New KHS principal looks to lead wave of innovation

Professionally, Manuel taught Social Studies at M.S. 391 in the Bronx from 2001-06. In 2007, he was appointed principal at Accion Academy, a middle school with students in grades 6-8. At the time, the school was ranked in the 5th percentile in the city; by the end of his final year there, they’d risen to the 86th percentile. It was his success in turning around the school that was a big part of why he was so appealing to school officials in Kingston, where the high school has just finished its second year of state-mandated restructuring in part because the four-year minority graduation rates were mired around 50 percent for the past five years.

“He’s done great things there,” said Kingston Superintendent Gerard Gretzinger. “What the JIT report indicated and what we see on all of our testing is that we fall short in the subgroups of black students and also students with disabilities. And that in particular is where Adrian has made strides with students in the city. I think they’re sorry to see him leave the Bronx.”

Manuel credited some of the turnaround at Accion to a “cultural shift” away from stagnant educational practices and into the modern age where the rapidly changing world is reflected in the curriculum.

“The design of school is outdated,” Manuel said. “It was designed for a 19th-century model, an industrial model where a certain amount of kids could go to college and others could go into service industries. Well, we’re in 2011. You don’t have to look at the current economy to know that school is not designed to meet the demands of modern society and technology. Schools still have technology from 15 years ago and they’re hesitant to use social networks to bring students together.”

Manuel said the process began with teachers who were “forward thinking,” a group that included both young teachers and those with decades of experience who wanted to see a change. From there, the curriculum also underwent revitalization.

“We offered courses that middle schools don’t typically offer,” Manuel said. “We offered robotics programs, statistics seminars. We had a media literacy class for three years where students learned how to make documentaries and post blogs. This past year we had an app design class. That’s the world we live in. We started to make programs that focused on the needs of the world today. Why can’t school change?”

Manuel stressed that while looking to the future was vital, so too was paying attention to what was happening in the present, particularly in how each school no matter how they’ve shaped their culture has its successes and failures judged.