Metre
Early College from page A13
Early College High Schools
Early College High Schools are
designed to meet the needs of stu-
dents who may do better in a non-
traditional high school setting or are
interested in being challenged.
These programs provide students
with both a high school diploma and
up to 60 high school credits, which
are transferable to most state col-
leges and universities.
Early College High School programs
may be career focused and usually
are located on a college campus.
These programs are created
through a collaboration between an
intermediate or local school district
and a community college. Enrollment
in these schools can begin as early
as ninth grade with college classes
beginning as early as 10th grade.
There are more than 160 early
college high schools throughout
the country, including several in
Michigan.
We're especially inter-
ested in helping to
increase post-secondary
access and opportuni-
ties and in improving
the quality of educa-
tion to students who
are being underserved
by traditional, compre-
hensive high schools."
- Gary Weisserman
- Courtesy Michigan Department
of Education
Academy, a nationally acclaimed mag-
net high school administered by the
Bloomfield Hills School District, as well as
several private schools and home schools.
The bulk of the students, however, come
from traditional public high schools
across Oakland County.
"I've never met a more diverse group
of kids;' Weisserman says. "My goal is for
this to be a progressive lab for what early
college high school education can be.
Educationally we can't focus on just get-
ting kids through high school anymore
Positive Feedback
"The people who go here are really cool
people, and the teachers are really nice
says Marissa Randel, who transferred
from Walled Lake Central. "I decided on
OEC because I felt this was a great oppor-
tunity. You get college classes for free, and
I will end up being a year ahead of my
friends."
"What I love about being on a college
campus is that you can walk outside, there
are no bells, you can wear what you want
and use electronic devices:' says Randel, a
high school junior whose family belongs
to Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.
"I love it for her;' Marissa's mom, Jaclyn
Randel, says. "Gary Weisserman's there
to meet the kids [in the morning] and he
knows them all by their first name. He'll
pull them aside and see how they're doing.
"He was there to help Marissa pick her
classes;' Jaclyn says. "They're really inter-
ested in the interests of each student. She's
getting a lot more individual attention
even though it's on a big college campus.
It's a campus within a campus."
"I have his e-mail address, his cell
phone and he's always here says
A14
October 30 • 2008
Whitney Williams, a junior transfer from
Southfield-Lathrup High School, when
asked about Weisserman. She attends
OEC "for a better education, smaller
school and the opportunity to take a col-
lege course?'
"I like being able to go to college classes
at night and have an easier school day so
I have more time to focus on music — I
play bass guitar:' says Nicki Friedlaender, a
junior transfer from the Roeper School in
Bloomfield Hills.
"I see Gary Weisserman like every day,
he's always walking around:' says the West
Bloomfield resident who is a member of
Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.
Victoria Greenstein is one of only three
students admitted as a high school senior.
She transferred from the Frankel Jewish
Academy in West Bloomfield, having com-
pleted most of its curriculum. She's taking
14 college credits — economics, freshman
composition, Calculus II and Spanish.
"I can walk into Mr. Weisserman's
office and we'll just talk." says Greenstein,
a West Bloomfield resident whose fam-
ily attends Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills, "He's an open warm
person. Everyone on campus is getting to
know him."
"He bent over backwards to help us:'
chimes in her mother, Annette Greenstein.
"Gary Weisserman is the epitome of a
mentsh:'
Shifting Sands
"When I left high school [Farmington
Harrison], I wanted to be an artist:'
Weisserman says. "When I left college, I
wanted to be a writer. And when I was a
teaching fellow in creative writing, I real-
ized what I liked was the teaching?'
After years of straddling the line
between high school and college teach-
ing (see story below), Weisserman got
interested in the early college movement,
co-creating the Genesee Early College on
the University of Michigan-Flint campus
in 2007 in partnership with the Genesee
Intermediate School District.
The opportunity to create an early col-
lege within Oakland County, where he
Back to Basics
Who: Gary Weisserman, head of
school, Oakland Early College.
Age: 39
Resides: White Lake
Education: Graduated Hillel Day
School of Metropolitan Detroit;
Farmington Harrison High School;
B.A. in English language and litera-
ture, State of Michigan Secondary
Teaching Certificate, both in 1991 from
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor;
M.A. in educational studies (educa-
tional administration), U-M, 1996;
Ph.D. Program in educational studies
in educational technology (ABT), U-M
-"I'm good ole mister."
Past history: director, early college
and K-16 initiatives, 2006-2008, the
University of Michigan-Flint, office
of the provost. Co-creator, with part-
ners at Genesee Intermediate School
District, of Genesee Early College
which opened in 2007. Teacher,
Southfield High School/Levey Middle
School, 1992-94; teacher West
Bloomfield High School (1994-2006).
Created technological projects such
as the Civics Institute's International
Youth Initiative (IYI), Arab-Israeli
lives and grew up, and in partnership with
the West Bloomfield School District, where
he taught, was irresistible.
"This is where I live. This is where my
kids go to school. Working within my
community is a big part of who I am and
what I want to do?"
More information on Oakland Early College is
available at www.oaklandearlycollege.org .
Conflict Simulation software and The
Conflix Project, an award-winning,
Web-based simulation game about
American politics and governance.
Current posts: program director
and project developer, 1996-pres-
ent, Interactive Communications and
Simulations (ICS) Group, U-M; adjunct
lecturer in education, 2001-present,
U-M School of Education.
Family: Married to Dolly Kerin
Weisserman, M.D., a Commerce
Township pediatrician. Children
are Drew, 6, who attends Scotch
Elementary School in the West
Bloomfield School District, and
Simon, 3, a preschooler at the Jewish
Community Center, West Bloomfield.
Belongs to Temple Kol Ami, West
Bloomfield. Gary's mom is Deborah
Weisserman, who with his late father,
Harold, owned Deborah's Invitations in
Southfield. She now partners with his
sister Maureen.
Awards: 2001 Newsweek/WDIV
Teacher Award; 2000 Disney
American Educator Nominee; 1997
Oakland County Technology-Using
Teacher Award Winner.