Page 15 - BusinessWest April 3, 2023
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  “What she’s developed is an identity around college, and it’s really sticky.”
Course of Action
As he led BusinessWest on a tour of DHS, O’Connor stopped in one classroom where students were learning how to create a cir- cuit and, ultimately, a very small-scale solar panel, and in another, an Introduction to Digital Media class was ongoing where students were getting their pictures taken and compiling information to cre- ate their ‘digital brand.’
As inspiration, they were using a brand created by Ruth Carter, the costume designer from Springfield who has won two Oscars for her work on the Black Panther film franchise.
These are not college courses, he explained, but they are solid examples of how students at the school learn by doing, work togeth- er, and gain resolve by creating solutions and solving problems.
And this is what Brunell and others had in mind when they con- ceptualized this relatively new kind of high school.
“We wanted to create a very small high school where kids were known, where they were cared for and loved during their time here, and where they could get really personalized attention and see themselves in careers that have been under-represented by Black and Brown folks in this community,” he said.
“Discovery High School is our attempt to take a really critical look at the STEM industries and to get students on a stronger path- way to those jobs,” he went on, adding that the Empowerment Zone board ultimately authorized the school in the spring of 2021, and it opened its doors that fall.
The school has open enrollment and is open to all students, said O’Connor, adding that there is no selection process. Overall, the school boasts a diverse population and draws from across the city. These students represent all levels of academic achievement as well.
“The child who chooses us ... they know we are and what we’re about,” he explained. “They choose us mostly because they’re invest- ed in our STEM pathways; they like to game, they like computers, they’re interested in engineering — or at least they think they are — and a lot of our students are those who traditionally didn’t do well in school, but have a big curiosity about technology.”
Farrika Turner says students at Discovery High are taking themselves, and their prospects for future employment, more seriously.
Now boasting 120 students, with plans to expand to 90 students per grade, DHS, as noted earlier, operates under the Early College model, which, as that name suggests, introduces students to college classes while they are high school. This not only gives them a solid head start when they get to college, said Declan, but it gives them that confidence and pride in accomplishment that Martinez spoke of.
O’Connor said every student at the school can take college class- es, and most of them do, with DHS working in partnership with
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