CASSOPOLIS — A new approach to learning proposed at Cassopolis Public Schools has proven controversial in the community.

On June 5, Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High School hosted a parent meeting in the auditorium about the New Tech system that is being implemented throughout the school district in the fall. The meeting was set up to clear up any misconceptions and educate parents and students about the system.

A panel of Ross Beatty teachers and administration led the meeting. The panel consisted of Jessica Pompey, Carey May, Julie Herwick, Rachele Ward, Athletic Director Matt Brawley, Superintendent Dr. Angela Piazza, and Renee Mano, a New Tech coach.

“We have been wanting to do this for a while, but our teachers have not yet been trained,” Piazza said. “We do have a group of them who went to a teacher residency.”

The school sent the five staff members in the panel to observe two New Tech schools, a high school and a middle school, and learn from the teachers there about how the New Tech network works, so they could share with the Cassopolis community how the system works.

A number of concerns were addressed, including the following:

“New Tech is a framework, not a curriculum.”

Dr. Piazza and the panel emphasized the importance of project-based learning.

A paper that was handed out to every attendee states “project based learning uses inquiry and technology to engage students with issues and problems that relate to their lives and the real world.”

One of the fears with the change to the New Tech format is that the curriculum is going to be totally different from the curriculum teachers are using now.

“This is not a program you’re buying and the teachers are kind of on a script, going unit to unit to unit,” Mano said. “This is a framework where we’re taking what the teachers were doing before and putting it into a package.”

“The New Tech program does not only consist of projects.”

Another concern brought up during the meeting was the amount of projects. Will students only be working on projects instead of tests, quizzes, and homework?

“The teachers will work together and we’ll have project boards and planning, so that we won’t have our final projects end at the same time because that’s stressful,” Herwick said. “We will make sure that’s not the case. You do have down time where we’re bringing in more information, bringing in community members, getting prepared for the next project.”

“All homework will be online… but it won’t have to be.”

The panel said the homework for every class will be on a learning platform called “Echo,” which will include progress grade reports, classwork and tests/quizzes. However, one attendee brought up that they live in a rural area with no Internet access. In response, the panel said in that case, the homework would not have to be online.

Another complaint was that students without Internet access would be behind three days if they were gone three days from school.

“No different than if she’s gone for three days now, than if she comes back and there’s no Internet access, then there’s no internet access,” one of the panelists responded. “If she’s gone for three days now, then she makes that up.”

“Honors English will continue as a ‘standalone’ class.”

When the change to the New Tech model was first announced, some students were concerned about the future of the honors courses. On the FAQ paper given at the beginning of the meeting, the honors classes were addressed.

“Yes, honors ELA at Ross Beatty will be ‘standalone’ courses. Students enrolled in the honors ELA courses will also have their social studies courses as standalones. … One of the goals of the honors courses is to prepare students for dual credit or EMC courses.”

The meeting was supposed to end at 6:30, but the last parents did not leave until 8:05 p.m. A text message board was set up so that parents could text their questions and their answers would appear on the projection screen in the auditorium. Within minutes, the message board was full.

Not everyone was content with the answers they were given at the meeting.

“There were questions that were asked, but were not answered,” said Cassopolis resident Lesley Steensma, who stayed with her husband long after the meeting was over. “I’m not sure how this will affect my daughter. She is not a good test-taker anyways. Test scores don’t determine who she is. I want to teach her to be respectful.”

Steensma was referring to the higher test scores the panelists said the students would have after going through a New Tech program.

“You’re not going to change these kids by putting them in groups at school. The change starts at home,” Steensma said.

At the end of the meeting,  Piazza was optimistic about the meeting’s results.

“I think a lot of the questions that have been out and the misconceptions have been answered,” she said. “Especially the ones who stuck here well after the meeting time really got a lot of their questions and concerns answered.”