About The Bijou School

2009/2010 Daily Schedule

- End of Block Dates

The Purpose Of The Bijou School, Why We Use Points, & How Points Are Earned

"The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity; of life; of the marvelous structure of reality..."  - Albert Einstein (from the Personal Memoir of William Miller, 1955)

A Short History of The Bijou School

The Bijou program started in 1994 with fifty students as EOP East in an effort to meet the needs of students in the eastern portion of the school district.

In the fall of 1998 EOP East moved to a location on East Bijou, increased enrollment to 100 students and became the Bijou Alternative Program.

In the 1999/2000 school year the Bijou Alternative Program was charged with developing strategies to better serve the needs of all students using a career-based focus.

In the fall of 2000 the Bijou Alternative Program made a temporary move to the Tesla building, awaiting relocation to the west-side site. 

In the fall of 2001, we moved to 730 No. Walnut, one block south of Bristol Elementary.

In the fall of 2003, we officially changed our name to The Bijou School.

In the fall of 2009, we moved out of our Walnut Street location and into the historic Whittier Elementary School building on West Kiowa, the oldest building in the district. The central section was built in 1901. Coincidentally, the street that runs by the rear of the building is Bijou, so we feel we are where we belong, again!

The Historic Whittier School on West Kiowa, now the home of The Bijou School at Whittier.

The Purpose Of The Bijou School,
                                     Why We Use Points,
                                             & How Points Are Earned...

The Bijou School serves students who are unwilling or unable to meet the academic pace or social requirements of the traditional high school.

• Students may enroll at The Bijou School for the purpose of:

  • Credit recovery for graduation

  • Dropout prevention

  • Early graduation

  • The opportunity to work at a pace more in line with the student’s own abilities or preferences.

  • The opportunity to work in an atmosphere more in line with the student’s personal needs, such as but not limited to:

-    Small class sizes,

-    Quiet classrooms,

-    Safe environment,

-    Individualized instruction,

-    Specialized instruction,

-    Computer-based instruction,

-    Computer-aided instruction.

• The Bijou School provides students with the opportunity to graduate from high school with a minimum “B” average or better.

• Students at The Bijou School are expected to maintain a minimum pace of attainment of academic credits:

  • Students’ academic progress is measured by assigning “points” as proxies for grades to measure their pace.

    • Points will be earned by doing standards-based academic work aligned with district, state, and federal minimum proficiency requirements.

    • Points will be earned when students do academic work at or above the mastery level of 80%, earning a “B” for the course, or at or above a higher proficiency level of 90%, thus earning an "A" for the course.

• Earning 100 points in any subject will earn a credit in that subject with a letter grade of "B" or "A" depending on the student's level of mastery, except for those courses that traditionally earn a grade of "G" such as Student Assistant, Student Council, Phys Ed, etc.

¤   100 points per credit equates to approximately 80 hours spent in the average high school classroom during a semester plus 20 hours of extra time spent doing homework in order to earn a semester credit in a course of study.

• Maintaining the minimum pace of 100 points per grading period of approximately 4 weeks will result in graduation from high school in an average of 5 years or less for the student who starts with no credits and completes the course of study.

• Students who have the ability and the desire may work at a faster pace, empowering the most motivated or academically proficient students to graduate in a much shorter period of time.