'Children of the Reinvention'

The implementation of modern technology has made the world virtually unrecognizable from that of 100 or even 50 years ago. But one fundamental institution has evaded the changing times. With few exceptions, American public schools have remained the same since long before computers and SmartBoards infiltrated high schools.

Whether benevolent or tyrannical, a teacher’s classroom has historically been an isolated dictatorship — teacher instructs, student listens and, unless anything remarkable happens, what goes on inside those chalk-board-covered walls never leaves.

At Pasadena’s John Muir High School, all that is about to change.

Beginning in September, Muir High School will under go a “reinvention” that will completely overhaul the school’s current system. Given that Muir has failed to meet California’s Academic Performance Index (API) targets for each of the past five years, the Pasadena Unified School District has called for not just an adjustment but a revolution.

And simply pumping funds into a failing school is insufficient. To improve the quality of education for a large body of students — like that at Muir High — a concerted effort is needed on the part of teachers and administrators. 

“I haven’t slept in weeks,” said Cheryl Orange, who will begin her first official school year as Muir’s principal in September. “But I know that once everything is in place, it will all be worth it.”

Muir’s reinvention plan begins with dividing the school into four separate academies—Arts/Entertainment and Media, Business and Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Environmental Science and a separate academy for all incoming freshman.

“After freshman year students have the opportunity to choose the academies in which they will spend the next three years,” said Tim Sippel, Muir’s school improvement coordinator. “Most students got their first or second choice.”

The academy system operates on the principle of “looping with teachers.” Each student will have the same core group of teachers for three years, both for state-required academic classes and specialized career-technical classes that are specific to each academy.

“This arrangement will most definitely require more work and more dedication on the part of the teachers,” Orange said. “In some high schools, kids can remain anonymous and fall through the cracks. Here, teachers will be expected to forge relationships with the kids and cater their teaching methods to each kid individually.”

Of the 58 members of Muir’s teaching staff last year, 32 reapplied and were rehired to return in September. In addition to returning teachers, another 38 new teachers have been hired.

This increased number of teachers will accommodate the broader range of career-technical staff and provide for more English teachers — Muir’s academic department of greatest concern.

Former Muir teachers who did not want to have to alter their curriculum and methods either retired or were reassigned to other positions in the district.

“The most important aspect of the plan is collaboration,” Orange said. “Teachers have at least one and a half hours every other day built into their schedules to discuss individual students and to plan how one instructor’s curriculum can complement another’s.” 

To facilitate the ideas of collaboration and student-based learning, class periods will be lengthened from 50 minutes to 90.

“I’m grateful for the increased class time,” said Muir math and computer science teacher Anthony Carruthers. “Now I will be able to teach for half of the class period and let the kids practice their skills for the other half. When a class period is planned well, it goes by quickly.”

To assure that teachers are prepared for the challenge of changing their already established methods, PUSD contracted with a teacher-training organization called West Ed. to run three weeks of formal instruction during the summer. 

Carruthers, who attended the first session last week, said “The training helped us establish standards and create curriculum to fit the new academy system. It was the not the most, well, engaging of weeks.  But it was something we all agreed we needed to do.” 

Though he himself is positive about Muir’s reinvention, Carruthers can foresee some potential obstacles. “Some of the teachers who have been at Muir for a long time were resentful of the reapplication process,” he said. “They saw it as an unnecessary hoop to jump through when they were already established teachers at the school.”

For Orange, collaboration will be the key to determining Muir’s future. Regardless of student performance, a teacher who is not willing to discuss curriculum, methods and students with other teachers will not be a viable member of the Muir community.

“If a teacher does not operate within the new system, I will see that as a major concern,” Orange said. “This is about reinventing, not just improving. Any teacher — regardless of his or her reputation — who doesn’t comply with the school’s new principles will not be meeting our expectations.”