Innovation Meets Individual Care: Our Approach to High School Education
Innovation Meets Individual Care: Our Approach to High School Education
Q & A with Michael Powell
At The Howard School, we believe that every student deserves an education tailored to their unique strengths and learning profile. Our high school program goes beyond traditional academic models to provide neurodiverse students with the tools, confidence, and real-world experiences they need to thrive—both in the classroom and beyond.
Under the leadership of our high school principal, Michael Powell, we have enhanced commitment to student-centered learning and innovative programming.
Read our Q&A with Principal Powell to learn how our approach differs from traditional schools and why our focus on meeting each student where they are makes all the difference for families seeking the perfect fit.
Meet Michael Powell, High School Principal at Howard
When Michael Powell joined The Howard School as the high school principal in fall 2024, he brought a deep commitment to student-centered learning and a passion for innovation. Now, with a full school year's worth of experience into his role, he's already making strides to enhance the high school experience.
In this Q&A, Powell shares his vision for the high school, his approach to fostering academic growth, and why he believes The Howard School’s mission of celebrating individuality is more important than ever.
Q. What attracted you to The Howard School?
A. When I visited the campus during my interview, I didn't want to go back to Maryland. There was something about the mission of taking care of students, and you could feel the professionals' love for the students. You could see that there was a true collaboration that happened on campus.
Q. What are some of the goals that you'd like to accomplish at the high school?
A. We're accomplishing those initial big goals faster than I expected. One was to create a robust internship program. Another was to develop a comprehensive advisory program, and a third was to change our schedule to accommodate both. In the first six months of school, we accomplished all three.
Q. How does The Howard School support high school students’ academic growth?
A. Our advisory program is a big avenue we use to support students’ growth, both in academics and beyond. Our advisors know their students very well and work with the counselors to make sure each student is also working on their social and emotional growth. We look to make sure that our students have adequate connections to mental health and can name their feelings or concerns.
We’re also looking for ways in which students can dive deep into practical learning experiences. It’s not just about knowing your math equations; it's also about how you prepare yourself for your next step after high school, given the complexities of your learning profile. So, we’re expanding our curriculum to include more critical thinking and executive functioning skills, as well as what it means to think about the advancement of technology. Everything is connected to how you’re preparing yourself for the next steps.
Q. How do you and your team go about helping students determine their next steps after graduation? How does that differ from the traditional school approach?
A. In my personal experience working with neurotypical schools, they typically have a section of the school that works with neurodiverse students, but it is a very generic plan. You either take it, or you don't.
Here at The Howard School, we're looking at different approaches that reflect the real world. We show students that it is okay to celebrate that you're different. Not everyone is going to have the same path.
When you as a parent think about a school for your children, you want to go somewhere where the staff really know your kids for who they are today and what they can be tomorrow. You want a school that sees their potential versus a school that offers one path and way of doing things.
We celebrate the fact that we have students who will go off to four-year colleges, students who will go off to two-year colleges, students who may take a gap year, students who may complete a different type of program before going on to the workforce and students who may go straight into the workforce. All the processes here lead them to be successful in making that next step.
Q. Are there new academic or extracurricular initiatives in the works at the high school?
A. We're looking at expanding our classes and clubs for robotics and coding — two areas that emphasize critical thinking skills and help prepare students for a complex work and job market. We already have some robotics classes, but we’re expanding that program and looking at what it takes to be competitors on the world stage when it comes to robotics. We’re also looking to engage more in robotics competitions as an extracurricular activity.
Q. The Howard School has always embraced assistive technology. How do you describe your philosophy about the role of technology in the high school?
A. The purpose of assistive technology, and technology in general, is to be a resource or tool that helps students and doesn't hinder their ability to be connected and engaged. When we look at cell phones, there might not be a need for students to have a cell phone in the actual classroom, but there might be a need to have a computer that helps them dictate written responses. There may be use cases where students can use AI to help them generate ideas before starting an essay. We need to help our students with technology as they prepare for the real world. It's also important for our students to use technology in the way students at other schools do so that as they move on to college and into their next steps, The Howard School graduates are as competitive as those from other schools.
Q. You introduced a block schedule to the high school this year. What are some of the benefits that you've seen from this change?
A. The shift to a block schedule came from a lot of data and research about the benefits of increasing the length of time our neurodiverse students are in class. It takes students a lot of cognitive energy to reset after switching from one class to the next, and a block schedule sets them up to access their working memory and human processing.
Our block schedule has created 90-minute classes, but that doesn’t mean our teachers are lecturing for 90 minutes. Instead, we've worked with our faculty to structure their classes so they might lecture for five to 10 minutes and use the rest of the time for group activities or focused, individual work. It is an “I do, we do, you do” model.
For example, in an English class, the teacher might talk about the Epic of Gilgamesh for around five minutes and then divide the class into groups that discuss the main themes from the story or act out a particular scene for 45 minutes. Then, for the rest of the class, students might work individually on a character analysis.
It is really good for our students to be able to focus in a class for 90 minutes and then move on to another subject. We're finding more innovative ways to create lesson plans that aren’t based on a teacher-led model but instead use a very student-centered approach.
We've also implemented a 10-minute check-in at the beginning and the end of the day for advisory, which allows our students to connect with their advisors before they start the day and to end the day with their advisors just to check out and make sure everything feels good for the day. It's another way we're making sure to take care of the entire student and making sure that our kids are seen for who they are.
Q. What has surprised you in your first year at The Howard School?
A. One thing that surprised me is that flexibility is treasured and a gift here. I’ve been surprised by the resilience of our students, especially the way this group of students works hard and bounces back when they need to. I've also been surprised by the level of collaboration among all our faculty and students.
Q. What are some of the ways that you reach out to parents?
A. I am big on communicating and sending out a monthly letter to our parents. I always ask for feedback, and they're glad to give it. I get emails back, or parents may stop by my office to give me feedback on how they feel about things. I want parents to feel heard. Their input is necessary, and we want to hear from and partner with parents and families.
Q. When you look to the future, where do you hope to see the high school four years from now?
A. I feel like one of the big things that we're good at is making sure that we're preparing students for their next step. Doing that is so important, and I want us to make sure that we're seen as leaders in that regard. As part of that, I want us to make sure our internship is seen as a stellar program with a structure and process that creates real-world experiences and equips students with skills that they need in order to be successful.
The Howard School is a private K-12 school in Atlanta serving students with one or more of the following learning differences: dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, expressive language disorder, receptive language disorder, auditory processing disorder, executive functioning challenges and attention deficit disorder.
To learn more about whether The Howard School is a good fit for your child, complete our inquiry form. Our team will reach out to connect with you and schedule a guided tour of campus.
