New principal seeks engaging teachers

Hughes Center High School is undergoing more than a physical makeover: Educators hope that a modern facade will reflect innovations in the education provided for Cincinnati Public Schools students.

Although the renovations of Hughes’ classical building aren’t scheduled for completion until fall of 2010, the school will open the doors of its annex building to 300 new freshmen at the beginning of the 2009-10 academic year. 

Virginia Rhodes is the future principal of CPS’s first high school with a curriculum based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, a STEM school. She said that she believes the new curriculum will connect students with themselves, peers and the community.

“Hammering away at basic skills while students sit in straight desks of 30 is ineffective,” Rhodes said. “If a student stares at a textbook or regurgitates a lecture, do they really understand what it means? Test scores say not.”

Although a loss of student interest may be proven through test scores, Rhodes and her colleagues want to focus on what is working, tailoring project-based learning into the educational plan for Hughes.

A project-based learning method will almost always result in a student constructing a product, and according to Rhodes, it has already proved successful for a group of students at Hughes. 

In observation of Black History Month, a group of students decided to produce a museum for local elementary school students to visit during the month of February. Each subgroup of students was in charge of producing one exhibit to be presented.

“This project allowed students to creatively present analytical research,” Rhodes said. “This is what learning is all about.”

According to Rhodes, project-based curriculum addresses the developmental characteristics of teens, including their desire for social interaction with their peers.

“Fourteen- and 15-year-olds are figuring out who they are,” Rhodes said. “In a traditional classroom, this is working against the teacher.”

Creating a lesson plan that not only engages students but also provides them with the main objectives of the curriculum is what makes lesson planning a challenge. Before Hughes opens later this year, teachers will undergo a rigorous application process to make sure the best education will be provided to students.

During the application process, teachers who would like to be involved with the new STEM school must show  they have had experience with project-related curricula and interdisciplinary learning techniques.

“We’re not interested in the shallow end of this. This is not just about making a collage,” Rhodes said. “Project learning is for depth.”

According to Carla Johnson, director of the Furthering Urban STEM Innovation, Outreach and New Research (FUSION) Center at the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH), freshmen and sophomores at the Hughes STEM Center will be exposed to all five STEM pathways.

The exposure to these five specialized career pathways – sustainable environment and urban science, aerospace science and engineering, bioscience, STEM education and zoo academy – will come in the form of one-to-two-week internship placements, according
to Johnson.

Students will have the opportunity to apply for internships at the University of Cincinnati as well as partnering businesses such as General Electric Co., Duke Energy Corp., Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and Procter & Gamble Co.

As a result of UC’s proximity to the Hughes STEM Center, Johnson believes the majority of these initial placements will be with the university.

“One of the courses that we’re hoping to build into all of the pathways is a research internship,” said Johnson. “But [Hughes is] still working very heavily on the ninth and 10th grade curriculum and haven’t really flushed out junior and senior curriculum yet.”

Although Rhodes agrees progress is still being made on the exact curriculum for Hughes juniors and seniors, she is positive that students entering into their junior year will have chosen two possible career pathways.

Once a student makes this decision, he or she will take courses and have internship opportunities parallel to these areas of study.

“While taking the majority of their classes at the Hughes STEM Center, juniors and seniors will also take two to three courses at UC or Cincinnati State that will count towards their high [school] diploma as well as college credits,” Johnson said.

According to Larry Johnson, dean of CECH, UC students will also be presented with ample learning opportunities through the university’s connection with Hughes.

During the renovation of Hughes, a Teacher Training Center will be developed. This center will be staffed by UC and will be equipped with a classroom contained by large glass observation windows.

“We will be staffing the Teacher Training [Center] because we want to demonstrate the best teaching methods for the region,” L. Johnson said. “We’re going to be putting a lot of our interns there, and we’re going to have some of [Hughes] teachers teaching classes for us so we can have a real exchange of ideas.”