1/21/2010 10:04:00 PM Cleveland to become math-, science-based option school in fall School to continue to recruit students from surrounding neighborhood
■ Starting next fall, Cleveland High School, 5511 15th Ave. S. will become an option school focusing on math and science. The school will have an open house on Saturday, Jan. 23, to introduce the new program. courtesy of SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
After finalizing a Student Assignment Plan, Seattle Public Schools is changing up the options for Southeast Seattle students by turning Cleveland High School into a school of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) that will open in fall 2010.
Currently a traditional comprehensive high school, Cleveland will become a public option school with the STEM program. It's the first STEM program in the district, and it focuses on college and career tracks for fields like software design, biotechnology and aeronautical engineering.
MAINTAINING COMMUNITY DIVERSITY
With about 700 students, Cleveland supports 300 students below its capacity, but principal Princess Shareef said the decision was not based on the enrollment numbers.
"We could function as a comprehensive high school, but with the new assignment plan, the reality is there are more students living in the Rainier Beach [High School] area and Franklin [High School] area than live in the Cleveland area," shareef said. "Therefore, it makes sense to have Rainier Beach and Franklin be comprehensive high schools and have Cleveland as an option school."
After learning more about the STEM program and visiting schools that currently operate a STEM program, Shareef has no concerns about garnering enough interest.
"I don't think we'll have real problems getting the numbers. The program we're designing is really going to be suited for the 70 percent of jobs happening in the next 20 years - all that have to do with STEM careers," Shareef said.
But she said she is worried families in Cleveland's immediate neighborhood might miss out, and she doesn't want that to happen, especially since as an option school, students from anywhere in the city could end up attending Cleveland, but they only have a chance to if they apply.
"What I'm concerned about is that I want a balanced program; I want the school to remain diverse. The teachers and families want it to remain diverse, but when we have community meetings, families from our community haven't been showing up," Shareef explained. "I want the Beacon Hill community to understand what is going to be happening here and for them to consider having their kids be students here."
POSSIBILITIES ABOUND
Though Shareef said she was not consulted in the decision to turn Cleveland into a STEM school, she voices a lot of excitement about its possibilities now. The program means an extended day for students, four years of math and science for all students and project-based learning.
When Shareef and fellow colleagues visited schools in California that have a STEM program, she said she was very encouraged.
"We came back as a staff and jumped into what this could be here," Shareef said. "We saw kids working at really high levels. It really was about 21st-century skills, about creative thinking and working collaboratively with other people. It was really exciting work we saw kids doing- that's what got us all excited."
Entering freshman next fall will take general requirements, including language-arts classes, foreign language and other electives. By 10th grade, students will choose between two tracks: the School of Life Sciences or the Academy of Engineering and Design.
The School of Life Sciences will focus on subjects like biology, biochemistry and global-health issues, and the Academy will focus on physical sciences and technology, like computer-software design.
Students in the Cleveland attendance area will be reassigned to various Southeast Seattle schools.
OUTREACH
Despite the math and science focus, Shareef said students will still have access to all other subjects. Students currently at Cleveland will remain at Cleveland and enroll in a College Readiness Academy.
"The expectations will go up a tad because we'll ask them for more math and science," Shareef said. "We're not taking away anything students have to do. We're truthfully looking for kids to be ready for a four-year college, if that is their choice."
Part of the program relies heavily on partnerships with community and regional groups for project-based learning and real-life learning experiences. Cleveland has partnered with South Seattle Community College already and is in talks with the Fred Hutchinson Research Center.
Though the details of the curriculum still need the Seattle School Board's approval, Shareef is ready to join what she calls the wave of up-and-coming education programs. Shareef said most of the teaching staff is hyped about the prospect, too, but she's still concerned about gaining the neighborhood's interest.
"I don't get a feel for the community around Cleveland. When we've offered, I haven't seen this particular community be involved," Shareef said. "I don't know if they know about it and know how to access it - that's a big concern for me. I want everyone to be able to access it."
Shareef hopes to get a better gauge of the community's interest at the upcoming open house on Saturday, Jan. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Cleveland, 5511 15th Ave. S.
For more on the STEM program, go to seattleschools.org/area/stem/index.dxml.
Reader Comments
Posted: Sunday, January 24, 2010
Article comment by:
Charlie Mas
"The expectations will go up a tad because we'll ask them for more math and science," [Principal Princess] Shareef said. Ummm..."a tad"? Students will be required to take at least four years of science, four years of language arts, two years of a world language and at least four years [of] math that must extend through calculus. That's five years of math for most students, and many of them will have to take double courses of math to bring them up to grade level first. That's something more than "a tad."
Posted: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Article comment by:
Charlie Mas
I attended the STEM event in December, and there were about 40 to 50 people there. I don't know how Ms. [Princess] Shareef knows who is from the neighborhood around Cleveland and who isn't. I do know that the group I saw that morning did not match the current demographics of the school. Cleveland High School is 46-percent African-American and 35-percent Asian, but the folks who came to the STEM presentation were predominantly Asian. It's pretty clear that we can expect a very big change in the student demographics in the building when Cleveland is replaced by STEM. Current Cleveland students have not shown the kind of appetite for math and science that STEM students will have. The STEM program is pretty clearly designed for a different set of students. It's hard not to think that the district is trying to fix the school by replacing the students.
