Rows of Desks and Lectures? Too Old-School

By Rebecca Neal, The Indianapolis Star

Mar. 12–Hundreds of Indiana high school students will begin classes this fall to discover there are more ways to learn than through lectures and worksheets.

Instead, they will use computers on every assignment — to design Web sites, create presentations and build computer models. They will work in teams on projects that might cover multiple subjects, such as English and history.

They also will be able to “fire” peers who don’t do their share of the work.

It’s all part of a new way of learning that six Indiana school districts have adapted from a California-based model and plan to introduce during the next two years.

The so-called New Technology high schools employ techniques that resemble the working world more than a traditional classroom, say New Tech administrators.

“This school is what every young person needs to be able to survive in the new, 21st century,” said Nancy Sutton, senior fellow at the University of Indianapolis’ Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning, which has helped coordinate the arrival of New Tech in Indiana.

Indianapolis Public Schools, Indianapolis’ Decatur Township Schools and Rochester Community Schools aim to open New Tech high schools this fall. Perry Township Schools in Marion County and school districts in Bloomington and Columbus want to open New Tech schools in 2008.

Some schools will target underperforming students, while others will apply the model to the entire student body. The core objective is the same: to engage students who increasingly say they’re bored by traditional teaching techniques.

A recent survey of Indiana high school students found only 2 percent said they never get bored in school.

But New Tech high schools, which date to 1996, have their share of critics. Some worry about the cost of the latest technology. Others are concerned that by emphasizing groups, some students will be left behind.

“You shouldn’t group kids together like this,” said Rochester parent Jeff Foust, 43, a farmer who is concerned his children will fall behind as they try to help less-motivated students in their groups.

“You should adapt to how all kids learn best instead of a mentality that benefits most students.”

The first New Tech high school was developed by business and community leaders trying to create a better-prepared work force in Napa, Calif., in the mid-1990s. Now there are 25 schools in eight states.

The school’s instructional model — project-based learning — requires students to work together in groups for every class, using technology to complete assignments.

“There’s lots of activity — kids are not just sitting in rows of desks,” said Susan Schilling, chief executive officer of the New Technology Foundation, which oversees the replication of the schools nationwide. “There are groups clustered around computer desks and teachers circulating around the room.”

Collaborations between subjects are encouraged. An American studies class at New Tech-Napa, for example, combines English and history. In one class, students studying the Great Depression read “The Grapes of Wrath” and created a newspaper that could have been on newsstands during the 1930s.

New Tech high schools typically require students to complete an internship and take courses at a local community college during their junior and senior years.

The New Tech schools also try to maintain smaller sizes so students feel more connected. Most New Tech schools have 400 students.

“We break down barriers,” Schilling said. “The small school allows students to mingle instead of segregating themselves into cliques.”

Project-based learning is as important as high-tech equipment in making New Tech schools different from traditional schools.

At the beginning of every project, student groups draw up a contract outlining what’s expected of each member. If a member fails to live up to the contract’s terms, the other group members can fire that student.

A fired student has to complete a modified assignment; repeated firings can hurt the student’s final grade.

“It’s a whole different culture. When students work in teams, they don’t want to let their peers down,” Schilling said.

New Tech-Napa junior Jessie Williamson, 17, said working in groups teaches students leadership skills.

“Someone has to present themselves in the leadership role and take charge, or nothing will ever get done,” she said.

It’s relatively early to tell if the schools work. Only four New Tech schools were created before 2003.

The original Napa school has a graduation rate of more than 95 percent, with 89 percent of students enrolling in a community or four-year college. Of those students, about 40 percent pursue science, technology or engineering degrees.

School officials say New Tech has succeeded by maintaining the district’s high graduation rate — Napa Valley Unified Schools has about a 95 percent graduation rate — while working with students who floundered in more traditional school settings.

IPS, which has operated under the small-schools concept for several years, studied the New Tech concept for about 18 months before deciding to open a school on the Tech High School campus this fall.

Assistant Superintendent Jane Kendrick said she hopes the New Tech model will help turn around the district’s dropout rate — more than half of Tech’s students didn’t graduate in 2005-06 — and spur more students to attend college.

“What this community is hungry for is to see kids graduate and go to college,” she said.

Other Indiana districts opening New Tech high schools, such as Perry and Decatur townships in Indianapolis, are attracted to the small-schools concept as a way to boost test scores and their districts’ reputations. Columbus and Bloomington school officials think the New Tech model ultimately will help improve their regional economies.

No district is taking as big a gamble on New Tech as Rochester, a town of 6,400 that is 45 miles south of South Bend. While the five other districts are opening separate New Tech schools, Rochester is converting its lone high school into a New Tech model.

In Fulton County, where 4 percent of adults ages 18-25 have at least a bachelor’s degree, preparing students to make a living supporting their families in Rochester is crucial, said Superintendent Debra Howe.

“We’re most concerned about the students who will be staying here after graduation,” she said. “With the economy, we’re trying to see that the next generation doesn’t keep losing their standard of living.”

The New Technology Foundation requires districts to phase in enrollment and can step in if it is unhappy with a school. School districts retain control of the New Tech schools, which are public schools and subject to educational requirements that other public schools in the state must follow. The schools are funded through grants and money allotted in the district’s general funds.

Officials also require partnerships between schools and the business community for funding internships and mentoring relationships. TechPoint, Rolls-Royce and FedEx have signed on to help Indiana’s New Tech schools.

The cost of the schools has been an issue. Sutton, the University of Indianapolis fellow, said technology and licensing fees for the new tech curriculum usually cost about $100,000 for the first year. Principals will need to look for grants and funding from nonprofits to stretch their budgets, she said.

“We’re not an affluent town. It’s going to cost a whole lot of money, and if it fails, then what are we going to do?” asked Foust, the Rochester parent.

On that point, officials don’t have an answer that will bring much comfort to parents like Foust. Schilling said the foundation knows that straight-A students often struggle when entering New Tech schools.

They are forced to work with others instead of relying on extra credit to bolster their grades, she said, but many adapt over time.

“We don’t just make progress for the brightest students, we make progress for all students,” Schilling said.

NEW TECH SCHOOLS

California

–New Technology High School, Napa

–Anderson New Technology High School, Anderson

–Technology High School, Rohnert Park Mare Island Technology (MIT)

–Sacramento New Technology High School, Sacramento

–Leonardo DaVinci High School, Davis

–Castlemont Business & Information Technology School, Oakland

–Arleta New Technology High School for Environmental Studies, Los Angeles

–Jordan New Technology High School, Los Angeles

–New Technology High School for Student Empowerment, Los Angeles

–Los Angeles School of Global Studies, Los Angeles

Alaska

–Highland Tech High, Anchorage

Colorado

–Welby New Technology High School, Denver

Illinois

–Little Village Infinity Math, Science and Technology High School — a New Technology High School, Chicago

Louisiana

–New Orleans New Technology High School, New Orleans

–Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson Parish

North Carolina

–CAMTECH High School, Camden

–New Technology High School at Garinger, Charlotte

–Robeson County IT High School, Pembroke

–Cherokee New Technology High School, Cherokee

–Scotland High School of Math, Science and Technology, Laurinburg

–East Wake School of Integrated Technology, Wendell

Oregon

–BizTech High School, Portland

–North Eugene School of IDEaS, Eugene

Texas

Akins New Technology High School, Austin

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