The School Community

Rocky Mountain High Schools Mission Statement:

Rocky Mountain High School inspires, guides, and supports our students, faculty, and staff to
reach their maximum potential in a caring, challenging and safe environment.
Rocky Mountain High School is a high achieving, student focused school. Rocky has
always been more concerned about the needs and successes of their students than with
maintaining a certain reputation. They have many programs, activities, and faculty members that
are there to assist students with their interests and passions. Both the teachers and the students at
Rocky hold themselves to high standards. Rocky has a desire to help all students achieve
excellence. One of the ways they achieve this is by having a strong community. Rocky has what
they call the Lobo Way that all students and faculty follow. The Lobo Way means being
loyal to the school and student body, always trying your hardest, not letting your fellow lobos fall
behind, and being involved in your community. It is apparent when visiting any classroom at
Rocky that these expectations live on in each room. Students interact with each other to help one
another out. Teachers interact with students to guide and facilitate their learning. And teachers
use each other as resources and support systems to build a strong school community. Rocky is a
welcoming, supportive, and hardworking school that any student or teacher would be lucky to be
at.
Rocky Mountain High School has an astonishing amount of clubs and activities for
students to get involved with. There are school sponsored clubs such as yearbook, DECA,
American Sign Language club, FCCLA, environmental club, and the list goes on and on. Then
there are a large amount of student initiated clubs so that everyone with an interest at the school
will have an activity they can get involved in. There are things such as anime club, blues and
swing dancing club, and theres even a club called Girl Rising that raises money and awareness
for the education of women in other countries. Rocky also provides its students and their families
with college and career planning. The college and career center will help with writing essays,
creating resumes, figuring out financial aid, helping students create a career plan, and answering
any questions that their students might have about their future. Another great resource that Rocky
offers is counseling. The counselors will help the students with anything from questions about
school, to help with addiction and drug abuse. As far as activities go, Rocky has some of the best
student participation and spirit when it comes to their sports. The football games and basketball
games typically have full seats and high energy. Gymnastics, baseball, and softball are also well
attended. Rocky also participates in local activities like cans around the oval. With all the
diversity at Rocky, there is sure to be something that interests everyone. Rocky provides its
students with multiple chances to get involved and any assistance their students could need.
Rocky has many ways for parents and volunteers to stay up-to-date and get involved.
Rocky puts out a newsletter, available under the parent tab on the website, that provides parents
with information about what is going on and activities they can participate in. They provide a
calendar for upcoming events and athletic games, as well as information about parent-teacher
conferences and other activities parents might want to attend. Rocky also provides resources for
parents under the counseling and career center tab. Under that tab, parents can find answers to
questions about college and their students experience at Rocky. They also provide literature that
parents might find useful for their childs schooling. Parents also have the chance to join the
School Accountability Committee (SAC). SAC is made up of parents, community members, and

school members. Their goal is to include parents and community members with the important
decisions about the education of students. Parents are encouraged to talk to any of the teachers
and faculty at Rocky if they have any questions. Parents are always welcome at Rocky, and in
fact, they are encouraged to get involved.
All the community building and outside involvement that Rocky encourages helps them
to develop school-wide and classroom policies that help with management and keeping the
school safe. The first thing that comes to mind when talking about appropriate student behavior
is the Lobo way. When both the teachers and students are invested in the same view, it makes
it easier to be on the same page. Teachers set up their classrooms so there is mutual respect and
understanding. Since working in a high school means dealing with young adults that means that
setting up a classroom to include respect is not always enough to get appropriate behavior. As a
result of this, Rocky also has a supportive security team. There are two Deans of Students on the
Administrative team that work with students to help them when they are struggling. They can
help teachers and students communicate and develop a plan that is beneficial for both the student
and the teacher. They can also work with students to develop goals to help students stay on track
with their academics. Another member of the security team is the School Resource Officer
(SRO). At Rocky, the SRO is not out of sight and out of mind. She actually gets involved in
some of the classes and will give presentations about risky behavior she has noticed at Rocky.
All the staff and students know her and know she is there to help. Rocky also has a campus
security officer that helps to keep the campus and the parking lots of Rocky safe.
Rocky tries to hinder all inappropriate behavior before it gets out of control however.
They provide their students with a wide variety of classes that are geared towards different
learning levels. Rocky offers 19 advanced placement classes for students that want to earn
college credit, and a voyager class for incoming students that may need additional help with
learning how to be successful in school. By providing a range of classes, students will be able to
find a level of academics that is appropriate for them and keeps them from getting frustrated and
disconnected. When students disconnect in a class that is when they have an opportunity to get in
trouble. All the different resources that are offered for struggling students can keep students on
track. Rocky provides clear expectations for their students and teaches them the skills and gives
them the resources to be successful. If students have a hard time talking to an adult, Rocky also
provides student peer counselling. The peer counselors do an amazing job of reaching out to
students that are struggling, finding the proper support for them, and even going to classes and
teaching lessons to help other students to become more accepting. That is one of the biggest
ways Rocky encourages appropriate student behavior.
What is the overall learning climate?
Rocky was the first school in Fort Collins to adapt the 4x4 block schedule. That means
students have the same four classes every day for 90 minutes. Classes that are usually a semester
long at traditional schools only take a quarter at Rocky. The classes that are usually a yearlong in
other schools are finished in a semester at Rocky. This gives students more of an opportunity to
take classes that interest them and to focus on a smaller amount of classes at a time. Due to the
fact the Rocky is on a block schedule and classes are 90 minutes that means the classroom has to
be interactive. Visiting any class at Rocky will provide the viewer with an example of the variety
of activities that happen during the lessons. It is very rare that a teacher will just be lecturing the
majority of the time. It is more typical that there might be a short lecture and then there is lots of
student involvement. There are discussions, silent research times, student projects, questioning,

and relationship building. Students are encouraged to ask questions and comment when it is
appropriate. Students tend to be very supportive of each other and open minded to other peoples
opinions. Teachers try to guide their students to discover answers on their own. The learning
climate at Rocky is usually very interactive and supportive.
What are the demographics of the school?
Rocky is ranked number 1,693 in the nation and has about a 19:1 student-teacher ratio.
They are made up of 52% male and 48% female students. Their total minority enrollment is
about 22% and their total economically disadvantaged families is about 27%. Based on test
scores theyre about 81% reading proficient, 50% math proficient, and they rate 28.6 on the
college readiness index. The ethnicity of Rocky breaks down as follows:
2% Asian
15% Hispanic
1% Black
79% White
3% two or more races
All the information for the demographics was found on:
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/14408
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/colorado/districts/poudre-school-district-r1/rocky-mountain-high-school-4144
Classroom Environment and the Students:
In my third period Financial Life Management class, there are 29 students 11 males and
18 females. The majority of the class is made up of juniors, since that is the year this class is
required. I have five students in my class that are seniors and the remaining 24 students are
juniors. There are also a variety of ethnic backgrounds in this class period. The majority of the
class is either Caucasian or Hispanic, but there is also a Native Hawaiian student as well as an
Asian-American student, an American Indian student, and a student that identifies as two or more
ethnicities. None of the students in this class have an IEP for modifications based on special
needs.
All of the students in this class are very outgoing and energetic. There isnt a single
student that is quiet and keeps to themselves. All of the students in the class are on good terms
and get along very well. This makes the class very enjoyable, but also hard to manage at times.
They are very talkative and ask many great questions, but it can also be a challenge to gain their
attention back after one student starts talking. To manage the high energy of this class, I have
used a variety of ways to get their attention back. Sometimes I will flick the lights, use a whistle,
or I have also used an air horn. I have also found that they benefit greatly from a brain break
sometime around the middle of class. If everyone has behaved they know they will be getting a
break where they are allowed to walk around and talk with each other. This helps to keep them
on task and to hold each other accountable so that they can get their break.
There are three students in the class that have had issues with attendance. I have had
individual conversations with them, and if that didnt help I would then call their parents. I was
able to influence two of the students to come to class and be on time just by talking to them.
However, one student still consistently comes about half an hour late every day. Talking to her
had no affect and when I called her parents they were just glad she was coming to class at all.

Once she comes to class she is usually able to do satisfactory work, however her quiz grades
suffer from her attendance in class. I will continue working with her to encourage her to come to
class on time. The remainder of the class comes on time and prepared to learn. It is a very high
energy and fun group of students, as well as great classroom management practice.