The New 3 Rs: Redefining American High School
By Mary Ann Biermeier
Math and Science Academy in North Scottsdale
A promising trend is emerging around the country, and is evident in our part of Arizona. Educators and communities are redefining the American high school and creating dynamic learning environments designed to prepare students for success in today’s world. Both research and a bumper crop of newly launched small high school initiatives are evidence of this success in the making.
Certainly, the troubles with large, industrial-scale high schools have been the complaint of education critics for years. Richard Riley, the previous U.S. Secretary of Education, has taken a few good shots of his own. In his 1999 speech delivered to the National Press Club, Sec. Riley issued a call to get the word out on what many educators have believed for years: traditional high schools are too large and impersonal to nurture teenagers through the often-tough period of adolescence.
“Now is the right time to challenge ourselves to do some creative thinking about the future of the American high school,” Riley said. “The majority of our nation’s high schools seem to be caught in a time warp from long ago.”
Today’s high schools were conceived at the beginning of the twentieth century to prepare students to work in an industrial economy that looked very different from the economy we have today. In the early 1900s, large comprehensive high schools were designed to efficiently educate all the students within a community, providing different programs, or tracks, based on the students’ perceived academic prowess and interests.
“Top-performing students, although usually prepared for college, often complain that their education lacks relevance and, in many cases, rigor,” says Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Low-performing students are often pushed through a watered-down curriculum with virtually no individualized support to develop the skills—such as reading, writing, and problem solving—needed to succeed in life. Average students frequently fall through the cracks, virtually ignored by a system that accepts mediocrity. The bottom line is that we are losing nearly one-third of all our students before graduation day—and nearly half of all African-American and Hispanic youth. It’s a clear signal that the system is broken.”
Perhaps no organization has been more outspoken or proactive in changing the American education system than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The belief is held within the organization that our schools need to be based upon a new set of 3 Rs: Rigor, Relevance and Relationships.
Rigor: All students need the chance to succeed at challenging classes such as algebra, writing, and chemistry.
Relevance: Courses and projects must spark student interest and relate clearly to their lives in today’s rapidly changing world.
Relationships: All students need adult mentors who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.
These new 3 Rs are the building blocks for a redesigned system of high schools, one that will truly prepare graduates for college, work, and global citizenship.
This year, the Scottsdale Unified School District launched a high school/college preparatory located within the Copper Ridge campus. The Copper Ridge Math & Science Academy is a new approach to high school, drawing students with demonstrated interest and talent into the math and science disciplines. It is the first public school of its kind in the state of Arizona. With its small campus, three core teachers, and class sizes of twelve or fewer students, this high school provides a level of personalization through which all students can receive personal attention and support to achieve at high levels.
It is a school that is rethinking the relationships among the adults in the school community. Teachers who once felt isolated in their classrooms are now invited to participate in leadership roles. It is a collaborative teaching environment with the inclusion of families and the larger community in the life of the school.
The Academy has open enrollment, attracting students from the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area. Students are provided with a strong college preparatory program, relevant field trips, and professional presentations by leaders in industry, sciences, engineering, and technology: in short, rigor, relevance, and relationships.
The Academy also has an impressive and talented advisory board that includes Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross; Dr. Edward Motikcka, Scottsdale Healthcare research director; Jan Belt, executive director of Oxford Learning; Dr. Susan Bradley, dean of education for Wayland University; Richard Harrer, attorney for Dial Corporation; Liz Harvey, senior vice president and general manager of Dial Corporation; Ted Tyler, Lucent Technologies; and Dr. Candice Nulsen, Translational Genomics Research Institute Program Manager.
There is no denying the level of commitment required to transform our high schools. For the transformation to occur and remain sustainable, huge investments of resources, time, and expertise are needed.
The time for change is now. The challenge is great. Believe in the possibilities.
To learn more about Scottsdale Unified School District’s unique Copper Ridge Math & Science Academy, visit us online at susd.org/crmsa or call Dr. Mike Wolf at (480) 484-1559.