Inquiring minds will seek to know at Plymouth Schools

By Rusty Nixon
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs

PLYMOUTH - Plymouth HIgh School students will soon be using the latest technology, the latest methods, and cutting edge ideas to learn that the world is flat.

Plymouth Assistant Principal Ken Olson used the premise of New York TImes columnist Thomas Friedman's bestselling book to introduce Marshall County business and community leaders and educators to Plymouth High School's new School of Inquiry. Friedman's term that the world is flat refers to the globalization that the explosion of technology has produced in today's economies.

Plymouth's 21st Century approach to learning will be based on the New Tech model already incorporated by Oregon-Davis and Rochester schools and will create a school within a school at PHS. In conjunction with the Plymouth School of Inquiry, Plymouth University will offer a slightly more traditional approach to learning for other students.

Both will offer students tools to face the ever changing demands of the global job market and even more. Students at Plymouth will actually be able to graduate from high school with enough college credits to also gain an associates level college degree at the time of being handed their high school diploma.

Olson pointed out that over 80 percent of jobs today required an associates level degree in order to be considered. The programs are the schools effort to meet that need and give Plymouth students the tools they need to compete in the global job market.

"When I started here 25 years ago my goal was I wanted students to do better than they thought they could," said Plymouth Superintendent Dan Tyree in introducing the school's new programs. "I have a broader view now of what kids need to succeed and the passion is still there to ensure that every child has everything they need to succeed in life."

Partnerships will play a big role in the new programs at Plymouth. PHS Principal Jim Condon stressed the desire for local business leaders to present real life problems to students and expect workable solutions to those problems.

"You have the opportunity to 'grow' your workforce here in the community," said Condon. "The goal is that we will be preparing them for the types of things that you need them to do in the future."

The need for cutting edge approaches to learning was stressed by Olson who will be in charge of the School of Inquiry at PHS. Olson pointed out that the top 10 "in demand" jobs of today did not even exist before 2002.

"We will be cultivating a culture of responsibility and respect," said Olson. "You notice in schools of this type that there are lockers, but they don't have locks. It's a result of being given more responsibility and higher expectations."

The schools will continue to develop relationships with Ancilla College, IVY Tech, IUSB and Purdue University in order to pool resources for the program.

The school will begin an application process for the School of Inquiry as the program will be limited to 100 students per grade level. Condon said the students chosen would represent a cross section of the demographics of Plymouth schools.

The Plymouth School of Inquiry is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2012.