The T. C. Wilemon building is the oldest campus in
the Waxahachie ISD, but this fall it will become one
of the most modern in the world.
Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox announced plans Wednesday
to turn the Wilemon building into an innovative high
school campus where underprivileged and underachieving
students will learn science, technology and business
on a truly global scale. The WISD board of trustees
approved the plan at a regular meeting Monday night.
Waxahachie Global High will have open enrollment to
serve students beyond the district, but will be limited
to statistically underserved segments of the population
— women, minorities and the economically underprivileged
— and underperforming students, such as those
with high IQs, but low test scores.
The education provided at WGH will be radical in many
ways, and the traditional classroom structure has been
overhauled to match. Although there will be a headmaster
and a slate of about 10 yearlong educators, teachers
will serve as mentors, while students form small groups
to complete projects over the course of each school
year. The Texas Education Agency has waived requirements
for teacher certifications and school day length to
let students learn from a variety of professionals as
well as other students around the world, and to create
school days that bleed over into home life.
One of the hallmarks of the campus will be language
courses taught by students from other countries. This
fall, teenagers in China will teach Mandarin Chinese
to WGH students, who will in turn teach English to their
overseas peers. In future years, each class will choose
a country to participate with for the year.
“It’s hard to find Mandarin Chinese teachers
in Waxahachie,” Wilcox said.
It is all part of preparing students for an increasingly
global economy, where projects are completed in teams
and team members often communicate electronically from
thousands of miles away. WGH students will be able to
work with peers around the world, establishing international
life-long partnerships in the process.
The electronic focus of the campus allows students
to take work home. Interactive whiteboards — which
put classroom notes online — laptops with wireless
Internet and podcasting technology — which connects
audio subscription services to mp3 players — keep
students connected out of school and accommodate for
time zone differences around the world. Although school
hours are fluid, students will essentially have 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, access to their courses.
“Students here will be working much more than
students in traditional studies,” Wilcox said.
“So will the teachers.”
Part of keeping students that busy is to prepare them
for a global economy, but the individualized course
work is also designed to engage at-risk students as
an alternative to disciplinary measures. Nevertheless,
the advance nature of the program might appeal to high
achievers in the district who aren’t eligible
for enrollment. Wilcox said he feels the top students
are adequately served by traditional studies, and that
WGH was created to reach students who needed help.
“Our top 10 percent at Waxahachie High School,
I’m not concerned about a one of them,”
he said, but added that WGH might become a “proving
ground” for ideas to be implemented at other campuses.
WGH will start its first year with from 75 to 100 students
and gradually work toward a maximum of from 450 to 500.
Parents, students and teachers will be informed about
the application and interviewing process in the near
future.
The campus will focus on four tracks: math and science
engineering, business and law, computer technology and
health science. Through a partnership with Navarro College,
students will be required to complete 24 concurrent
credit hours in English, calculus, physics, biology,
American and world history, government and economics.
Students will graduate high school with the possibility
of starting college as sophomores.
The decision to start WGH grew from conversations about
the future of the Wilemon building, which had been thought
of as deteriorating and not being used to full potential.
Originally a high school and then an elementary school,
Wilemon houses the Discipline Alternative Education
Placement program and fire courses offered by Navarro
College. To renovate the building to grade school specifications
for use as a new traditional junior high or high school
campus would cost almost $13 million, more than building
a new campus from the ground up.
The district hired Romine, Romine and Burgess, an engineering
firm from Fort Worth, to analyze the property, and the
results were surprising.
With proper maintenance, Wilemon should outlast any
other campus in the district. That led administrators
to reconsider how Wilemon could be used in the future.
WISD has budgeted around $5.4 million to make necessary
renovations to the roof, HVAC and plumbing systems at
Wilemon, to hire the new professionals to run the school
and to purchase the technology that will make WGH unique.
Wilcox said none of that is expected to come out of
public bonds.
“We feel like all the money will either come
from grants or money the district has earmarked for
remodeling,” Wilcox said.
State Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) helped the district
secure grant money to fund the first years of the project,
after which regular state funding based on average daily
attendance will support the operating costs.
“I worked hard to make sure Waxahachie got these
funds from TEA (the Texas Education Agency) to make
this project happen,” Pitts said. “Working
to make this project a reality was exciting for me,
because I believe this is exactly the type of project
we need to begin preparing students for the demands
they will face in a 21st century economy. This is going
to put the Waxahachie school district at the forefront
of our nation’s public schools.”
Wilcox hopes the goodwill extends past the district.
“It’s going to be an excellent representative
for the Waxahachie community, for Texas and beyond,”
Wilcox said. “The bottom line is the real winners
are going to be students in Waxahachie.” |
