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[Hilary]

From the D&C:

A 25-year Rochester School District veteran has been named principal of one of the district's newest high schools.

Kevin Klein, who in his five years as principal at School 39 has emphasized technology, computers and the Internet, will lead Integrated Arts & Technology High School when it opens in September.

The school is one of two new high schools scheduled to open this fall. Marlene Blocker will lead Early College High School, a partnership with two area colleges, the district announced late last month.

But with the opening of the two new schools will come closures. Thursday night, Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard said changes to the district's portfolio of high schools will be discussed at a meeting March 11. That discussion will also touch on "the fate of the nine schools" on a recently released state list of schools that have consistently underperformed.

Introducing Klein, Brizard said the principal has demonstrated an interest in technology. He was on the district committee that helped plan the recent overhaul of the district's Web site.

Klein said his interests and the school's expeditionary learning model make the job "right up my alley." Expeditionary learning is an educational model that uses large-scale community research projects in teaching.

Rebecca Boyle, who had been an assistant principal, will take over as acting principal at School 39 on Wednesday.

Mark Matthews was also named principal at School 14. He had been acting principal at the school, which is in the process of being phased out.

NRAMOS@DemocratandChronicle.com

[Hilary]

NEWS RELEASE – ROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Date: February 26, 2010
 
 
Kevin Klein, School No. 39 Principal, Named To Lead
New Integrated Arts & Technology High School
 
School Is Part of Portfolio Plan That Will Be Presented March 11

          Kevin Klein, principal of Rochester’s Andrew J. Townson School No. 39 since 2005, has been named principal of the new Integrated Arts & Technology High School opening in September. His appointment was approved by the Rochester Board of Education at its meeting last night.
          Mr. Klein’s 25-year career with the Rochester City School District has included serving as a social studies teacher at the former Monroe Middle School and Wilson Magnet High School. In 2002, he became director of social studies for the district. He was named Supervisor of the Year by the New York State Council for the Social Studies in 2005. He has also served as a lead teacher and a teacher-mentor to first-year teachers.
          For the past five years, Mr. Klein has been principal of Andrew J. Townson School No. 39. He is recognized for integrating arts and technology into the classroom to support student achievement. Under his leadership, School No. 39 was one of the first schools in the district to have its own website. He also served on the committee that developed and launched the City School District’s new website in 2009.
          Mr. Klein is a recipient of the St. John Fisher College Administrative Leadership Award and has served on the New York State Education Department’s Leadership Committee. In 2004, he secured a $1 million federal grant for the Rochester City School District for instructional projects in American history that link students with community resources from St. John Fisher College, Genesee Country Museum, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, Strong Museum, and Akwaaba: The Heritage Associates.
 
About the Integrated Arts & Technology High School
 
The Integrated Arts & Technology High School is one of two new schools opening in Rochester in September. It will serve 7th graders in 2010-11 and will add a grade each year to become a grades 7-12 high school. Its focus will be on using arts and technology as tools for learning
The school will partner with Expeditionary Learning, a national non-profit organization that currently partners with World of Inquiry School No. 58, the Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, and School Without Walls Foundation Academy.
The school is being developed with the support of a $450,000 grant from the Gates Foundation obtained through Expeditionary Learning.
 
Early College High School Also Opening
 
The second new school opening in September, the Early College High School, operates in partnership with St. John Fisher College, Monroe Community College, and the Asia Society. The school will serve 9th graders in 2010-2011 and add a grade each year to become a 9-12 school. ECHS students will be able to earn up to 20 college credits from MCC and/or St. John Fisher in addition to earning a Regents diploma.
 
Portfolio Plan Will Chart Course for High-Performing Schools
 
          Developed through the RCSD Office of School Innovation, the new schools are part of the district’s plan to create a portfolio of high-performing schools that meet the needs of students and families. New schools will share the common characteristics of academic rigor, personalization, and partnerships that have proven successful in supporting student achievement.
          Superintendent of Schools Jean-Claude Brizard will present the portfolio plan to the Board of Education on Thursday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the district’s central office, 131 West Broad Street, in the third-floor conference room.
 

[PamintheWedge]

we ranked this school #1 on our 7th grade application earlier this year. (a list that did not include SOTA, SWW, WOIS or LAAM all of which required separate treatment).

my 6th grader just received her application for this school and it is a two page question and answer similar or identical to the one my 8th grade son received (unsolicited) for the new 9-12th grade Early College High School - headed by Marlene Blocker.

after the two page application is filled out, we must attend an informational session (there are 2) in order to receive a "ticket" for the lottery. this is exactly what the charter school, GCCS, requires at the elementary level minus the application part. I think the informational meeting is becoming a local standard for an expeditionary/outward bound program to make sure that parents are on board with that type of learning approach. I'm not sure if WOIS requires this at the elementary level but my daughter needed to attend a session for the middle/high school earlier this month.

it makes sense to me. yet i know some see these steps as barriers to access rather than small hurdles.

[Anna]

My daughter ranked the new school #2 on her list (behind Wilson), and we didn't get an application. I wonder if that means they've got enough people ranking it first to fill all the spots and aren't expecting to admit anyone who ranked it lower than #1? We also just went to the WOIS information meeting this weekend and I was quite impressed. They seem to have a really good program going there. They also expect a lot from parents so I'm sure the compulsory information meeting is a first step at weeding out families where the parent/guardian commitment is not as strong as they want it to be. I have no problem with that -- if you're not willing to go and look at a school you're intending to send your child for the next 6 years, then I doubt you're going to make an effort to go to parent-teacher conferences, concerts, exhibition nights etc etc. I'm sympathetic to those who might already have another comittment on the one day the session is scheduled for, but I would hope the school would work with you in that situation.

[PamintheWedge]

i guess so anna. i looked at the cover letter which indicated it was my daughter's first choice on the application and that there has been an "enthusiastic" response.

at the risk of repeating myself, i really like choice and brizzard appears to have helped foster steps toward offering more quality options at the middle/high school level.

my daughter attended that WOIS session as well with her dad. she also feels very confident about her SOTA audition earlier that morning. a part of me wishes we could divvy her up and send her to 2-3 different schools at once.

pam

[Hilary]

I think Brizard told the board last week (?) that they'd had several hundred families choose the new school - and there are only 75 slots.

It's GREAT to have multiple high schools that people are feeling good about putting their child in. Pam, make sure you come back and tell us how it works out!