ROCK is a community of four teachers and slightly over 100 students. Half the students are in the ninth grade and half are tenth graders. The ninth and tenth graders take all their classes together. ROCK meets all morning, every morning until lunch. It is a two-year program.
Class time is about 70% traditional college-prep content, 30% interdisciplinary projects. There are four projects every year. Most are done in small groups. Each has many steps. Points earned in projects make about 1/3 of your grade in English, science, social studies and art/drama. (math, foreign languages and physical education are not part of ROCK and are taken in the afternoon.)
Students also do 70 hours of community service in their two years in ROCK, and meet the district's computer literacy requirements without having to take an "introduction to computers" course.
Since ROCK is a two-year program,
we have an alternate year curriculum:
"White" Year: English, Integrated Science, Beginning
Drama, World History.
"Green" Year: English, Integrated Science, Art Explorations,
Drawing & Painting, Geography, Social Issues.
Either year is an appropriate year in which to enter ROCK. (White
and Green are Drake's colors.)
The Teachers:
Paul
Grifo (Social Studies) ROCK Teacher since 1994
Mary
Kitchens (English) ROCK Teacher since 1992
Jasper
Thelin (Art/Drama) ROCK Teacher since 2000
Michael
Wing (Science) ROCK Teacher since 1998
There are four projects every
year. Most are done in small groups.
Each has many steps. Points earned in projects make about 1/3
of your grade in English, Science, Social Studies and Art/Drama.
Examples of Projects include:
The "Art is Everywhere" Project. You end up creating
a work of art for public viewing, but there are many steps of
research, reflection and project management (deadlines and budgets)
along the way...
The Disease Project: in regular school, you might write
a research paper on tuberculosis. Here you start by researching
your disease, but then you create a timeline showing your disease
throughout history. You build an annotated 3-D model of how your
disease works in the body. You write an original song about your
disease and perform it in front of 100 people. You write several
fictional narratives from the point of view of disease victims
and pathogens. And you debate 26 other diseases in a debate tournament
to see who gets the most funding for research and prevention.
To succeed in the debate, you need to learn about the other 25
diseases as well!
(Our Chronic Fatigue Syndrome group got an article written about them in The CFIDS Chronicle: Young, Pamela. "New" School. The CFIDS Chronicle, Vol. 19; Issue 3, Summer 2006, page 29.)
The Water Project: view this one on the internet.
The Music Project: Two guest directors (professional musicians
from outside Drake) lead us in music and song. It culminates in
a public performance for 500 people at the Fairfax Pavillion.
Last year, our two guest directors were the renowned and outstanding
John Turk and Larry
Vann.
All 8th Graders planning to enter Drake High are given an application form in which they choose between ROCK, MOBIUS, GALILEO, and 9th grade clusters. If you want to be in ROCK, indicate that as your first choice. If more students pick ROCK as their first choice than there are spaces for (about 50 per year) then the spaces are filled by lottery.
If you don't get in to ROCK through the lottery, you can be put on a waiting list for ROCK. Sometimes there is movement on the waiting list over the spring and summer.
An informational meeting at Drake for prospective students is held in mid-winter in which ROCK, MOBIUS, GALILEO, 9th grade clusters and admission procedures are explained. Contact Drake's front office for the date, time and location.
ROCK Teachers say: "The 9th and 10th Graders in ROCK take all their classes together all morning, every morning for two years. At the end of every year, the 10th graders leave the program to be replaced by incoming 9th graders. So I start each year already knowing half my students really well. The 9th graders model themselves on the 10th graders from the first minute, so we never have to break them in - the tenth graders do it for us. There is a "ROCK Culture" of hard work, camaraderie, creativity and fun that perpetuates itself from year to year."
ROCK Students claim they have…
More fun!
Higher grades
More field trips
More meaningful work
More homework (The ROCK teachers aren't so sure about this… We think
it's just that ROCK students always do their homework!)
An easier time in 11th grade.
What does ROCK stand for?
Students
invented the name, which stands for "Revolution of Core Knowledge." The
idea behind the name is that knowledge by itself means little unless you apply
it in relevant and creative ways.
Is ROCK only for elite students?
No. ROCK is for everyone.
What are MOBIUS and
GALILEO?
How do they relate to ROCK?
MOBIUS and GALILEO are two other communities
of
students and teachers at Drake. Like ROCK, they are two-year programs
in which 9th and 10th graders take their classes together. Like ROCK, they have
interdisciplinary
projects and group work. Unlike ROCK, they do not include art
or drama. MOBIUS
and GALILEO have three subjects
(English, social studies and science) and take up three periods
of Drake's seven-period schedule. ROCK takes four periods. Any
8th grader considering ROCK ought to consider MOBIUS or GALILEO and vice
versa.
What about subjects like math,
Spanish, etc?
ROCK is only in the morning. All ROCK students
take three classes in the afternoon at Drake, outside of ROCK.
For most, these are math, physical education, and French or Spanish.
Can I leave ROCK after the 9th
grade?
It has been done, but it disrupts your education. ROCK
covers the district's 9th and 10th grade curricula in English,
science and social studies but the two years are blended together.
If you leave ROCK halfway through the program to enter regular
classes at Drake, it will be necessary to study some topics twice,
and other topics never. We ask you to make a two-year commitment
when you enter ROCK.
Can I enter ROCK as a 10th grader?
No.
We need 10th graders to lead others in group projects. It takes a
year
to learn how to do this.
Can I play sports and still have
time for ROCK?
Yes. Most of our students are active in organized
after-school activities such as sports, and drama. They do have
to manage their time well.
I'm thinking of signing up for
ROCK, but I don't want to take Drama.
- or -
I'm thinking of signing up for ROCK, but I also want to have room
in my schedule for electives like band, etc.
Consider joining our
sister academies MOBIUS
or GALILEO which take only three periods out of the seven-period schedule.
ROCK takes up four periods out of seven.
Are the ROCK teachers
perfect?
No. They are human, and sometimes make errors of judgement
and/or have bad days. Some students and parents love them, some
don't.
What comes after ROCK?
There are three
academies at Drake for Juniors and Seniors: The Communications
Academy, the Engineering
Academy, SEA-DISC (Environmental
Studies),
and of course "regular" High School courses.
Most ROCKers go on to college, as do most Drake students.
More Questions?
Ask any ROCK student,
ex-ROCK student, ROCK parent or ROCK teacher! (There are over
a thousand out there in the community.)
Above photo: ROCK participates in the historic first driving of the Northwest Passage
