In changing times Plymouth schools remain the education destination

Lincoln Jr. High began One to One computing this year

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs
Plymouth Schools

PLYMOUTH – Years ago Bob Dylan told the world “The times they are a changin'...” and 30 years later, they continue to change.

The good news is that the Plymouth School Corporation continues to adapt to those changes to give area students the tools they need to meet the challenges of our changing times.

“We can't keep teaching people like we were still in the industrial age,” said Plymouth Superintendent Dan Tyree. “We are no longer competing with other schools in Indiana to put our kids in those seats at prestigious colleges, we're competing with China and India for those spots. We have to do whatever we can do give the advantage to our kids.”

Relationships with college's like IVY Tech and Purdue are allowing students at Plymouth schools to gain credit towards their college degrees before they ever leave high school.

Plymouth schools have been working hard to give Plymouth students a big advantage when it comes to technology. Project Lead the Way will prepare students to be innovative leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through an engaging, hands-on curriculum, Project Lead the Way encourages the development of problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creative and innovative reasoning.

“We did a survey of our graduates and found that we were not offering courses that were meeting the needs of those seeking an engineering degree,” said Jim Condon, Principal at Plymouth High School. “We started this as a pre-engineering program and this year offered an introductory course. The plan is to add three further courses to the program over the next three years.”

The programs give Plymouth schools students a brighter future by providing them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success in science, technology and mathematics related fields. Education in those core subjects are at the heart of today’s high-tech, high-skill global economy.

“We had two sections with 25 students in each this year,” said Condon. “The program is more rigorous than the normal course in industrial technology and it's been nothing but exciting and successful. We're very pleased with the first year.”

Plymouth schools will extend their one to one computing program to grades 7 through 12 starting next year. Each student at Lincoln Junior High and Plymouth High School will be issued their own MacBook computer for the school year.

“The program was fostered by Lincoln Jr. High's program and they've been invaluable as a resource of letting us know things that we may want to do and not want to do,” said Condon. “Instruction and schools are going to change drastically. It has to, because this is the way kids learn now. They deserve access to that kind of technology. We've left behind the era where we let kids have complete access to all the technology they want outside the school doors and take it away from them when they come in. There are too many ways to use those tools to teach them.”

Plans are in the works to extend the program to Riverside Elementary the following year. Students will also soon have the “tech school” alternative approach available to them in their own school.

In essence Plymouth High School will soon become several schools in one, offering many different paths to success, designed for the needs of all students to be successful in the vastly changing world of today.

“There are two achievement gaps in schools today,” said Tyree. “There is the gap that exists between our minority and poverty level students and others and I feel we've done a good job of working to close that gap, but there is also a gap between our best students and the rest of the world's best students and that's something that will be harder to close but we are working on that.”

Plymouth schools continue to be recognized for their achievements statewide. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett has frequently referred to Plymouth Schools as “...an island of excellence...”

Teamwork with administrators and teachers means success

“I feel that is a real tribute to all the hard work of the faculty and staff here,” said Tyree. “They take great pride in what they do and work very hard to provide the very best for our students.”

Webster Elementary in Plymouth was recently named a “Four Star School” the state's top designation for achievement. According to the Indiana Department of Education, out of 1,808 public schools, only 188 schools met the criteria to be named a Four Star School.

The other three elementary schools in the Plymouth system fared well on the tests, but narrowly missed the Four Star rating. Jefferson Elementary, Menominee Elementary and Washington Elementary had scores well above the Four Star percentage mark in grade 4. Menominee was only 2.5 percent under the cutoff in Grade 3 and both Jefferson and Washington were approximately 13 percent under the point for the top rating.

With a devotion to cutting edge curriculum, creating partnerships with parents and the community and continuing to create and upgrade programs to insure student success Plymouth schools will continue to offer students the best education and brightest future in spite of turbulent times.