Three more schools are in the works for the next school year. The Achieve Hartford! site explains that “In May of 2007, the Board approved a five-year framework that would guide the opening of at least 22 new schools in Hartford.” Here’s what is planned:
Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School (k-8)
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. There was little to be impressed by until I reached the sample curriculum in the design specs, where, I saw that 4th graders might design water filters and alarm circuits. The school will have a number of partnerships, including with the Connecticut Science Center and the Children’s Science Museum.
Dwight-Bellizzi Asian Studies Academy (pre-k – 8th)
This school will feature:
A robust, engaging curriculum that seamlessly integrates district and state academic mandates with global content and competencies to foster high academic achievement and to create awareness and understanding of the world and its workings
Language instruction, on a daily basis, from kindergarten throughout the elementary experience, with widespread exposure to native speakers
The language featured? Mandarin Chinese. The language and culture was chosen based on its growing popularity worldwide. Opportunities for students will include:
Two representatives from each classroom will serve as student ambassadors. Student Ambassadors
create activities around global awareness and run the school’s Global Council. The Global Council
will make recommendations for monthly activities and school improvement to the leadership team.
Students will also have opportunities to participate on a mock United Nations Council using multiple
languages at grades 7 and 8.
Students in grades 7 and 8 will read the “Book of the Month” with students in grades 1 and 2.
Students will participate in a competitive Debate Club in grades 5-8.
Students in grades 1 and 2 will practice Mandarin with grades 7 and 8.
Beyond building language and rhetorical skills, this seems promising as it enables students to work with those in other age brackets. This helps the older students to reinforce their knowledge via teaching/tutoring, and provides younger students with another possible way to learn material. The possible lesson plans for 6-8th grade contain material that many are not exposed to until college, if ever:
1. East Asia: An Overview
A broad overview is given of Asia’s great cultural traditions as well as the development of this
region throughout the twentieth century. Due to colonialism, Japanese militarism, World War II
and the Cold War, particular attention is given to changes within the region.
2. Politics in East Asia
Students are introduced to the political developments of the post-colonial period, with an emphasis
on the rise of communism after World War II and the evolution of more Western-style
democracies. Also included are discussions about the differences between Western and Asian
views of democracy and society.
3. The East Asian Economic Miracle
The materials give an analysis of how post-colonial countries created economic policies to
promote growth. Special attention is directed at economic policies which encouraged foreign
investment and the development of export-based industries.
4. Social Issues, Human Rights, and the Environment
Topics such as poverty, crime, environmental degradation in the wake of economic growth, the
changing role of women, the legacy of Japanese militarism, and the conflict between Western and
Asian views of human rights are introduced.
5. U.S. Interests in East Asia
The role of the United States in East Asia is explored from a framework of economic and military
interests. Topics of interest include U.S.-Japan trade relations, the wars America fought on Asian
soil, and the future of U.S. security amidst the growing economic and military power of nations
such as China and North Korea.
Humanities Studies at Bulkeley Upper School (11-12th)
I don’t really get this one. There’s block scheduling, which I think is a positive framework for a course, and a few intriguing classes, but really, isn’t “humanities” the general studies taught in most high schools? Is it specialized because of the number of math/science and performing arts type of schools emerging in the city? I don’t know. I like that there will be a Logic & Rhetoric course, as well as a Hartford, Connecticut Studies course. There are some courses offered that will gain students college credits. Aren’t these the types of things we should expect from all schools?
Some parents find the number and variety of schools in Hartford to be overwhelming. In a recent conversation with an expectant mother and potential new Hartford resident, we agreed that there was a lot to consider and determine, from the difference between charter, magnet, and neighborhood schools, to the type of education that might be appropriate for an elementary student, to the quality of that education. Then there is the matter of how children are accepted at various schools. I consider myself to be well-educated, and my reading of the “it’s super easy” regional application materials did not tell me much in terms of how children are selected for particular schools and what might increase their odds at being accepted. Personally, the headache I am getting from trying to understand this process is working as effective birth control. Using the website, I am sent around in a giant circle that delivers little in the way of useful information.
After clicking through about ten pages, I found a Parents FAQ that says:
Students are accepted into the program through a random lottery. Students with a sibling already in the program are given preference in the lottery for the town in which their sibling attends school. Every attempt is made to place siblings in the same town and, when appropriate based on the grade levels of the children applying, the same school. Attempts are also made to place students in towns located closer to where they live, though this is not always possible. Students who currently attend schools identified as “in need of improvement” under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will also receive preference in the lottery over students whose current schools are not so identified.
This somewhat answers my questions, but not all. For instance, if I wanted to send my hypothetical child to the nearest neighborhood school — Latino Studies Academy at Burns — do I have to apply especial because it is an “open choice” school, or would the Mini Me get automatically accepted because the school is visible from home and requires the hypothetical child to cross only one street en route? Word on the street is that race and politics might factor into this. Do I declare the hypothetical child’s race and ethnicity on the application in order to get an edge over others trying to enroll their children in this school? Would doing that reduce the likelihood of other neighborhood kids getting in, or would that only affect those trying to apply from more distant neighborhoods? Mama needs a cerveza!
I have a post-secondary education and can not figure out from the Hartford Public Schools website how to enroll a child in kindergarten. How do people with limited literacy and/or limited English-speaking skills handle this? I suppose some of this confusion would be cleared up after attending an informational session, but the friend I spoke with recently who expressed some confusion had gone to one of these, and she also comes out of one of the top school systems in the state. For something that ought to be fairly simple, this whole school enrollment thing seems overly complicated. It does not have to be. The Manchester Public Schools, for example, have a straightforward list of all documents that one needs to enroll a child. Then, you can click on a list of school zones. And, you’re done. That took me two minutes to figure out. Hartford’s process? I’m still sifting through the information. The next school choice fair is January 7th at Classical Magnet School from 5-7:30 pm. I might go just to see if I can get any insight into how this works.