Repolishing Wasson's image

"In the beginning ... there was an idea, a complex plan took form. But that was not the end. From the plan evolved the creation of the Roy J. Wasson High School. Over three and a quarter million dollars and two years of work were not enough, however, to fully create a school. Students were needed, and they came and they built traditions."
- From The Wahian, Vol. 1, 1959

In 1959, Wasson High School in Colorado Springs School District 11 was brand-new, a gleaming symbol of an American dream that promised a good education and bright future for all who passed through its doors. Perched in the middle of wide-open spaces - the houses that now surround it weren't even built - it had the newest gadgets and latest technology. Business students in the yearbook are pictured using electric typewriters. A headline about the library reads "Library boasts 6,500 books, periodicals."

"They called it the country club on the hill," said Tom Falgien, a former Wasson teacher and administrator.

Now, as it approaches its 50th anniversary, the school must figure out how to face the future. Test scores - among the lowest in the district - must improve. Enrollment needs to increase. Students and staff have to move forward from a school year in which two of its own - a student who was a senior and a 2006 graduate who had been a football standout - were shot and killed in unrelated incidents off school grounds.

There was also a controversy over whether Wasson's three-year-old arts magnet program was legitimate.

While it may have been an out-of-the-ordinary year for Wasson, the school had been in a rough patch for a time. But it's not the only school that has faltered. Buildings lose their shine and need upgrades and repairs. Neighborhoods and students change.

Palmer High School, for example, had to adapt as it went from being D-11's only high school to one of five. The downtown school struggled in the 1980s as the Springs grew and the city center became more commercial and less residential.

"The school just didn't have a good name," said Bill Barbee, class of 1960 and part of the alumni association.

Efforts to revitalize the school have restored it to a vibrant downtown campus with students that vie for the top test scores in the district. Part of the turnaround was the creation of the current alumni association, which provides scholarships, helps keep the grounds nice with an annual beautification day and teaches freshmen about the history of Palmer in the first few weeks of school.
Another boost came from the introduction of the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate program in 1993.

Wasson - and other schools as time goes by - must also make changes.

The challenge of getting Wasson back on track has fallen to Sean Dorsey, the tall, bald principal with a voice that booms "Let's go, let's go" down the hall, pushing kids to get to class on time.

He said that before he took over as principal at the start of the 2007-08 school year, students would walk into class late - and teachers would tolerate it. Now, many classroom doors have signs telling students a pass is needed to get into class after the bell rings.
Dorsey, who had been an assistant principal in Widefield School District 3 and Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, came to Wasson knowing it was a school that was struggling. But it's "not a school out of control by any means," he said.

"It doesn't need a total overhaul."

And things are changing for the better, he said, albeit slowly.

Still, he added, Wasson must focus on safety and curriculum as part of the overall effort to improve test scores and the school's reputation.

Safety
Safety has to come first, said Mitchell High School Principal Larry Cutter. The national survey data he's looked at shows safety is parents' No. 1 concern, and it was one of the three areas that Mitchell staff, students and community members focused on last school year.

Mitchell is newer than both Palmer and Wasson, but it, too, has low test scores and has been tagged with the unfortunate label of a "ghetto" school. Last year, Cutter said, a group of teachers decided to try to change that.

Teachers gave weekly lessons on safety, respect and responsibility during a homeroom-type period. Newsletters went to parents and community members. Every person who walks into Mitchell must show an ID or sign in as a visitor.

Security employees at Wasson have talked about implementing a similar system, but there's a concern about having one person tied to one place, rather than roaming the school, Dorsey said.

And whether Wasson is even that unsafe depends on who you talk to. Kit Evans, who used to work at Wasson in the in-school suspension room in 2006 and 2007, believes the school is unsafe. There are numerous fights, he said, and doors are almost always propped open, letting anyone walk into the building without being asked to sign in or wear a visitor pass.

But as senior Amanda Villarreau cleaned out her locker in May, she shrugged off talk of Wasson having more fights or being more dangerous than other schools.

"There's fights everywhere," she said.

Dorsey concurred, saying there is typical misbehavior at his school, but nothing worse than what you'd find at other area high schools.

One step Dorsey definitely plans to take to improve safety: closing the campus at lunchtime, starting with this year's sophomores and freshmen.

A closed campus will keep students from being late or skipping afternoon classes, Dorsey said. And it limits the chances for accidents to happen to students off campus.

Academics
No matter how safe a school might be, the public also judges schools by test scores these days. Although the school's recent Colorado Student Assessment Program scores show slight improvement in math and writing, there was a slight dip in ninth-grade reading and no change in science.

And Wasson fell below D-11's composite CSAP score and had the second-lowest scores of the five high schools.

That's not great, Dorsey knows, but he's working to turn things around.

For one thing, he makes it a point to be on top of what's happening in classrooms.

Unannounced, he and other administrators will drop into a classroom for 15 to 20 minutes to see if students are engaged, if the lesson's objective is posted and if the teacher is making connections between the lesson and the outside world.

A one-page form is given to the teacher with constructive feedback. Last school year, he set a goal of 150 spot observations; in the last few days of the 2007-08 school year, he was at 142.

Dorsey said this school year, he'll push to have teachers visit each others' classrooms to see different teaching styles and ways to present a lesson. And under his reign, staff members are talking about how to improve student achievement using the best instruction practices. In the past, he said, instruction was not a focus during staff development.

Even without Dorsey's initiatives, quality education has taken place at Wasson, but the negative news gets covered more, said Bruce Phillips, video production teacher at Wasson. Positive things at Wasson get lost in the shuffle, he says.

"We need to do a better job of letting people know what's going on," Phillips said.

Such as:
· The school has the only black box theater in D-11 and the only dance studio in a D-11 high school - key to the school's arts magnet program. Black box theaters are simple performance areas that can be arranged and rearranged for a variety of performances.

· Wasson started the concept of Saturday school, giving students a place to go to get help with homework and lessons.

About 100 students attend each Saturday - more than half voluntarily, Dorsey said - and other schools have picked up the concept.
· Students can earn cheap college credits at Wasson, thanks to a strong relationship with Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Several students talked about great teachers and creative projects. Last year, as a ninth-grader, Michael Michaud said Wasson has teachers that push students to go beyond their own grade level.

That's what Dorsey wants to hear. He believes that when teachers engage students with good instruction, test scores will go up.

At the same time, he knows it sounds easier than it is.

But teachers seem to be on board.

Bill Mahar, an automotive teacher, said academics come in play in the auto shop. Students must use math to measure, reading to find information in manuals and writing for reports.

He spent most of his career in the auto industry and has been at Wasson about 10 years.

"I'm here because I want to be here," Mahar said.

Dorsey said he's also happy to be at Wasson and that the school is heading in the right direction.

Will it be enough? That's the big question.