|
|
HTHL Internship and College Advising Institute HTH and HTHI Annual MANPOWER Academic Internship Showcase
October 15, 2005
|
HTHL Network NewsIssue #7, October/November, 2004 1. City High School Opens Doors On September 20th, 2004, City High School in Tucson, Arizona was proud to open its doors to 85 9th and 10th grade students. By 2006, the school plans to be a full 9-12 grade program. City High School has been in partnership with High Tech High Learning as network school since their initial planning phase, and has participated in numerous High Tech High Learning institutes and seminars in San Diego, California. The first week of classes at City High was an exciting time for staff and students as classes were held in conference rooms at a local hotel while the final interior renovations were being completed at the school site. This change in venue lent an opportunity for students and teachers to organize several team building activities and off-site retreats to get to know one another while building a thriving City High student and teacher culture. City High School is committed to the Tucson Small School Project , a non-profit organization created to develop several small charter schools whose focus is primarily on professional development for improved practices within the school reform movement. The school's philosophy and curriculum is centered within place-based learning whereby students engage in community based projects also known as CityWorks, and serve as active citizens in the Tucson community. Additionally, City High School students are taught to think beyond the standard framework, and are engaged in the "Habits of Heart and Mind," in which students strive for the lifelong pursuit in the acquisition of knowledge through evidence, the use of multiple perspectives, and collaboration with others. 
Community partnerships and programs have continued to
develop and flourish at the school. Technology and innovative
learning techniques within project based learning
will be further broadened as the school year continues.
Personalization, providing students with challenging academic
curriculum, building leadership and diversity, and
connecting with the community are at the forefront of
City High School's first year goals. High Tech High
Learning will remain close with City High as the organization
continues to provide a host of professional development
opportunities and technical assistance to the school
in service to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for
Education. The future outlook for collaboration and
mutual opportunities for ongoing collaboration through
the use of High Tech High's design principles between
High Tech High Learning and City High to improve student
learning is encouraging. For more information
about City High School, please visit www.cityhighschool.org.2. HTH Study Group Revamps Advisory, Develops Resource Guide Thanks to the work of a faculty study group, High Tech High has redesigned its advisory program around the "Four C's" of Community, Culture, College, and Career. Over the course of the year each advisory now participate in some required activities pertaining to each theme. Students for each grade have an activity checklist for each year in advisory. Each advisory has the flexibility to create or choose other activities that relate to each theme. Under the new structure, advisory groups now meet once a week for one hour, plus two other times per month in a variety of community meetings or "advisory buddy group" meetings, where groups team up for special activities. "In the past, advisory has often seemed like an afterthought," notes Jesse Wade, leader of the HTH Study Group on Advisory. "Advisors wanted to manage the agenda for their own groups, but they also wanted material to work with. Now, every month in a faculty meeting, the study group introduces new material related to the four themes. One of our most successful recent events was a College Day on which every advisory group went out to visit one or more colleges in the San Diego area and as far away as Los Angeles. Students visited admissions offices, went on tours, and even received T-shirts at a variety of public and private colleges." The new advisory structure and activities are documented in an advisory binder given to all staff members. The binder keeps growing, as study group members and others contribute designs for new activities. Binder materials will be posted soon in the Resource Center section of the HTH web site. Stay tuned!  3. HTHI Crosses BorderHigh Tech High International (HTHI) accomplished its first border crossing in October when 25 tenth-graders traveled to Playas, Mexico, to participate in World Water Monitoring Day along with high school students from Tijuana, Playas, Mexico City, Monterey, and Pueblo, along with educators from Chile and Uruguay. All proceedings were conducted in Spanish, as students learned how to test water and learned about the water cycle and water use issues in the Colorado River watershed. The trip to Playas was part of a larger border studies project involving tenth grade students at HTHI, led by the teacher teams of Rachel Ching/Jen Peterson and Vivian Fung/Ross Roemer. In the end, students will create a documentary or music video based on original research, exploring a specific border issue. Brian Delgado, Dean of Students at HTHI, was particularly impressed with the way HTHI's Latino students emerged as leaders on the trip. He reports that when the bus got lost in Playas, one of the students, Roberto Prado, directed the group to the police station, contacted the event director via cell phone, got directions, and led the group to the site. Delgado expects this to be just the first of many such "border crossings," literal and figurative, where a broad range of students will have a chance to study important issues, exercise leadership and find their voice.  4. Network Educators Attend
HTHL ResidencyTwenty-eight educators from the HTHL network took part in a teacher residency in San Diego on October 13- 15. The first of three planned for this academic year, the residency offered network teachers and administrators a first-hand look at the HTH design principles as practiced at High Tech High, High Tech Middle, and High Tech High International. Visiting colleagues were paired with High Tech High "ambassadors" for classroom observation and reflection, and attended a variety of elective sessions and special events as well. The essential question for the residency was, "How do we meet the needs of all our students through rigorous project-based learning?" All participants-guests and ambassadorsbrought to the residency their own variations on this question, such as, "How does one fnd time to plan and implement PBL with presentations of learning and include standards, social studies content, "catch up" materials for students who are behind, and make it cohesive and rigorous?" Participant reactions to the residency emphasized the importance of one-on-one interactions with HTH teachers and students, where one can see and discuss specific projects, strategies, and outcomes: "We see that POL's are critical-and that we can manage them!" "I got ideas for content implementation through Socratic seminars and debates." "I could see how important it is that students own the learning." "It was important to see how HTH teachers conduct team meetings." "I was reassured to see that HTH is not perfect. We share common problems." Additional residencies are planned for January 30-February 1 and March 9-11, 2005. 5. HTHL Completes "Reverse Review" High Tech High Learning is pleased to report that we have received feedback from the majority of our network sites through the "Reverse Review" process we described in September's newsletter. Overall, the feedback was positive. In particular, our residencies, Summer Institute, site visits, and school quality review process received high marks. Network affiliates find the design principles helpful to guiding shared work, but flexible enough to be adapted or augmented to meet individual site needs. One area that we will continue to improve upon is communication - being clear about our expectations of sites and the resources and technical assistance that we are able to provide. Although leaders of network sites find our website resources helpful, a few commented that it could be used to greater advantage. Stay tuned for a revamped, more user-friendly HTHL Resource Center, which will be linked to the new front page of our website! The staff of High Tech High Learning appreciates your feedback and we will incorporate it into our personal work plans going forward. As always, your questions and suggestions are welcome at any time. 6. Site Updates City High School, Tucson, AZ City High School teachers and students have been working together to establish "norms" or guidelines they can use to strengthen their school community. Each advisory generated a list of norms which were then reviewed as a whole school. CHS Norms were then narrowed down to the following list of seven: allow others to share ideas without fear of ridicule or judgment; respect other people and other cultures; respect the property of others and the school; create a calm environment; be open-minded; have a sense of humor; and resolve conflicts peacefully. Meanwhile, CHS City Works students have been heading out on foot to explore the community resources, including local art studios and galleries, health care organizations, and community colleges. A number of individuals and departments at the University of Arizona are working with CHS teachers to enhance the curriculum. City Works students have been heading to the University of Arizona to do field work. 
High Tech High Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CAHigh Tech High Los Angeles will host their Grand Opening celebration on November 17t 2004. Over 300 community members, supporters, foundations, and politicians are expected. HTHLA students will give tours of the new facility and listen to speeches by former California Governor Gray Davis and LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer. Also speaking will be Lowell Milken, a major contributor to the HTHLA facility and the individual for whom the school will be named. Students and faculty report that the new building feels great to work and learn in. Student-written plays are being performed in the school commons during community meetings. Robotics students from the 9th grade, heavily involved in their Lego robotics projects, are sending small remote controlled robots to all corners of the building. Math and Physics students in 10th grade recently put together an "Andy Warhol" exhibition, in which they made large-scale metric models of common objects such as batteries, Ipods, hats, flip-flops, cell phones, and CD's. A unit on political campaigns and propaganda has 11th grade students writing party platforms, making mock-speeches and holding their own elections. Mirta Ramirez Computer Science Charter School, Chicago, IL MCRC2 students are presently involved in a variety of projects that aim to create positive changes in the school and the surrounding communities through the ASPIRA Process: Awareness, Analysis, Action. One group of students in the "awareness" phase aren't satisfied with cafeteria food and are beginning a redesign of the school menu, which will be considered for an actual bid when the contract is due next year. Another group in the "analysis" phase are tackling cutbacks on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) "Blue Line" subway service to predominantly low-income, Latino/African American neighborhoods through a research/action campaign to restore full Blue Line service. For the campaign's first phase, students formed five research committees (Politics, Coalition-Building, Media, Legal and Film Documentary) to conduct web-based research and analysis (see www.mrcscs.net/lbrown/index.htm). Then they testified 10/21/04 at a public CTA hearing which made that night's top news story. The next phase will be action! They will take what they've learned to City Hall, the streets and the newspapers to help solve the community's problems. Finally, another group of students already in the "action" phase will offer a POL for families and community members focusing on the election, including arguments in various media for each candidate, along with discussions of how the electoral college works and various important election-year issues. New Bedford Global Learning Charter School, New Bedford, MA The NBGLCS school year is getting off to smooth start. This semester's focus theme is the Math and Physics of Sailing. As part of the school's Physics First program, students study the history of sailing, then go out 2 days per week in sail boats where they learn the basics of sailing and work in the field to study water and buoyancy. Additionally, NBGLCS teachers are taking part in the Connecting Oceans Academy, a graduate program offered by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Dovetailing perfectly with the NBGLCS's academic themes, the program offers Saturday and summer workshops in which teachers create curriculum linking the cultures and economies of five North American towns and cities. As part of the developing curriculum, NBGLCS students will develop pen pal relationships with students in their sister cities, learn to use primary sources available at the neighboring New Bedford Whaling Museum, and study the culture and economies of waterfront cities worldwide. In other news, eight NBCLCS students are enrolled in the New Bedford Youth Court Program as "jurors" who offer peer mediation as an alternative to the state juvenile court system. In addition to developing mediation skills, students learn about court procedures and systems. New Urban High School, Clackamas, OR NUHS held its first quarter POL last month with student projects focused on alternative energy sources and public policy. Visiting community professionals served as panelists and gave students feedback on projects ranging from designs for solar powered vehicles, to analysis of presidential candidates' views on alternative energy. The school is happy to report that its attendance rates have reached 94.7%, an improvement over last year, and one of the highest rates of attendance in the district. Students are also fairing well in the middle college program that NUHS runs in partnership with Clakamus Community College (CCC). NUHS Juniors and Seniors, many of whom would never have dreamed of going on to college, have been taking 3-4 of their academic courses on the CCC campus. Students receive both college and high school credit for their coursework, but more importantly they see that obtaining a college degree is within their grasp. NUHS teachers recently attended a professional development workshop on "Digital Curriculum" in which they received access to web-based teaching resources they can utilize to assist in their curriculum development. San Carlos High School, San Carlos, CA SCHS is once again offering after school art classes to its students through a partnership with a local art organization called "30+1," wherein community artists offer 2-D art classes to students interested in drawing and painting. The school's coed soccer team began its second year playing in the Peninsula Small School League. Lin Lipinsky, a parent volunteer and professional soccer referee, is now directing the school's growing athletic program. SCHS humanities teacher Gail Britt is now working 1/2 time as SCHS's Associate Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Gail meets regularly with individual teachers and teaching teams to offer professional development in project-based instruction, integrated curriculum planning, and the use of educational technology. SCHS faculty and board members met recently for a weekend retreat that focused on accessing where the school is at, and where it is going. Facilitated by a third party, the retreat was uplifting and inspirational to those involved. New SCHS teachers were also inspired by the HTH teacher residency program and have already begun planning a multi-disciplinary unit focusing on building a city. Sci-Tech High, Harrisburg, PA Since moving into their new building, Sci-Tech High has been working hard to get their wireless laptop network fully functional. Each of the school's 300 students now have full-time use of a laptop within their classrooms. Sci-Tech's 10th grade team is focusing on the cross-discipline theme of agriculture, a key part of Pennsylvania's economy. Every 10th grade student is researching a food product, tracing where and how it is grown, how it is marketed, and how it plays a role in the state's economy. Students have visited a variety of local organic, hi-tech, and low-tech farms. High Tech High, San Diego, CA HTH ninth grade students are busily preparing for the upcoming annual Model United Nations conference. As part of the school's ongoing humanities curriculum, students take on roles as UN delegates, debating political, environmental, and human rights issues that affect countries around the world. Students from HTH and other local high schools organize the event and serve as committee chairs. This year's conference will take place in the newly constructed "UN Theater" at High Tech High International. As part of this month's HTH advisory focus on college, each advisory group spent a day visiting a college in Southern California. Groups went on tours of private and public colleges including UCLA, USC, and the Claremont Colleges. In some schools, HTH alumni accompanied students on their tours of the school. The purpose of college day is to get students thinking about college and how they can make smart decisions now in order to keep as many doors open as possible for their future. With regard to professional development, HTH teachers have started collegial coaching once again, teaming up in pairs to observe each other teach and conducting guided conversations about what they are observing. Finally, the girl's volleyball team won their first game ever! High Tech Middle, San Diego, CA Things really started to heat up at High Tech Middle as the November Elections approached. At the end of October, the HTM eighth grade hosted the first High Tech Middle Election Fair, or "HTMEF." The purpose was to educate voters and students on the propositions and candidates on the November 2nd ballot. This project was sponsored by the Griswold/Griggs Team. Meanwhile, the Brunson/Gallagher Team created "Get Out the Vote" movies to share with fellow students at community meetings. High Tech Middle also launched its first student magazine, the "Spark," featuring articles, surveys and spotlights on students by students. HTM will also add some new faces to their teaching faculty. Two additional teachers will be assigned to support the 8th grade and 6th grade in order to better facilitate teacher's abilities to concentrate on personalization and small class sizes. Finally, both the HTM competitive flag football teams have been outstanding, with identical 2-0 records to start the season. The girl's flag football team battled the female teaching staff to a 21-21 tie. They will compete again in November in the Turkey Bowl for bragging rights at the school. High Tech High International, San Diego, CA On Monday, October 25, the entire HTHI building was officially opened to students and staff. Students are now using the front entrance to the school and beginning to take ownership of the beautiful new space. Students completed their first round of student-led conferences reflecting on their academic progress, work habits and goals for the year. They will revisit their goals again during spring conferences to see if they have accomplished them and improved their project management skills. Advisory is focusing on the themes of community, culture, college and career this year. Finally, HTHI changed its graduation requirements to match HTH, with the result that students will be required to take 4 years of both math and science (go to http://hthi.hightechhigh.org/about.php#7 for more details). This exceeds the requirements for UC admission and attempts to serve at least two purposes: 1) making HTHI and HTH students competitive for college admissions and 2) dispelling the myth that HTH is a math/science school and HTHI is a humanities-based school. Both schools provide a rigorous, project-based, liberal arts education and cultivate student passions and interests by exposing them to real world applications drawn from various disciplines. |
|||