sector generating the highest economic mobility. Another advantage to CTE curriculum is addressing gaps in equity. Underrepresented and low-income students, particularly Latino and Black students, often see greater relative benefits from CTE courses in terms of high school graduation rates and immediate job market preparedness. Integrating CTE classes with high school and dual-enrollment curriculum accelerates post-secondary credential completion and smooths the transition into the workforce. California has heavily prioritized these pathways to bridge the gap between education and the labor market, where one-third of jobs require postsecondary training but less than a four-year degree. The state subsidizes the Career Technical Education Grant (CTEIG) and the Strong Workforce Program to align local community colleges and high schools with regional industry demands. California is not alone in this effort. Recently, Utah Speaker Mike Schultz has made CTE a top priority. “We are giving more students opportunities to learn in a way that makes sense for them – and help them succeed after graduation.” https://house.utleg.gov/local-food-processing-2/ The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) reports that 99% of students who complete a CTE program graduate high school, as opposed to 89% generally. In 2024, the Utah Legislature acknowledged the success of CTE programs by creating a grant program to provide opportunities across the state. 29 school districts and charter schools are taking advantage of this funding to align students’ natural aptitudes with practical, career-connected pathways built for real world success. Sorenson’s Ranch School continues to implement the CTE curriculum it pioneered in 1951, providing its students with optimized outcomes while leading the way for secondary schools across the state and nation.

The Importance of Residential Treatment and Trauma-Informed Care for Adolescents

In today's fast-paced and complex world, adolescents face a multitude of challenges that can significantly impact their mental health and well-being. Issues such as grief, PTSD, family conflicts, and depression are increasingly common, yet they are often misunderstood or overlooked. Residential treatment centers (RTCs) that employ trauma-informed care are crucial in addressing these problems and fostering healing and growth in young people. Residential treatment provides a structured, supportive environment where adolescents can receive intensive therapeutic support away from the stressors of daily life. These centers offer a safe space for youth to work through their issues with the guidance of trained professionals. The residential setting is particularly beneficial because it allows for continuous monitoring and support, ensuring that each adolescent receives the care they need around the clock. Trauma-informed care is an approach that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery. It emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. This approach is essential in residential treatment for several reasons: 1. Recognizing the Impact of Trauma: Trauma-informed care starts with the understanding that trauma affects everyone differently. This understanding shapes every aspect of the care provided, from the initial assessment to the ongoing therapeutic interventions. By recognizing the diverse impacts of trauma, RTCs can tailor their approaches to meet the unique needs of each adolescent. 2. Creating a Safe Environment: Safety is a fundamental aspect of trauma-informed care. RTCs strive to create an environment where adolescents feel physically and emotionally secure. This sense of safety is crucial for young people who have experienced trauma, as it helps them begin to trust again and opens the door to healing. 3. Empowering Adolescents: Empowerment is another key principle of trauma-informed care. Adolescents are encouraged to take an active role in their treatment, making decisions about their care and setting goals for their recovery. This empowerment fosters a sense of agency and helps rebuild self-esteem, which can be severely diminished by traumatic experiences. Residential treatment centers utilize a variety of therapeutic modalities to address specific issues such as grief, PTSD, family conflicts, and depression. Here are some of the most effective approaches: 1. Grief Counseling: Grief can be a profound and isolating experience, particularly for adolescents. Grief counseling provides a space for young people to express their emotions, process their loss, and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Through individual and group sessions, adolescents learn to navigate their grief in a supportive environment. 2. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed to help individuals who have experienced trauma. This approach combines cognitive behavioral techniques with trauma-sensitive principles to help adolescents process their traumatic experiences and develop healthy coping strategies. 3. Family Therapy: Family conflicts can exacerbate other mental health issues, making it crucial to address these dynamics in treatment. Family therapy involves working with the entire family unit to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and build healthier relationships. This approach helps create a supportive home environment for the adolescent’s ongoing recovery. 4. Mindfulness and Stress-Reduction Techniques:Techniques such as mindfulness, yoga, and meditation are increasingly incorporated into residential treatment programs. These practices help adolescents manage stress, reduce anxiety, and develop a greater awareness of their thoughts and emotions. 5. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is particularly effective for adolescents struggling with intense emotions and self-destructive behaviors. This therapy focuses on building skills in four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT helps adolescents develop healthier ways to cope with their emotions and interactions. A holistic approach in residential treatment centers integrates various therapeutic modalities to address the multifaceted needs of adolescents. This comprehensive care model ensures that each young person receives individualized support that encompasses their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. By addressing all aspects of their health, RTCs can foster more profound and lasting recovery. Residential treatment centers that employ trauma-informed care play a crucial role in addressing the complex mental health needs of adolescents. By creating a safe, supportive environment and utilizing targeted therapeutic modalities, these centers help young people heal from trauma, manage their emotions, and build healthier relationships. As we continue to understand the profound impact of trauma on mental health, the importance of these treatment approaches becomes increasingly clear. Investing in residential treatment and trauma-informed care is not just about treating symptoms; it's about giving adolescents the tools and support they need to thrive.

Introduction to Business and Financial Literacy

Often Sorenson’s Ranch School (SRS) students complain that business and financial literacy classes are hard and not required in their home state, but taking the classes in high school can give students a competitive advantage in the college admission process. If college is not in the student’s futures, at least business and financial literacy classes give them an understanding of the function of commerce in society and a basis for becoming better employees and citizens of their communities. In Addition to expanding students’ knowledge about business, entrepreneurship, and personal finance, these classes teach students many crucial life skills, including leadership and time management. Using this foundation to build on, SRS students begin to understand how personal financial responsibility will touch all aspects of their lives. Business classes introduce students to what it takes to make it in the business world. We are introducing information students can use to help them decide what they are going to do with their future. With changing regulations in society, children today are not given the opportunity to work and learn with hands on experience as did past generations. Today’s children have been immersed in technology and crave interaction in a different manner than past generations. As our society and business adapts to an ever-changing world, these students will become the new business leaders. Business and finance classes at SRS give students those first steps, and insights about what to do next in life. If students decide continuing education is not for them, SRS can still give them the basics necessary for everyday life, no matter what path they choose to take. High schoolers’ hardly know what direction to go, or what skills to build on when they are getting ready to go to college. If we start teaching them skills in high school, they will have a better understanding of the path they can take for the future. By teaching SRS students solid life skills, we are helping all of our futures.

Sorenson’s Ranch Student Motivation

At Sorenson’s Ranch, teachers try to keep students active and engaged. Active students learn more and do better in the classroom. We recognize the importance of motivation, and we work hard to celebrate student progress. ​Teachers choose assignments that allow students to use their creativity. When possible, we allow students to pick their own genre—such as reports, poems, creative writing stories, or plays—when assigning a topic. Students are able to choose their own theme when creating computer programs. Many CTE classes allow students to create their own topics for projects. We want them to take pride in their work and this helps them buy-in to assignments stay more motivated. Teachers pride themselves on being open-minded rather than judgmental. We try to make it clear that we are here to help students succeed, respecting student efforts. Teachers try to share an observation or ask questions without criticizing. Teachers provide feedback geared toward student success. Student are more engaged and learn better when they exercise choice, feel important, receive accurate and timely feedback, and know that they can be successful. Feedback, not pressures of low grades, leads to better performance. After relearning material, students have the opportunity to redo assignments to get to mastery level. This creates a feeling of success which helps with motivation. Students come to us with different abilities. Teachers create lessons for everyone—taking into consideration the different ability levels. Teachers try to provide feedback to students promptly, frequently, and efficiently. Accommodations, like more time or reduced workload are implemented for students where needed. Students need to see a direct connection between their effort, a response from their teacher, and work completion. We work with students individually to get students to graduation or to grade completion.

Safety is an essential part of learning.

Students need to feel safe in their environment in order to learn. If a person is worried about getting beat up - physically or verbally, that person cannot open his or her mind to effectively put things into long term memory. Effective teaching requires that teachers create an atmosphere in the classroom where students are free to ask questions without fear of being made fun of or being made to feel stupid. The tapestry of life is woven from discovery and memory. From the moment of birth, we are exposed to a continuous flow of sensory experience — sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Our remarkable brain takes the images and sounds, the feelings, scents, and tastes of each moment and creates an internal representation of the external world. In the beginning of life, all is new: each experience is a first. Each image, melody, scent, and caress bathes the newborn's brain in data as it attempts to organize and make sense of this world. Over time, we create memories, and we learn. Learning is fun when it is curiosity driven. In the words of one of my former students whom I refer to as “the great philosopher Ned”, “Math only sucks until you get it.” The difference between a student “getting it” or just trying to survive by memorizing enough information to pass the test is whether the learning is curiosity based or fear based. It comes back to safety in the classroom. The fear response is essential to the health of the human brain and body. Under threat of any kind — hunger, thirst, pain, shame, confusion, or too much input coming in too fast — we respond in ways to keep ourselves safe. When the fear response is triggered, our minds will focus only on the information that is, at that moment, important for survival. Fear kills curiosity and inhibits exploration. Hear at SRS, most of my students come into my classes with math anxiety: a fear of math (and the experience of learning math in a group) which requires that they never ask a question which could expose them to an uncomfortable social experience, and a fear that I will find out just how much they don’t know. To combat this self-imposed barrier to effective learning, I tell them about what I call the “basic agreement.” This agreement stipulates that I will do my best to teach them from where they are at any given moment. As a result, they don’t need to pretend to know things they don’t know, and if they ask a question, I will do my best to answer it in a way they can understand without editorializing about when they should have learned it and how many times it has been explained before. Their responsibility is that they will do their best to learn. This means asking questions to help me learn how they learn. Once I know how they learn, I can teach in a way that allows them to understand and remember. All of us can vividly recall a situation (perhaps many) when a teacher reviled a student with words like, “How many times to I have to tell you?” or “You should have learned this in 1st grade.” The anxiety is present in students of all subjects, not just math, and teachers play the dominant role in creating physically and emotionally safe places for students to learn. I find that after the initial “I hate you” phase, students who receive consequences for aggressive behavior toward peers quickly become champions of protecting other students from aggression. Here are some key behaviors I try to use in creating a safe classroom here at SRS: • Maintain a clean, organized classroom. All people feel safer and more comfortable in a clean organized classroom • Be the same teacher yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Follow through on promises. Be consistent in discipline • Be kind, and let students know you care. I chose this profession to make a difference, and I want my students to know that I care about the long term effects of my teaching. I want to my students see higher goals for themselves and help them believe in their abilities by helping them master challenging tasks. • Protect students from misbehavior. Always follow through on discipline for students that threaten others. Demonstrate that you care enough about not to allow bullying, triggering, coercion, or intimidation. These behaviors can help students overcome learning anxieties in any classroom environment, but they work particularly well among our population at SRS

Academics at Sorenson’s Ranch

Sorenson’s Ranch School is a fully accredited high school found in a pristine valley in the Fishlake National Forest. Students can complete their high school graduation requirements and receive a high school diploma. Sorenson’s Ranch School prepares students to go directly into the workforce, go on to college, or finish a vocational training. Sorenson’s Ranch School accommodates students who struggle, average students, or accelerated students. Sorenson’s has recently added new CTE classes including Business Management, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Photography and Customer Service. Other elective classes include Child Development, Adults Roles and Responsibilities, and Keyboarding for middle school students. Students can actually be prepared for entrance into the workforce or for entrance into college. Some online college courses may be available for students. Students are given chances for career exploration in the CTE courses. . We can help students form realistic and reachable career, personal, and educational goals. This does not imply that the goals are not challenging. The most motivating goals are those that are within our reach if we use some effort. Only someone who knows a student well and cares about his or her well-being will be able to help that student form reachable goals. Students do not attain reachable goals on their own. Like any of us, students are more likely to move ahead when they know that there is a path to get there. We here at Sorenson’s Ranch School help with the path Sorenson’s supports an independent study format. Students are able to finish their high school courses independently and at their own pace. Students may work at a slower pace if they are IEP students or move at a faster pace. We provide teens with a lot of guidance in a more restrictive environment to help them successfully navigate the adolescent years. We provide surroundings that abolish many of the distractions and triggers that accompany a public school education. We have a low student to teacher ratio and students are able to know what is expected of them. They are better able to predict their own consequences if they break the rules. In addition, the more one-on-one time your teen gets with trusted and experienced instructors and counselors, the more likely he is to get his individual needs met and become a disciplined and mature individual. One of the limitations of our educational structure is that relationships with teachers, especially in secondary school, may be caring, but they are not easy to sustain. Yet at-risk youth need relationships that are both caring and stable. They need to build a sense of trust and have the time to communicate the difficulty, obstructions, and positive aspects of their lives in and out of school. ​All Utah High School graduation requirements are met here at Sorenson’s and students graduate with a regular high school diploma. Sorenson’s Ranch School is a mastery school. Students are required to reach mastery or 80 percent before passing classes. Teachers work with students on an individual and personal basis. Sorenson’s Ranch has small class sizes with low teacher to student ratio. Students are expected to be respectful to teachers and staff at all times. They are taught discipline and respect to teachers, staff, and fellow students. Students are required to listen and follow instructions. Students will learn behavior management in the classroom. Principal, teachers and school staff develop a personal education plan for each student. Students are monitored closely by teachers and are able to learn at their own pace in a safe, secure environment. Credits are made up if students are behind in credits for graduation. At Sorenson’s Ranch we recognize the difficulty of trying a new path and both prepare students for obstacles and support them when they run into problems. This can be highly challenging, as some of the students' flawed actions may violate school rules or perhaps even legal boundaries. We handle such cases individually and with sensitive judgment. We incorporate engaging settings in the school that permit students to experience a sense of belonging and pride.

Technology in Education

Computer Technology is an important part of classroom instruction. It is something that is more and more a part of the workplace that we are preparing our students to enter. However, there is a false assumption in education that more advanced technology in the classroom will somehow equate to better learning outcomes. There is no substitute for a good teacher in the educational process. There are many computer-related skills that can be taught to students to prepare them for the workplace. Among these are basic computer concepts, typing, word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. At Sorenson’s Ranch School, students are taught typing in middle school classes, and the remainder in a high-school computer technology class. This requirement for graduation is not all that students need to know with regard to computer technology, but it gives them most of the basics on what employers will be looking for in a career-track position. (Donaldson) For purposes of the program at Sorenson’s Ranch School, the students are not allowed to access the internet, except to complete online college courses from BYU Independent Study. Each internet address the students are allowed to access must first be approved by the administrator of the computer network. Social networking sites are strictly prohibited from access. In addition, the students are not allowed to use email. Parents of Sorenson’s Ranch School students can email the school which can then be passed on to the students, but students must write letters to their parents if they want to send mail. The computer technology course I teach here at Sorenson’s Ranch School includes a chapter on information technology essentials, in which students learn the basics of computer hardware and software. There is also a section of the course that allows students that have no personal computer experience the opportunity to learn how the Windows 7 operating system works. The remainder of the course teaches students the Microsoft Office Suite of software. This gives the students the experience and skill development in word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations that employers are looking for in their human resources. (Donaldson) The students use each of these programs individually, which is important. Then they are allowed the opportunity to integrate the programs to be able to put objects from Word, or Excel into a Power Point presentation, for example. This integration is a level above what the basic education in the Microsoft Office Suite includes. This should make success in the workplace or at the university level an easy transition for students. Some legislators have proposed introduction of tablets, or other technology into the hands of every student. This is a course that has a high cost, but results are mixed. At Sorenson’s Ranch School, the technology is kept in the classroom, and learning about technology is structured. When students return home, they are able to have parents guide them through emails, internet usage, and social media. The basics are taught at Sorenson’s Ranch School to give students the skills needed to succeed in the workplace when they are finished with their academic studies. Works Cited Donaldson, C. (n.d.). The Top Ten Tech Skills Your Child Needs Now. Retrieved 2 20, 2015, from Education.com: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/The_Top_10_Tech_Skills_Your_Teen/?page=2

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

As students prepare to leave Sorenson's Ranch School, they will enter a world of complexity and change. Some students will go on to enroll in higher education and some students will be on their own, lacking outside support. These students will most likely work in several different career areas and hold many different jobs. Some of our many goals at Sorenson's Ranch are to help the student to develop a base of knowledge and to acquire the skills they need to solve complex problems and make difficult decisions. We try to help instill in them critical thinking skills. Critical thinking means that the student is progressing beyond memorizing or temporarily recalling information. It requires them to apply what they know about the subject matter for a particular problem. It also requires them to use common sense and experience during the process. Creative thinking is required during problem solving to discover all the reasonable choices, consequences and supporting arguments. During this process, out of the ordinary ideas and views outside the obvious are sough out. As we teach critical thinking in the classroom, it can be accomplished with basic activities. Some of these activities such as debating group discussions have been very useful and a great way to engage students in thinking critically when making decisions that will affect their futures. It is our goal at Sorenson's Ranch School to develop as many skills as possible to enable our students in making positive decisions and helping them to experience success.

What Messages Are You Sending?

An interesting question was once posed to a group of mathematics and science teachers at a conference that I was attending. “What do your students think is important to you?” This became the topic of much discussion and reflective thinking as teachers pondered what they truly communicated to their students by their words and actions in the classroom. Some teachers thought about the time they spent making sure that students work is organized, written legibly, and turned in to the correct location. Others admitted that neatness was not as important as correct answers and that they were not as concerned about student work being well organized. Many different thoughts were shared within the group, but the central theme of the discussion was that students’ attitudes reflect the attitudes modeled by teachers and parents. Parents and teachers are the most significant figures in a child’s education. We pass on many of our attitudes, intentionally or not, to children in our care. These may be good or bad attitudes and we may not even realize how these attitudes are being transmitted. Consider what your response is when your child seeks help with a math problem. Do you take a quick glance and tell your child that you have been out of school too long and don’t remember how to solve the problem? Do you tell him/her that you don’t know because you didn’t have to do that math in school? Do you sit down with your student(s) to search the textbook or other resources and persist until you both understand the concept? What is your attitude toward homework? What is your attitude about your student’s grades? Do they understand that you feel it important that they do well? Do you feel that it is important to be on time? When confronted with situations such as those name above, our actions transmit, and in turn transfer, our attitudes toward various subjects. If you aren’t willing to try to solve a problem that your child is being asked to solve, you may be communicating that you do not feel it is important to persist until you understand the concept. The look on your face may show that you feel that the task is painful or unimportant. In an interesting study, researchers found that college students preparing to become elementary school teachers had the highest levels of mathematics anxiety in comparison to all other college majors. Most of these students will soon become teachers who spend the minimum amount of time required on mathematics content and do so without enthusiasm. This attitude is communicated to their students and, coupled with less-than-enthusiastic attitudes displayed by parents, may become detrimental to mathematics skills development. Another attitude that seems to be more and more prevalent in American schools is that all school work should be easy. In a recent study that compared Japanese, German, and American students researchers found that while Japanese and German students expect math and science classes to be difficult and to require a significant amount of time and effort to gain proficiency, American students felt that these courses should be simple and take no more than a short time to complete. If the class wasn’t “fun,” or if the students didn’t “get” the concept immediately, it was perceived to be the fault of the teacher. These attitudes work against many of the principles driving education. Persistence in solving problems, employing a variety of strategies, and other educational goals are undermined by this attitude. One of the biggest challenges that we face at Sorenson’s Ranch School is overcoming this tendency for students to want everything to be “fun” and “easy.” Our competency-based advancement requires initiative and persistence on the part of our students. Many struggle with these aspects as they begin their stay with us. Over time, particularly as they get closer to graduation, initiative and persistence become more a part of our students’ daily endeavors. Without exception, those students who become better at self-motivation and persistance, do better as they re-integrate into their families, schools, and jobs post-SRS.

Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) have been a hot topic in education for at least the last decade. Everyone seems to have an opinion about what they are, how they are supposed to function, and what they are supposed to accomplish. Here at Sorenson’s Ranch School, we have realized that even though our best efforts have always been exerted toward helping our students learn academic curricula as well as more appropriate strategies for living, without a formal structure and dedicated time to focus on specified goals, the real purposes of PLC’s are not accomplished. In short, effective PLC’s don’t just happen. They must be planned and monitored for success to follow. What exactly is a PLC? A PLC is a group of individuals who want to learn to be better at what they do. Any type of business can benefit from the formation of PLC’s, but because of the isolated nature of what teachers do (we almost never teach in front of our colleagues), PLC’s can be particularly effective in education. Simply put, PLC’s provide a venue for teachers to talk about the nuts and bolts of educating. Research has shown that when teachers get together and talk about the craft of teaching – what works and what doesn’t in various classroom environments – teaching improves. How is a PLC supposed to function? A PLC meeting is not a time to discuss disruptive student behaviors, plan faculty parties, or work out the details of scheduling conflicts. All of these issues are valid and appropriate topics for discussion at the proper time and place, but PLC meetings must focus on a narrower set of topics. We must ask and answer the right questions in order to have our PLC meeting time be as productive as possible. What is it, exactly, that we want our students to learn? Can we coordinate our teaching such that concepts learned in one class are reinforced in another class? What, precisely, are we going to do if we begin to see evidence that our students are not learning the things we have agreed upon as critical? Questions such as these tend to focus educators’ attention and concentrate their efforts on actions that directly benefit students. What should we expect to accomplish through the formation and use of a PLC? The answer to this question will vary depending on the environment in which the PLC is formed. In education, the effects of a properly functioning PLC should be observed in measurable ways such as increases in student test scores, increases in graduation rates, and increases in the number of students pursuing education beyond high school. By using data to track student performance, teachers are able to see if their efforts in PLC meetings are yielding the results they want. Because of the nature of our student body, Sorenson’s Ranch School teachers have a specialized set of challenges. Our PLC meetings help us to focus our efforts on those teaching strategies that will allow us to optimize the learning of our students while they attend our school despite whatever unique circumstances may have hampered their progress in the past.

Language Arts At Sorenson's Ranch School

The Language Arts classes at Sorenson’s Ranch School are continuing to follow the Common Core curriculum as they learn how to become better writers through use of the writing process and the Six Traits of Writing. By understanding the efficacy of each step of the writing process, students continue to strengthen their ability to plan, write, revise, and publish content-rich, thoughtful essays. During this process, students focus on the Six Traits of writing so that their writing becomes more focused to a specific purpose and provides excellent reasoning backed by research. The Common Core is addressed as students: 1. Learn to develop good writing habits through frequent reading and writing. 2. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 3. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 4. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 5. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. 6. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking; demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Mind Mapping for Research and Notes

There are several different methods for taking notes. In college, this author used the Harvard method almost exclusively. This author hadn’t learned any other methods for taking notes, and it seemed to work okay. Usually when taking notes, people end up with pages of detail on each specific sub-topic. However, there is not any overall picture of how these bits of information fit together in the main topic or with each other. This article will discuss a method for taking notes that will overcome this shortcoming of traditional note taking. This form of taking notes is called Mind Mapping, Concept Mapping, Spray Diagrams, or Spider Diagrams. Note: “Mind Map” is a trademark of the Buzan Organization (www.buzan.com). There is no association between Sorenson’s Ranch School and Buzan. Mind Maps were developed by Tony Buzan. They are useful for brainstorming, summarizing, consolidating, studying, memorizing, and thinking through information. Drawing a mind map is simple. Write the main topic in the center of a page, and circle it. Then, draw lines out from the main topic and write sub-topics on the lines. More detail can be added to the sub-topics by drawing further lines out from the primary sub-topics. Effective mind maps can be drawn by using single words/simple phrases, printing words, using colors to differentiate separate ideas from one another, and linking sub-topics with lines to show relationships between them. Working as a teacher in a high school/middle school environment such as Sorenson’s Ranch School makes Mind Mapping especially useful to help students who don’t organize information well. This method of note taking makes a huge improvement in retention of information and reduces frustration with learning about subjects in classes, in this author’s experience. Mind maps generally take up one side of one page, and are meant to make associations, as well as generate new ideas. Students can also add to a mind map once new information is discovered on the topic. So, start with a new subject you are interested in researching, and start mind mapping.

Teaching Philosophy

As a classroom teacher, I believe that it is important to develop a working relationship with students. It is important to communicate in some way daily with each student, so that he/she feels comfortable to learn in my classroom. Students can all learn if the environment is correct. I am not saying that a teacher will get along with every student all the time, but there needs to be a mutual respect in the classroom in order for learning to take place. I want the students to feel success. Success breeds success. Without this feeling of success, goals will not be reached. One thing is for sure, a teacher better teach because he/she enjoys teaching or students will figure it out very quickly. I really enjoy watching students catch up and excel with their academic goals. It is a great joy to watch the eyes of student light up (and even become full of tears at times) from their successes in the classroom. Watching students work really hard on Spanish pronunciation only to see them succeed is a great reward to both the student and to me. I have come to realize my successes here through understanding and developing my listening skills. It does not do any good to provide lip service here without any action. Students can tell if a person is genuine or not. I love teaching and guiding my students to success. For these reasons, I believe we have the ability to change lives at SRS. Steve Nielson, Teacher SRS

Our Trip to the Utah Shakespearean Festival

I have asked two students to write about our trip to the Shakespearean Festival, and I wanted to preface their remarks by saying that we go to the festival for the students to learn many lessons. One of these lessons is how to be courteous at a formal play and how to have respect for other patrons and the actors. The Shakespearean Festival offers not only plays by Shakespeare but also many other famous playwrights. We want the students to come away learning something valuable. In this situation, the students learned about the author of “Scapin”, Moliere, and the style in which he wrote. We also talk about the deeper meanings of the plays we attend. It is important to have follow-up discussions so that the students learn the importance of Shakespeare and other authors to the literary canon. The Shakespearean Festival has been recognized with a Tony award. To be able to yearly attend such a magnificent production is truly a gift. Students’ viewpoints: On August 21, Donny and Tina Somers, Ron Cazier and Justin Barrie, took 10 boys and 10 girls, level 3 and higher to the World Renowned Utah Shakespearean Festival. After driving to Cedar City, Utah, we arrived at a local park where we enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch. After lunch, we drove directly to the Randall L. Jones Theatre to watch the play, “Scapin”, a French adaptation from Moliere. When we walked into the building, it was so beautiful and a man was playing piano and they were songs from “Phantom of the Opera.” We walked up to the balcony in the theatre and took our seats. The play began, and it was so funny. It was about the high-jinx of two servants and the families they worked for. The play kept us laughing the entire 2 hrs. We were there. And the end of the play turned out well for all the characters involved. After that, we went to Taco Bell for dinner and we got to have tons of food. It was delicious! Then, we walked across the street and got to experience a new ice cream adventure, Root Beer ice cream. It was so good too. We then loaded up an headed for home. We had a fun-filled day at the festival and we couldn’t quit talking about it all the way home. We are so thankful to Jill for allowing us to go each year. This was written by Students of Sorenson’s Ranch School

Why do we study mathematics?

On a daily basis, I get the question about why we study math. The truth of the matter is that most of us will never have to write the equation of a circle or use the quadratic formula once we get through high school. So why do we have to do it during high school? Mathematics is about problem solving methods. Every math problem that gets discussed and assigned forces us to use many, if not all, of the detailed methods of problem solving. Each individual problem becomes a small but important lesson for solving problems in general. Math is traditionally learned by first doing many simple problems. Then the simple problem solving methods are put together to solve complex problems. For instance, in order to solve algebraic equations, being knowledgeable about addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is a must. Ordering the steps to be carried out, evaluating expressions, and learning how and when equations are used must be mastered as well. Knowing this, we then ask the question. What do all problems, mathematical or not, have in common? Successful problem solvers understand what is expected in the problems they face. In other words, they know all of the details surrounding the problem at hand, which is the most important step to solving problems. It requires attention to detail and therefore, patience. After examining the details, intelligent choices need to be made regarding the beginning steps of developing a strategy. The plan must be carried out in an order that makes sense. Careful planning, possibly using justifiable experimentation, must take place. Once an actual solution is obtained, it must be tested to determine whether or not it is reasonable. These components of problem solving are basic to everyday situations. In my math courses, the goal is to learn to be problem solvers and independent thinkers. I often allow students to arrive at an incorrect solution. This allows us to discuss their solution and the process the student used to arrive at the solution. We can discuss ways to improve the solution and many times students can see where they went wrong as they explain their reasoning. It is also a goal to help students understand the usefulness of their solution. I often relate math problems to buying a car. In the process of buying a car, we study what it is we want/need, what we can afford, and what cars are available. We narrow down our choices and make a final decision. After the final decision, it is a good idea to take a look at our choice and run through the process again to make sure the car makes sense and suits our needs. For most of us, mathematics is basic training in problem solving. For those who learn to enjoy math and it’s specific brand of mental stimulation, there are plenty of careers that make a lot of money involving mathematics. As a math teacher, I encourage students to work hard in mathematics and try to be positive about math. Who knows where they may go with it?

Sorenson's Ranch Activities

Last Fall, some staff from Sorenson’s Ranch took 16 kids to the Shakespearean Festival at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. We went to see “A Midsummers Night Dream.” The Festival is world famous and even won a Tony Award a few years back.
We try to give our students opportunities to attend activities/performances such as this for two reasons: first, we want them to be exposed to culturally significant events that coordinate with the subjects we teach in the classroom; second, we want them to have opportunities to demonstrate their trustworthiness and practice new behaviors that they are striving to master in connection with their overall therapeutic goals.
When we arrived, we had the opportunity to go to a lecture, conducted by festival staff, that helped the kids understand what the play was going to be about, why the actors speak the way they do, and why they dress the way they do. The students were allowed to ask questions and tour the outdoor theatre.
We got to sit in the balcony of the indoor theatre. As the play started, we thought the kids might start acting up, but we were pleased to see their eyes glued to the stage. By the time the intermission arrived and we went down to look at the Shakespeare displays, we heard the kids trying to predict what was going to happen next and saying how they couldn’t wait to get back to the play.
All of the students acted like perfect ladies and gentlemen. After the play, we went to the library and viewed a display of Shakespeare’s writings and other materials associated with the plays. We saw an original folio from the 1600’s that contained the works of Shakespeare. It was in a special display, maintained at a certain temperature and guarded by a security officer. It was so interesting and the kids felt privileged to see it.
Finally we went to lunch a Taco Bell, which they all loved and then we took them to A&W for root beer ice cream. We discovered that 80% of them had never had root beer ice cream which was fun also.
Our day was wonderful, and we are always getting requests for a return visit to the festival in 2012.

Sorenson's Ranch School New Technology!

New computers and a new program! The Technology Department here at Sorenson’s Ranch School recently updated its computer lab, complete with new Dell flat-screen computers, loaded with Office 2010 and Windows 7. We also have new workstations and an updated curriculum. Due to this update we are now teaching Windows 7 to our Computer Literacy students. Over the years, our students have left this program having learned many things that will help them in both educational and occupational pursuits. In order to continue that tradition, our administrators felt that it was time to update our program to reflect the most current computer systems that our students will likely be using when they leave.
Another phase of this transition, due to some personnel changes, was the inclusion of a new instructor. Ross Franks has been on our faculty for some time, in several capacities, and now will add Computer Literacy to his daily teaching schedule. Ross will maintain teaching assignments in other areas as well and is a welcome addition to this subject area. Ross understands the importance of technology in our modern world and the positive effects that a current and consistent syllabus can have on the learning environment in the classroom.
The new text-manuals we are using are interactive. Activities and lessons are broken down into the steps of the operation. Students are able to see, practice, experiment, and learn through a variety of activities that are designed with real-world application. Many of the steps have pictures of what should be appearing on the monitor as students progress through the lessons, so that they can check their work for accuracy as they go. The new program is complete with templates of many of the activities that students can open from a read-only disk, save the file to their own profile on their computer, and then complete the activity as outlined, saving it for future reference if needed. Students are able to experiment with not only manipulating the data in a given program, but also integrating programs and using the same set of data for a variety of applications in different programs. These text-manuals start with an overview of basic computer systems and then cover various other programs such as Windows Navigation, Word 2010, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. The new manuals are well organized, detailed, and easy to understand for most of our students. The copyright date of 2011 ensures that they are current with industry standards and Utah State Core Standards as well.
Our students are adjusting quickly to the improvements in the program and seem to be pleased with our commitment to help them experience educational success. We realize that many of our students have struggled with academics in the past for various reasons. It is a focus of our program to help them have positive experiences during their time with us.

Mastery Learning

Here at Sorenson’s Ranch School, we have worked hard over the years apply curriculum and instruction techniques which have been demonstrated through research to be effective. Because we are a non-traditional school operating within a residential treatment facility, our challenges in providing an adequate education to our diverse student body with its inherent diverse needs are many. One of the ways we try to ensure that we meet the needs of our students is our focus on Mastery Learning.
Mastery Learning is defined as an instructional model which presumes that all children can learn so long as they are provided with a learning environment and accommodations that are commensurate with their learning needs. A foundation principle of Mastery Learning is that in order for a student to move on to more complex learning objectives, he or she must demonstrate ability to apply the current objective with eighty percent proficiency.
The nature of our facility and the diverse nature of our students require us to operate on an open enrollment basis. Our students come to us from almost every state at varying levels of educational accomplishment. Frequently they are more than one year behind schedule for graduation due to causes which include Reactive Attachment Disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, and poor family dynamics. All of these factors make it very desirable for us to be able to provide a way for our clientele to “catch up” in school. Mastery Learning is the mechanism that allows us to meet this need.
In a “regular” school setting, credit is earned in lock step with the other students in the class. Assignment due dates don’t change, no matter how far in advance a student completes the required work. Within a Mastery Learning environment, once the student demonstrates proficiency at the eighty percent level, he or she can move on to the next assignment. Mastery Learning does not guarantee that a student will earn credit at an accelerated rate, but it does provide that opportunity.
Another integral part of the student experience here at Sorenson’s Ranch School is the level system which rewards appropriate student behavior with increased privileges and opportunities for enrichment activities. The level system is organized according to a number system with level 1 at the bottom and level 5 at the top. No student is allowed to progress above level 2 unless he/she is on schedule for credit in all classes. This reinforcement of academic achievement through the level system provides extra incentive for students to stay current in school.
Not every student who attends our school will make up all of the credits that he/she is behind, but many do. It is almost always necessary to get a student’s behavioral issues under control before he/she will buy into the system and start to progress adequately in school. The real issue is that once the student experiences a change in behavior and begins to have success in the program, school progress at an accelerated rate, without the necessity of extra school days, becomes a possibility.

Salt Lake Bees Game

On July 23, 2010, Sorenson’s Ranch School staff took all the Level 4 and 5 boys and girls to a Utah Bees minor league baseball game as a reward for their good behavior. The Bees played the Denver Sky Sox and lost 12-1. It was a very disappointing game, but I don’t think the teens minded much. They were just glad to be able to participate in such a fun activity away from campus.
We arrived at the ballpark in Salt Lake City at 5:00 p.m. and enjoyed a picnic lunch of all you-can-eat hotdogs with condiments, chips, beans, watermelon, and soda pop. We sat in a shaded area of the ballpark where we ate and had a great time talking with each other. This was a good time for the teenagers to relax and interact with each other in a positive way.
At 6:30 p.m. we went into the game, and our seats were perfect. We were right behind home plate and also in the shade. The first Bees batter got up to bat and on the first swing, the bat broke. It was amazing. It's not very often you get to see a bat break in a game.
After the game was over, the teens watched an outstanding fireworks show! It lasted about 30 minutes, had great music, and the adolescents’ faces were glued to the sky. They were more like little kids again, instead of troubled teens that had been sent to Sorenson’s Ranch School for intervention.
These activities are great because they reward the kids for their good behavior and hard work. It is a great motivator to keep them on the right track. They look forward to such activities here at Sorenson’s Ranch School. Special activities such as this augment our regular activities of horse riding, camping, fishing, etc. When higher level students return to campus and excitedly tell their friends what they did, it gives the lower level students incentive to keep their behavior in check so that they can get to a level to be able to go the next time.


Holly McCulla
Sorenson's Ranch School

THERAPY DEPARTMENT HOSTS OUTDOOR CHALLENGE DAY

The Sorenson’s Ranch School Therapy Department held another fun day of outdoor challenge activities to assist students with creative problem-solving and teambuilding. In June the Therapy Department facilitated a low ropes course day for our adolescent students and it was a big success. In the second week of July, we did another challenge day for the girls, as well as a day for the boys with all new challenges. The students moved in small teams of approximately eight to ten students from one activity to the next. All challenge activities were facilitated by a therapist or group leader. The students had a lot of fun with these challenges and tended to get very involved in solving or completing them. After the completion of each challenge, the leader facilitated a discussion to assist the teens in relating their approach in the challenge to broader issues in their lives either here at Sorenson’s Ranch or back at home. Students related the challenges to a variety of challenges in life that teens have to deal with such as staying clean and sober, working through their treatment program successfully, getting along with and supporting their peers, improving their relationship with their parents, meeting their academic goals, making positive plans for the future, etc.

The Sorenson’s Ranch School therapy challenge day was set in a picturesque mountain setting approximately seven miles from campus up a wooded canyon. A beautiful stream lined one edge of the site where the event took place. The students made their lunch up in the mountains in a picnic area near the stream. We also made homemade ice cream, which everyone enjoyed. There was a little bit of free time at the end to enjoy the creek. It was a hot day and students enjoyed cooling off in the stream, as well as playing tug of war across the stream.