The Flipped…High School

Published: 2011-05-04 9:17 PM

Category: Comment |

As I was browsing the internet this morning, I noticed a new discussion has been posted on the Vodcasting and Flipped Class Network. It was a forum post by Greg Green, principal of Clintondale High School in the metro-Detroit area. With all of the work I’ve done with building a flipped class, this quickly stood out to me and I immediately began reading in earnest.

Some background: Greg’s school is 72% free and reduced lunch and has a minority base of 65% African American and 35% Caucasian in the school. He didn’t provide many details about the project in his original post, so I wrote him an e mail.  I mentioned that I had done some presenting on the flipped class and that I was curious to hear about the decision making process that was involved in deciding to flip the entire school in one go.  Here’s what Greg had to say in his response:

This is evidence of the flipped classroom at its best.  Greg has given the support to teachers to make an effective change in a difficult situation.  He went on to say:

This is a man I want to meet.  Greg understands that the entire purpose of education is to meet the needs of the students, not to have comfortable, routine-driven teachers.

One of my biggest questions had to do with the enormous undertaking of recording the entire curriculum for the next school year.  Greg explained that the school (as a whole, cooperative unit) was “…creating screen captures as departments and automating the delivery of those captures out to our students.”  Cooperation in this task is essential for effective implementation and I want to commend the entire staff for setting a great example of a functional, cohesive school working together for student growth.

For those crying out “standardization is bad!” here is some food for thought:

Standardization of content helps students make long-lasting connections that will lead to higher order thinking.  This is a great example of standardization at its best.  Teachers still have the autonomy to make their own decisions about the class, but now, the entire faculty knows what to expect from every student at the completion of every year.

Finally, if you’re thinking, “This would be great if I were in a 1:1 school, too,” this is Greg’s closing thought:

The money is there.  The technology resources are available.  All it takes is a vision for something bigger and better than what has done in the past to make significant changes in kid’s lives.

Congratulations Greg and staff of Clintondale High School.  You are modeling effective education and I hope, someday, to be able to set as good an example as you.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Greg and Clintondale [Flipped] High School, you can follow their journey here.