Taylor celebrates grand opening of the Titan New Tech High School

Kokomo — Freshmen in Steve Dishon and Justin Palmer’s Taylor High School digicom class sit at tables of four, rather than desks, and each student has a laptop computer in front of him or her.

Friday, the students brainstormed what they already know and what they need to know about an upcoming project, due in three weeks. Dishon, an English teacher, and Palmer, a business teacher, roam through the room leading the discussion, adding to the list on the overhead screen with a remote device.

Across the hall, Corey Smith and Jessica Breedlove team teach geocad, a class that combines geometry with introduction to engineering, and again, each student has a laptop, and each works in a group.

The combined classes, the one-to-one student and computer ratio and the projects are all part of a new way of teaching and learning at Taylor Community Schools, at the Titan New Tech High School, which opened in August. It is housed within the existing Taylor High School building and includes all the school’s freshmen.

Friday, Taylor schools had a grand opening celebration for the school, the first of its kind in the Kokomo area.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett praised the two-year effort by Taylor Superintendent John Magers, school board members and Principal Eric Hartman to bring the program to Howard County, which has struggled economically in recent years.

“We are only going to built a robust economy when we think outside the box for education,” Bennett said. “I stand here today with folks who get it.”