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High school divided into sections for better teacher-student ties

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By Megan Gildow, Staff writer Updated 9:10 PM Saturday, June 6, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — It’s not uncommon for two schools to merge into one, as Springfield City Schools did with its high school.

Last summer, Springfield City Schools went from two high schools — North and South — to one. And then from one high school — Springfield High School — to four small schools.

Officials feared the size of the newly merged high school, with about 1,700 students this year and capacity for hundreds more, could become too impersonal. Working with consultant Knowledgeworks, they devised a plan.

Small schools of about 500 students would allow students and teachers to foster closer relationships than the large school, research suggests.

When students shed the North and South labels and came together under the Springfield High School, they also entered one of the four small schools: Humanities, Leadership, Global Perspectives or Problem-Based Learning.

“There’s always things you can’t plan for,” said teacher Mike Willets, who was involved in the planning for the school. “But our goal was to hit the ground running and we pretty much did that.”

Already, officials are seeing some improvements. There were 7,731 discipline referrals this school year through May, compared to 11,587 at North and South last year, according to the district.

In 2007-08, attendance rates at North and South hovered just above 91 percent. At Springfield High School, the average attendance was 92.7 percent through April, according to the district.

From 2 to 1

SHS students and staff acknowledge that there was a lot of talk about the strife that would come from consolidating North and South high schools into one.

But most of that talk was from adults in the community, they say.

“A lot of us already knew each other,” said junior Donna Hill. “We knew people who went to South, so it wasn’t like ‘You’re my rival, I’m not going to talk to you.’ ”

Officials acknowledge that the school has had problems, particularly at the beginning of the year.

But they say those problems don’t come from North and South.

“Any problems you have are the problems you have in any classroom,” said Willets, a 33-year veteran of the classroom.

One benefit of the merger was the chance to reconnect with old classmates, like Hill and friend Imani Dixon, who were once playmates on Fulton Elementary School’s playground, later divided by the district’s enrollment boundaries.

“I really wasn’t excited,” junior Megan Pyle said of the merger. “I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was kind of bitter about it because I really wanted to go to South.”

But Springfield High School isn’t worse than it would have been to go to South, just different, she said.

“I’ve made a lot of new friends and the teachers are really nice,” she said.

From 1 to 4

One year ago, Springfield’s four small schools were loosely defined concepts.

After the school year kicked off Sept. 8, staff and students set about making those impressions.

Problem Based-Learning focused on student recognition, ensuring that all kids, from high-achievers to troubled students, improve behavior, said Principal Kathy Lee.

The school of Humanities focused on the advisory team when students meet with teachers, said Thomas Spurgin, principal. Monday and Tuesday, the students were grouped by grade level and would work on a selected curriculum or college and post-graduation plans for seniors. The rest of the week, teachers led interest groups and students selected topics.

The Leadership school focused on offering leadership development activities like speakers, planning an appreciation day at the school for senior citizens or leading efforts to raise student self-esteem during testing week, said Principal Mike Skavaril.

And in Global Perspectives, the students focused on their place in the community, from the school to the city to the world, said Principal Kristin Barker.

The small schools have served their purpose, allowing teachers and administrators to develop closer relationships with their students, the principals said.

The path ahead

No one denies that there’s still work to do.

“We’ve got a long way to go to be where we want to be,” said Willets.

The school will have its first permanent campus director starting next school year. The position, filled first by JoEtta Cooper and currently by Interim Campus Director Jeff Thompson, will be filled by Christopher Shaffer, a Columbus schools principal.

Raising the graduation rate — at about 80 percent on the most recent report card — will be a top priority, along with looking at the proposals from Gov. Ted Strickland for education reform, said Shaffer.

The board has also approved a plan to work with America’s Choice, Inc. to align curriculum, develop short cycle assessments at the high school to improve academic performance.

Improving student performance is in Springfield’s future,said incoming Superintendent David Estrop.

“You’ll know Springfield High School is a success when we are rated ‘excellent’ on the state report card and are a model for other urban high schools in Ohio,” said board President Donna Picklesimer.

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