The kids work in groups, spending four weeks at each station, starting in sixth grade. It takes three years to get through all the stations. The kids design and build projects, using computers as tools to help them solve problems. The enthusiasm of the teachers and the determination of the principal gave Kuchler a good feeling about Nightingale, where about 90 percent of the students are Hispanic. Many speak little English when they start school.
Teachers estimate that it takes about three years for most students to grow fluent in English.
And Nightingale sounds like good preparation.