Assistant Principal of Union Public School, Estella Evans Hamilton, observed countless students struggling to navigate high school. Recognizing a significant gap in students’ understanding of the importance of their high school transcripts, she embarked on a mission to empower students, leading to the development of G-SAP Life in 2016.
G-SAP Life is a process-driven program designed to instill vital life skills in students. The school emphasizes the importance of transcripts, teaching them how to calculate their GPAs and guiding them through effective goal-setting. This innovative approach places ownership of academic performance squarely in the hands of students, fostering continuous awareness of their GPA and credit status throughout their high school journey.
“G-SAP Life’s process incorporates setting goals, writing an action plan, and working the plan. Provides students the time to reflect on prior GPA goals, calculate their current GPA, and set their next GPA goal of one letter grade higher. Making the necessary plan adjustments to achieve the goal. G-SAP Life moves students from unaware, and unmotivated to engaged, and empowered!” Estella states, “The beauty of G-SAP Life is its built-in cadence of student interaction with the process every four and a half weeks, in line with their progress report. With each interaction, the students invest 15 to 20 minutes. The students understand the importance of a transcript, earning credits, and building solid GPAs. Additionally, the students’ investment of 160 minutes a school year yields a return that is exponentially greater.”
G-SAP Life is grounded in its mission statement, which emphasizes the importance of equipping students with a pathway to empowerment through self-determination and awareness while engaging and enabling them to succeed in high school. Life in ‘G-SAP Life’ is the ‘Life skill’ for a ‘Lifestyle,’ as shared by the assistant principal. The school takes inspiration from John Hattie’s research, particularly the Hattie effect, which identifies self-reported grades and expectations as having the most substantial impact on student achievement.
Estella Evans Hamilton aims to achieve 100% graduation and career-ready students. The results of G-SAP Life since its inception in 2016 speak volumes. In the first year of implementation, 85% of students graduated to 10th grade with credit sufficiency for the first time in a decade. Even in the post-COVID year of 2022, with students returning to a traditional school year after the global pandemic, 85% achieved credit sufficiency before credit-recovery summer school sessions.
"As I witness the transformative impact of G-SAP Life within our community, I firmly believe in the need for a wider reach. The potential is undeniable, and our journey doesn't end at our current location; it's a beacon that should illuminate the educational path for students far beyond our horizons," states Estella Evans Hamilton, who has been in the field of education for over 30 years. With a mission to create graduates who are highly proficient in soft skills needed for the corporate environment such as goal setting, action planning, and plan adjustments.
As G-SAP Life School embarks on its transformative journey to empower students and reshape not only the landscape of high school education but also post-graduate workforces, it extends a call for strategic partnerships. “I believe that collaborative efforts with like-minded organizations, businesses, and educational institutions can amplify the impact of our innovative program,” the principal adds.
Media Contact:
Name: Estella Evans Hamilton
Email: [email protected]
Original Source of the original story >> G-SAP Life Navigates High School With Purpose And Precision
