Feel free to post questions about New Tech here. Many of the "nuts and bolts" of how the school will look and function on a day-to-day basis are being worked out, but we are happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have about this opportunity.
Also, feel free to email New Tech Principal Alan Veach -aveach@mccsc.edu- with questions or concerns you may have.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
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43 comments:
I am hoping that the model for admittance to this high school is not only based on the child's ability to excel in language/reading tasks. This is the current standard used for admittance to ALPS. I think children who are learning with dyslexia would do very well in this model with the tight teacher/student relationships and the emphasis on technology. Many children with dyslexia excel at understanding and working with technology.
That's a great question. New Tech is not for students with particular academic levels (high, low, or middle). New Tech is a model for teaching and learning in a student-centered, project oriented framework. We expect to have students across the spectrum in regards to current academic level. New Tech is more about how you want to learn, rather than what you already know or can do.
The admission process will be a simple lottery with minor weighting for key demographics (gender, race, etc) so as to accurately represent our community. Academic ability is not a criteria.
What are your thoughts on the curriculum? Do you have any specifics on what you plan to include?
No specifics yet. Certainly our curriculum will be consistent with state and discipline specific standards. I think everyone involved is very excited by the opportunity to think broadly about curricular questions: what students need to know, what they need to know how to do, and how we can address these needs in the most effective and engaging way. The “what” of a New Tech High School degree will not be as different as the “how”. Students will still read novels, learn the quadratic formula, perform biology labs, and study world history, but they will do so in ways that will challenge them to actively work with their education. One way to get a feel for the kind of things New Tech students will do is look at the student portfolios from The New Tech School in Napa, CA. (http://www.newtechhigh.org/Website2007/portfolios.html) While we will not be an exact replica of the Napa school, we will be working with their model of curricular and instructional delivery.
As an education major with a focus on community involvement and civic engagement, I am interested in to what extent community based projects and service learning will be incorporated into the curriculum at New Tech. Any ideas or examples?
Community involvement is a major part of the New Tech model. The original NT in Napa, CA, and our version in Bloomington, both represent responses, in part, to community and business concerns about modernizing education. Community involvement is integral to the success of the project-oriented framework of NT. NT teachers will do "externships" with local businesses and organizations to see what kinds of work people are engaged in on a day to day basis as a way of generating possible project scenarios and developing community partnerships. We also plan to set-up community-based evaluators for many of our projects. For example, we might do a project relating to green-space development, and the students' project might include creating and presenting a proposal or recommendation to the local planning commission. We look forward to the exposure our students will get to what real-world discussions really look like, as well as the chance for the community to share their expertise while getting exposure to the world of education. External, community-based evaluators also help foster a coach/mentor role between NT teachers and students. By making the audience for work real people outside the school, teachers become an ally to work WITH students, rather than an adversary to try to work around. We also see the creation of active and involved citizens as a key aim for our school. Our school is one that needs significant community support to succeed, and we plan on reciprocating that support by being active and visible contributors to the greater Bloomington area.
What about extra-curricular activites such as sports or band?
Will the NT students have the opportunity to participate in North or South's programs?
Exactly. For major extra curriculars like sports and music, New Tech students will have the ability to participate at their geographically home high school. In addition, New Tech students will have the ability to create clubs and activities specific to our school.
what is the student to teacher ratio?
Student enrollment will be capped at 100 students per class with four content-area teachers; we expect a ration of roughly 25:1. We expect, however, much greater teacher-student interaction than this ratio implies as the project-orientated framework allows for frequent and flexible grouping. Giving teachers the time to work with students in small groups or more individually.
I have 2 boys currently in 8th Grade. If they are to participate in band and sports, will transportation be available, or will it be the parents responsibility?
Also how are we to apply or take ourselves out of the "lottery" of selected students?
New Tech will be part of the MCCSC transportation system, and students will route through their geographical home high schools for bussing. Students involved in extra curriculars sponsored by their home high school will be able to use this transportation for practices etc.
I'd like to see a percentage of the children accepted be chosen by some other way than the lottery. Students that really want to attend should be able to "earn" the opportunity by some other means other than luck!
Wondering where NT will be located. Will any electives be offered? What will a typical day look like for these students. I have a 6th grade daughter entering bachelor next year. Any suggestions on how to prepare for NT based on the middle school cirriculum?
Location is still being determined. Possible options currently include housing NT in its own section of an existing high school, or a stand alone facility on Miller Drive. A final decision is expected in early November.
It is hard to say specifically what a "typical" day at New Tech would look like. Part of the appeal of this school design is that teachers will have the flexibility to alter the schedule to fit the needs of the current work being done, rather than trying to cram work into a rigid schedule. That being said, students will meet for classes on a regular rotation. Some of these classes may be paired up into interdisciplinary teams (English and History for example). Students may also have some unstructured time where they are free to meet with team members to work on current projects, or seek out teachers for additional instruction on difficult concepts. Our primary aim in terms of schedule is flexibility. We want to be able to accommodate rigorous and engaging projects, and we also want to give students the ability to learn to manage their own time like people do in the real world.
Electives will be offered. The exact method by which we will do this in part depends on location, as well as the way the program develops. One place where electives may come into play is for student's college credit courses. New Tech graduates are required to complete 12-15 hours of college level work (typically in the Jr. and Sr. years). We anticipate some students may choose to pursue particular interests to fulfill these program requirements.
How does one learn of job openings - at Monroe County Schools' site? Is it okay to send an unsolicited resume?
How will the new school be staffed? Will the teachers have professional development to assist them in incorporating this new mission? I am also curious to how community evaluators will be selected.
In regards to "d"'s question about the lottery - we certainly understand people's concerns about selection. We are a public school, and we want this opportunity to be available to as many students as possible. The lottery is the only way we can say every interested student had an equal chance to attend this school. Other selection processes, though sensible for other reasons, will necessarily favor students from certain backgrounds. We think NT will could be very positive for many kinds of students, not simply those who have parents with the time, resources, and background to navigate a more complex application process.
We are also excited by the number of questions about this as it indicates the community is as excited about NT as we are!
Apologies for the lateness in replying to matt and other's questions. Since NT is being attended by students who would have attended one of the two regular high schools, all hirings initially will be internal. That being said, interested parties may contact Mr. Veach to indicate an interest in possible openings. If situations arose in the future where we were not able to staff from internal applicants, outside applicants would be considered.
In response to "service tech" the school will initially be staffed through internal application. All NT faculty will go through extensive training in project based learning and the NT computer system. Training has already begun, will continue through the spring with a visit to Napa, CA, and will culminate this summer with a staff training in Grand Rapids, MI.
We are still working out how we will bring the community in as evaluators. Often the kind of project will point to likely evaluators (if students were working on a hypothetical project to design a new playground space, we might try to work with the Parks and Rec dept). Part of our mission as a staff is going to be to forge working relationships with many local businesses and non-profit organizations. I would imagine that many of these relationships will lead to potential evaluators.
Is this school across the nation or just in MCCSC? What would happen if for inststance I moved to California next year? Is there some possibility that I could still get the same teacheing out there as here?
I have a daughter who will be entering high school in the Fall of 2009. We are very interested in New Tech. I can't seem to find any info on how to apply for the program.
I think it would be most beneficial if you change the settings on this blog to allow community members without google accounts to post comments. This does not allow equal opportunity for all to participate in this conversation.
Clint - thanks for your comment. That was an oversight on my part at the blog settings level. I have changed the settings so users without google accounts may post.
Thanks for making this more accessible, Drew. I was confused at first ..... My concern is for my 8th grade daughter who is a violist and a fine arts student. How will these curricular needs be met through the New Tech initiative?
Jessica - thanks for your question! Interested parents and students can find a link to the application on the mccsc website:
http://www.mccsc.edu/ called "New Tech Application 9th Grade Class of 2012". The direct link is:
http://www.mccsc.edu/~aveach/Application%20Packet%2008-09%20(version%202).doc
Applications are also available in the guidance offices at all MCCSC middle schools and at the MCCSC administration building. All current 8th graders will also be receiving an application in the mail in December.
Karen - so sorry for the delay on this response - I did several one afternoon and thought this one was included in that!
As a faculty and staff, we all are big supporters and believers in the importance of the arts in our schools. We hope to incorporate artistic responses and approaches in our core curricular subjects with the project-based nature of our curriculum. We envision many scenarios where students’ musical and artistic interests can be fostered through projects allowing (or even requiring) artistic expression as part of the final product or educational outcome (visual arts in poster/brochure/web design, musical arts working with video sound tracks, etc.) The project based approach will also make core academic classes feel more student driven the way many art courses feel in traditional high schools.
That being said, just as New Tech is a choice for students, it will require students to make some choices. In addition to core curricular classes, we will incorporate electives and arts courses as our student population dictates/allows. The more student interest in, say music courses, the more of these we can offer. If we are indeed located at South next year, students may have the ability to take music or art courses during our “electives period” that will utilize courses South offers. Additionally, music and art courses could comprise some of the courses students choose to take at IU or Ivy Tech as part of their New Tech requirements. Additionally, we hope to foster a close working relationship with the local arts community. We believe New Tech can be a supportive educational environment for students with strong interests in the arts, even if they pursue portions of their formal arts study outside our facility.
We definitely see the balance parents and students are looking to strike here, and if you have more specific questions about your child's situation, don't hesitate to contact Alan Veach.
will the students then be eating in the south cafeteria as well if the school is located within south high school?
from an article i read in the herald times just a while back it seems like there is already some tension with new tech coming in and ousting the classrooms in the area at south in which new tech will be housed initially. does this seem like it will be a problem?
If we are at South, our students will possibly use South’s lunch period as their “elective period” (art, music, foreign language, etc) and take classes with South students. In that case, they would eat lunch with that class as part of the school day. This is not set in stone, but it looks like a probable scenario.
I don’t think our being at South will be a problem. The location for New Tech clearly will impact many people in the corporation, and there have been some concerns from South faculty whose classrooms will be affected. Despite those concerns, ultimately I believe we have a very professional staff across the corporation whose first priority is doing what is best for kids in a given situation.
Hello! My daughter will be attending New Tech in the fall and is very excited! I was just reading how the lunches will be handled if the students were to be at Bloomington South. But now that they are going to be in a stand alone site will there be a cafeteria or will we be responsible for sending lunches? Thanks!
Since New Tech will not be at south if students do sports they may have practice in the mornings. Will we have to come pick them up after we drop them off at south to take them to new tech or will there be a bus that takes them to the school?
We will have cafeteria services at our new facility. The plan currently is to have "satellite" service where the food is prepared off site and transported/served at our building.
No additional driving will be necessary for parents. New Tech will work within the existing MCCSC bus system. With our new location, there will be buses to and from both North and South each day. Students who take the bus will ride to their geographic home school (North or South) and then take a bus to New Tech.
I just mailed the application for my son. I was told that there were still a few openings left. I was wondering when I will find out if he was accepted.
Angie
How will enrollment be handled for 2009 and on? Will existing students be enrolled automatically or will there be another "lottery" if attendance is over 100?
I believe there are a few openings left. At this point we are processing new applictions as they come in, so I would assume you would hear word of his accecptance in the next few days.
There will not be a complete lottery for students who will be sophomores in 2009. Students enrolled in New Tech are guaranteed a place in subsequent years. We will only add to the class of 2008 as space permits. There will of course be a new lottery for the incoming class of 2009.
How will you handle future sibling enrollments? Our daughter is a member of the New Tech class of 2012 (yeah!) and we have two younger sons. If they decide to attend New Tech, will they placed in the lottery like everyone else? Will siblings of current students be accepted before the lottery? What is the policy?
Good question. Just like the original New Tech in Napa, we believe it is important that families feel a connection and a sense of belonging to their school. Younger siblings of New Tech students will be guaranteed a spot without going through the lottery system. Siblings will not be REQUIRED to go to New Tech of course, but they will be able to do so if they choose.
I have just a couple of questions. I am currently a 7th Grader and I am looking to attend New Tech next year (My sister has been accepted this year. YAY!!!).
I have been hearing various rumors about New Tech, most of which say that for the first year, they will be in Bloomington High School South. Is that true, or do you have your own building?
Also, I have heard that there are limited electives. Personally I like Choir, Spanish, and Cheerleading. I was just wondering if New Tech will have a choir, foreign languages classes, and a cheer squad.
Hi Kaitlyn, glad to hear you are thinking about high school already and considering New Tech! To answer your questions:
1. We DO have our own building! It is west of downtown on Patterson in what used to be a furniture store. They are just starting the remodeling work, but we are all VERY excited – the space should be EXCELLENT!
2. New Tech will have fewer electives than either of the comprehensive high schools. Especially in the freshmen and sophomore years, students’ course schedules will mostly contain “core” academic classes like English, math, social studies, science, a foreign language, and computer applications. Students WILL have the opportunity to take electives through their studies at New Tech. A huge part of NT is going to be flexibility.
We are really trying to look at the complete student, their needs, and their possibilities. Some elective work will come as students earn their NT college credits at IU or Ivy Tech, some students may take online courses to work on more individual interests, and we are looking at ways students can earn high school credits through activities that they participate in beyond the traditional school day.
As for your specific interests, we will be offering a foreign language that students can take at NT. We are still working things out with MCCSC and our program to see which language will be offered on site. Some students may take other languages other places (IU/Ivy Tech). It is unlikely that NT will have a formal choir “course,” though student interest may drive the creation of one or of various student music groups/clubs. Since cheerleading is an extra curricular sport, NT students will have the opportunity to cheer at their geographic “home high school” whether that is North or South.
are there any openings left for the freshman class
Yes - we do have some openings at this time. Our current numbers are in the mid to low 90s (with the cap set at 100) and we expect this list to ebb and flow a little between now and the start of next year. We definitely have openings currently and are accepting interested students on a first come, first served basis.
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