Calumet High School launches New Tech

It was organized chaos for the first few minutes at Calumet High School on Thursday as students flowed into the cafeteria to pick up their schedules on the opening day of classes.

Teachers greeted students and directed them to the correct rooms. Students, dressed in black or khaki pants with a red-, black- or white-collared tops, scrambled down the halls.

There was an air of excitement and a sense of something different. From the dress code to the New Tech curriculum for freshmen and sophomores, teachers visibly were enthusiastic and students appeared ready for work.

New Tech high schools, a product of business leaders in Napa, Calif., features one-to-one computing and project-based learning. Students use the latest software to do everything from access daily bulletins to complete math assignments.

Calumet High School is the first Northwest Indiana high school to initiate a New Tech program. Gary school officials are looking at the program for next fall.

Calumet teachers June Lenher, biology, and Dustin Nelson, health, teach a combined block class called bio-health to sophomores.

"New Tech isn't just about technology. It's also about how to be a professional," Nelson said. "The skills you will learn here will help you in the world of work. You will learn about collaboration and about how to work in a group."

In response to a question from Nelson, sophomore Robert Brown said knowing his learning style will help him better express himself in class.

"It also will help you know what area you need to improve on," he said.

Lenher said 60 percent of a student's grade will be based on collaboration and interaction with other students.

Sophomore Haley Johnson, 16, said she spent Wednesday night with a friend, and they didn't fall asleep until about 11:30 p.m. But she was up at 6 a.m. to get ready for school and the first day of New Tech.

Junior Nico Baker, 17, said she wishes all students at Calumet were participating in the New Tech program.

"They'll get to use computers all of the time. I would have liked that," she said.

Senior Bridget Griffin, 17, said all students are well aware of the school's need to improve test scores and get off probation. She believes New Tech will play a role in the school's turnaround, and she's especially excited it's her last year of high school.

Calumet is among six schools in Lake County in their fifth year of probation. State Superintendent Tony Bennett has demanded that schools institute bold reform to improve student performance or face state takeover.

Elsewhere in the region, nearly 2,600 students were registered for school at Crown Point High School.

Crown Point Community School Corp. Superintendent Teresa Eineman, Principal Eric Ban, security director Milan Damjanovic and other school personnel stood in the parking lot, helping to direct traffic and greet students as they arrived.

Students went to their assigned homeroom, picked up a student handbook and listened to a recorded message from Ban and other school officials welcoming them to the new school year.

Gary Community School Corp. Superintendent Myrtle Campbell said new Roosevelt Principal Phylis Hammond has plenty of ideas to help transform Roosevelt, which is in its fifth year of probation. School in Gary started Wednesday.

Principal Hammond has proposed instituting a freshman academy to provide students with the necessary support so they are on track for their sophomore year.

Campbell said she is still planning to hire two assistant principals for the high school, which has an estimated fall enrollment of 1,500 students in grades seven through 12.