Cave Creek Unified: Innovative Ideas for Consideration 2

High School Prep Academy

"Well there you go again". So right off the bat we see that laptops (and the associated costs) are back on the table, replaced by "netbooks". A side note on netbooks. They suck. Even Apple's COO who does not make netbooks, said recently that they suck.

“When I look at netbooks, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens. It’s just not a good consumer experience and not something we would put the Mac brand on. It’s a segment we would not choose to play in.” Tim Cook, Apple COO

For learning these would be a disaster.

But back to the analysis at hand. There really isn't much to see here. We already offer this kind of course offering now and we don't see the attraction or the academic achievement. Maybe an AP\IB 6-12 school would have some merit, but no one will be buying a 7 to 12 prep academy. Parents that look at Foothills Academy, Basis, Scoostdale Prep etc will already be gone at 5th/6th grade. Students who do stay will not want to give up the extras that CSHS offers.

Maybe more details on this 'rigorous college prep' program would be helpful Without those details this looks like a way to backdoor laptops and to not really improve acheivement.

Questions for the board members to ask the administration about a High School Prep Academy:

1. Are netbooks a necessary component of a 'rigorous college prep' program?
2. How will this school\program differ from the current honors\IB\Ap program or is this just a segmenting of the population?
3. Wouldn't 6th grade be a better starting year to compete with surrounding schools whose offerings start at 5th\6th?
4. What will make this this school more rigorus and what will it cost to implement?