69传媒

As its organizers see it, Philadelphia鈥檚 School of the Future is high-tech testimony to just what can be accomplished when big-city school districts team up with corporations that like to try new things.

鈥淧hiladelphia asked us to do something we鈥檝e never done before: build a school,鈥� said Craig J. Mundie, the chief research and strategy officer at the Microsoft Corp., which created the newly opened high school in partnership with the city school district. 鈥淪o we took our best shot.鈥�

A gleaming white building on the edge of a blighted West Philadelphia neighborhood, the $62 million school garnered wide attention when it opened this month, in part because of its technological bells and whistles. Those futuristic features include a tablet personal computer for each student, interactive digital whiteboards, a supercharged wireless network, customized educational software, and digital 鈥渟mart cards鈥� to open lockers and pay for meals鈥攁ll making possible a virtually paperless environment.

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Business, government, and education officials also laud the 162,000-square-foot school for its energy-efficient design, the flexible classroom furniture, its use of some of Microsoft鈥檚 business practices for staff and students, and a curriculum featuring project-based learning and career-skills requirements.

The need for such a school鈥攁nd the business community鈥檚 support of it鈥攊s clear in light of an increasing demand for smart, adaptable employees in the United States and abroad, said Mr. Mundie. 鈥淚t is more important than ever for companies 鈥� to help global educators meet future economic and social needs,鈥� he said.

Microsoft and district officials stress that the technology giant did not pick up the tab for building the school. Nor did the money come from the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The funds came from the district鈥檚 $1.9 billion capital-improvement program.

Instead, Microsoft brought something better, said Paul G. Vallas, the chief executive officer of the 194,5000-student district: its people.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 Microsoft money,鈥� he said on the school鈥檚 opening day, wearing a blue Oxford-cloth shirt with the Microsoft logo on the front. 鈥淭his is Microsoft smarts.鈥�

Doug Lynch, the vice dean of the University Pennsylvania鈥檚 school of education, said superintendents elsewhere should look at the partnership between the Philadelphia district and Microsoft, with its can-do culture and wealth of learning resources. Yet he also suggested that such relationships should be approached with care.

鈥淭his innovative spirit 鈥� is laudable,鈥� Mr. Lynch said. 鈥淏ut I urge caution, because if you fail, you鈥檒l lose a lot of kids.鈥�

Such admonitions were nowhere to be heard during the school鈥檚 opening ceremonies Sept. 7, when a crush of local dignitaries, 170 students and their camera-toting parents, and reporters and camera crews swarmed the campus, careful not to trample the newly sodded grass.

The events culminated with a video clip of Microsoft founder Bill Gates promising to visit. Then, as U2鈥檚 鈥淏eautiful Day鈥� boomed over loudspeakers, local, state, and company education officials rang handbells, signifying the school鈥檚 formal start.

Microsoft

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks at opening-day ceremonies via a video displayed on a large screen in the new building鈥檚 gymnasium. 鈥擟hristopher Powers

The technology giant primarily provided human capital to the School of the Future. Forty-seven Microsoft Corp. employees helped plan the school鈥檚 design, technology, and management tools. The company also provided customized educational software and donated $100,000 to name the visitors鈥� briefing center.

Almost 50 Microsoft employees helped devise the School of the Future, the company says. 鈥淲e wanted to create a learning environment more continuous, adaptive, and relevant,鈥� said Mary J. Cullinane, the group manager for Microsoft鈥檚 U.S. Partners in Learning, a program that works with state governments and local schools on improving education, and the company鈥檚 point person for the school.

Ms. Cullinane led the creation of an 鈥渆ducation competency wheel,鈥� a set of 37 essential work skills for staff and students. The tool is modeled on Microsoft鈥檚 hiring and professional-development competencies. The Redmond, Wash.-based company also developed software, called the Virtual Teaching Assistant, that lets students direct the pace of their learning and allows teachers to give tests via the students鈥� computers.

The idea for the School of the Future started with Mr. Vallas, who approached Microsoft in 2003. At the time, the company was already considering building a school laboratory to show how technology can enhance learning, Ms. Cullinane said. The concept was to be similar to the Microsoft Home, a house near Microsoft鈥檚 facility in West London, England, that is outfitted with various new technologies, such as a bathroom mirror that doubles as a television or music player.

The partnership between the district and Microsoft kicked off in September 2003. By December of that year, the Microsoft team had begun full-time management of the project. In 2004, the district and Microsoft held school briefings in Philadelphia, England, and Australia and visited tech-savvy schools in California, Texas, and England to gather ideas.

Construction crews broke ground in March 2005. That July, Microsoft sponsored a summit on the future of education in which more than 200 education and government leaders from more than 30 countries participated. The second summit is scheduled to be held here in November.

鈥淭his [school] contains the best thinking of everyone we could bring into the project,鈥� said Ellen Savitz, the district鈥檚 chief development officer.

Microsoft is not the school鈥檚 only corporate partner. For example, Blackburn, England-based Promethean Group Technologies Ltd. provides the school鈥檚 whiteboards; Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Meru Networks installed the wireless computer network; and Gateway Inc., based in Irvine, Calif., provides laptop computers to the students and staff.

The school has had its share of obstacles. Construction delays placed pressure on an already truncated 18-month building schedule. Costs also rose from a projected $48 million to $62 million, Ms. Savitz said.

Then there鈥檚 the name of the school. Its present name is temporary鈥攖hough not from lack of trying.

The district hoped to raise up to $14 million in naming-rights fees for the school鈥檚 endowment fund, ranging from $25,000 for a classroom to $5 million to name the entire school. The district has raised $3 million so far, said Ms. Savitz. If no company steps up with $5 million鈥攖he price the district has set on the school鈥檚 name鈥攖he district may ask the community to help pick a permanent name, she said.

Of the money raised to date, $2 million comes from the Bowland Charitable Trust, a foundation in Blackburn, England, that helps support education projects in the United Kingdom and other countries.

The trust has a special interest in improving education in poor areas, and will encourage educational exchanges between urban schools in the United Kingdom and in Philadelphia, said Carole Fahy, the trust鈥檚 administrator. 鈥淲e believe that not just the School of the Future, but the work that is being done by the Philadelphia school district, will in some areas show the way to improvements in urban schools, and not just in the U.S.,鈥� she wrote in an e-mail.

The remaining $1 million comes from other companies, including $100,000 from Microsoft to name the visitors鈥� briefing center.

Walk into the school and what strikes you is the sunlight flooding its interior, its wide public spaces, and its strong, bold design. Mr. Vallas has called it a 鈥渟chool without shadows.鈥�

But the school doesn鈥檛 just look good. It鈥檚 also energy-efficient, garnering the third-highest level in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based coalition of building industry leaders advocating environmentally responsible buildings.

The school鈥檚 heating and cooling system is almost 50 percent more efficient than a traditional system, said Jason Kilwinski, the director of sustainable design and operations for the Prisco Group, the Hopewell, N.J.-based architectural firm that designed the school.

A 40,000-gallon tank captures rainwater, which is used to flush toilets. That by itself will cut water use by 60 percent, Mr. Kilwinski said. Photovoltaic glass panels also help decrease the school鈥檚 electricity costs. In addition, the performance center鈥檚 green roof鈥攃omposed of plants and mosses鈥攚ill help insulate it and protect it from ultraviolet rays.

鈥淭he more you can do with natural processes,鈥� Mr. Kilwinski said, 鈥渢he more savings you can build into the system.鈥�

The building itself is a teaching tool, he added. 69传媒 can soon go to a Web site to monitor how much power the school is using, for example, or how much water is being absorbed by the green roof.

Despite its pedigree, the school is not a magnet school, but largely draws students from the neighborhood. It will eventually educate 750 students, adding a class each year.

Roughly 1,500 students applied to the School of the Future this year; the 170 chosen were picked by lottery. Seventy-five percent came from the West Philadelphia community, and the remainder from the rest of the city.

Almost all the students are African-American, about 10 percent are in special education, and about 85 percent are poor.

鈥淲e did not screen for grades, attendance, discipline issues,鈥� said Ms. Savitz. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get what we鈥檙e going to get.鈥�

69传媒 must demonstrate fluency in a foreign language, complete a research project, and demonstrate 11 鈥�21st-century skills,鈥� such as time management and problem-solving, to graduate, said Shirley Grover, the school鈥檚 principal. They must also apply to a college or university to get their high school diplomas, she said.

Honor students from Villanova University will tutor School of the Future students online, and professors from the University of Pennsylvania will teach a class in robotics and another in urban design. Drexel University will also provide resources, including a graduate student in library science, for its interactive learning center.

On the morning of Sept. 7, the school鈥檚 first freshman class approached the school holding white banners bearing names of continents. Many were neatly dressed in khaki pants and blue polo or T-shirts with the logos of local universities.

One of them was 14-year-old Aja Fairbanks, who wants to be an astronomer. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in the stars, skies, and space,鈥� she said. 鈥淸The school] will give me the knowledge to succeed.鈥�

Virginia Campbell, a parent of another student, said she hopes the school will fulfill its promise and won鈥檛 fall victim to urban neglect. 鈥淚 hope people will keep it up, keep it clean,鈥� she said, eyeing the spotless exterior. 鈥淲est Philly could really use this.鈥�

As with any experiment, Ms. Cullinane of Microsoft predicts, the new school will face bumps along the road. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sure there will be mistakes, and sure there will be things done well, 鈥� she remarked. But she said the company would stick by the school for the long haul: 鈥淲e鈥檝e committed not to just opening the school, but also learning from what鈥檚 been created.鈥�