Date: Fri 16-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

grade-5-6-school-Michigan

Full Text:

School Study Group Returns From Michigan With Ideas

BY MICHELE HOGAN

The group sent by the Newtown Board of Education to research fifth/sixth grade

schools in Michigan, came back brimming with ideas for a successful school.

The group composed of Superintendent of Schools John Reed, NMS Principal Les

Weintraub, Valerie Pachniuk, fifth grade teacher, and Pat Ryan, parent, toured

Highland's Middle School, Novi Meadows School, and Central Woodland's School

in Michigan.

Two of these three schools had been in operation for close to 18 years, and

the third, Central Woodland's School, was new.

Rusty Malik, architect with Kaestle Boos Associates Inc, also went along for

the trip (at his own expense).

The Newtown Board of Education is developing plans to build a fifth/sixth

grade school for 900-1,000 students in a central location, such as the

town-owned property at Fairfield Hills, by September 2001.

Although driven by overcrowding at elementary schools and the middle school,

Dr Reed pointed out that a fifth/sixth grade school can work very well. He

said that the staff they met in Michigan were excited about their school, and

the students were focused on learning.

Central Woodlands was built after extensive research of 16 other fifth/sixth

grade schools in several states. Their central philosophy was "keep the

students younger, longer."

Dr Reed explained that a school tends to take on the persona of the oldest

students in the building. They set the trends. By grouping fifth and sixth

grade students together, these students are kept away from the peer influences

of seventh and eighth grade students in the middle school. This results in

fewer behavioral issues at the fifth and sixth grade levels.

Since most fifth and sixth grade students learn well with an activity based

approach, the schools they visited had large classrooms. Here students could

build models, lay-out research, and do many hands-on learning activities in

all subject areas. Typical classrooms in Newtown are about 720 square feet. In

Central Woodland's School they are approximately 875 to 950 square feet.

Dr Reed said that there will be trade-offs, but wherever they can pick-up

footage, they would like to put it in the classrooms.

The Michigan school found two-teacher teams to be the most effective teaching

model for several reasons. Two teachers can play off each other's strengths,

and help each other develop professionally. Although four-teacher teams can

also do this, each teacher in a four-member team teaches a subject to about a

hundred students. With this many in a class it can be hard for teachers to get

to know all the students and their particular learning needs.

To maximize inclusion of students with special needs within the classroom, one

resource room teacher is assigned to each cluster, and offers small group

instruction in a small glassed-in conference room between the classrooms.

This room is also useful when some students need quiet while others are doing

an activity.

In line with current research in education -- and State of Connecticut

recommendations -- the resource room teachers do not help only those students

who have been identified with special needs, but also other students who are

experiencing difficulty, on an as-needed basis.

Since the classrooms were larger, and contained several computers and other

resources, Central Woodland's School decided on a comparatively small media

center.

The media center was big enough for a class to visit, but frequently the media

specialist would be out visiting classrooms, offering resources.

The Newtown group was also interested in the versatile furniture that they

saw, which allows the cafeteria to easily double as an assembly hall. Benches

with a back-rest for row-seating quickly converted to a picnic table type

configuration for lunchtime.

Wide hallways reduced crowding -- and behavioral problems -- in the halls.

Another positive design feature was separate areas for buses and parent

pick-up and drop-off of students, to reduce safety risks and congestion in the

parking lots.

School officials in Michigan received feed-back from the incoming students and

sixth graders which they used. Students helped select playground equipment and

lockers with two shelves to organize books and easy-open combination locks.

Students also favored a large gym which is also used every night of the week

by various sports groups and community organizations.

The Michigan schools urged Newtown to broaden their planning opportunities,

and get the public involved. Newtown expects to have a report completed by the

end of November, and public meetings starting in January or February of next

year. Administrators, teachers, parents and students should all be involved in

the school from the early stages. (A video of the school tours is available

for view at the Board of Education office.)

The principal of Central Woodland's School recommended that Newtown hire the

new principal a year in advance of the projected school opening to help work

out the many ideas for the school into a realistic plan.