Restructuring

Michael Caprio, then the principal of Granby, and Denise Schnitzer, the director of operations and grants at the Norfolk Public Schools, knew that this was a rare opportunity for Granby. They did not want the money to be used simply to restore and update the school building. Rather, they wanted to use the money to restructure the school itself. To them, the most important question was what administrative and instructional restructuring was necessary to serve the students better. The answer to this question, they reasoned, would inform the redesign of the interior physical structure of the building. So instead of calling an architectural firm, Caprio and Schnitzer called a small education consulting firm to help them conduct research and needs assessment.

Their research identified several key needs, including:

• Reducing the size of the school to provide a more personalized environment
• Improving curriculum delivery
• Integrating technology into teaching and learning

To address these issues, the following solutions were proposed:

• Dividing the school into four smaller learning communities, called academies, and decentralizing administrative and guidance services
• Adopting a block schedule and multidisciplinary instruction, including creating multidisciplinary office/work areas for teachers
• Launching an International Baccalaureate Program
• Providing a state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, accessible to all students and teachers

Finally, Caprio and Schnitzer were ready to bring in architects to renovate the building that would support the implementation of these solutions. After two years of construction, renovation was completed in 1998. The new building had four sections for four academies, each with its own administrative suite, a multidisciplinary teacher workroom, and classrooms for core courses. It also featured state-of-the-art technology.

Granby High School's restructuring provided the opportunity to put in place new technology and programs such as video and sound studios.

The administrators and teachers immediately began implementing the reform effort. Behavioral problems at Granby decreased. Student academic performance improved. Enrollment grew. Families outside the school zone began to request transfers to Granby, and enrollment from private middle schools increased, reversing the trend of the 1960s and 1970s.

However, today's Granby High School is not a typical gentrification story. While it has recaptured some of the academic prominence it held in the 1950s, it is a completely different place from that segregated high school it was a half-century ago. It is a diverse, urban school, where only half the students are white and more than 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. At the same time, it is a school with demanding and successful academic programs. At Granby, academic rigor is for everyone. For instance, 41 percent of International Baccalaureate (IB) enrollment are students of color, and 23 percent of IB students receive free or reduced-price lunches.