New High School Lives Up to Name with New Learning Methods

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MI – New High School, a charter high school that opened in September with 34 freshman and sophomore students, officially introduced itself to the community with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.

The school, which stresses experiential and project-based learning, is chartered by Central Michigan University and was three years in the planning stages, The Plymouth Observer reports.

Operating in leased space at the the Risen Christ Church at 46250 Ann Arbor Road, the non-religious school is governed by a board of local residents, and receives state and federal funding, as well as donations.

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According to the school’s website, the school aims “to provide the creative freedom that sparks a passion for learning.”

Problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration are stressed in the curriculum, and all instruction is guided by best practices and a robust body of research. Mathematics, science, English and history, which are required by Michigan law, are part of the core curriculum, but students learn at their own pace and are allotted two hours twice a week to work on projects.

Modeled after high-performing schools in Finland, the school says it prepares students “to learn how to learn, not how to take a test.”

Sophomore Emily McMillan, whose family moved to Canton Township last year from Albuquerque, NM, said the school is unique in her educational experience.

“No one has helped me grow and learn and conquer as New School High has,” McMillan said during the ceremony. “Today I look back and I’m so grateful that I came here.”

The school plans to add a junior class next fall, and offer classes to all four high school grades a year later.

The school is accepting registrations for fall 2016 classes. Two upcoming open houses give interested parents a chance to learn more about the program, meet teachers and tour the facilities. They will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and 7:30-9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25.

» Photo via New High School Facebook page