A+ for achievement

Grates on the windows. Metal detectors at the doors. Ten-foot chain-link fences around the outside. This is not the image most people conjure when picturing the halls of a top-notch educational facility. But that is exactly what it looks like from the outside of the George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, a progressive magnet school that stands out as one of the gems in Philadelphia's often-criticized public school system. Inside the building, the classrooms are alive with motivated students and enthusiastic teachers who thrive on, and achieve, academic success. As a magnet school, Carver is open to all of the city's high schoolers -- but due to limited space, only the very best can attend. The school receives between 2,000 and 2,500 applications each year from students across the city but plans to accept less than 225 of them for next year's incoming class, according to Principal Rosalind Chivis. Currently located in North Philadelphia near Temple University's campus, Carver will soon move to University City following construction of a new building at 38th and Market streets. Penn is providing the land -- the Philadelphia School District will finance construction -- that lies just blocks away from the future home of a University-assisted public pre-k-8 school. Groundbreaking is expected in June of next year, and with the proposed 18-month construction period, Chivis hopes the school will be ready for use by the fall of 2002. "We're long overdue for a new building," Chivis said, noting that the current facility lacks important laboratory space for Physics and Engineering classes. The new building will also allow the school to expand its student body size from 650 to almost 1,000 -- an increase that will help the droves of students whose applications are denied every year. With about a 10 percent acceptance rate -- lower than even the nation's top universities -- earning a spot in one of Carver's homerooms is an honor. And with that kind of competition just to get to high school, it comes as no surprise that Carver students seem to have mastered the college admissions process as well. According to Susan Miller, the school's math and engineering coordinator, 100 percent of Carver students are admitted to college in any given year -- with an annual list of acceptances that reads like the U.S. News and World Report rankings. More than 95 percent of students actually attend. The school's success, Chivis said, is the result of a cooperative effort from students and dedicated faculty, as well as extensive assistance from outside organizations and a unique curriculum. One of the cornerstones of that curriculum is its Interactive Mathematics Program, a radical approach that emphasizes independence and intuition in math classes. The program is based on teamwork between students as they work in class and at home on problems that are considerably more difficult than traditional high school math problems. "The student is forced to think," Chivis said. But one of the bases of IMP is that there isn't just one way to solve a problem, but many -- and if students are to succeed, they need to learn to think outside the lines. And apparently they do: Miller reported that grades and test scores have increased significantly since Carver began using IMP. Boasting the only Computer Science Department in the public high schools of Philadelphia, Carver's entire curriculum is based around technology. Its 600 computers make hands-on training a reality for students in all fields of study, especially those pursuing information technology -- thanks to a new program from technology giant Cisco Systems. Cisco offers a unique curriculum program to Carver students that features two years of intensive instruction in computer theory and programming. Its graduates receive a specialized degree and, in many cases, a guaranteed job with the firm before or after college. At local colleges, the cost of Cisco's program can be as high as $2,000, but at Carver the only cost is a $75 testing fee. Carver also receives extensive curriculum support from Penn, Drexel, Temple, La Salle, Penn State and Villanova universities -- an impressive list for any high school to boast. But it doesn't end there. The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, which has offices in South Philadelphia, adopted the school for its science projects and recently donated a lab of Pentium computers. All these credentials are more than just statistics and facts. They are evidence that Carver is a school that works. And the secret of Carver's success may very well lie in the philosophy of its leadership. Chivis said she believes in a "bottom-up" management style -- one in which the concerns of the students are paramount. Instead of forcing kids to conform to each teacher, she said, it is the job of the teachers to engage their students. "Kids don't care how much you know," Chivis said. "They want to know how much you care." And it is that concept -- caring -- that guides her leadership. "The bottom line is we are a family," Chivis noted. "There's not one member who is more important than another."

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