STEM Schools coming to East TN (Maryville/Alcoa)

#1
Panthro

Panthro

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#1
I just heard from a friend, who is a teacher at MHS, that STEM Schools are probably headed to Maryville and Alcoa. I had heard a little about these before, but after listening to his explanation...I just don't understand how the school system could let this happen.
Essentially, it will separate the top 150 kids from each grade to go to a completely different school. MHS would be left as pretty much Maryville Standard School...for the lower 60% of each grade.
The kids heading to the STEM (elite) school, would immediately begin college prep work, and even be enrolled in college classes by year three (11th grade). They will also be separated from the rest of the school, and won't have time to play sports or socialize like they have in the past. The academic requirements of this new elite school will be so demanding, that the kids will have to completely change their idea of what high school is.
Maryville's draw as a city is their schools. I guess it's a nice town and all, but when my family had to move to east TN in 1997, we picked Maryville because of the schools. Even when I went to UT, I was the only kid in my first Lit class that had ever heard of a Harbrace. If the STEM school actually passes, I'd imagine it will keep families from moving in, and maybe even encourage some to move away.
I want my kid learning from everything high school has to offer. Depriving them of the chance to socialize with different kinds of people in a class like Team Sports will be the opposite of helpful for their development.
I'm not sure how things will work at Alcoa, I just heard that all other systems in the area rejected the idea, EXCEPT for Alcoa and Maryville City Schools.
I'm not really sure what to do about it, I just wanted to spread the word. Maybe the right person will be read this and get ticked off enough to go call the school system on this awful idea.
I just went to the site and submitted a note with my concerns.
Thanks.
 
#2
#2
I'm guessing the kids that will be accepted into that school won't care about missing sports anyway. Not to many brainiacs want to get concussions.
 
#3
#3
timmy said:
I'm guessing the kids that will be accepted into that school won't care about missing sports anyway. Not to many brainiacs want to get concussions.
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some of us were perfectly capable of lettering in sports and taking AP tests. Plus, for most sports, travel teams are far more competitive than HS teams ever dreamed

Personally I think it's a great idea because it starts to separate the college bound kids from the "workforce" kids at an earlier age. I've always thought this would help the education system immensely.
 
#4
#4
The top 40% of each grade is hardly a bunch of brainiacs. This isn't just for kids with a 4.0+ GPA. I would have made this cut, and I graduated with a 3.32 GPA from high school.
If you believe that intelligent kids don't care about sports, then I wonder which one you weren't...no offense. I have a good friend who was salutatorian of his class, and he even went on to play basketball for Wake Forest. There was a kid a year ahead of me at school who got a 1600 on his SAT, but what he seemed to care most about was soccer.
Also, do you think it's a good idea for 16 year olds to be in college? That will result from this STEM school.
 
#5
#5
Panthro said:
Also, do you think it's a good idea for 16 year olds to be in college? That will result from this STEM school.
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it's not like they will be attending classes all day on campus. I actually took a class at Walters St CC for Calc 2 my senior year. We were taught by our teacher at the HS and went there to take the midterm and final for college credit.
 
#6
#6
utvolpj said:
some of us were perfectly capable of lettering in sports and taking AP tests. Plus, for most sports, travel teams are far more competitive than HS teams ever dreamed

Personally I think it's a great idea because it starts to separate the college bound kids from the "workforce" kids at an earlier age. I've always thought this would help the education system immensely.
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I always enjoy hearing the opinions of those who disagree with me, but can still form a rational thought...so thank you.
I do, however, think that separating the kids at such a young age could do a lot to hinder the social development of the "college bound" kids, and the academic development of the "workforce" kids. No kid deserves to be labeled as a "workforce" kid after the 8th grade. They might just believe it, and give up on college dreams.
 
#7
#7
Doesn't the school systems in question already have AP classes? Separating the kids eligible for this program school would be akin to introducing a class based society and I would question any academic program that does not include some sort of athletics.
 
#8
#8
utvolpj said:
it's not like they will be attending classes all day on campus. I actually took a class at Walters St CC for Calc 2 my senior year. We were taught by our teacher at the HS and went there to take the midterm and final for college credit.
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Actually, it's exactly like that. First semester of their junior year, 85% of their classes are college courses. By the second semester of junior year, 100% of their classes are college courses.
Maryville already has the deal like what you did. I got credits for English 101 and 102 at MHS (through Pellissippi).
 
#9
#9
Panthro said:
I always enjoy hearing the opinions of those who disagree with me, but can still form a rational thought...so thank you.
I do, however, think that separating the kids at such a young age could do a lot to hinder the social development of the "college bound" kids, and the academic development of the "workforce" kids. No kid deserves to be labeled as a "workforce" kid after the 8th grade. They might just believe it, and give up on college dreams.
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maybe 8th grade is a bit young but I look at something like the German model where kids are divided at 10th grade as being ideal for the US. The fact is that not every kid in HS is college material. Their parents won't like to hear that but it's true. Giving them a skill before they turn 18yo and enter the workforce would help them in their life. Yes some may get caught in the wrong program but things happen and people overcome. This "everyone is equal" is killing us.
 
#10
#10
MontereyVol said:
Doesn't the school systems in question already have AP classes? Separating the kids eligible for this program school would be akin to introducing a class based society and I would question any academic program that does not include some sort of athletics.
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I believe the Maryville Standard School (I don't know if that's what they'd call it) would still have sports. They'd just have a lot less kids to pick from for the teams.
BTW, I hope you like it out there in OBX country. I lived in Wilson until I was almost 17. My friends and I would go to the beach about every other weekend to go fishing. It was the best!
 
#11
#11
Panthro said:
Actually, it's exactly like that. First semester of their junior year, 85% of their classes are college courses. By the second semester of junior year, 100% of their classes are college courses.
Maryville already has the deal like what you did. I got credits for English 101 and 102 at MHS (through Pellissippi).
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then my question would be what are they gaining by going to an actually college over taking an AP course. I can assure you my Calc BC class was much harder than any entry level Calc class offered at a CC.

Now if they're giving them more access to the harder/AP classes then it's a good thing. I actually had to choose between 2 in HS because they didn't offer more than 1 time slot.

And good for MHS for getting with the times. :p I graduated in 93 and people didn't believe a HS kid would choose to take a college class

Sports could also be treated like the kids were homeschooled. Their advanced school is still affiliated with the "standard" school so why couldn't they take harder classes and still play for MHS?
 
#12
#12
utvolpj said:
maybe 8th grade is a bit young but I look at something like the German model where kids are divided at 10th grade as being ideal for the US. The fact is that not every kid in HS is college material. Their parents won't like to hear that but it's true. Giving them a skill before they turn 18yo and enter the workforce would help them in their life. Yes some may get caught in the wrong program but things happen and people overcome. This "everyone is equal" is killing us.
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I could really use someone from Maryville on here to back me up with this deal.
The thing is that Maryville already does an outstanding job at stuff like this. I have a young cousin at MHS right now. Hate to say it, but she isn't college material. So, she has teachers that helped her decide to go into nursing. They set her up as a candy-striper at Blount Memorial Hospital last summer, and she's thrilled to know about that realistic career option now.
My sister-in-law is a National Honor Society type. MHS has her taking classes at Pellissippi on the side to get a head start on the college thing.
My point it that Maryville is not a place that needs something like this.
 
#13
#13
utvolpj said:
maybe 8th grade is a bit young but I look at something like the German model where kids are divided at 10th grade as being ideal for the US. The fact is that not every kid in HS is college material. Their parents won't like to hear that but it's true. Giving them a skill before they turn 18yo and enter the workforce would help them in their life. Yes some may get caught in the wrong program but things happen and people overcome. This "everyone is equal" is killing us.
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Then you place the "bright" kids in advanced classes within the same school and you give the ones not deemed suitable enough a chance to become one of the bright kids. From the sounds of the STEM system if you are not accepted at the right time you will not have the chance to move from one school to another.

Systems like this would work wonders with gang areas where you divide the kids up between the ones who want to learn and the ones who don't.

Any school system that does not sponsor youth type sports programs is doomed to have disadvantaged kids.
 
#14
#14
Panthro said:
I believe the Maryville Standard School (I don't know if that's what they'd call it) would still have sports. They'd just have a lot less kids to pick from for the teams.
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If the school system here did that I would seriously think about placing them in a private school. (my kids are 2 and 4, so not in school yet) Burn out would be an issue with the STEM school and if they were to be in the 'standard' school their ability to get into college goes down dramatically.

Panthro said:
BTW, I hope you like it out there in OBX country. I lived in Wilson until I was almost 17. My friends and I would go to the beach about every other weekend to go fishing. It was the best!
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I actually live in Chesapeake, but I have a beach house we go to down there on most weekends.
 
#15
#15
For the record, my buddy said that students at the STEM school would have the opportunity to still play for Maryville in sports. BUT, with the workload, it would be unlikely that any of them would be able to do so.
Apparently with the STEM schools already going in the country, an extremely small percentage of the kids are able to come back for sports.
 
#16
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utvolpj said:
some of us were perfectly capable of lettering in sports and taking AP tests..
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AP courses are just middle of the road courses for some of the schools I work out of. The IB curriculum is far more difficult.
That said, I tutor kids from a top 5 HS...many of these kids play sports and get near perfect scores on national tests-they also graduate high school with nearly 2 years of college work complete. For a student who dream of professional school, getting these forst two years out of the way puts them ahead of the game.
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#17
#17
But we aren't just talking about a couple of bright kids here. This is 150 kids per grade. Sure it's a good thing to prepare students for college. I'm all good with that. I'm even good with pushing the students in the classroom in high school. I just don't think it's wise to throw this many kids into a situation like this immediately after middle school.
For those that are super ambitious and ready to move forward very early, there are options available already. Why prematurely (literally) push so many other students into the process with them?
 
#18
#18
Panthro said:
But we aren't just talking about a couple of bright kids here. This is 150 kids per grade. Sure it's a good thing to prepare students for college. I'm all good with that. I'm even good with pushing the students in the classroom in high school. I just don't think it's wise to throw this many kids into a situation like this immediately after middle school.
For those that are super ambitious and ready to move forward very early, there are options available already. Why prematurely (literally) push so many other students into the process with them?
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I agree its a huge chunk, but the reason is that college and post undergrad studies have become that much more competitive. Let's face it, a HS diploma isn't worth much anymore-any student who does not get at least a 2 year degree is going to struggle to find work outside of manufacturing and minimum wage jobs. Why shouldn't we push more kids towards accelerating their college educations? College isn't just for the bright anymore.
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#19
#19
crazyguy said:
Why shouldn't we push more kids towards accelerating their college educations? College isn't just for the bright anymore.
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and that's the problem IMO. We are so set in the mindset that everyone needs to go to college that the ones who can't/don't get ignored until they're out of HS. Identifying them early and getting them a skill helps us all and prevents the watering down of a college degree
 
#20
#20
timmy said:
I'm guessing the kids that will be accepted into that school won't care about missing sports anyway. Not to many brainiacs want to get concussions.
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I was the valedictorian (sorry "valid victorian") of my high school and the captain of my football team. All district at D tackle.

It happens.
 
#22
#22
utvolpj said:
*cough* nerd *cough*
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Sometimes words can hurt pj.

cody.jpg
 
#23
#23
crazyguy said:
I agree its a huge chunk, but the reason is that college and post undergrad studies have become that much more competitive. Let's face it, a HS diploma isn't worth much anymore-any student who does not get at least a 2 year degree is going to struggle to find work outside of manufacturing and minimum wage jobs. Why shouldn't we push more kids towards accelerating their college educations? College isn't just for the bright anymore.Posted via VolNation Mobile
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Very true. I graduated from UT in four years!
On a serious note, I really wasn't a great student. I finished with a 3.32 in high school, and a 2.95 in college. So I'm considering kids like me...those capable, just not really interested in doing more that what was needed to get a B. I knew (since 7th grade) that I was going to major in Broadcasting, so it isn't like I was intested in applying for the engineering program. That doesn't make me bad, it just means that I had a lot of other stuff on my plate. I played a sport every season while I worked 10-15 hours a week. I was also involved with my church two days a week.
If I was forced to go into a program like this one, I really might have gotten burned out pretty quickly. That's what I don't want to see happen to these kids. They really do benefit so much from the other aspects of high school.
Don't think Maryville doesn't already push kids. When I moved here in 11th grade, it was my first time I ever had to call a teacher "Dr." as opposed to just "Mrs.".
Oh, and apparently they want to employ the STEM school with college professors. So, a few teachers from the high school would lose their jobs.
 
#24
#24
Will there be free booze at the STEM school? What if you don't want to do science, math, or engineering but are in the top 40%....do you still get the free booze?
 
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