Tomorrow's high schools likely to resemble today's colleges
From the Arizona Republic ...
American high schools are
on the brink of changes that could make them nearly unrecognizable to
students who just got their diplomas. Gone may be the large
campuses teeming with kids and the classmates of similar age on similar
schedules that have them all graduating together. Campuses could be converted into small, specialized schools, and
students could have individual learning plans built around their
declared high school major.
If it sounds more like college, that appears to be the goal. The national movement to reshape high school is being championed by
educators and sought aggressively in some states, such as Florida. It
is happening in small ways in Arizona but likely will pick up pace as
the effort and ideas spread .... "The business community sees this as a matter of crisis," said Susan
Carlson of the Arizona Business and Education Coalition. "There is a
growing awareness, and we're having to come to the political will that
kids have got to be more focused."
Among the changes being promoted or tested:
• Small, specialized high schools. This week, the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation gave North Carolina $10.4 million to
develop 150 small, rigorous high schools focused on biotechnology,
information technology, international studies and engineering. It is
the state's second such grant. Such schools are being tested in other
states.
• High school career tracks. Florida just made it mandatory
for high school students to declare majors as soon as Grade 8. They are
one of about six states that already require or encourage high school
students to focus course work. In Arizona, the trend is evident with
Phoenix Union High School District's bioscience high school.
• Technology as king. Technology is getting cheaper,
broad-based and rapidly interconnected. Some schools are distributing
laptops to students. This week, Mississippi's schools chief proposed
mandating that all ninth-graders take at least one online course.
Phoenix Union is piloting a computer program that can instantly grade
essays and tell students about problems, such as grammar.
The
challenges to spread the changes throughout the state and nation are
immense. The price includes giving up nostalgic ties to senior-class
camaraderie and mass graduation ceremonies; plus, retraining teachers
and revamping university teacher colleges. To work, schools must provide a multitude of courses. They must push
the brightest students to move quickly into challenging work and all
students into college-level work.
In
Arizona, half of the students in the public school system live in
poverty. In 2005, 40 percent to 50 percent of them were performing at
grade level in Arizona schools, compared with 70 percent to 80 percent
of their wealthier peers. Business and education leaders say
far too many students are falling behind in a less-than-adequate high
school curriculum, which bodes poorly for meeting the needs of the
future economy.
The whiff of panic among experts and leaders is reminiscent of 1957,
when the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite sent a scare racing through
the United States and launched the space race. Now, Americans are mustering a new political will that could lead to the educational equivalent of a moon shot.
Exciting Times We Live In! JG
9:41:08 AM 
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