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Schools Take Unique Approaches to Prepare for NTHS
By Christine Marson

A primary component of the New Technology High School development process is addressing how the model will be implemented within a district. Schools can choose a total conversion to the model, to include the model as a small learning community within an existing school, or to build/remodel an off-site facility. Wayne High School in Fort Wayne and Triton Central High School outside of Shelbyville are taking different approaches to the 2009 implementation of New Tech based on the needs of their individual school communities. Wayne High School, an urban school with more than 1,000 students, will implement NTHS as a Program of Study, while Triton Central High School, a rural school with about 500 students, will implement a total school conversion over four years beginning with the 2009 freshman class.

Wayne High School
“We began looking into the NTHS model about a year ago because our business community heard about the program and was interested,” Elizabeth Bryan, project director with Fort Wayne Community Schools said. “Our CEO and superintendent visited Napa for the executive tour in January 2008. Upon their return, they committed to the model and led the way. We visited New Technology High Schools in Indiana, attended meetings, and submitted our initial application. Mark Morrison and members of the business community spoke with union representatives and with the district school board, who then became excited about the idea.”

Facility space created a natural fit. Wayne High School’s extra wing allowed for renovation thus creating a school-within-a-school environment. In October 2008, an architecture firm developed plans for the space, and the board approved the bond issue at its December meeting.

Buy-in from various parties proved key to the model’s development. “In addition to the business community, we’ve involved the Chamber of Commerce, TechPoint, community members, parents, students, and school staff. For example, we meet with all school staff departments within the district once a week to talk about the New Tech implementation. We just started marketing to the families as February is the due date for applications into the lottery system and we have noticed hesitance among families with this being such a new opportunity,” Bryan said.

The school-within-a-school approach is fitting for Fort Wayne as the New Technology model is one of many pieces of the district’s high school renovation plans. Each of the district’s six high schools will offer one specialized program of study: International Baccalaureate, New Tech, Business, Project Lead The Way, Health/Life Sciences, and Global Studies/World Languages.

Triton Central High School
Triton Central High School of the Northwestern Consolidated School District has taken a different approach. Development of their NTHS goes back two years to former high school principal Brad Lindsay. Lindsay investigated various reform models and decided the NTHS model was the best fit for the community. After one year of development, he passed the work over to new principal Scott Kern, who then began the process of preparing the community and the school staff for the conversion.

“To bring the community on board, we did a lot of groundwork with parents,” Kern said. “We held three large community-based meetings that focused on what New Tech is and what it is not. The last of the three meetings was December 4 where we had about 125 people in attendance. At this meeting, we presented a video conference featuring Mark Morrison and two NTHS students. We also brought in a Bloomington NTHS teacher who spoke about project-based learning. Due to the series of meetings we’ve held and through numerous conversations, I can now confidently say that we have complete parental support for this project.”

To prepare the faculty for the NTHS model, the freshman staff team received a full-day training session. Staff went off-site to examine standards and how to work together as a collaborative group. Staff will receive additional training on the New Technology model over the summer at two separate four-day intensive training sessions.

“We’ll start with just one class at a time so just incoming freshmen next year will have the opportunity to take four NTHS classes. Then we’ll bring on the sophomore class the following year, so that eventually the whole school will operate with this model. We plan to focus first on offering combination classes and then adding in computers for each student. We will be a total conversion school,” said Kern.