CHAPTER TWO

Where I Work
The real role in leadership in education... is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control. Creating a climate of possibility, and if you do that, people will rise to it, and achieve things that you completely did not anticipate and couldnt have expected. Ken Robinson ______________________________________________________________________________

High Tech High International (HTHI) opened in 2004, the second of five High Tech High secondary
charter schools. Students from all over San Diego apply for admission, and receive an offer by a zip-codebased lottery. Our four hundred students (roughly one hundred per grade level) represent a cross-section of San Diego. Girls and boys embody an equal half of our population. Roughly 40% identify themselves as Latino, while the second largest racial group identifies themselves as Caucasian (33%). Approximately 34% qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch, 10% are enrolled in Special Education, and 4% are classified as English Language Learners. Most of the 12th grade students live with half an hours drive from our campus in Point Loma, CA, but some travel up to three hours to practice the project-based learning and receive the individual attention that our school is recognized for. The creation of the High Tech High Schools emerged from the desire expressed by local businessmen to prepare more students for the increasingly technological work world. Larry Rosenstock (formerly of the New Urban High School Project) was sought out as the visionary for its foundation. Each HTH school embraces not only preparation for college and career, but also citizenship. Each community is developed with the four design principles: Personalization Adult World Connection Common Intellectual Mission Teacher as Designer The most striking of these four when walking through the doors of HTHI are personalization and common intellectual mission. Students cannot get lost in any kind of crowd here, as they might in a larger high school. Classes are not tracked, and the school is both diverse and integrated. Students and teachers refer to one another on a first-name basis, and all teachers will identify themselves as learners alongside their students. It is clear that all staff and students have a voice and are encouraged to use it to explore their full personal and collective potentials. The nature this community means that we are constantly looking to improve upon what we are doing. Everyone is a work in progress as we regularly assess and work to improve our community. The International campus was designed with the even bigger picture in mind. While most teachers do work to incorporate international news or events in some manner through their projects, the I in our acronym is more commonly attributed to three key offerings:

 The spring Immersion trips that each student has the opportunity to participate in during the
school year. With the exception of Semester at Sea, which occurs over three weeks during the winter, most trips are led by a teacher and usually guided by a student tour company. The goal is for students to immerse themselves in another culture/place/lifestyle for a week. The external exchange program offered. Each year, HTHI invites international students to attend. We typically host between ten and twelve students. While some of our students have participated in semester abroad programs, the reverse is more typical. The international visitors we host. Many schools interested in project-based learning will travel to our school to speak with the students and teachers. We are currently pursuing opportunities for more teacher exchange opportunities, as well. The school is led by a director (the public school equivalent of a principal). Our dean of students works closely with the director to support our students. A site manager acts in a similar manner as a school secretary, keeping our school organized and overseeing attendance. Our college counselor also acts as part of our administration team. He is an important resource for the seniors I work with. He works with all students, but our seniors come to know him well during the college application process.

Figure 2.1 Trip to Costa Rica, Spring 2011

Four to five teachers teach in each of the four grade levels and are supported by a Resource Specialist and Information Technologist. The faculty meets thrice weekly, focusing on announcements on Tuesdays, study groups on Wednesdays, and grade-level or department issues on Thursdays. Responsibilities rotate throughout the staff and are recorded in an evolving Google Document for regular referral. As designers, teachers have tremendous freedom and tremendous responsibility over their curriculum, particularly in the senior year. While rooted in the Common Core Standards, High Tech High International teachers work to make sure their students work holds meaning and purpose outside the classroom. As often as can be coordinated, projects are meant to live on in the world outside the school and to contribute to strengthening the community. Teachers (particularly across the same grade level) are encouraged to integrate their subject content through the creation of projects that allow students to practice the skills they should be learning in a manner that they see it become something live. This idea emerges largely from Ron Bergers practice of encouraging students (and those who guide them) to deeply connect to the idea of creating beautiful work. Culminating projects are often showcased and celebrated through public or school-wide exhibitions for students and the community to fully recognize how much learning has transpired. 2

Students begin their time at HTHI by meeting a staff member who will serve as their advisor throughout their years here. Advisors oversee roughly four students per grade level and work to build a smaller support group that participates in guidance and community activities together. Students are also enrolled in a cross-grade-level course called X-block. These courses are often focused on physical education or a student-interest group and led by a staff member. Offerings change each quarter, and students sign up and are placed in the order of their requests. At the time of my research, I am beginning my fourth year as the 12th-grade English teacher at HTHI. The Class of 2013 is divided into two teams of roughly twenty-five students who migrate

Monday/Wednesday/Friday 8:25 - 9:35 Per 1 9:35 - 10:45 Per 2 10:50 - 11:55 Per 3 12:00 - 12:20 Advisory 12:20 - 1:00 Lunch 1:05 - 2:15 Per 4 2:20 - 3:25 Per 5 Late Start Wednesday (monthly) 7:30 - 9:00 Staff Meeting 9:25 - 10:20 Per 1 10:25 - 11:20 Per 2 11:25 - 12:20 Per 3 12:25 - 12:45 Advisory 12:45 - 1:25 Lunch 1:30 - 2:25 Per 4 2:30 - 3:25 Per 5
Figure 2.2 HTHI Schedule

Tuesday/Thursday 8:25 - 9:30 9:35 - 10:35 10:40 - 11:45 11:45 - 12:25 12:30 - 1:30 1:30 - 2:35 2:40 - 3:25

Per 1 Per 2 Per 3 Lunch Per 4 Per 5 X Block

1/2 Days (occasionally) 8:25 - 9:10 Per 1 9:15 - 10:00 Per 2 10:05-10:50 Per 3 10:55 - 11:40 Per 4 11:45 - 12:25 Per 5

from each of their three core classes as a group. Each student on my team this semester is enrolledin a twohour English class and a two-hour engineering class. On the other team, students are enrolled in a two-hour environmental engineering course and a two-hour art class. while the other two are enrolled in a two-hour government class. During the spring term, students will switch into the other team. Through the year, every student is also enrolled in a one-hour math class. Integration of course projects is encouraged, but can be challenging. The senior English classroom is located downstairs in a round room near the schools entrance. Books line the perimeter of approximately one-quarter of the room and student work is rotated on the corkboard walls. Students know to refer to the project calendar and the daily agenda on the whiteboard for short and long-term project plans. Thirteen laptops are regularly used to create, critique, and reflect upon student writing. All work is posted online, so that if a student must be out, they are expected to maintain their contributions (or communicate their lack of ability to do so) to the class. The goal is one of slow emancipation, guiding them through their fall anxiety surrounding college applications to one of advocating for their own learning as they prepare to depart. Each student leads an informal student-led conference (SLC) with their guardians midway through each semester to share their progress. Each semester closes with a formal presentation of 3

learning (POL) in which a student uses his/her digital portfolio to orally demonstrate their preparation to continue to the next semester. In June, this is referred to as a T(transitional)POL and students are encouraged to reflect upon their time at our school and where they intend to move onto.

Figure 2.3 Our English Classroom