TechBoston Supports Training for Local Academies
At Charlestown High School in Boston, both teachers and students
find the Cisco Networking Academy Curriculum a valuable addition
to the classroom. Veteran math teacher turned Cisco-certified
instructor Leo Carey describes the curriculum as an “innovative
and supportive way to teach high technology.” He says: “I
give a preview, a review, and let them fly on their own.”
Through the support and leadership of TechBoston, his model
will spread to many schools throughout the city.
Background
As Carey describes it, the first 24 students in the program
represented a typical urban classroom with average success
in school and limited language abilities. Their dedication
and achievement in the program took even Carey by surprise.
“After the first two or three months, the kids really started
getting into it,” he says. “We set them up with college visits
and industry meetings to see where the curriculum could take
them. By the end, 20 of the 24 had entered secondary schools
pursuing careers in technology.”
Carey is now a Regional Academy Instructor with three Local
Academies in Boston and seven outside the district. TechBoston,
funded by the Boston School Department to develop technology
support and training in the district, coordinates funding,
training, and resources to support the adoption of high level
technology courses in the district and the community.
Challenge
“We’ve done a lot of soul searching to figure out why this
technically difficult and challenging curriculum was so successful
with these students,” says Carey. He concludes that success
came from two factors: the relevance of the material and the
self-paced structure of the curriculum.
Students visit online employment bulletin boards, and speakers
from local businesses visit the classroom to show that Cisco
certification equates to high-paying jobs and careers. The
opportunities motivate students to study networking, while
developing skills in literacy, math, and science. They learn
that Cisco certification not only leads to well-paying jobs,
it also provides an income to support them through college.
The built-in assessment and curriculum structure requires
students to master concepts before moving on to the next lesson.
This alleviates pressure to move too quickly or wait for others
to catch up. Many BPS students are non-native English speakers,
and the visuals in the curriculum help them learn concepts
more quickly. They also can review materials in other languages,
making it more accessible to bilingual students. According
to Carey: “A higher percentage of students stay engaged for
a longer period of time.”
To expand the model from one school to the whole region,
Charlestown turned to TechBoston. Working in collaboration
with the BPS Office of Instructional Technology and School-to-Career,
TechBoston helped recruit teachers for Local Academies and
paid for their training.
Solution
The Academy curriculum changes the role of the instructor
to be more supportive of students as they study and prepare
for exams. For many teachers, this new curriculum provides
an opportunity to learn new skills, and TechBoston makes sure
they have the equipment and support needed to implement good
models like the Academy Program.
