Visitors Make the Rounds at Collinwood High

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Collinwood High School is giving the community an inside look at the school and its programs by arranging for groups to conduct “instructional rounds.”

Guests representing various organizations observe classes and interact with students. Councilman Mike Polensek was among about a half-dozen people who visited March 22.

The goal is to provide a firsthand view of the school’s transition into a New Tech Academy, part of national network that emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning. The guests also get to know the students.

“Sometimes there’s a disconnect between kids and the community. We want people to see them in their own context,” said site coordinator Amy Carlson, who is no relation to Collinwood Principal Maria Carlson. As site coordinator, Amy Carlson organizes community “wraparound” services that assist students and families.

Among the stops March 22 was a 10th-grade Geo-Design class that combines geometry and interior design. Two teachers guided students as they worked on floor plans and learned about parallel line construction and perpendicular bisectors.

Groups represented on the rounds included the Cleveland Housing Network, Waterloo Arts, NewBridge Cleveland and the Cleveland Foundation.

Kasey Morgan of the Cleveland Foundation left an Advanced-Placement Literature course impressed by what she had seen.

“They’re very engaged,” said Morgan, who oversees the foundation’s MyCom program for youths. “They’re all on the same page.”

Karen Troy is a housing counselor for the Cleveland Housing Network. The organization provides emergency “stabilization” funds to help families of students at Collinwood and other wraparound schools with needs like rent and utilities.

Troy said the chance to observe classes was valuable.

“People from the outside might not know what’s going on,” she said. “I’d love to see it in all the schools.”

The March 22 visit was the second of three that will each involve different organizations. The first was in February and the last is set for Friday, April 22.