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Posted on Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 5:58 a.m.

Ypsi New Tech student population doubles as alternative school starts second year

By Janet Miller

School bells rang out across Washtenaw County Tuesday morning, summoning thousands of students back to class. Even the weather cued in according to script with a taste of fall in the air.

Students, after a summer of skydiving, traveling, babysitting or hanging out at the mall, slipped into new clothes and squeezed into new shoes, to make their way back — many of them happily.

“It’s fun coming back here,” said Kelsey Scott, 15, a sophomore at Ypsilanti New Tech @ Ardis. “I can’t sleep in anymore, but that’s not bad. Summer was getting old.”

Ypsilanti New Tech saw enrollment double as the original 124 freshmen are now sophomores with 119 freshmen taking their place. By 2013, the school will house grades 9-12.

The national non-profit New Tech Network guides the school’s curriculum. The school offers multidisciplinary classes such as geoart (geometry and art), physitech (physics and technology) and biolit (biology and technology). Titles are also different: Teachers are called facilitators and the principal is the director.

The opening day welcome assembly seemed more like a concert, with a slide show of students set to booming music and cheering students. But even this had a message: The multimedia show juxtaposed students in front of icons of post-secondary schools as a way to nudge students to think about attending college.

The first nine days will focus on school culture, said Cory McElmeel, director, where the school’s four core tenets of trust, responsibility, respect and professionalism are stressed.

It’s that culture that allows New Tech to be different: There are no bells or hall passes and students can earn the right to carry — and use, when the time is right — cell phones and music. The first two weeks of school is spent on collaborative games that foster trust and communication. Sophomores will write a school-wide constitution and create promotional videos, while freshman will create a set of norms for behavior, McElmeel said.

“We don’t talk about rules here. We have norms,” he said.

New Tech is one of the growing number of high school choices sprouting up around the county, joining Washtenaw Technical Middle College, Early College Alliance at Eastern Michigan University and the Washtenaw International High School, run by the Intermediate School District.

With a year under its belt, there was some tweaking over the summer, McElmeel said. The school added more technology, hired eight new teachers, and staff spent an intense week at a national New Tech conference in Grand Rapids, along with a couple of more weeks getting ready for the new school year.

Teachers reviewed their first year. Facilitator Carli Pacheco said she frequently spoke with her teaching partners over the summer and decided to streamline some lessons and break some full-class lectures into smaller sections in order to better monitor student progress.

Students were given more choices. Instead of being assigned a locker this year, students can chose it, McElmeel said.

Ypsilanti New Tech was one of 30 schools nationwide named as a national demonstration site, and will host a VIP visit Thursday from a representative from the U.S. Department of Education. It’s part of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s Midwest tour. New Tech student Charlie Bearman, 14, spent his summer skateboarding and playing video games. But he was ready for school to begin, and didn’t mind waking up at 5:50 a.m. Tuesday.

“I wanted to be ready,” he said. Summer had grown boring. “Here, you’re given freedoms, like you’re able to have your cell phone and you can go to the bathroom without asking. And they give you a computer you can use throughout the year,” he said.

Zachery Roberson was also happy to get back to school Tuesday. He read up on advanced physics in order to get ahead, but boredom eventually set in. He likes the project-based curriculum and how computers are used in the school.

“At first, you don’t realize you’re learning. But after the first few projects last year, I began to realize how much I was learning,” Roberson said.

Comments

Leo

Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:01 p.m.

I'm a student here at YNT. I went here all of last year and I'm one of the new 10th graders. I really enjoy it. It's a lot different than Community. It is open to everyone, but we're a lot more structured and balanced than Community. Don't get me wrong, I've heard great things about it, but it sounds a lot different than what we do. Classes are cool, they're a combination of two subjects. The teachers never teach AT us, they let us know what's going on, then were off in our groups working together. We do have a lot of freedoms and privileges, but we're also taught to realize just how much of a privilege it all is and to appreciate it. It's really a neat experience, and I look forward to coming to school everyday!

Lovaduck

Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 4:28 p.m.

What a wonderful concept, and sorely needed! Lot's of hard work needed by all. Good luck and best wishes for your success!

jns131

Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 2:48 p.m.

Sounds like Community High School. A free for all school. Glad mine is not there. Sounds too loose for my liking.

kms

Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:59 a.m.

sounds like a great school!

Grant

Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:39 a.m.

I wish very much success for the students enrolled in this program.

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