Changes on tap at Burchell High School

Please join me on a visit to a couple classrooms. As we walk in, it is not what you might expect. Students are not seated in neat rows of desks. The teacher is not standing at the front of the room lecturing. There are no textbooks visible.

Students are clustered in small groups, working together earnestly. One group is assembling parts of a small vehicle that looks like a Mars rover, tools and instructions spread out on the floor in front of them. Another group huddles around a computer, puzzling out programming glitches for making a servo motor raise a robotic arm.

Yet another pod of teenagers is clustered at the interactive whiteboard watching an instructional video. The teacher circulates around the room, providing suggestions and guidance where it is needed. This is Principles of Technology, our fledgling robotics program, where students learn programming, physics and engineering through hands-on building of robots.

Across the hall, students sit at computers, headphones on, watching tutorials, reading, taking notes and engaging in individual classes. The teacher provides individual instruction, going from algebra to biology to world history in a five-minute span. None of them are doing the same thing, and each student is using technology to recover lost credits and reach the once-distant and now-attainable goal of graduating.

Ask our students what makes Burchell special and they will tell you flexibility, options, support, small class sizes, caring staff, daycare, the adviser/advisee relationship, diversity and after-school classes. Burchell is a safe haven for those who need an alternative educational program suited to their unique situations.

While maintaining these time-tested strengths, we are also pushing to grow and improve. This year brings a new emphasis on science, technology and math to balance the school's already excellent arts program. Now not only are our dancers out performing in the community, our robotics team is also participating in state level competitions and showing off their budding engineering and programming expertise.

We are a safety net, and yet we are also an academic institution preparing kids to be successful in your businesses and community.

I've been surprised by how many people in the community tell me they hear change is happening at Burchell. In my conversations this year about maintaining the mission of the school while implementing school improvement efforts, the reoccurring theme is balance. No Child Left Behind has forced all public schools to focus on academic achievement and improvement. While the law has presented plenty of issues and controversy, it is not necessarily a bad thing to be held accountable for student performance.

Burchell will continue to be a place for students who do not fit into large, traditional schools, who need another chance, who need a flexible setting and social supports. It will also be a place that fosters creativity, innovation and imagination. It will be a place not only with a great arts tradition, but with a strong focus on math, science and technology. Changes are happening at Burchell, while maintaining the soul of the school.

Adam Mokelke is principal of Burchell High School.