| Vicki Baldwin, pricipal, |
Mindi Maldonado is a precocious teenager whose poise and vocabulary are already on par with many adults. But at school she was bored and got into fights, eventually dropping out of the LBJ Science Academy at age 16. Marisol Gauna struggled with math and the demands of motherhood, missed too many days of class, and finally had to leave school without a diploma when she turned 22. Both got a second chance to earn a diploma at Gonzalo Garza Independence High School, a new alternative for students who find traditional high schools intolerably boring or impractical.
It’s a slow evolution, but educators are designing schools which break the one-(large)-size-fits-all mold to educate urban teens who work full time, have children, or prefer experiential learning to textbooks. Before Garza opened, the only hope for many dropouts to finish their diplomas was the American Institute for Learning charter school. Both schools have more applicants than spaces available. Garza filled to its capacity of 350 within two months of opening in January last year.
At Garza, students of any age who’ve earned at least sophomore credit can enter and work toward graduation at their own pace. The school allows them to help design their own program of study, and hands-on projects are an integral part of the coursework. Principal Vicki Baldwin, who turned Fulmore Middle School into a model program and once served as an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education, wishes the state would itself learn a few lessons from Garza’s innovative approach. She says many students get beaten down by standardized tests and relentlessly abstract coursework, while being given few chances to shine.
“There’s no advocacy group for slow learners, who are pedaling as fast as they can,” says Baldwin. Judging them through “standardized testing is one of the most ludicrous things I’ve ever seen. … The ability to come to school, to perform, and to succeed demonstrates far more character and integrity, more stick-to-it-ness, than a one-day paper and pencil test.”
Some students at Garza have made heroic efforts just to stay in school, Baldwin says. More than half of Garza students have jobs, and many are teen parents and live on their own. “All these kids go through such life-wrenching circumstances that you wonder how they even get out of bed in the morning, much less pass the TAAS,” says Baldwin.
Mindi says her mother had trouble supporting the family, so Mindi went to work at 15. High school seemed to only punish her for her problems with school, she says, so working became more fulfilling. At Garza, she says, things were different. “I had so much respect for them, because they acted like they wanted to know what was going on with me. … I never would have come back [to school] if Garza hadn’t opened.” Likewise, Marisol caught few breaks from the system for missing classes to attend to her daughter. Night classes were not an option at her old schools, but Garza is open until 8pm in the evenings.
Baldwin says Garza students are some of the most appreciative she’s ever known — thankful for a school flexible enough to meet their needs, while demanding the discipline of regular attendance. After completing a “power-TAAS” discussion group to prepare kids for the annual May exams, Baldwin was struck by students’ newfound confidence.
“They said to me, ‘You know, no one ever told me I could pass it,'” says Baldwin. –K.F.
This article appears in May 14 • 1999 and May 14 • 1999 (Cover).