On September 4, 2007, South Lyon East High School opened its doors to 440 enthusiastic students.  That day marked the culmination of nearly five years of work from parents, staff, students, administration and Board members that used research and best-practice models to develop the design philosophy for our second high school.  The committee work was guided by the philosophy that stated "...The educational process will take place within boundaries of an inclusive learning community that supports the integration of academics, professional technical pathways (grouping of elective areas) and individual interest/goals to promote personal growth, fulfillment and development of Habits of Mind ..."

As a result of this work, South Lyon East High School is designed around four academic pathways which structures the school into smaller learning communities and are aligned with the State required Career Pathways for high schools.  The four academic pathways are Wonderment, Precision, Persistence and Creativity.  The elective courses that correspond to each of the pathways make up the center of the respective pathway.  The four core areas:  science, social studies, English/language arts, and mathematics surround the center of each pathway.  This design will support students and staff in making connections and finding relationships among the academics and link learning to the elective courses.  Each pathway wing is equipped with classrooms and Pathway Project Planning Rooms and Project Studios.  The school covers approximately 313,500 square feel with an optimal capacity of 1200 students.  Our building is designed to accommodate demands of future growth.

The focus of the school and pathways is on the academics and not on careers.  This design supports students and staff in making connections and finding relationships along the academics and link learning to the elective courses.  To facilitate this link, the school selected an integrated/universal theme (a theme that connects or unifies learning across all content areas).  Students will learn how the essential concepts in each content area are related to the selected theme and understand the relevance of school learning to life beyond school.  Students also have the opportunity to learn through the problem based learning (PBL) approach in some of their elective courses.  The PBL approach is focused on experiential learning (minds-on-hands-on) and organized around the investigations and resolutions of complex, real world problems.

Student achievement has been a major focus at South Lyon East High School.  Successful supportive academic programs include:

• The successful implementation of the "Cougar Hour" ~ an hour dedicated once a week to tutoring, support, and review within all academic subjects.
• "ASAP" ~ the after school assistance program, offering tutorial assistance prior to mid terms and final exams.
• National Honor Society has increased its membership yearly.
• South Lyon East High School hosts an annual Academic Awards dinner where students receive their Academic Letter for high academic achievement.

We are also  proud of our launch of Cultures of Thinking as well as the work done by staff related to preparation for the Common Core.  Algebra staff have realigned the curriculum through our district Subject Area Committee and units have been implemented in classrooms; Language Arts teachers have all completed training in argumentative writing and are piloting units to the Common Core.  All teachers have been working on embedding Common Core literacy strategies across the curriculum.

Beyond our core academic subjects, we are also very proud of the caliber and achievements of our band, choir, art, world language and technology programs.

South Lyon East has been designated as a "Michigan Reward School" based on our recent student performance.

South Lyon East High School is proud of the academic achievement and success of its students.  Documented test scores on standardized tests demonstrate continued growth and academic success by students.  Our graduating seniors achieve scholarships exceeding a half-million dollars.  Students desire to excel and help others achieve is demonstrated through the ASAP program and the new Freshmen Mentoring Program, all volunteer efforts by students for students.

The staff at SLEHS demonstrates strong leadership as they collaborate with each other to explore, learn and develop strategies, activities, and interventions to aid in student achievement.  Their dedication and commitment is evident as teachers remain long after normal school hours working with students, both individually and in small groups, to provide support and assistance.  They demonstrate the desire to work with students as they volunteer to be club advisors, sponsors and lead student activities.

We completed our first year of our 5 year AdvancedEd (formerly North Central Association) process. During the year, we developed our Mission Statement, Belief Statement, and School Improvement goals. These goals were developed by surveying teachers, as well as by reviewing both MEAP and classroom assessment data. The three goals that we will focus on during this process are:

1. All students will be proficient in reading comprehension when engaged in both narrative and expository text.
2. All students will be proficient in mathematics reasoning and fluency.
3. All students will be proficient in writing.