Calumet High School this fall became one of six high schools in Indiana to become a New Technology High School, bringing the number to 16 in Indiana -- more than any other state.

Lake Ridge Schools Superintendent Sharon Johnson-Shirley said it's taken three years to implement the program at Calumet, one of six Lake County schools and 23 statewide that have been on academic probation for six straight years and could face state takeover next year under Indiana Public Law 221. There are no failing schools in Porter County.

Several Indiana schools adopted the New Tech model four years ago, and The Times this month spent time with teachers and students at two of them -- Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis and Zebra New Tech at Rochester Community High School in Rochester -- to see firsthand how the concept is working and what Calumet High can expect.

Arsenal Technical High School

Some say it looks like a college campus but in truth, Arsenal Tech resembles the U.S. arsenal it once was, which closed after the Civil War.

Sitting on nearly 80 acres, 16 buildings comprise the campus on Michigan Street east of downtown Indianapolis, with a security guard who checks IDs at the iron gate and brick Italianate guard house, which date to the 1870s.

The city's Police Department has a substation on school grounds, but there are no metal detectors in the buildings.

Arsenal Tech, part of the Indianapolis Public Schools, has 2,500 students in six minimagnet academies, or small schools, one of which is New Tech High Academy. Students must apply to the New Tech program.

Of Arsenal New Tech's about 300 students in grades nine through 12, 15 percent are in special education, and 83 percent are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch.

Academic Dean Scott DeFreese acknowledges the campus is in a rough neighborhood and there are plenty of fights and other problems. South of campus, the neighborhood abounds in rental property, while, in sharp contrast, to the east is Woodruff Place, where homes are valued at half a million dollars or more.

Still, DeFreese said his students have shown significant gains and have been pretty successful.

DeFreese said Arsenal New Tech's suspension rate in 2009-10 was 30 percent of the rate across the campus. He said its attendance rate is 96.1 percent, compared to 92 percent throughout campus.

DeFreese said he was a teacher when New Tech opened four years ago and that the first year was rocky, because administrators didn't do what needed to be done to build the right kind of academic culture.

"You have to do a lot of diligent work," DeFreese said. "You have to explain to parents what the school means. You have to explain rigor to parents. You have to prepare the community. The expectations of teachers are much higher in this environment."

Junior Russtin Trotter, 16, has been a New Tech student for three years, since his freshman year.

"The New Tech environment is like a big family," Trotter said. "There's only been one fight on this site since I've been here. There are a lot more fights on other parts of the campus. It takes a couple of months to get used to the New Tech model. Collaboration is a little rough, learning how to work with other students instead of just doing it yourself."

The New Tech model, which originated in Napa, Calif., works within Indiana's state standards and focuses on project-based learning and integrated use of technology in the classroom. It seeks to foster a culture of student responsibility. New Tech projects are completed collaboratively by groups of students, and grades are based on a multifaceted combination of content, oral and written communication, teamwork, critical thinking and work ethic.

Student uniforms include black or beige pants and shirts in red, green, black or white. No jeans are permitted.

The first few days at a New Tech school are about culture-building, emphasizing to students over and over about the need to work together, to collaborate -- to know their learning style and to make the best use of that while working in groups. Most classes are taught in a block format in which two teachers from two different disciplines work together.

At Arsenal, New Tech students have lunch at 10:30 a.m. Because DeFreese doesn't have the staff to provide electives at New Tech, those are taken outside the New Tech building, and students return for the last two hours of the New Tech day at 12:30 p.m.

"The International Academy teaches eight different languages, and I want my kids here to be able to take advantage of that," DeFreese said of another minimagnet school on campus. "The athletics on campus are also fantastic. Most of my kids are involved in that and. as a former coach, I encourage it."

Teachers Paryis Housley and Connie Buckley said it's better to implement New Tech throughout the whole school rather than just at two grade levels as Calumet has done.

Buckley believes the upperclassmen -- juniors and seniors -- have some influence over the younger students. Because students in grades nine through 12 at Arsenal New Tech are all in the program, teachers said the older students encourage the younger ones to maintain school rules.

But Buckley said the New Tech model does not fit every student's needs.

Both teachers said New Tech creates more work for teachers, but they support the model over that of a traditional public school.

Housley said New Tech allows students to explore and ask questions. They learn a lot more when teachers talk less frequently. "Let the students ask teachers what they need to know," she said.

Buckley said teachers' direct instruction and lectures are done in spurts, possibly 10 to 15 minutes at a time.

Senior Amanda Gentry, 17, who began at Arsenal New Tech as a freshman, said it's more hands-on than a traditional school. She's learned she enjoys working on a project with other students and the importance of a strong work ethic and collaboration, lessons she will carry with her to college.

The first New Tech graduating class will be in June. DeFreese expects to graduate 80 percent, or 52, of the students he first started with four years ago. He said 71 of the original 75 juniors remain in the program; there are 92 sophomores and 84 new freshmen this year.

Students at Arsenal Tech attend Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis through an early entry program administrators developed.

"Too many schools push kids into dual credit and Advanced Placement classes and don't give them the social and cultural readiness skills they need," DeFreese said. "Students need to get used to college life first, get a real college experience first."

DeFreese wants to get as many students to the university as possible. He hosts a variety of fundraisers to help pay student tuition to IUPUI. Over the past several years, DeFreese said he raised $185,000. His goal is that each student graduates with 12 hours of college credit.

Arsenal New Tech also partnered with the Tech Point Foundation to help with fundraising and in getting needed items like computers.

"I have a very dedicated staff and community, and that's something New Tech has to have," he said. "The school district also has been very supportive."

Now that the school is in its fourth year of operation, its annual fee to be a member of the New Tech Network is $20,000. The typical startup cost is $400,000 over the first three years. DeFreese said Arsenal is also a demonstration site, and the school had more than 350 visits last year by educators from across the world.

Rochester Community High School

Nestled in a rural community about 45 miles south of South Bend, just off U.S. 31, sits Rochester Community High, the home of Zebra New Tech High School. The high school, with a student body of about 600, completes its transformation to a completely New Tech format this school year as the initial class become seniors.

Senior Carly Schultz, 18, was one of those first students in the New Tech program. She remembers being nervous as a freshman having to stand up in front of class and talk about her project.

But today not only is Schultz not nervous talking in front of a group, she also leads tour groups around the school, explaining the New Tech format to visitors.

"I've learned that some kids are able to lead a group and some kids hang back," she said. "In order to get a good grade, you sometimes have to pick up the slack for others who aren't working in the group."

Schultz said she's learned how to create and present a portfolio, and she's done fascinating projects -- from a Digicom class project on what students like about New Tech to a biofuel project.

Sophomores Seth Corn, 15, and Jonathan O'Dell, 16, were working on a Digicom autobiography project. Co-teachers Valerie Hoover and Ryan Helt instructed students on how to use Photoshop to develop the project, which would be presented in a week.

O'Dell, who had gone to a Six Flags theme park over the summer, used pictures from his vacation to develop the project. Corn said his autobiography would detail the kinds of activities that were important and fun to him.

Technology Director Theresa Shafer said administrators considered the New Tech model when the business community told them the school was not preparing students for the world of work.

A series of community meetings were held with various sectors; school leaders asked residents what skills they wanted their children to have.

The business community responded that students needed to take more college or dual credit classes to acquire more sophisticated skills.

Rochester Principal Daniel Ronk, who had been principal a year before New Tech began, said the biggest challenge for schools is changing the way teachers and the community think about education.

"It was a struggle for our teachers, especially the first year, because it completely changes the way teachers teach and students learn," he said.

The district was able to access a federal grant called WIRED and obtained $410,000 to help implement New Tech.

Spanish teacher Alex Lute this year issued the first project-based assignment to students a week after school started Aug. 5, which focused on creating a survival guide for first-year Spanish students. The sophomores had several objectives, including providing tips to freshmen to get through Spanish. The students were divided into six teams of three students per team. They have two weeks to complete the project.

Lute, a 1995 Valparaiso High School graduate, said he uses technology in Spanish, enabling students to study the culture and its myths and legends. He said project-based learning provides a more interactive way to teach rather than just using a textbook.

New Tech isn't the only reform method Rochester uses. It also offers classes through Project Lead the Way and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program. It offers Advanced Placement classes in calculus and government. Rochester also won a $14,000 Classroom Innovations mathematics grant.

Students wishing to earn a Zebra New Tech certification on their diploma need to pass the 21st Century Skills Assessment, complete at least six hours of a dual-credit class, develop a digital portfolio, complete 20 hours of community service and choose between a professional internship and a senior project.

Rochester's graduation rate was 78.8 percent in 2009. The 2008-09 attendance rate was 95.4 percent. The percentage of students passing the fall ISTEP-Plus English/language arts test in 2008-09 was 75 percent. The percent who passed the math test for the same period was 73 percent.

Rochester has expanded its New Tech model to the middle school where teachers are developing project-based lessons designed to engage students in learning.

Rochester Community School Corp. Superintendent Debra Howe said as the region's Calumet High implements New Tech, teachers may find they have to tweak or "customize" the program to suit the school's needs.

Rochester also found it needed to rewire the building to make way for New Tech. Principal Ronk said the district had to drastically increase its broadband Internet capacity.

Ronk said student behavior problems have gone down since New Tech was instituted, and issues now mostly revolve around misusing technology.

"I really think the program has changed the culture of the school," Ronk said. "By working in groups, students know their classmates. It reduces the number of cliques because you have to work with different students in different classes, meaning all of the students interact with each other."