terra nova

Tino’s program helping students reach their academic goals

CAROLINE CHENG news editor

In Cupertino High School’s rigorous academic environment, administrative intervention through programs such as Terra Nova provide a safe haven for students to grow socially, emotionally and academically. With counseling support from student advocate Denise Salin, smaller classes and familial bonds with their peers, the Terra Nova Program empowers students to reach their high academic potential.

“Terra Nova creates a cohort of about 20 to 25 students from 10th grade and 11th grade, and those students have classes together. They have teachers that have been specifically chosen to support with the Terra Nova program,” Sean Coleman, Terra Nova World History teacher, said. “Because of those smaller classes, we’re able to work with students more often, get closer to students and be able to understand their academic needs a little better than we’d like for a typical class.”

Students begin the Terra Nova program upon entering 10th grade. Terra Nova students take three classes with other students in the program: World Literature (WL), World History (WH) and Terra Nova Life Skills. Similarly, all sophomores at Tino take the WL and WH courses, and the Terra Nova classes do the same work.

“The difference is just the timing of assignments, the pacing that we instruct with,” Coleman said. “We can change things to allow for a little bit more one-onone teacher-student interaction. So there are opportunities for us to analyze work more closely to give more specific help to students rather than helping the class as a whole, which can be really beneficial for some students.”

In their junior year, students take two Terra Nova classes: Terra Nova American Literature and 11th Grade Terra Nova Life Skills.

The Terra Nova Life Skills elective course provides dedicated time built into students’ schedules to develop strong study skills and homework habits. The program offers organizational, social and emotional support for students. The Life Skills course also provides help from tutors on homework and

“[Mr. Coleman] is always welcoming no matter what. It feels like he treats us like actual people, which is probably the most beneficial part of Terra Nova as a whole,” said Terra Nova student Mason Brown. “He treats us less like students and more as people, and I feel like that really helps us develop mostly as people.”

Terra Nova instructors hope that students who take advantage of the various program offerings during their sophomore and junior years will exit the program with confidence going into their senior year.

planning for college.

“[Terra Nova] is a nice time to be able to work with friends and other classmates on schoolwork and it really helps with stress levels when it comes to having a lot of schoolwork,” Jesse Williams, a Terra Nova student, said.

Throughout a student’s time in the program, the teachers work together with students to gain a better understanding of their needs and what they are looking to accomplish going forward.

“I’ve just seen students grow and take harder classes than they might have before that year because I was able to closely sit down with them and help with their writing,” Coleman said. “I help them to understand the skills that they need to be successful going forward. So that allowed them to push themselves, and that’s really satisfying to see”