The 21st century isn’t what it used to be. In 1991, before I joined the staff, my school was awarded a $748,500 grant from RJR Nabisco to develop “innovative programs to improve education” as part of an initiative called New Century Schools. Louis V. Gerstner Jr., chairman and chief executive of RJR Nabisco Inc. said, “Rather than tinker at the margins, the grant winners have volunteered to be educational pioneers and devise model programs that can be adopted by local communities nationwide.”
The staff went into high gear. We became a science-focused magnet school. There were science specialists and guest speakers. We had intensive professional development, invention conventions, star-gazing nights, family science festivals, and a special Discovery Room with shelves full of kits and equipment for science activities that became a resource for the rest of the community.
By the time I joined the staff in 1997, the grant money was spent and the project was no longer being materially supported. We had a new principal, some teacher turnover, no more science specialist in the Discovery Room, no science curriculum development, and the school had moved on, adopting a literacy focus.
In 2004, we moved into a fantastic new state of the art building, built to replace the aging original structure. We now have wireless internet, tight windows, a special wing for Music classes, and small-group instructional spaces for special programs so they don’t have to meet in the hall. It works well, and I am very glad to be there.
This year we became a 21st Century Community Learning Center with a grant-funded after school program for academically at risk and low income students.
We will not have a school science fair this year, though, because the after school program consumes so much staff time and energy.
We expected the New Century would be all about innovation and discovery, but it’s been downgraded to basic skills. And Lou Gerstner is still out there trying to reform us. Now he asks “…why we are at this point — why after millions of pages, in thousands of reports, from hundreds of commissions and task forces, financed by billions of dollars, have we failed to achieve any significant progress?”
He thinks we need national standards. I think we are very tired of these people tinkering at the margins and telling us what to do.
5 Comments
Hear, hear!
Well said!
You are describing organic change. It is real and unpredictable. It involves real people and cannot be forced. With all of the changes in society and technology over the last 10 years it is really good that your school has not stayed the same.
Janice, what bothers me at the moment is that we’re putting so much energy into the low achieving kids that we can’t sustain our efforts on behalf of everyone. The agenda is driven by grant dollars, not our own vision for the school community. Even though it’s organic change, and we remain focused on the kids as we continue to change and develop, it would be better if we were creating programs aimed at doing more than raising test scores.
Doug,
How about looking at science resources and possibilities made possible by your state-of-the-art site? Videoconferencing with NASA, for instance, is free. The NASA team that volunteers for the school programs does an excellent job of providing students with a window into 21 century career paths. Do you really need a science specialist in the Discovery Room when, via H323 or even Skype, a rotating team of virtual scientists and guest speakers would probably be very happy to connect with your student?.
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