New elementary with ties to ASU opens

First- and second-graders practiced pronunciation. Third- and fourth-graders learned basic Spanish while learning their classmates' names. Fifth- and sixth-graders discovered their teachers' backgrounds.

Monday was the first day of school for the 230 kindergarten to sixth-graders at Polytechnic Elementary School in Mesa. The nonprofit charter school, managed by University Public Schools Inc., is affiliated with Arizona State University. It's been in the planning stages since ASU President Michael Crow envisioned it in 2002.

The school promises innovative, team teaching, individualized learning for every student and new teaching styles, implemented with the help of mentor teachers and ASU graduate students, said Principal Donna Bullock.

Students sit in what are called clusters. First- and second-graders share two classrooms divided in part by a wall. This is the same for third and fourth grades and fifth and sixth grades. Each cluster has two classroom teachers and an instructional aide, and students stay with the same teacher for two years, Bullock said.

"We're not really teaching kids first grade," Bullock said. "We're teaching where they are academically. We're grouping kids by their ability."

There is one laptop computer for every two students. Next year, every student will have a laptop, and fifth-graders on up will be able to take their laptops home, Bullock said.

Lisa Ghormley, a third- and fourth-grade teacher, chose to teach at the school because of the school's philosophy of innovative education. She also brought her son, Michael, a fourth-grader, and next year plans to bring her daughter, Megan, a seventh-grader.

"I like how we're going to incorporate individual learning plans based on each child, not just the class," said Ghormley, who taught third grade last year at Christ the King Catholic School in Mesa. "ASU's involvement is exciting."

ASU's goal with the elementary school is to increase academic achievement of all children, said Amanda Burke, an associate director for Education and Education Policy in ASU's Office of University Initiatives.

"By collaborating with University Public Schools, ASU seeks to bridge the gap between university research and knowledge application by creating innovative, research-based education models to serve students, teachers, administrators and families," Burke said.

"We also hope to increase access to innovative, quality and culturally inclusive education for all of Arizona's children and families," Burke said.

The ultimate goal is to have University Public Schools near every ASU campus, and to research and find the best teaching methods to share with other schools in the state, said Larry Pieratt, executive director of the University of Public Schools Initiative.

Pieratt founded and operated Horizon Community Learning Center in Ahwatukee Foothills in 1996. Horizon is one of the state's top 10 charter schools in terms of AIMS scores.

"The missing piece is the research piece," Pieratt said. "That's what ASU can bring to the table. This center of innovation provides opportunities to do research."

Graduate students will be analyzing data, researching and writing papers on their findings before disseminating the information to other schools and universities, he said.

"We're just very excited and look forward to involving the community as we continue to grow," Pieratt said.

Every teacher gets 90 minutes a day of professional development and planning. Teachers also spend more time than public school teachers working on their teaching. Teachers get only two weeks off during the summer and one week less than students for the holiday and spring break, Bullock said.

"Teachers can take more time, go more in-depth on concepts," said Bullock, who was principal for the last three years at Christ the King in Mesa. "Our teachers will be more efficient with the 90 minutes every day of professional development."

David Switzer decided to send his two children to the school because of the smaller class sizes and accelerated learning pace. He moved his kindergarten-aged son, Davin, and daughter Addyson, who is in second grade, from the Higley Unified School District.

"I liked the idea of there being a set number of kids that they would take, not just cramming them into the classroom with as many as they would fit," said Switzer, a Gilbert firefighter. "Addyson said school was boring because she knew what they were learning. We thought we'd give it a try."

The school opened in a temporary, 15,000-square-foot office building off Power Road south of Warner Road. A large main hallway serves as the multipurpose room. Students eat food they bring from home in their classrooms.

Parents plan to start yearbook, art masterpiece programs and a chess club, Bullock said.

Next year, the school will move to a permanent building on the ASU Polytechnic campus. Groundbreaking on that 24-acre location is planned soon.

Preschool and seventh and eighth grades will be added next school year. The year after that, ninth grade will be added, and so on until the school is complete with high school seniors.

University Public Schools wants to partner with school districts, and is still working with Tempe and Phoenix elementary school districts. Talks with the Higley district stalled because of financial issues, Pieratt said.