Superintendents Announce Collaborative New Innovation High School & Student Voice Video Contest Winners Honored

 

Kent ISD publicly announced the launch of a groundbreaking, collaborative new high school on Monday, June 27, 2011 at 10am on our campus. The announcement of Kent Innovation High School, which opens in the fall, took place as part of the awards ceremony honoring winners of the Student Voice Video Contest .

Both of these initiatives are focused on engaging high school students in their education, and are part of a commitment of area superintendents to inspire innovation across the region. Their Secondary Re-design Committee studied a range of ideas and sponsor both of these:

• Student Voice Video Contest - The contest seeks students' ideas about education and new ways to create good learning experiences. This follows up a study of more than 17,000 students Kent ISD did last year to examine the high school experience. See the full list of contest winners.

• Kent Innovation High - This new school will be an innovation incubator, inspiring new programs in schools across the region. The 100 ninth graders already enrolled mirror the diversity of our area, in ethnicity, geography and academic achievement, and represent each of our public school districts. The students, families and staff were recognized during Monday's announcement.

"This announcement is the culmination of several years of planning for this new school and our superintendents are pleased to share it with you," explained Kevin Konarska, superintendent of Kent ISD. "Innovation High will look and feel quite different from traditional high school programs. We designed it together to inspire innovation in all of our schools, to benefit all our students."

With a focus on project-based learning and collaboration with both students and teachers, this school will demonstrate some of the best thinking in the country about how students learn and new ways of teaching. Advisors from the community and local businesses will assist students in their research and final presentations.

The school will emphasize learning through real-world projects in a team-centered environment, with one-to-one computing and other technology. Courses feature blended content, such as the Bio-Lit class, where students will study both biology and literature together, viewing topics from both lenses. The format and content are based on The New Tech Network from Napa, California. (www.newtechnetwork.org )

Students will be joined by another hundred students next year and the next, until the school reaches its 400-student capacity. The new school is located in a wing of Kent Career Technical Center , on the Kent ISD campus. The public will be invited to tour and meet staff at the new school at a Community Open House this fall.