Mahomet-Seymour Junior High School students and staff will experience schedule changes as the school moves from a junior high model to a middle school model beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.
District administrators began planning for the middle school model three years ago when they realized the current system would not support the depth of standards within the Common Core model.
Currently, students attend 10, 38-minute periods where they receive math, social studies, science, health, P.E., art, technology, foreign language, music and art education. Language arts instruction is double-blocked so students receive 80-minutes of instruction.
Within the junior high model, some students see one or two study halls a day while others in band, chorus and foreign language may not have any study halls all year.
“We looked at the number of minutes students are in front of certified staff receiving instruction,” MSJHS Principal Heather Landrus said. “Are we serving all of our students as they are in one or two study halls? Are we using that time effectively? What we found is there are times we are not.”
Landrus said while some students use the study hall time for homework assignments, others read or do nothing during those 38-minutes. The middle school model, which eliminates study halls for the majority of students, will put students in a classroom with direct instruction all day.
Students will attend 9, 40-minute classes with a 30-minute extended learning time (ELT) scheduled into the beginning or end of the day in the middle school model. This model will support double blocks for language arts and math instruction.
Although an additional two minutes per class period may not seem substantial, Landrus said teachers often need the additional time to wrap up instruction. She also noted the two minutes will multiply over the course of the school year to provide a significant amount of additional instruction time.
Landrus said even within the non-Common Core model, 38-minutes of math instruction did not serve the students. Third through fifth grade students receive 60-minutes of math instruction at Lincoln Trail Elementary.
When administrators first presented the middle school model to staff, some instructors were concerned that with the new Common Core standards along with the extended math instruction time, they would not adequately meet the needs of the students. During the 2013-2014 school year, math instructors participated in workshop and professional development to prepare them for the change.
With the addition of three math instructors within the middle school model, MSJHS will also reduce class sizes from 30 to 36 students to 24 to 26 students per class. Increased enrollment during the 2013-2014 school year forced the district to hire additional elementary teachers to keep class sizes manageable. MSJHS did not add any staff to adjust class sizes during the 2013-2014 school year.
The junior high model requires teachers to work departmentally. Groups of nine teachers from each department will work as a team to plan curriculum for approximately 100 students within their grade level.
Students will be assigned to either the “Orange” or “Blue” team within their grade level. Those students will rotate through their schedule with a mixture of classmates from their team. This consistent group of students between teachers will allow the staff to get to know both the academic and social needs of the students.
“Ultimately, you build stronger bonds with the kids,” Landrus said. “You have a greater understanding of the students. There are discussions about the students what the students need every day.”
Landrus said this model will help teachers troubleshoot problems with individual students. She added teachers pick-up on issues now, and then report them to administration or school counselors. Through the identification of individual trends, teacher will be able to share strategies to better serve individual students.
This model will also help teachers understand the demands on students between class periods. They will be able to schedule appropriately so students do not have multiple tests or assignments on any given day.
Teachers will also be able to reach the depth of instruction required to meet the Common Core Standards. Landrus said cross-curricular planning will allow teachers to plan units which engage all subject areas.
Teachers will be able to engage students in project based learning as they develop units which engage all the disciplines. Director of Instruction Mary Weaver said because language arts standards are so extensive, this model allows for social studies or science to pick up some of the concepts, too.
Although students will have to choose between music or art and technology courses, MSJHS will continue to offer these electives during the regularly scheduled school day. If students chose to be in band or chorus they will not be able to take art or technology.
Band classes meet three days a week while choral classes meet two days a week. Only students who choose to be in one music program will have a study hall.
For eighth grade students in band or chorus, the study hall time may be used as a time to study for the State required government test. Students in both band and chorus may receive the government instruction during a 30-minute Extended Learning Time at the beginning or end of the day.
Eighth grade students who do not enroll in band or chorus will be in the nine-week government course.
Government instructors at MSJHS are currently reviewing how the course is taught to meet the needs of all eighth grade students in the future. Currently, the course involves guided independent reading. Students will continue to receive the history education through their daily social studies course.
Health education will now be offered at all grade levels during student’s required physical education class. MSJHS only requires seventh grade students to take a 9-week course at this time.
MSJHS will also pilot a revised foreign language program during the 2014-2015 school year. Because foreign language education continues to be important to the district, MJSHS will offer a “zero-hour” course for eighth grade students who qualify for the program at Mahomet-Seymour High School.
Parents will drop students off at the high school at 7:30 a.m., and the district will bus those students back to MSJHS 8:16 a.m. Landrus said with announcements, students should arrive by the beginning of the school day.
MSHS Principal Shannon Cheek will arrange a classroom close to the drop-off and pick-up door so junior high students will not have contact with high school students at the beginning of the school day.
The current junior high model allows for a 9-week foreign language introduction in the sixth grade and two full years of foreign language instruction for qualifying seventh and eighth grade students. Students in foreign language during seventh and eighth grade receive an equivalent of freshmen foreign language at the high school.
Although students will take the foreign language component at the high school, they will not receive high school credit for the course. As is the case now, students will be able to enter the foreign language program at a sophomore level as freshmen.
Younger junior high students will receive an introduction to foreign language in their world cultures course.
The administration decided to host foreign language at MSHS instead of MSJHS during this pilot period for classroom scheduling purposes. The junior high staff will relocate classrooms this summer to align with the grade-level, team approach. Landrus is currently working on a building layout to accommodate classroom needs.
While the staff continues to look into what the middle school model means for socialization for students, Landrus believes students will have adequate time to spend with their friends during lunch, passing periods and possibly Extended Learning Time.
She said the middle school model is not a tracking program where students will be grouped only with others at their academic level. While students have to qualify for programs like foreign language or advanced math, they will be in the classroom with a variety of students during other times of the day.
Staff is still trying to decide how to structure lunch and ELT. Students are currently divided into a girl and boy lunch within their grade level. Staff will decide whether to keep students separated by gender or if teams should eat together.
Landrus said ELT may adjust to what students need at the time. Sixth grade teachers find organizational education to be valuable for young students who are changing classes for the first time. Those teachers may use the 30-minutes to help students understand the importance of organization while others may use it as a study hall when students have a lot of work to complete.
While the middle school model has prompted questions from both staff and parents, Weaver said the plan, which has been developed over three years will provide students with their long-term needs.
“It will support our kids instructionally to better meet the goals we are required to have them meet, “Weaver said. “I think a lot of the change and turmoil will be temporary once the school year starts. It may take a few weeks to get used to it, but the instructional and teaming opportunities will continue throughout the rest of the school years.”
Landrus said communication lines are open between staff and administration to find solutions for problems and ideas. The district will also continue to provide professional support for teachers as they transition into Common Core standards and the middle school model.
“The teachers are the ones who have contact with the students,” Landrus said. “They know what the student needs are. We’ve told them the schedule we have is just our starting point. We’re going to start it in August, but it’s not going to be perfect. We know that. We will make the changes as we move along to make it better.”
Landrus sent a general email to junior high and fifth grade parents highlighting a few key points last week. Weaver said parents should receive comprehensive information before spring break. Seventh grade students in foreign language also received a letter explaining changes to the eighth grade program last week.
