By Cindy Kranz
and Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

In a forensic science class at the School for Scientific Studies at Amelia High School, Heather Foy (left) and Brian Byess (rear) work on removing a plaster mold of a fellow student's footprint with Randy Hubbard, forensic science teacher. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

Bold efforts to restructure Cincinnati and West Clermont high schools over the last two years have sometimes been painful, but both districts say their small schools show great promise.

Though the data are still being compiled, CPS officials say schools such as Withrow University High School in Hyde Park and Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School in the West End show fewer discipline problems and more students passing than in previous years.

West Clermont has just started collecting data, but officials there are encouraged. Parents have told the school board that students are more motivated and interested than ever.

"That's obviously what we want to have happen," said John Gray, president of the West Clermont Board of Education.

Small, restructured schools are a template for how high schools are expected to look in the future. National research has shown that breaking large high schools into smaller learning communities with a focused interest will increase achievement and graduation rates, while cutting down on discipline problems.

Two years ago, CPS began to convert its five low-performing neighborhood high schools in an effort to curb the district's dismal graduation rate, which was 51 percent three years ago.

The district designed smaller schools of about 600 students each - instead of high schools of up to 1,200 students where students can get lost among their peers.

In the past two years, six smaller, restructured high schools have emerged. To create the smaller schools, the district carved out separate wings on the campuses of the old high schools.

Each revamped school has a specific focus but students also must take rigorous academic courses. Students choose which to attend.

"Kids want to be here," said Michael Turner, the senior institute manager at Taft. "They come here thinking that they are going to finish here and then go into technology."

Last school year, the school had 80 students move from the 10th grade into what's called a "senior institute." That's where 11th and 12th-grade students focus on learning information technology.

This year, the senior institute will house a minimum of 130 students, meaning more students are passing and making it to the upper grades.

Western Hills was transformed from a large high school into three schools, including a traditional school that will be phased out in two to three years.

But some members of the PTO who think the plan is too ambitious say they want the school, which is nearly 75 years old, to keep its traditional program.

"I feel like a vocational program is very important for keeping some kids in schools," said Westwood resident Linda Judd, who has a seventh-grade son entering Dater High School and a senior daughter there. Her 20-year-old son, Jeremy, who attended Western Hills, took auto mechanics there and now pursues that field at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College.

Although some CPS parents want to preserve a traditional school, Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota, said it's important to take a careful look at the four-year graduation rates.

"For the high schools converting, it's less than 30 percent. We have to look not at the nostalgia for the good old days, but what is happening with these youngsters in these (traditional) schools. A 70 percent dropout rate is a disaster."

West Clermont

West Clermont Local School District drew national attention when it became the first suburban school district to convert all its high schools to smaller schools. The district created 10 small schools, five at Glen Este High School and five at Amelia High School.

If Mark Peters, principal of Amelia High School and director of small schools for West Clermont, could start over, he would leave one of the 10 small schools a traditional school.

And, he'd convert one year at a time, starting with ninth grade. That way, students who were accustomed to a traditional high school wouldn't experience such upheaval.

The first year yielded many logistical problems. The biggest headache: scheduling.

Mary Bradley of Union Township has a son who will be a senior in the West Clermont Institute for Performing Arts at Glen Este High School.

"I love the whole idea of the small schools. I like the fact that they are focused on some of the things they like to do," Bradley said. "I think they bit off more than they could chew, though, in the first year."

When administrators think of what went right this past year, they point to Glen Este High School's intersessions, a 10-day period where students were allowed to take nontraditional classes for a half-credit. For example, students could take a geology class, but had to learn to rappel first.

"It was my vision of what education should be - active, hands-on participation," Peters added.

"When you walked in you could tell the level of engagement of kids. I rank it as the single most significant thing we've done."

West Clermont restructured its high schools, determined to improve them and the district's 80 percent graduation rate.

Bev Fulkerson initially opposed the small-schools concept because she felt it would limit choices for students. The Pierce Township woman has since changed her mind because her daughter, Karin, is pleased with the School for Scientific Studies.

"I know they're trying to work things out. Right now, we're guinea pigs. We just have to work with our teachers to help get our kids the best education they can."

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com or jmrozowski@enquirer.com