Small-school ideas to be aired.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

The staff at North Eugene High School has been working behind the scenes for months to craft proposals for small academies that probably will supplant the school as it is today by the fall of 2007.

Now it's time to see what students, parents and other community members think.

At a forum Thursday night, six teams of teachers, administrators and a handful of parents will give presentations on their "dream" schools, still in rough-draft form, with the aim of gauging interest and support for the concepts.

With a $900,000 Oregon Small Schools Initiative grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust, North Eugene staff members have spent the past year visiting other schools around the country and planning how to break up the high school into four or more small, autonomous schools.

The grants are rooted in research linking student success with small schools. The goal is to boost achievement by creating smaller, more personalized schools where every student is known and held to high expectations.

While North Eugene is taking steps toward going small, there's still debate among staff about whether it's the right direction, and no final decision has been made.

Principal Peter Tromba said he's impressed with the range and caliber of the proposals thus far.

"The teachers have done a lot of work since the initial (letters of intent) came out," he said, noting that several groups have prepared new brochures and other information to hand out Thursday.

The six proposals are:

North Alliance Tech: The school would emphasize project-based learning, teamwork, professional internships, electronic student portfolios and college course work. It would employ technology as a key tool for learning.

Trans Omnis Vorago: Individualized learning, teacher collaboration and community service would be cornerstones. Students would be expected to demonstrate subject proficiency by various means, and graduate ready for college or other paths.

Renaissance Academy of Arts & Sciences: The school would integrate arts and sciences in a rigorous, progressive, proficiency-based educational system. Key components would include a senior project, rigorous graduation requirements and collaboration with community professionals.

International High School: The school would be a comprehensive, full-day version of the half-day IHS program offered at all four Eugene district high schools.

It would continue to offer a tightly integrated curriculum focused on global geography, history, literature, art and political systems, along with the study of foreign languages, math and science.

School of Critical Thought and Action: The school would train students to look at the world critically and engage in action that is related to, and suggested by, the curriculum such as community service, performance, internships or field work. Students would also meet requirements for physical activity.

Met model: Ideally located off-site and serving just 100 students, the school would emphasize project-based learning based on individual interests, two-day-a-week community internships and close relationships with students.

SMALL-SCHOOLS FORUM

North Eugene High School will host a forum on small-school proposals Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the new student lounge. The school is located at 200 Silver Lane. For information, call 687-3261 or visit www.nehs.lane.edu/smallschools/.