Hamilton Middle School Students Get a new Opportunity to Attend TJ Computer Magnet
Mr. Morrow, Hamilton's computer tech teacher. Photo by Ed Gloor
On Friday, September 17 2010, teachers and administrators from Thomas Jefferson High School, Hamilton Middle School, and DPS headquarters got together to celebrate the opening of a new state-of-the-art communications and technology lab, and the beginning of what they hope will be a long and fruitful partnership between the two schools.
Hamilton Middle School is embarking on a new venture this year as a Computer Magnet feeder program with Computer Tech Teacher Olin W. Morrow II at the helm, along with some assistance from Computer Magnet Director Matt Spampinato to prepare students for the Thomas Jefferson Computer Magnet.
The idea for this program came around when a couple of Hamilton parents came to Morrow asking for information on the Computer Magnet here at TJ. “I just wanted a little information, but instead he [Spampinato] said let’s get a little collaboration going. So it was mostly Spampinato’s initiative that got it going,” said Morrow. After that teachers from TJ went to Hamilton for a day of teaching. One of those teachers was Computer Magnet Teacher Stacey Fornstrom.
“It was their students’ first day of Flash [a programming language]. So we provided a preview for Flash and let them know what we are doing here at TJ,” said Fornstrom. This teacher initiative was designed partially to make the kids at Hamilton Middle School consider the Magnet as a possible option for high school.
“There is certainly a lot of interest in the magnet. I’ve got students who weren’t considering TJ at all, thinking that this is another door that is open to them. It’s changing the perception of TJ,” said Morrow.
Scott Springer, Executive Director for CTE and Post Secondary Partnerships for DPS was present at the event, and was asked to cut the ceremonial cake to mark the beginning of this unique partnership. “Our department really supports this kind of creative vertical planning. If we can develop career pathways that start at grade six, continue through high school, and then come to fruition at the post secondary level, then we’re really doing our jobs. These schools are way ahead of the curve on this,” he said.
The new lab was funded through Springer and the DPS CTE department with monies from the Carl Perkins Foundation, on the merit of this type of dynamic collaboration between the two schools.
Principals Sandra Just (TJ) and Reina Gutierrez (Hamilton) were in attendance to lend their support to the partnership, which will now be known as the Centers for Communication Technology at Thomas Jefferson H.S. and Hamilton M.S. “This connection is truly going to give our students an outstanding mutual connection to academic rigor and post-secondary readiness,” said Just.
The collaborative team expressed their hopes that this is the beginning of something big. “We hope to expand the program to include more schools in the future,” said Spampinato. Currently, any student in the Denver Metro area can apply to the Magnet Program at TJ by going to http://www.tjcomputermagnet.com/. There is also information about the two open houses being offered on October 5 and November 16 at 8:00 p.m., which are both open to the public.
Thomas Jefferson High School is in the process of renewing their ties as Hamilton’s neighborhood high school. “For most of the 20 years that I have worked here at TJ, we have been the obvious choice for the majority of Hamilton kids going on to high school. However, over the past few years, there are so many choices that our Hamilton numbers have slowly been decreasing. It’s time to let them know that we are still the top school for them to choose. We want them all to be Spartans,” said Spampinato.
In addition to this renewed push to attract Hamilton students, TJ’s Computer Magnet is unveiling a new name this year. “Our program originated in the late 1980s, when the focus of the program was – literally – computers; how they are made, how they work, and how they are repaired,” said Spampinato, Director of the Magnet program. “Over the years our department has evolved into one that uses computer technology as a media generating tool. Our focus is radio & TV broadcasting, web design, photography, software engineering, journalism, publishing, 3-D animation, and more. We want students to know that this program is a center that focuses on careers in communication.” Therefore, the department has decided to rename the program: The Center for Communications Technology. “We just think it better describes what we are all about,” said Spampinato.
As a part of this new “bridge” program, the students at HMS must complete a portfolio and show proficiency in all of the required subjects which, if accomplished, makes it easier for them to enter the program. “For the students who do their portfolio, their experiences will change dramatically. As far as students who are at Hamilton and are doing the magnet, I suppose it’s the familiarity of repetition. They will have exposure to it in my classes, and more exposure in the [TJ] Magnet,” stated Morrow.
Students don’t have it easy at Hamilton, however, and aren’t guaranteed spots in the TJ Computer Magnet, unless they complete their portfolio. But if they do succeed, they are rewarded very nicely. “If they hit 80% of the check marks then they are guaranteed a spot in CCT. If students hit elements in each category, and submit a proposal and master project to the appropriate strand teacher at TJ, and a recommendation from one of the Hamilton instructors, then they have an opportunity to take advanced Magnet classes as freshmen,” said Morrow. With this new door, the incoming students have the opportunity to take eight of the core computer magnet classes instead of the previous standard of six.
Morrow wasn’t quite prepared for a full-scale magnet in the beginning, but he certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea. “Because it came about in such a mixed way, of course I was accepting of it. And it worked out that everything I was doing under team-c [animation and computer class], it works really well to switch over to CCT and be a feeder program instead of doing our own independent projects.”
Morrow is also very happy about Hamilton gaining the partnership because it adds another program to the school. “I like the element of the Magnet being here, simply because the IPM [International Prep Magnet] has been the only other program outside of the traditional program. Even though we have had technology, people outside the school don’t know about it. Now, because we are connected to TJ, we can advertise it that way. It’s a driving point.”
In the future, Spampinato and Morrow would both like to see the program spread and grow. “We hope to expand the program to include more schools in the future,” stated Spaminato.
“The big focus I have here at Hamilton is trying to get students to learn how to learn. Basically, I say here is what you need to know, here is what you need to do, learn it. In the process of learning they discover. I can go look at help files, or I can go find tutorials to teach me, or I can find someone who knows how to teach me,” said Morrow. Morrow feels that this is a very effective way of teaching and that it will help better the students who are moving on to the TJ Center for Communications Technology program because, “If they know how to learn, they can learn anything,” says Morrow.
Although the students at Hamilton will have to work hard for a spot in the new magnet program, with a little help from Morrow and some hard work, he and Spampinato feel their rewards will be great.
