A new look at an old school | Kent-Meridian High

Kent-Meridian High School – it’s the “scary school at the top of the hill,” right?  It certainly looks scary sitting there on Kent East Hill, surrounded by chain-link fence, with a city bus stop right outside and a McDonald’s located across the street in a low income, ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Quite a mouthful for a school many Kent residents drive by without a thought. I made the decision two years ago to send my oldest daughter to Kent-Meridian. Actually, she decided, as she was determined to attend the Kent School District’s Technology Academy housed within Kent-Meridian.

Although I do not consider myself a racist, I have to admit, I am easily intimidated by the unknown and that includes those with different ethnic backgrounds. I grew up in a small, rural town, predominately white.  We had one black family and although they were very active in the community, they were the only exposure I had on a regular basis to someone “of color.”

Not only is Kent-Meridian vastly different for me in its ethnic make-up, but also in size.  The high school I attended had 250 kids total; ninth through 12th grades. Kent-Meridian, although not the largest high school in the district, has the highest ethnic diversity.  When you are a white student attending K-M, you are a minority at 25-27 percent, compared to Kentwood (56 percent) and Kentridge (54 percent) and then Kentlake (70).  Kent-Meridian also has the highest percentage of low income or poverty level students.  This is based on the fact that 70 percent of its students are eligible for free or reduced lunches; double or more than any other high school in the district. The neighborhood in which Kent-Meridian is located is considered a tough neighborhood, compared with neighborhoods located further east. There is often police activity required in the surrounding area.

I had a lot of trepidation about sending my daughter to Kent-Meridian. I would like to think it was warranted, but it was really no excuse.  So I decided not to let the horror stories scare me.  I decided not to listen to the parent whose children attended K-M 20 years ago; she pulled them out because the school was turbulent and, at times, violent.  I decided not to listen to the woman who would never send her kids there because of the way it “looked.”  I chose instead to focus on what was real and present at K-M right now.  The “scary school at the top of the hill” became a school of rich ethnic, cultural diversity, with an opportunity for my daughter to receive a top notch education; a hidden treasure, rather than a source of fear.

If you were to judge this school only by its government test scores, it would not impress you.  K-M scores below district and state percentages, but the factor that makes it rich in its ethnic diversity is also the factor that makes its test scores low.  Because of its diverse population in a low income area, with many students living in apartments or low income housing, it is the most transitory school in the district.  In a school year there are around 1,900 students, 1,100 of those will withdraw and another 1,000 will enroll or re-enroll.  This fact alone skews the test scores of those standardized tests.

It’s what you can’t see or measure that makes K-M a hidden treasure.  There are 70 nations represented at K-M along with 69 different languages.  Kent-Meridian has the fortune of housing the only International Baccalaureate  program in the Kent School District and is only one of 17 high school International Baccalaureate programs in Washington state.  The International Baccalaureate program is an academically challenging program designed for juniors and seniors.  It is a two-year educational program that aims to provide an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education.  Students can use this rigorous curriculum as credits toward many universities worldwide.  They can also choose to enter the program and receive a diploma or take advantage of International Baccalaureate’s more challenging course work in individual classes.

As I mentioned above, my daughter wanted to attend Kent-Meridian for the Technology Academy.  The Kent-Meridian Technology Academy (KMTA) is located on the campus at Kent-Meridian High School.  The academy is an opportunity for students to use the latest technology as a tool toward higher learning.  It began six years ago at Mill Creek Middle School as the Kent Technology Academy with 90 seventh graders.  Those seventh graders will be the academy’s first graduating class this year.

The technology academy at K-M has 120 students per grade, with 65 percent of the students from within the school’s strand; these are students who would normally call K-M their home high school.  The other 35 percent are made up of students from the other three high schools in the district.  Although these students create a unique learning community within K-M, they are also part of the mainstream high school.  The students are issued laptops and all their core classes are taught using the computer as their main learning resource.  Students complete their electives and other required courses as part of the main high school.

The Kent Technology Academies operate as pilot schools. They are required to meet the same standards as the rest of the school, but must provide accountability for certain results in accordance with their mission. With the knowledge the Tech Academies have acquired, the district has been able to place laptops in the hands of all students from seventh through ninth grades.  Next year it will be seventh through 10th grades, progressing each year until all secondary students have school-issued laptops for their use during the school year.

K-M has gone through many transitions in its history. It was originally Kent High located where Mill Creek Middle School currently stands.  It became the school it is today when it merged with Panther Lake School District and Meridian School District in 1951 and was Kent’s lone high school for 17 years before Kentridge was established in 1968.

I have listened to my share of horror stories about K-M and read many negatives reviews online.  But where there is dissent, there is often progress and hope.  As I sat in the auditorium at K-M’s “Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and Celebrating Our Diversity” program back in January, the message from the administration and students was clear:  we are all different, yet we are all the same.  There were tears in my eyes as I watched a video prepared by the K-M student leadership group.  The video started with a young man walking the halls at K-M and judging teachers and students because of their differences. It continued with Dr. Martin Luther King’s message, then ended with the same young man walking through the school and taking a fresh look at those he had judged.  The video named each person he had judged, then told us about their personality and the challenges they were having in their lives; from being insecure about their weight to losing a parent.  After the video, we were entertained by eight different ethnic groups dancing their native dances, as well as by the K-M choir “Sound Connection.” These different groups didn’t even scratch the surface of diversity at K-M.

I wrote this article because I think K-M has gotten a bad rap over the years.  The administration has worked hard to turn this school around. The teacher turnover has gone from 25-33 teachers a year in 2004-06 to only six teachers over the past two years.  This includes in-building athletic coaches (coaches who teach classes as well as coach after-school sports), who made up 50 percent of the staff in 2006-07 to more than 80 percent in 2010-11.  In-building coaches make a huge impact on the lives of the many students for whom athletics play a big part in their education.

The students have become more involved as they’ve taken ownership of their school community going from 14 student clubs in 2006-07 to over 40 student clubs in the past two years.  The on-time graduation rate has gone from 56 percent in 2006 to 74 percent in 2009, as well as an increase in the extended graduation rate from 61 percent in 2006 to 87 percent in 2009.  As a parent, I feel as welcome walking the hallways of the school as my daughter does.

I see a school managed with respect not only from students for the administration, but also from the administration for the students. I witnessed Dr. Barringer, the principal the past four years in an encounter with a student who appeared intimidating to me.  The student was dressed in gothic attire, looking like a young man most mothers wouldn’t want their daughters to date.  He walked out of the technology/science building toward us.  When he saw Dr. Barringer he said, “I guess you’re looking for me?”  Dr. Barringer nodded and the two walked away deep in a calm, respectful discussion over an offense the student must have committed.  Where once I was afraid, now I am fiercely protective.

So now when I drive by Kent-Meridian High School, I see it as a welcome and inviting school, because now I know. I know my daughter will leave K-M prepared to enter our diverse world. I know she is learning acceptance and tolerance of others’ differences. I know she is getting an education rich not only in diversity, but also knowledge and experience of technology, which will enable her to keep up with our fast-paced world of constantly advancing technology. I know it is not a scary school, but hides treasures the students within have the privilege and opportunity to receive.