Massachusetts News 
By Naomi Schaefer 

June 2--Massachusetts passed a law in 1992 to fund “schools of excellence” for gifted students yet, seven years later, only one such school exists: the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science, run by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  The high school students there excel. Why there aren’t more school’s like it seems to be because few educators and lawmakers are motivated to make it happen. 

Arthur Chase, a former state senator, told Massachusetts News that the academy’s success ought to be repeated. “As soon as the first school was a success, I thought we should have one for the arts and one for the humanities because we have the finest colleges in the country,” he said. “But it takes someone in the legislature to pick it up and move with it.” (Schools of excellence are intended to be run by colleges; an out-of-state example is the famous Laboratory School run by the University of Chicago.) 

The Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science was founded in 1992. It’s meant to serve as a public high school for students in grades 11 and 12 with “exceptional aptitude for mathematics and science,” reads the school’s mission statement. The program is open to students from both public and private schools and is based on a competitive admissions process. It takes into account grades, teacher references, standardized test scores, an interview, and an essay. 

During the first year of school, students take classes taught by academy faculty, which consists of five teachers: one each in science, humanities, math, world languages and technology. But it is the senior year curriculum, which consists only of courses at Worcester Polytechnic, that attracts many students to the academy. Tri Le, a junior, is in his first year at the academy. “The program here is great. The college combined with high school program helps us see what learning is really like.” 

Jon Bartelson, a junior at Worcester Polytechnic, who graduated from the academy in 1996 agreed: “It offered me a chance to get into higher math and science courses, but I was especially drawn to the idea of taking college courses during my senior year.” Like most students at the academy, Bartelson, who attended St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, and Le who attended South High School in Worcester, had exhausted the math and science curricula at their school by the end of their sophomore year. 

By all accounts, the academy has been wildly successful. Students are tremendously satisfied with the program, even though they have a longer day than most of their peers. Le said he attends school from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but, “Many of us stay around ‘til 5, working on our homework.” This year Le did a lengthy research project studying wing structure and behavior, experimenting with the thickness and shape of the wing. Le said he enjoyed his project and the other courses like math-modeling because they give him a chance to “apply this knowledge to the real world.” 

In fact, the hands-on approach of the school is actually part of its mission. The academy’s master science teacher Jacklyn Bonneau told Massachusetts News, “Science should be a process, not a product.” She added that it “would be rare to find teachers lecturing to the kids two days in a row.” 

Like the students, the teachers work longer hours at the academy than at a regular public school. On top of the longer school day, teachers are responsible for accompanying students on trips to various science fairs and competitions around the country. 

But the teachers also seem to think the extra work is worth it. Part of the academy’s mission was “to provide development opportunities for teachers within the Commonwealth.” The school’s teachers are constantly working on new curricula and teaching methods and they disseminate the results of their experimentation through teacher conferences during the summers. “It’s an exciting place to be,” said Bonneau. 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is similarly pleased with the results. Lance Schacterle, assistant provost for academic affairs at the college and parent of an academy graduate, serves as the liaison to the academy. He admits that initially there were some professors who were skeptical about having high school seniors attend their classes. But, he told Massachusetts News,  “almost without exception, the reports we hear are extremely favorable.” The professors, according to Schacterle, say things like, “I was surprised to find out that the students who sit in the front and ask all of the questions were actually academy students.” Bartelson agrees that the college students “are often more lethargic.” Despite the fact that no attendance is taken at Worcester Polytechnic classes, academy students do not skip classes as college students are prone to do, said Schacterle. 

Schachterle explained that two state senators from the Worcester area originally approached administrators at Worcester Polytechnic with the idea for the school. “Many in the administration and faculty believe that it’s very important for technically focused universities to become more involved in K-12 education,” he said. Schachterle readily admits some amount of self-interest motivated the college to help out. Four or five students a year from the academy matriculate to Worcester Polytechnic following graduation. 

Though the school’s budget comes from the legislature, in real terms the college estimates its contributions at $250,000 last year, hardly worth the cost to attract a few bright students, which the school might get anyway. Even if they don’t come to Worcester Polytechnic, Schacterle said, “We really want to provide opportunities for students in math and science.” 

More Academies? 

Given the satisfaction with the results—from teachers, administrators, and students—many wonder why more such schools have not been formed. Schacterle agreed with Arthur Chase that lawmakers must take a more active role in establishing these types of schools. 

Most colleges like Assumption College in Worcester have partnership arrangements with local public schools. But Acting Dean of the Faculty Mary Lou Anderson told Massachusetts News that Assumption’s programs are based on the needs of the public schools. “This year they asked for help with writing, so we had a series of writing workshops,” she said. Since the local public schools will most likely not ask Assumption to create a school of excellence, Schacterle may be right about the need for initiative from legislators. 

Jon Bartelson, on the other hand, speculates that other schools might be deterred because the state has been unwilling to allocate extra funds for upkeep of the school. For the last several years the state has only given the academy level funding. This year the state’s Board of Education requested $1.2 million, a significant jump over last year’s $819,000. While the governor’s budget once again calls for level funding, the house budget comes close to granting the board’s request. 

But for some schools, funding is not the issue. Holy Cross College in Worcester has engaged in a few preliminary discussions about setting up a similar school. “I think we’d be a great school to do that,” said Charles Weiss, director of the office of grants and corporate and foundation giving for the school. But he also has a number of reservations about the idea. “One of my concerns is that schools like this draw away the top candidates and top students from other schools,” he told Massachusetts News.  “While those kids benefit greatly, other students lose something when the best students are taken away.” 

Chase said: “That’s always a criticism but when you take an area like central Massachusetts, you’re only taking a very tiny number from each school. You are taking those students that regular high school cannot service.” Bonneau agreed: “We are here in part to solve the problem of kids who have accelerated through the system. … What do you do with a kid who taught himself calculus his freshman year? Does he stop learning?” 

Currently, according to Weiss, Holy Cross raises about $2 million a year from private corporations and foundations to fund programs with the public schools.  Last month, the school hosted 375 fifth-graders from the Worcester Public Schools for “a full day of environmental study and experimentation with students and faculty.” The school hosts programs for minority students during school vacations. They also have professional development courses for teachers during the summer. Given the money that Holy Cross and other colleges like it are able to raise from private sources and the fact that the legislature would be willing to pay for the school’s budget, it seems that the resources are there for Holy Cross. 

Weiss even admitted that while Holy Cross is “tight on space,” he believes, “if you really wanted to do this, you would find a way.” 
 

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