Bishop Kearney High School today announced it has entered into a unique partnership with B. Thomas Golisano, a long-time advocate of education reform, to launch far-reaching enhancements to its college preparatory curriculum that will not only prepare graduates for college, but position them for success in the real world. Additionally, Golisano has committed to put the most advanced technology from the business world into the classroom, transforming education through technology, and making this school a national model.
Going forward, the school will be known as Bishop Kearney High School ¦ a Golisano Education Partner, a nod to the foundation of the Catholic school—and to the forward looking involvement of the entrepreneur Golisano, who is pledging his vision and resources to the school for the long-term.
This September, Kearney¦Golisano will offer incoming freshmen an enhanced learning experience that will immediately begin charting a path to success in today's ever-changing real world environment.
The curriculum concept will be known as Core Plus. Students will still prepare for college by studying important core subjects like Math, Science, English and Social Studies, but the way they will be instructed will be innovative. The "Plus" comes with the integration of real-life lessons and practical life and business applications into the core curriculum.
"The enhancements we are creating are so logical in this day and age of rapid evolution in virtually all walks of life, said Donna Dedee, president and chief executive officer of the school. "The demands and expectations on our children are ever-increasing; I am so pleased that with Mr. Golisano's help, we will be uniquely poised to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century."
In fact, recent studies on the effectiveness of education have pointed to the need for schools to change the way they educate our children so that they are better-equipped to thrive upon graduation. For an entrepreneur like Tom Golisano, the need for innovation in education has been evident for some time.
"The workplace has changed dramatically in last 50 years. Unfortunately, our educational system has not always kept pace," said B. Thomas Golisano. "It's so important that we bring education in line with our needs, and up to date. It's imperative that we better-prepare our young people for the 21st century—and this is the way to do it."
THE BEST IN THE NATION; TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
In a community that has historically benefited from the innovations of the likes of Eastman, Carlson, and now Golisano, the entrepreneurial spirit is expanding into high school education via high-tech at Kearney.
Golisano will help the school by using the technology expertise of David Koretz, founder, president and CEO of BlueTie. Under his leadership, BlueTie has received many prestigious awards, including being named a Forbes Magazine "Best of the Web" company three years in a row, and one of the top 4 websites in the world for small businesses.
Today, the school announced the highlights of the education transformation via technology:
- EVERY STUDENT will have a new LAPTOP COMPUTER that provides the power to do school work from anywhere.
- A wireless network will give real-time access to assignments, tests and the Internet from any location on the Kearney campus.
- An Extranet will give parents, teachers, and students a dashboard of performance and trends in academic work.
- Every classroom will be a SMART Classroom, enabling electronic presentations and automatic e mail transmission of a copy of the day's notes to students.
- Web-based applications will allow students to work from home after school; and even keep up to date when out sick!
- Videoconferencing will connect remote classrooms, enabling a broader array of course offerings.
- Access control systems and digital video systems will keep students safe.
BISHOP PRAISES PLAN
Most Reverend Matthew Clark, Bishop of the Rochester Catholic Diocese could not attend today's announcement due to a travel conflict. However; he issued a statement endorsing plans for the school, which was shared with the student-body during a news conference.
"I applaud the idea of teaching our young people new and crucial skills for an ever- changing, 21st century world; and I thank Mr. Golisano for his commitment of his resources, energy and passion," said Bishop Clark. "Our community can only benefit from a high school that will infuse into its curriculum not only the expected math, science and language skills, but will equip its students with business acumen, nurture their entrepreneurship and creativity, teach them leadership skills and technological know-how," he added. "Combine that with the school's commitment to teaching faith and values and you have a recipe for sending forth into our world the best and the brightest – students who will truly be a force for positive change."
THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION
A recent Time Magazine article presented just one example of the national attention being paid to the gap in education when it comes to real world skills of graduates. In "How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century," the author wrote:
"This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education, the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get "left behind" but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English." (Time Magazine, December 10, 2006, Steptoe, Sonja; Wallis, Claudia)
The article focused on the word of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a high-powered, bipartisan assembly of Education Secretaries and business, government and other education leaders which released a blueprint for rethinking American education to better prepare students to thrive in the global economy. The group's conclusion: we need to bring what we teach and how we teach into the 21st century.
The Commission maintained that such improvement is possible only if we "add new depth and rigor to our curriculum and standardized exams, redeploy the dollars we spend on education, reshape the teaching force and reorganize who runs the schools."
In its 2005 report called "A Call to Action, Transforming High School for All Youth," The National Education Alliance, a non-partisan coalition geared toward improving high school education indicated "at the center of the framework (for student improvement) is the Alliance's belief that the purpose of high school is to ensure that all high-school age students are ready for college, careers, and active civic participation."
Among other things, the report called for the development of academically rigorous curricula that meet or exceed standards, are relevant to real-world contexts, and build on student and community assets. The new program at Kearney¦Golisano will do just that.
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS IN CLASS
How will the enhanced curriculum work? First, the school will not abandon the core subjects; there will be enhancements to those subjects, making them more relevant by weaving real-world examples and experiences into the content throughout a student's four-year experience.
For example, in English, students will still learn grammatical construction. However; this learning will be coupled with hands-on experience with projects like creation of effective oral and written presentations and speaking in public. They will understand important communications concepts and how they come into play in the workplace. Employers often report that new hires lack people skills. In most workplaces today, working in teams is important—and so are the communications skills which come into play in those groups. Kearney ¦Golisano graduates will understand those concepts.
The school will strive to turn out critical thinkers, who have the capacity to think across disciplines. The curriculum will be taught through the lens of entrepreneurship, focusing on key concepts like leadership, the entrepreneurial spirit, social justice, innovation and more. According to Thomas Friedman, the best-selling author of "The World is Flat," it is interdisciplinary combinations "that produce You Tube and Google."
The critical thinkers who emerge from Kearney¦Golisano will become smarter about new sources of information. In an age where they're forced to process an overflow of information from a variety of media, it's important that they can discern what's important and what's not. A mastery of technology and understanding of its use in the workplace are vital for graduates heading into the 21st century. The critical thinking advanced by rigorous math and science will add to this understanding.
As students head out into a global economy, they will use their enhanced Social Studies class work to understand international issues in the context of history class, so that they can gain a better understanding of economics, cultural differences and globalization issues which impact our daily lives. Alongside the history text books will be works of Bill Gates and other innovators—to provide real world, modern-day perspective.
PUTTING SKILLS INTO PRACTICE
From the classroom to the boardroom, a key component of this new curriculum will involve partnerships with local colleges and businesses eager to provide work-scholarship and internship opportunities to Kearney ¦Golisano students. Discussions are currently underway with a number of potential partners. In fact, agreements are near with Hartwick College and St. Bonaventure University, and would involve mentorship of Kearney¦Golisano students by undergraduates, program exchanges, and fast-track college admission by virtue of their standing as Kearney students.
"St. Bonaventure University already enjoys the increased vitality and accelerated achievement that mentoring students in entrepreneurial studies creates," said St. Bonaventure President Sr. Margaret Carney. "We look forward to sharing our faculty expertise and forming exciting joint ventures with Bishop Kearney High School."
OTHER COLLEGE LEADERS ADD ENDORSEMENT
In mid-December, Golisano, Dedee and members of Bishop Kearney's Board of Trustees met with college and university presidents and admissions directors from throughout the Rochester region.
When presented with the new model for high school education, the leaders presented their endorsement for a program that not only teaches the core subjects, but enhances them in a way to make them more relevant for students as they enter college and ultimately go to work.
"A student's education is not complete until he or she knows how society depends on and benefits from the workings of the entrepreneurial process," said Dr. Al Simone, president of Rochester Institute of Technology. "This process starts with an idea that results in the mobilization of resources in order to add value to how we work and live. Tom Golisano knows this better than anyone, and that is why this new innovative program at Bishop Kearney is so relevant and meaningful."
Richard P. Miller, Jr., former Rochestarian and long time friend of Golisano, and President of Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY said, "Tom has expressed for years to me his interest in improving high school programs focusing on entrepreneurship, free enterprise and civic engagement. His partnership with Bishop Kearney to address these objectives is a unique first step in what I believe will become a national movement. It is easy to foresee schools like this in every major city across the country, and institutions like Hartwick will be eager partners with them."
BROAD-BASED SUPPORT FROM COMMUNITY LEADERS
The initiative has drawn support from all sectors of the Rochester community.
"In today's changing economy, we have to be innovative not only in our approach to governing and economic development, but also in our approach to education. This program provides a great model," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. "It will help better prepare our students for college and the workforce, and give them the practical experience and critical thinking skills they need to succeed. If we harness the creativity and entrepreneurial talent of our students, we will retain more young people, grow more companies, and ultimately create more jobs."
"I am excited about this innovative collaboration," said Mayor Robert J. Duffy. "The Kearney ¦Golisano partnership will offer our youth the tools for success. I want to applaud Tom Golisano for his outstanding dedication to our community. He continues to be a tremendous advocate."
RESOURCES AND VISION
The school's president, Donna Dedee expressed gratitude for the generous gift to Kearney that Mr. Golisano announced last spring. He pledged $3 million over three years, and that donation is being treated as seed money for this new initiative. Additionally, Golisano has pledged nearly $1 million in initial technology infrastructure funding.
"The initial gift enabled us to start exploring ways to make Kearney an even more meaningful and valuable experience for students and their families; now, Tom is expanding that," said Dedee. "It's not just the financial resources, though--what is truly rewarding is the way Mr. Golisano has given of himself to work with us, with sleeves rolled up, to bring this school into the 21st century," she said. "He has a real passion for education—and I'm so grateful it's focused on our students."
PIONEER CLASS OF 2011
Kearney¦Golisano expects to roll out its first enhanced courses with the freshman class enrolling this year. This class, the Class of 2011, will be the first class to complete all four years of the enhanced program. For upper-classmen beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, a variety of relevant electives will be added.
Registration for the Class of 2011 and returning students is tonight, February 13, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Golisano will join Dedee for a presentation to parents and students at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium.
Bishop Kearney High School was founded by the Irish Christian Brothers and the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1962. A Catholic, college-preparatory institution, current enrollment is at approximately 440 students who come from two dozen school districts and all walks of life. The school is located at 125 Kings Highway South, Rochester, NY 14617.