OPPORTUNITY HIGH SCHOOL

Assessment of the Opportunity High School



Assessment of the Opportunity High School

Opportunity High School (OHS) is a partnership school between the Hartford Public Schools and Our Piece of the Pie, a leading youth development agency that helps Hartford youth ages 14 to 24. Opportunity High School is designed for students who are over-aged, under-credited, and are looking for a way to accelerate credit attainment and graduate within two to 2½ years. The curriculum consisted of extending their knowledge of the subjects taught in Hartford schools and the best methods of school arrangements, instruction, and government provided them fame. Lessons consisted of lectures and discussions, often including general lectures by leading figures in the evenings that are open to the public.

It supported the creation of institutes in Massachusetts in the mid-1840s, in addition to preferring normal schools for teacher preparation. In 1845, it was reported the existence of teacher institutes in one-half of the counties of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, as well as his own Massachusetts. By 1847, teacher institutes existed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. They existed alongside normal schools, being most prevalent in rural areas where there were no normal schools.

Although regarded as inferior to normal schools in the preparation of teachers, the curriculum of teacher institutes is very similar; namely, content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Like normal schools, the institutes are public, not private; are controlled by the state or district; and are not operated by teachers (Mitlin, 2008). Institutes go on record favoring supervision, the creation of state normal schools, higher salaries for teachers, and state aid for public education. On occasion their students— teachers—are active on behalf of schools, approaching state legislatures in an organized way. Unlike normal schools, institutes often functioned on behalf of individuals who are teaching, emphasizing improvement for the individuals. Often conducted by teachers of acknowledged reputation, they are held at various times and for various lengths, and are ultimately replaced by summer schools. Enrollees often have to pay for their instruction, although in 1846 the Massachusetts legislature earmarks $2,500 for institutes in the state.

Moral character occupies a primary role in teacher institutes' conduct, as it does in the textbooks used and in normal school preparation. Protestant clergy plays a critical role in their operation, as they do in public schools' leadership positions. Often the sessions open with a devotional exercise, and harmony was expected between the institutes' focus on moral character, or “awakening” for the students, and the Protestant faith. Indeed, the institutes often take on the nature of a religious revival, and are frequently conducted in churches. Women attend, but do not take part in these activities.

The county superintendents were explained about the institutes, which should be included in the operation of the state:

(a) They should review of lectures taught in the public schools and opt for the best methods to teach them

(b) Lectures and discussions among members on the organization of ...