People outside of education will often comment to me on how
routine it must be to start the new school year. After you’ve done it for a few
years they think it’s like hitting cruise control and off we go. The reality of
it is that it isn’t routine at all. Really, nothing in education, especially
middle school, is routine. There are certainly aspects of opening a building
for a new school year that are fairly consistent, but each year we bring in new
students, new staff and typically something else new related to the schedule,
curriculum, and/or technology. This year
we actually have some pretty significant changes and it has been anything but
routine. (and that’s a good thing!)
Going back to a blog post in 2015 (http://wgmsprincipal.blogspot.com/2015/06/transforming-middle-level-experience.html)
we had started to plant seeds about thinking differently about how we do things.
The “things” referred to include the master schedule, use of time, the use of
resources, the courses that we offer, staying focused on what kids need, and
both how
and what we teach. Since then the transformation of the Middle
Level has brought about some significant change over time that we can see in
practice now in the fall of 2017.
Here are a few of the new opportunities for our students:
1. Our 6th grade students are experiencing an
extended Math and ELA period. Both of these courses are now sixty-two minutes
in length from what used to be a forty-two minute period. Much of that additional
time was repurposed from what was originally a separate stand-alone reading
class. Taking the time from that reading class and dividing it up between Math
and ELA (now one course targeting those essential literacy standards just as we
do in 7th grade and up) is allowing our students and teachers to dig
in a little bit deeper into their work, get more practice and extend the
learning much more than they were able to do with less time. As with everything
else we do we will monitor the change, get feedback from everyone involved and
adjust as needed. So far so good!
2. As the how and what we teach has evolved, we have
worked on increasing student access to devices with Chromebooks to foster
collaboration via the Google platform, link students to real time information
and the most current resources, extend the learning experience beyond the
classroom and promote a more interactive experience for students in the
classroom. At this point we have just over 350 Chromebooks throughout the
building being used across all content areas and grade levels.
3. The full year high school Design & Drawing for
Production (DDP) course has been brought down to the middle school as an 8th
grade elective for students who have shown a proficiency in technology and
engineering. In DDP students learn manual drafting and CAD using industry
standard software such as Autodesk, AutoCAD and Inventor. A strong emphasis in
DDP is placed on the design process and developing critical thinking skills. This
course is going to really get our students involved with and thinking about
pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
4. Career & Financial
Management is a semester long high school course that all 8th
graders will now be taking. CFM emphasizes the “skills” needed for success in
the workplace. Topics such as time management, goal setting, preparing for work
(resumes/interviews), workplace habits/rights, and career exploration are
covered.
Along with earning High School credit, DDP and CFM will open
up opportunities for students to possibly earn a
Career and Technical Education (CTE) endorsement in Business Computer
Applications, Computer Technology, Finance, or Engineering Technology.
There is a lot of excitement from our students, parents and
staff around these new opportunities and we are excited to experience them as
the school year unfolds. You have an opportunity to learn more about what’s
going on at the Middle Level firsthand by joining us for our Open House this
evening from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Open House is designed to give you an overview of
the curriculum, procedures and expectations, but more importantly it’s about
making a connection with the amazing, caring and talented people that work with
our kids each day. We look forward to seeing you this evening!
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
Email: sdunham@westgenesee.org
Twitter:
@Sdunhamwgms
