36. Creating Community Within a Larger School with Mike Haykin

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As educators, we all want to see our students feeling valued, heard, and thriving in their education. When it comes to larger schools, this becomes a bigger challenge as more students face being force-fed a curriculum that doesn’t necessarily work for them. Our kids are diverse, with individual needs and abilities.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What can we do to create the community in larger schools that these students need?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This week’s guest joins me to talk about the solution they’ve been implementing, and it’s one I’m very familiar with: Creating a school-within-a-school (SWAS). Listen in as Mike Haykin tells us about the success of his SWAS, the Options Program at Seattle Academy, and the benefits it’s had for the students who have opted in to the program.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">About Mike Haykin:</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mike is the assistant head and former director of learning services at</span> <a href= "https://www.seattleacademy.org/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Seattle Academy</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, a prominent local independent school. I was excited to learn that he has led the creation of their new Options program, a school-within-a-school for high school students.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can follow Seattle Academy (SAAS) and learn more about them on</span> <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/seattleacademy/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Facebook</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">,</span><a href= "https://twitter.com/SeattleAcademy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and</span> <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/seattleacademy/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Instagram</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jump