BARRINGTON, N.H. – The sights and sounds of the lunchroom at Cocheco Arts Technology Academy in Barrington is the same as any typical high school. Seniors sit together at a designated lunch table, students play instruments, and the tears of certain students are visible among the hustle of the room.
However, the difference at CATA lies in the fact that the seniors are sitting together to run the school store and raise money for their class, the individuals playing instruments are accompanied by teachers and fellow students who sing along, and the only tears are those resulting in laughter of one of the many school-wide inside jokes. The unique community atmosphere of CATA is remarkable.
“There’s a strong school community here,” remarks freshman Nellie Teeling. “We’re one huge giant clique−no one’s in and no one’s out.” English teacher Ms. Allard agrees, “The great thing about teaching here is that everyone wants to be here.”
CATA’s one-of-a-kind community eliminates social stigmas associated with high school and creates a more comfortable and successful learning environment. The school’s small size and friendly teaching staff allow for interactive high school classes where teachers are able to focus on student’s individual needs and interests. “CATA is more in tuned and allows the programs to adapt to the students rather than force the students to adapt to the programs,” states transitional alumni Bianca Rivera. Teachers incorporate creative aspects to everyday subjects to help motivate students to learn. As a result, students become excited about classroom material and even conduct further research on the subjects they are studying. Students in Allard’s freshman English class proudly display their Edgar Allen Poe projects. Ranging from visual illustrations created from bits of real pumpkin to a beautiful water color, all are paired with papers explaining their piece. “Incorporating arts into (the student’s) core classes is extraordinary,” says Allard, “and how they go about it is the cool part.”
All classes ranging from mathematics to The Artistry of Puppetry combine creative aspects to motivate students. Mr. Keith’s highly anticipated “Game of Life” in Economics is a game that teaches students practical applications and economic theories. The game consists of rolling a dice to determine their financial fate. The resulting number corresponds with an incident listed on Keith’s sheet. Students become extremely involved learning how to budget accordingly with the results of each roll and utilize real life expenses to relate to the material.
Small school and class sizes also inspire students to learn. Each class has no more than 15 students, allowing for greater attention, focus, and interaction with class material and the teachers. “I’m more motivated to learn because the teachers are so involved in the class,” says Teeling. “They really want to get to know who you are.”
CATA is an arts and technology charter high school in Barrington that shares a facility with the Good Shepard School. The focus of education is for students desiring a college preparatory academic program in an environment where artistic talent and technical skill can thrive. Each student has a Personal Education Plan (PEP) for academic and personal goals they desire to achieve with the help of the faculty. Students are able to meet the standards for the NH state grade requirements through the completion of rationales. These rationales highlight the material needed to pass each grade and students prove how they learned mandatory aspects of all subjects in write ups on completed projects. The quality of education increases as students interact with course material. Write-ups of rationales, along with sample pieces of works are combined in a professional personalized portfolio to offer material for college admission boards or employment opportunities.
Although CATA is not yet able to offer all courses due to their small size, the school provides students with the opportunity to learn any subject manner through partnering with other programs. Students are able to take advanced courses at the Dover Adult Learning Center and UNH as well as language courses through the award winning Rosetta Stone program. The desire to provide unlimited classes allows the students to elaborate on any topic of interest.
In the future, CATA hopes to move its location to the Mill Building in downtown Dover. The entire community believes the transition will be beneficial for the institution. However this process has been made difficult due to the insufficient funding of NH charter schools. Although CATA boasts free tuition, the school receives a mere fraction of the funding the public high schools collect. For each student, the school receives approximately half of the funds of a public school. “It’s really unfair,” says senior Amelia Wright. “This environment is so extraordinary and hopefully in the future (CATA) will receive better funding.” For now the school relies on donations and fundraisers in addition to the funding from the state. Members of the CATA board are diligently working to acquire more funds for charter schools in NH.
Until plans for the move are finalized and funding is increased for charter high schools, the students and faculty at CATA continue with their studies. The laughter is never stifled, the singing is never silenced, and the camaraderie of the community echoes even louder throughout the halls of the remarkable small school.
To learn more about CATA visit www.catanh.org