1st semester a success for ATEMS, students
■ College-prep school will pick 150 youths via lottery for next fall
EMILY PETERS
peterse@reporternews.com / 325-676-6776
When John Martinez visited middle schools last year to persuade students and parents to apply for the district’s new math and science magnet high school, he could only present them with an idea.
“Recruiting last year was a challenge,” admits Martinez, the school’s director. “It was just me speaking about my vision.”
This year, after his school has been open one full semester in the Abilene Independent School District, Martinez has living, breathing evidence of his vision in action to help him recruit students for next fall.
That’s why he took freshmen Jeremiah Dismukes to Craig Middle School last week. Jeremiah told eighthgraders at his alma mater that he is proud to have been a part of something “epic” in the school’s inaugural year.
Jeremiah told them how he and his classmates are the first in the district to get their own laptop computers. They take upper-level classes like physics without textbooks and already explore engineering software like AutoCAD. They’ve worked in groups on reallife projects, started their own student organizations from scratch and gave the school a new name.
ATEMS — the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science — has become a thriving reality.
Applications for next fall are due March 1 and the school will pick 25 sophomores and 125 freshmen from a lottery. Students can’t have excessive discipline or attendance problems, and at least half will come from economically disadvantaged households.
"We're looking to provide opportunities for students who might not consider this academic road," Martinez said. "I'm not just looking for the A-plus students. I'm looking for any child who wants to be challenged and has a desire to work hard."
The tuition-free, college- prep school offers hot lunches and free transportation daily. But like many pilot projects, some things have not gone as planned for ATEMS' first year.
LOCATION UNDETERMINED
AISD started the school with a two-year state grant for $480,000 and planned to work with Abilene Christian University to provide a location. Those plans with ACU fell through and a new location is still unknown.
This first year, the school has operated comfortably in an open room on the first floor of the Texas Tech building on Pine and North 3rd streets. Students cross the street to eat lunch at the OneAISD center and check out books from the downtown library.
The building is probably too small as the school adds one grade for the next four years.
District officials hope to have next year's location nailed down by spring break. "It's not about the building or the location," Martinez said. "No matter where this school is, our kids are going to get the best education in Abilene."
NEAR FUTURE PLANS
While the location is unknown, AISD has committed with the New Tech Foundation to sustain the school at least through spring 2014, said Cathy Ashby, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction. She said the district fully expects the first ATEMS seniors to graduate in 2012.
Martinez has been building community partners, and he admits he is disappointed by a recent announcement that Texas Tech is dropping its Abilene-based graduate engineering school.
However, Texas Tech already helped ATEMS secure a $270,000 grant. That will send every student to visit Texas Tech and NASA this spring, where they will stay overnight and work in teams to design a simulated rocket and Mars rover.
The grant will also pay for a robotics summer camp in Abilene open to all area high school students.
"That's a great opportunity for recruitment," Martinez noted.
And he expects recruitment to go well.
ATHLETIC TRACK
Last summer, the district had about 100 applications for the school. This year, he expects more.
He admits athletics and fine arts will deter many students. A handful of ATEMS students are returning to Cooper or Abilene High for swimming and crosscountry practice outside of regular school hours, but programs like football and band are not possible.
One student already left ATEMS to play tennis, and Angel Moreno feels pretty certain he's not coming back to ATEMS for his sophomore year.
"Football is my dream," he said. "This school almost had enough to keep me here, but I want to play football."
However, Jeremiah said he's glad he chose to pursue a career track instead of athletics.
"It's tough, but you know I had to think about my future," he said. Next year, Martinez hopes to initiate an intramural program.
STUDENT LIFE
The absence of athletics doesn't mean student life is lacking. The young teens have taken advantage of their downtown scene after school, frequenting coffee shops and alleys perfect for skateboarding. Students used their school computer network called PeBL to post a poll so each could log a virtual vote for their preferred Friday night outing: movies, bowling or skating. Students say the first school dance was lively, with as many as 30 parent volunteers joining them on the dance floor.
Flex Fridays once a month throw the regular class schedule out the window. Instead, the school schedules events like a tour of Dyess Air Force Base, a scavenger hunt at Abilene Christian University, rocket- launching in the park or volunteer hours at the Abilene Zoo.
That's all meant to bring the students experience with college campuses, realworld careers and community service, Martinez said. That will be backed up when juniors and seniors take realworld internships.
Parents help with many of those outside activities. Parents are asked to volunteer 10 hours with the school each year, and Martinez estimates about 50 percent have already logged some hours.
FREEDOM RINGS
Teachers are designing group-based projects with a real-world twist, helping students get an idea of their futures.
In fact, some are so serious about their future in compute science they are discovering ways around firewalls and filters on their school-issued laptops.
"These kids are pretty sharp," Martinez said. "It's hard to keep them out of everything."
That's one big reason he stresses trust as the students take on personal responsibility.
"Freedom rings here," said Allegra Garcia. She explained students can listen to iPods during study time, but they lose the "trust cards" they wear around their necks if they listen to music while the teacher is talking.
But the freedom goes further than that.
"We are free to discuss things in class without raising our hands so we feel like adults having real conversations," Garcia said. "Some people talk down on the school and say it's hard. Yeah, it's hard if you don't try. Some say it's a nerd school, but we get more from this than we ever thought."
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