Colorado Springs teachers look to Bronx for inspiration

Wearing anti-static wrist guards for safety, students at IN-Tech Academy opened up a hard drive to connect computer components during an A+ course at the Cisco Networking Academy. In another part of the school building, their peers in a government class scanned barcodes to get the homework on their phones.

Those were just some of the innovations that piqued the interest of educators from Colorado Springs, who were in the Kingsbridge section of the northwest Bronx last week to see how local schools offer technology in the classroom, career pathways and social and emotional support to students.

As part of a citywide tour, the group from Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs visited the High School of American Studies at Lehman College and the Bronx High School of Science, along with IN-Tech Academy in Kingsbridge.

Susan Field, an assistant superintendent for learning services in Colorado’s District 20, said the trip was part of an effort to gather know-how from large metropolitan areas, such as the Bronx.

“It’s the research and design team and each year we send about 15 school-based administrators and central administrators out to visit a large metropolitan area and we just are out looking at best practices in schools and we like a rich diversity of schools,” Ms. Field said. “We just don’t focus on one type of school.”

The project began three years ago and the group has observed schools in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Washington, D.C., she said.

The group of 15 educators broke up into three teams of five people who toured different schools during the five-day trip. The group compared notes afterward, said Jim Smith, an assistant superintendent for administration at Academy School District 20.

In IN-Tech Academy’s Virtual Enterprise class, students rely on their skills in computers, design, math and writing to create and operate a company and sell a product. The goal is to help students learn the social, presentation and marketing skills that go along with running a business.

“It’s a different path to get the same skills,” said Stephen Seltzer, IN-Tech’s principal. “They have to write business reports… They’re doing spreadsheets. They’re building businesses. The interpersonal relationship they have to build resources… We’re trying to find new ways to get them the traditional knowledge,” said Mr. Seltzer.

The school offers career and technical education as part of its curriculum.

During the school’s CISCO Networking Academy, students learn how to create, repair and protect a computer network. At graduation, students can receive certification for their learning.

Colorado Springs plans to incorporate parts of the Virtual Enterprise course and the Cisco Academy into its school district, Ms. Field said.

“Cyber-security in Colorado Springs, it has the potential to be a really big industry in our community so we’re just looking to replicate best practices that we see in other parts of the country,” said Ms. Field.

Mr. Smith said the team was interested in American Studies because of its location on a college campus and wanted to learn about the benefits of the arrangement for the college and the high school.

“It’s a great school and kids are just not able to attend the high school classes but to take classes at the college in areas they want to go deeper into for content,” Mr. Smith said. He called the model “amazing.”

Alessandro Weiss said the visit by Colorado educators was “unique” because the group came from another American school. Usually, American Studies draws visitors from countries as far away as China and Holland, he said.

“It’s always interesting to hear how our colleagues are thinking from around the country and around the world. Sometimes it’s very similar to the kinds of issues about which we are thinking and sometimes it’s very different,” Mr. Weiss said.

At Bronx Science, assistant principal David Colchamiro said the group observed Advanced Placement biology and Advance Placement U.S. history courses. Students, some of which served as school ambassadors, conducted the tour and guided the group at the school’s Holocaust Museum.

“They have a real gem there that they have a Holocaust Museum in the lower level of the school, which we were really interested in seeing that as well and seeing how they use that as part of their instruction,” Mr. Smith said.

However, being able to implement some of the change may rest on a measure that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot in Colorado. According to the District 20 website, a proposed $230 million bond would be used to fund the building of two elementary schools, one middle school and an innovation and learning center. The district has grown by 7,000 students since 2001 and projects an additional 5,000 students by 2026, according to its website.

In all, Colorado Springs’ District 20 has: four pre-schools, summer, enrichment and charter schools, 21 elementary schools, eight middle schools and seven high schools, according to the district’s website.

The district served 23, 973 students from kindergarten through 12th grade and had a graduation rate of 89 percent in the 2012-2013 academic year, according to ballotpedia.com, a website offering encyclopedia-style data on American politics. The poverty rate was 11.7 percent, compared to 12.5 percent statewide.

According to New York City Education Department figures for the 2014-2015 academic year, American Studies served 376 students, had a 99-percent four-year graduation rate, and 23 percent of its students qualified for free lunch. Bronx Science served 3,015 students, had a 99-percent four-year graduation rate and 33 percent of students qualified for free lunch. IN-Tech served 1,022 students in grades six through 12, 83 percent of whom were eligible for free lunch, and had an 84-percent four-year graduation rate.

Overall, the four-year graduation in the Bronx stood at 62 percent, according to Education Department figures from the 2014-2015 academic year.