GRPS Considers New High School Plan

[MiGuyz]

GRPS seems dedicated to improving the urban system. Does anyone have info on how this might play out?

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/12/eigh...igh_school.html

Community input meetings are scheduled for this month.

[blueradon]

Are there other cities that have schools setup for different purposes like a performing arts high school and a business high school?

I think that would be interesting.

I think option 3 in that article would be best because you get 2 traditional high schools - and also give the kids an option to be in one of the specialized schools if its something of their interest. - It's really too bad that there wouldn't be like a prime development spot with a lot of acres that you could take a traditional high school and specialized schools into one big college-like campus.

And also not to mention - having a school specialized in health care should be taken very seriously as we have a vast amount of up and coming resources to help kids get into the health fields.

The other thing to mention here is that money should not be an object to these plans - we need the best for this school district and the county and provide quality education.

[pr sc]

Are there other cities that have schools setup for different purposes like a performing arts high school and a business high school?

I think that would be interesting.

I think option 3 in that article would be best because you get 2 traditional high schools - and also give the kids an option to be in one of the specialized schools if its something of their interest. - It's really too bad that there wouldn't be like a prime development spot with a lot of acres that you could take a traditional high school and specialized schools into one big college-like campus.

And also not to mention - having a school specialized in health care should be taken very seriously as we have a vast amount of up and coming resources to help kids get into the health fields.

The other thing to mention here is that money should not be an object to these plans - we need the best for this school district and the county and provide quality education.

[Veloise]

Are there other cities that have schools setup for different purposes like a performing arts high school and a business high school?...

[GRDadof3]

Sounds like a wonderful plan but, I just don't get why they would demolish existing buildings. Central would be left alone (historic) - why in the world would anyone want to take Creston down?

[tamias6]

I know I'll get thrashed for this, but a lot of the old schools like Creston are just not conducive to new styles of teaching, including the technology needs of today's learning environments. If you haven't had a chance to go through a school built in the last 5 - 10 years, they are amazingly different than even schools I attended that were built in the 70's - 80's. Plus that newer section added on to Creston is just awful.

I think anything GRPS can do to totally shake things up would be a plus. Small changes aren't going to do a thing.

[blueradon]

Sometimes - you just have to let buildings go. That's my view.

Unless they want to renovate them the way U2 is and make condos - but I doubt the school system wouldn't want to waste anymore money buying more land rather than fixing what they have.

[AlexPKeaton]

Consider yourself thrashed.

[Sailor]

Hear, hear. While I admit to being a bit sentimental about older structures (funny, considering my modernist bent), sometimes the changing function eclipses the old form. High quality education--including the facilitative environment in which the learning takes place--trumps old brick, hands down.

[pr sc]

Consider yourself thrashed.

[pcdoctor]

Central High School is one high school that definately needs some major building renovations. It is indeed a historical building, and should be kept that way. There however isn't much parking for the staff/students.

Creston I've only been in like once or twice and I don't really care for that school all that much.

Union where I went to is indeed the newest building, but it too could use some renovations and remodeling. I Think the media center needs some renovation work to it. It definately should be air conditioned on those hot days. And mainly the ceilings and lighting should be replaced. But classrooms in that school are way to small. I went to school at North Park and Riverside Middle and those classrooms were of a pretty good size, but once at union, they were quite small. After the 2004-05 school year, they completly rebuilt the cafeteria, but from what I heard, it's much smaller than what it used to be. The only good thing about it is some more lunch lines. The kitchen is right in the middle of the cafeteria, it used to be in it's own area on the side.

That's my take on those following schools.

[MiGuyz]

GRDad is right about the new design of schools. For example, the interior design of the new Ford Middle School on Madison is a pretty amazing contrast to schools built just 10 years ago. The spaces are actually used significantly different than "old style classrooms."

I think GRPS is on the verge of becoming a national leader in urban educational experiences.

[GRDadof3]

GRDad is right about the new design of schools. For example, the interior design of the new Ford Elementary on Madison is a pretty amazing contrast to schools built just 10 years ago. The spaces are actually used significantly different than "old style classrooms."

I think GRPS is on the verge of becoming a national leader in urban educational experiences.

[MiGuyz]

GRDad, I'm not sure where your child goes to school... Is it in Grand Rapids? (You may have mentioned in a previous post. Sorry if I should already know.)

Your description sounds awfully a lot like the same model used at the new elementary GRPS schools I've seen open in the last couple of years. They are incredible examples of a new way of teaching that I found very impressive in a public school system.

The proposed changes for the high schools seem to be just as impressive. I agree that bold changes are needed, and I'm glad to hear GRPS is talking about them.

[Ted]

Exactly right. The new elementary school my kids attend has "neighborhoods" set up right outside each set of classrooms (one for each grade). It's like a commons area where joint projects with other classes can be held, and it also offers a place for parent volunteers to break off smaller groups of kids out to the neighborhood, and where kids can work on art projects away from the hustle in the classroom. Everything in their class is done in small groups that travel from one project area to the next, usually with 4 - 5 groups making a circuit around the classroom at the same time. There are very few times where the entire class is working on the same thing at the same time, so there is not really a need for a front blackboard and rows of desks like I remember. The kids have desks, but there are also "work centers" spread around the classroom for different projects. And the teacher's desks are set off to the side in a built-in desk area with full technology capabilities.

Not to mention the state-of-the-art technology center where 1st graders are learning PowerPoint on laptops , the "media center", which we used to call the library, and a state-of-the-art music room that doubles as a stage that opens up to the gymnasium for special events. Also, the entire campus is LEED Certified, right down to native grasslands instead of manicured lawns that need to be mowed. All at a public school.

Most definitely GRPS kids deserve the same kind of environment.

[snoogit]

While it's cool that 1st graders are learning power point it says more about the software than the kids.

[Ted]

What does it say about the 43 year old who looks at Power Point and craps their pants trying to figure it out?

[AlexPKeaton]

Ugh, PowerPoint? Seriously? I guess if we want to train our kids to be middle management and bore people to death...

Learning spreadsheets (read: Excel, but there are others) would be more useful from a problem solving and analysis perspective. Think money management, which kids just don't get these days unless they have frugal parents as an example.

[GRDadof3]

Ugh, PowerPoint? Seriously? I guess if we want to train our kids to be middle management and bore people to death...

Learning spreadsheets (read: Excel, but there are others) would be more useful from a problem solving and analysis perspective. Think money management, which kids just don't get these days unless they have frugal parents as an example.

[Ted]

PowerPoint was an example, and it was first-graders. Sure, my kids know how to get on the internet and play their favorite games on Webkins, but to get them to take a research project they have been working on and turn it into a PowerPoint presentation, complete with photos and outlines, I think is pretty impressive. Can't for the life of me think of why that would be a bad thing. My guess (no, I pretty much know) is that most adults don't even know how to use similar programs, or any of the MS Office applications, fluently. My point, is that just upgrading the air conditioning systems or adding new desks is not going to do squat to reinvigorate GRPS. And I disagree that you can do modern teaching programs in the old buildings. For one thing, in the old schools, so much of the space is used up by hallways, which only serve to hold lockers and transport kids, which makes the classrooms extremely small. In a lot of the newer buildings, the hallways also serve as "commons" areas. Again, just an example. If the opposite were true, then new schools would be built to look like the old schools (not happening anywhere).

BTW: My oldest is in second grade, so I'll keep you posted as to when they start using spreadsheets.

Seriously, I encourage anyone who is interested in this to volunteer to work in your local public schools some time. And not just once, but a couple of times a month minimum over a complete semester. It is a real eye opener (both good and bad).

[pr sc]

PowerPoint was an example, and it was first-graders. Sure, my kids know how to get on the internet and play their favorite games on Webkins, but to get them to take a research project they have been working on and turn it into a PowerPoint presentation, complete with photos and outlines, I think is pretty impressive. Can't for the life of me think of why that would be a bad thing. My guess (no, I pretty much know) is that most adults don't even know how to use similar programs, or any of the MS Office applications, fluently. My point, is that just upgrading the air conditioning systems or adding new desks is not going to do squat to reinvigorate GRPS. And I disagree that you can do modern teaching programs in the old buildings. For one thing, in the old schools, so much of the space is used up by hallways, which only serve to hold lockers and transport kids, which makes the classrooms extremely small. In a lot of the newer buildings, the hallways also serve as "commons" areas. Again, just an example. If the opposite were true, then new schools would be built to look like the old schools (not happening anywhere).

BTW: My oldest is in second grade, so I'll keep you posted as to when they start using spreadsheets.

Seriously, I encourage anyone who is interested in this to volunteer to work in your local public schools some time. And not just once, but a couple of times a month minimum over a complete semester. It is a real eye opener (both good and bad).

[GRDadof3]

I appreciate your power point example. It isn't a bad thing, its just a tool - like a pencil, or excel.

Now, we will never get the opportunity to do it, but I know that we could make it right in an existing building. Hallways can move just like anything else. Buildings can be expanded flexibly and intelligently. And the 'look' of new schools to old really is irrelevant to your point. Fake old buildings are going up all over colleges and cities all over the world regardless of the program. It's a functional and programmatic question that could be solved in any number of styles or configurations.