The standardized test box

Tara Jo McDonough design

Albuquerque Public School board member Robert Lucero took a lot of heat in Tuesday's Albuquerque Journal Letters to the Editor section over comments he made on KOAT-TV, Channel 7, regarding an Amy Biehl Charter School 's artwork.

He said in a TV interview that the $80,000 appropriated by the state to have a bronze statue of the Tara Jo McDonough's artwork done was "a monument to stupidity." He says that state money could be used in better ways.

Perhaps Lucero was unaware of what it took for McDonough and the staff at Amy Biehl to get the money appropriated. He should know that it took effort, endurance, and most of all, it took one 10th grader days of hard work to learn firsthand what it is like to gets something done in state government. McDonough, now an 11th grader at Amy Biehl, said that when she created the design for a patriotic statue for her U.S. History class she had no idea it "would have such a large impact on my future."

The story of her statue bears telling here and perhaps Lucero might learn something, as well.

Her story starts at Amy Biehl, a school that is taking an innovative approach to learning. It's fascinating for those people who can think outside the educational rote-learning box, but scary for those who think stepping out of the box will mean the downfall of our educational system.

At Amy Biehl, that hasn't been the case.

"We meet Annual Yearly Progress as required by the state each year," says Principal Tony Monfiletto. "And for the fifth year in a row, all of our seniors passed at least two classes with a C or better at the University of New Mexico or Central New Mexico Community College before graduating (from high school)."

At Amy Biehl, students take part in "Exhibition Learning." The school was selected as one of three National Exhibition sites by the Coalition of Essential Schools and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It's an honor the school staff and students didn't take lightly.

The goal of this type of learning is to highlight exhibitions as a meaningful way to evaluate student learning. Exhibitions are authentic demonstrations of learning by students in front of peers, teachers, experts and community members. They learn to develop, design, model, investigate and finally create projects that tell stories, inspire action and inform.

Monfiletto hopes his school's use of exhibition learning will show "policy makers and the public that there is alternative to standardized tests."

Throughout the exhibition process, students conduct research, contact experts, use scientific method to test hypotheses (if needed for science-related exhibitions) and become critical, creative thinkers in addition to gaining their knowledge of history, writing, researching, science, social studies, U.S. history, mathematics and a host of other topics.

Anyone who needs proof positive that what these students are doing is not learning should attend one of the exhibition events open to the public.

I did in May, and I was blown away by the professionalism and knowledge of these students.

Tara McDonough's exhibition project was presented last year. The topic was "What is Patriotism." Tara said that when she was designing her piece, she began to wonder what a patriotic action in America truly was.

She said she decided that "being patriotic isn't about serving your country by following blindly to all given orders. It is about defending it when it is right, but also stepping up when it is wrong."

She said that her project began to take shape around a central theme: unity. Her memorial's foundation is a flame, symbolic for freedom, liberty and justice, she says.

"Intertwined around the flame are stripes, faces of civil rights leaders and others who made a positive difference using peace and not war," she said.

She has dedicated the memorial to veterans inducted into the army from 1913 to 1988 at the former Federal Courthouse and Post Office that is now the home of Amy Biehl. The school has received a $100,000 grant to restore the courtroom, and is doing so for the building's 100th anniversary this year. More than 65,000 people went through inception in the building when it was the courthouse.

In May, McDonough spoke to visitors who were on hand for the first day of Exhibitions by this year's students. She said she hopes people will appreciate her artwork's meaning that "patriotism is not just a flag button on a lapel."

It's about "being open-minded yet holding on to your opinions and not be a mindless follower."

In 11 months time, McDonough not only researched and came up with her memorial, but she also secured funding by appearing before countless legislators and showing her leadership skills. She and another student, Joe Giannotto, worked the legislature the old-fashioned way -- they spoke before committees, they presented the facts and they educated some Legislators about their school and its mission.

Both were rewarded. Giannotto, who will be going to college to study engineering in the fall, helped get support for improving the energy efficiency of the Amy Biehl school building, which he showed will save thousands of dollars over the years.

McDonough found support for her monument from veterans Rep. Ernest Chavez, Rep. Jimmie Hall, Rep. Larry Larranaga, Sen. Mark Boitano and Sen. Joe Carraro. They believed enough in McDonough to put up some funding. For these legislators it was a sign of great faith and of the ability to think outside of the educational box.

McDonough wanted a memorial with meaning and she delivered. Let's hope it's not lost on people like Lucero who might not appreciate, yet, the value of an innovative approach to education.

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