The new spin on high school

A controlled choice program that debuts next year has schools competing for students. That means specialized classes and exciting new options for kids.

[Times photos: Skip O'Rourke] East Bay High aquaculture students Ashley Bastian, 17, left, and Chad Simpson, 16, clean fry tanks that contain hundreds of baby fish that are barely visible.

Sophomores Jeff McGrath, 16, left, and his twin brother, John, watch East Bay High aquaculture teacher Michael Yates demonstrate a sand filter during class.

Junior Kevin Crandall, 16, sets up computers in a classroom at Brandon High School's Information Technology Academy. Students were setting up a network.

BRANDON - When Brandon High administrators wanted to market their information technology academy to middle school students, they sent 16-year-old Kalie Turner. The bubbly junior happily told eighth-graders how she went from "computer illiterate" to PageMaker whiz in a year. She used to use her computer just for e-mail, she told them. Now she makes posters for the Brandon football team and works on projects for other classes.

Students can expect more such pitches in the months to come, as administrators show off their schools' assets in a bid to keep students and attract new ones.

The controlled choice program that debuts next year is largely an effort to keep schools diverse, following a federal court ruling that frees Hillsborough from busing students to meet racial quotas.

But in the long run, choice also will force schools to compete. It places them in a sort of free market, where they have to specialize their curriculum, then "sell" it to prospective students.

The school district is using much of a $13.2-million federal grant to market choice, a program whose success hinges on "attractor programs" in areas like finance, economics, environmental science and visual arts.

Brandon, Armwood and East Bay High Schools - among southern Hillsborough's three oldest campuses - are expanding on current programs and starting new ones to stay ahead of the game. They're offering academies in computer technology, finance, American Sign Language, even Olympic Sports. These attractor programs will compete with magnet programs next month when the school choice selection period begins.

The schools will tout the programs to students and parents Saturday during a choice "showcase" that marks the official kickoff for many schools' recruiting efforts.

Beyond the aging gray lockers and the 32-year-old classrooms at East Bay High in Gibsonton, three dozen species of fish flit about in aquariums maintained by students.

In the outdoor lab, students spawn shrimp and test water quality. They discover all the diseases and pollutants that can snuff out a Black Molly's delicate life.

East Bay's 4-year-old aquaculture academy takes advantage of Gibsonton's position as one of the world's leading tropical fish producers. But next year, East Bay will expand the 4-year-old program into an Environmental Studies Academy that also covers marine and freshwater science.

Administrators hope the learning opportunities make their school a standout when students start listing their preferences under the choice program.

The attractor program is also a way of bringing an old school new resources - grants, extra district dollars, donations.

That's important to East Bay, whose age and rural location make it hard to compete against schools that are newer and more centrally located.

The specialized curriculum is also an insurance of sorts. It could prevent students currently assigned to the school from transferring next year to Riverview, Bloomingdale or Tampa Bay Technical.

"We want to attract new students, but also keep students already here who might think about going to those other schools," said social studies teacher Dale Hueber. "If we can get some good programs and get really creative with internships, I could see us just taking off."

But the attractors at Brandon, Armwood and East Bay will have to compete with popular magnet programs, and courses that introduce students to careers such as interior design.

Armwood assistant principal Bill Orr finds the uncertainty of student interest makes it hard to pin down certain aspects of the school's Olympic Sports attractor.

The program will cover everything from basic personal training and injury prevention to the marketing of an athlete with professional-league prospects. Orr said he hopes to have a freshman class of 100 to 125 students. "But we don't really know how many kids will choose it, so we're not sure about some things yet," he said.

"Our hope is to build it up over time for those kids over the four years they're here."

Choice is, essentially, a voluntary desegregation plan.

For years, thousands of students in Hillsborough took long bus rides to schools far from home so the school district could meet court-ordered racial balances.

Two years ago, the federal courts freed Hillsborough of mandatory busing, saying county schools were no longer segregated.

But officials still believe the ideal learning environment is a diverse one, and they don't want classrooms to become segregated again.

That's where controlled choice and attractor programs come in.

The attractors, much like magnet programs created years ago, are meant to lure children of various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds into schools outside their neighborhoods.

Students next year can stay in the school they're normally assigned to, or they can pick three others as their top choices. Most students choose only when they're entering kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades, and even then their destination depends on the space available.

But students in urban areas have the option to choose different schools every year.

The elementary, middle and high schools turned into attractors weren't chosen randomly. Without the special curriculum, they likely would become almost all-black, all-white or all-Hispanic, said choice supervisor Beleria Floyd.

Of all the high schools in Hillsborough, district officials determined that only four - Armwood, East Bay, Brandon and King in Tampa - need the attractor programs.

That could change as choice plays out and district administrators make adjustments where needed, Floyd said.

But after meeting with parents and community groups in recent months, she predicted there will be little student movement when choice takes hold next year.

"Parents move to an area for a school, or their child is already being bused there, so they'll pick that school as their top choice to stay there," Floyd said. "I think the 5 percent or so who move will be people who want their children closer to home or closer to their work."

Two years ago, Brandon High became the county's first high school to open an information technology academy. Today there are approximately 200 students and 13 teachers for courses including graphic design, computer programming and four levels of Web design and PC support.

Eight computer labs feature new equipment, much of it financed with a $60,000 grant.

In March, the high school graduates into the prestigious National Academy Foundation, a national network of career academies that provides support and curriculum to more than 500 schools in 40 states.

When choice starts next year, administrators hope to have relationships with area businesses that can provide internships - and serve as a hook for students.

But students already are pitching the attractor programs to anyone who will listen.

Zach Pollard joined the program when it started, in part so that someone in his family could figure out the home computer.

Now a senior, Pollard has built seven computers in the past two years, including two at home. When he gets to college, he wants to double major in computers and criminology.

"You know, when I started this I just thought,"I'll take one class and get the basics," Pollard said. "But I'm still here because it turned out to be a lot of fun."