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Light at the end of the Tunnel

Posted on | December 9, 2009 | 2,203 views |

Metro Early College High School seniors get a glimpse of life after high school

By Julia Harris

They’re taller. They’re more self-assured. They’ve done things and been places — landfills, coal mines, sustainability conferences in Cleveland — most high school students wouldn’t even consider.

onCampus began following the lives of four Metro students from the time they arrived as bright-eyed freshmen at the then-brand-new Metro High School (now called Metro Early College High School) when it opened in 2006.

As part of the grand educational experiment that is Metro — a hybrid STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) school operated by Ohio State, Battelle and the 16 school districts that make up the Education Council — Uneek McKnight, Zach Haynes and Brittany Krause have been challenged, scrutinized, prodded and pushed, and along the way they’ve picked up a rigorous educational experience unlike anything available at more traditional schools.

The other of the four, Kristin Black, withdrew from Metro and is now a senior at Worthington Kilbourne High School. Worthington City Schools still is part of the Education Council, but now charges its students tuition to attend. Her friends miss her but seem resigned.

“Kristin was doing really well here, so she would do great no matter where she went,” said Krause with a shrug.

McKnight, who now towers over everyone at the school, said, “Yeah, she’s probably at the top of her school by now.”

McKnight is also doing well for himself in the rarefied Metro environment. Though he spoke over the past four years of the intense pressure to work hard and succeed, now that he is nearing the end of the road he’s grateful for that extra nudging.

“From freshman year to now, Metro taught me to always strive to be No. 1, and that it doesn’t hurt to be the best,” he said.

His drive is echoed by Haynes, who’s added at least eight inches of height himself while managing to keep the dusting of freckles he’s had since he was a freshman. Four years ago, he said he’d chosen Metro because he wanted to be challenged; today, he’s the first to admit he might have gotten more than he’d bargained for.

“When I first started here I was a little stressed because of how much coursework was going on, and I wasn’t sure I liked how much coursework was going on,” he said.

“But I’m glad now because I’m able to do college coursework like I was hoping,” he added, ticking off the number of Ohio State courses he’s been able to take: “I’ve taken Bio 113, Calc 151, Calc 152, Bio 114, English 110 and Entomology.”

His friends rolled their eyes good-naturedly as he rattled off his accomplishments, but both Krause and McKnight also have benefited from Metro’s connection to Ohio State and its emphasis on early college admission.

Krause has taken a biology course at OSU and will be taking calculus and Spanish in winter quarter. McKnight, who has decided he wants to go to either Columbus College of Art and Design or the Art Academy of Cincinnati, is taking online courses with the Art Academy of San Francisco and being mentored by Metro’s visual arts teacher, Marla Baker.

“I decided I wanted to go more into the fine arts field instead of the technology side, and apparently you have to know more than cartooning to get into art school,” McKnight said. “Ms. Baker is helping me work on a portfolio.”

McKnight isn’t the only one looking to his future. Krause, currently hunting for an internship, is weighing two very different options for her career path. “I either want to become a doctor or do fashion merchandizing, which I think would be perfect for me. But it’s really hard to get an internship at a doctor’s office right now because of the flu, and with the fashion merchandizing, apparently you have to be a junior or senior in college.”

Given the fact that Metro bills itself as an incubator for science, technology, engineering and math-based learning, it may seem surprising that two of these pioneering students are considering careers well outside the STEM field. However, the ultimate goal of any well-heeled high school is to develop students with robust critical thinking and problem solving skills — skills that work anywhere, not just in the lab.

“Schools for the 21st century need to be nimble and agile while working diligently toward providing access for all kinds of kids to environments that promote thinking, problem solving and creative design,” said Marcy Raymond, principal of Metro.

Regardless of where they end up, all three of these fourth-year students agree that while it has been a great adventure to be part of Metro’s inaugural class, it also has been a bit of a bumpy ride, which has taught its own lessons.

“The school got better every year, but it has also changed every year, especially for us seniors,” Krause said.

When asked if he would make the same choice to come to Metro now that he is on this side of the journey, Haynes cocked his head and lifted his shoulders. “Eh,” he said. “Sure. It’s had its benefits, I mean you’re going to be more prepared for life and have a jump on everyone else, but if you want to enjoy high school instead of just working really hard at it … ”

He smiled. “But I came here to challenge myself, and I was challenged; I put in the effort to get everything accomplished, and if I hadn’t I would be where I am now.”

School of life

Four years ago, Marcy Raymond took the helm at Metro High School full of hopes and plans for Columbus’ new STEM school. Today, she’s still hopeful — but also just a bit wiser.

In September, the Columbus Dispatch reported that state funding for Metro had dried up; four months before that, the Hilliard school district pulled out of the partnership.

While these and other headaches have toned down some of the luster, Raymond insists they haven’t tarnished the underlying dream.

About the funding issues, she says, “We are looking at options for sustainability right now. The partnership is very strong and everyone is committed to Metro’s success. We will be working together over the next few months — otherwise all is well.”

She looks at the first batch of fourth-years Metro has produced and can’t help but feel proud, just as she can’t help but feel a bit exhausted when she reflects on the journey that brought them here.

“I think that we’ve done what we intended to do and then some. It has been the hardest, most rewarding thing that I’ve ever had the opportunity to do,” she said. “I think whoever said that luck was the intersection between hard work and opportunity was describing this journey for me.”

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