Gravette looks at 'New Tech' school

— A team of educators from Gravette High School, along with school board member Jim Singleton, last week visited a Texas school which is one of just 100 “New Tech” schools nationwide which are breaking ground with a new educational process concept.

The trip was part of a requirement which the Gravette school is completing while seeking to become one of the Arkansas schools chosen to participate in such a program.

Attending from Gravette,along with Singleton, were high school principal Jo Ellen Hastings, instructors Jaron Porter and Randall Hunt and superintendent of schools Andrea Kelly.

The Manor (Texas) high school they visited has about 350 students and is located not far from Austin, the Texas state capitol, Hastings said.

The group observed how the New Tech system functions. It is a radical departure from what has long been the accustomed teaching concept.

Seeks Solutions

Based on what is called “project based learning,” a team of several studentsare presented a problem/ project which they collectively research, then experiment and conceptualize in reaching a logical conclusion and solving the problem/project.

As the process ends, the students make a formal presentation before a panel which can include teachers, their parents and others.

When they (the students) make their presentation, the boys are dressed up with ties, the girls wear dresses and, as Singleton described the process, it makes for a great learning experience.

“During their high school careers, they areinvolved in making about 200 such formal presentations,” Singleton said.

Hastings said the process helps students develop logical thinking, teaches them how to do research and the presentation process provides experience that will be invaluable in their adult lives.

Two Arkansas schools are already “New Tech,” the Cross County New Tech High School near Wynne and the Lincoln County High School in nearby Washington County. The state of Indiana, with 19, has the most schools.

Hastings said the local group is scheduled to make a trip to Cross County later this month before formal application is made to the Arkansas Education Association for approval of Gravette High School.

If Gravette is one of the 10 chosen, implementation of the program can be expected to begin next August in the Gravette system.

Hastings said how thesystem will function in Gravette has not been finalized. It could be either an all-one-grade (such as the freshman class) or as a school-within-a-school concept where 25 students are chosen from each grade.

If more than that number make application to participate, a lottery-type drawing will be used in the student selection process, she explained.

Meet Requirements

As students progress in the several-week projectsolving process, they will be covering all the basesin the new core subject requirements being implemented in Arkansas.

New Tech also follows the theme of S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) programs which focus on those educational concepts/subjects.

Singleton said it was exciting to see the New Tech system in operation and predicted it will become an innovative educational process for the future.

Gravette will not know if the school is one chosen until sometime after the first of the year, Hastings said.

News, Pages 3 on 10/12/2011