In the real world, people don't work in one spot on one subject for an hour and then turn in a homework assignment. They work together to solve real-life problems. So how do you better prepare students for the real world? You design a school to emulate it.
That's the idea behind the New Tech family of schools, one of which will be opening in the Ypsilanti Public school district this September. Ypsilanti New Tech High School at Ardis, in a former elementary school, will help students learn by working on projects that solve problems that integrate subject matter, explains Cory McElmeel, Interim Dean of Instructional Services.
The basis of New Tech is engaging students in context. When presented with a program, they create a know and a need-to-know list, including what they yet need to learn to complete the project. Everything is based on the required Michigan curriculum.
However, it's not done in typical one-class-per-hour fashion. Longer classes integrate subject matter: Biolit will be a combination of biology and English language arts, perhaps studying literature about ecology or genetics. Other combinations are Geoart (geometry and three-dimensional art), and Historytech, combining American history and geography with technology and communications. Double-sized classrooms will accommodate two teachers apiece, one for each of the integrated subjects.
New Tech will also help students prepare for college; graduates are required to earn college credit and complete an internship. College freshmen often see a drop in grades as they get used to their new freedoms, and "part of New Tech is to get students to understand those freedoms," McElmeel says.
Among the updates that had to be done was remodeling bathrooms to high-school size and installing lockers and windows to ready the school for its fall opening. A science lab will be built next year. Wireless Internet and additional electrical outlets were installed for MacBook computers, refurbished from previous teacher use, that each student will use. Interactive whiteboards were also brought over from now-closed schools, saving money.
"Having a laptop is key for students," McElmeel explains, enabling students to congregate and move around to solve a problem. "That desktop becomes a barrier between the students. Laptops can be moved aside."
Enrollment is capped at 125 and includes a range of students, not just those who happen to be technologically minded. "It works for all the gamut of students," McElmeel says. "This program, because it's built on a need-to-know curriculum and working in groups, it works for any type of student."
Ypsilanti New Tech was supported by grant funds, including a $450,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Community Foundation for new software and professional development. The facility update came from leftover bond funds.
"We do feel very lucky in Ypsilanti," he says of receiving the funding. "It's key to us. We would not have been able to bring this awesome program to our district."
Ardis, at Ellsworth Road near Hewitt Road in Ypsilanti Township, was closed by the district in 2005 as part of a budget-cutting move.
Source: Cory McElmeel, interim dean of instructional services for Ypsilanti New Tech High School at Ardis
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
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