One of the advantages of a smaller high school is the opportunity to create a school culture that emphasizes community. It is the goal of the staff of Archbishop Romero High School to create a school environment in which all students feel that they belong to a learning community of support and friendship, with a variety of activities to appeal to all.
Vision
Archbishop Romero High School is a “Christ-centred Professional Learning Community.” What this means is that the staff works together in teams to collectively pursue continuous school improvement. Each team determines specific goals to achieve, over an identified period of time. The teachers collaborate and share beliefs and goals; they share ideas, knowledge, and techniques to help improve the teaching and learning that happens in the classroom. They share a common mission and philosophy to create a culture of learning within the school. The teachers are continuously learning and dedicated to student success. They believe that all students can learn and that teachers can make a difference.
In a learning community, the staff members recognize the importance of the individual student. They are committed to understanding the uniqueness of each student. Attention is paid to the whole child, including academic progress, behaviour, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This is consistent with the five core values of Catholic education: dignity and respect, honesty, loyalty, fairness, and communal and personal growth.
All students have gifts and not all students learn in the same ways, thus it is important that the school offers diversity in learning activities so as to appeal to each individual learner. All of the teachers at Archbishop Oscar Romero High School are expected to ensure that a large portion of classroom activity is directed toward student-centered learning activities that include team collaboration, as well as providing students with opportunities to work on projects into which they have input. Students are also able to explore online learning through Archbishop Oscar Romero High School’s partnership with Revelation Online (Edmonton Catholic’s virtual high school), where deemed appropriate.
