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Boschulte Middle School serves more
than 650 students on the island of St. Thomas.
The school is plagued with problems typical of high-poverty areas. Of special concern to
the staff is an unacceptably high failure rate of students making the transition from
elementary school. To make it possible for all students to succeed, faculty at Boschulte
recognized that big changes were needed.
Teachers took the lead and met with principal Carver Farrow at the end of last year to propose the implementation of two major restructuring initiatives: block scheduling and team teaching. Adopted by the school this past fall, these innovations are proving to be powerful tools for improving student performance. After only two semesters of block scheduling and teaching in groups according to content area, Boschulte is seeing positive results. Failure rates are down and reports of student behavior problems are also declining. The school culture now supports student-centered learning as never before. Principal Farrow attributes this out-of-the-gate success to a highly motivated staff and continuous professional development pro-vided in part by involvement with the Regional Alliance. Alliance staff have made valuable connections for Boschulte in the area of middle school restructuring. The Alliance pro-vided resources for staff to attend workshops last summer at the Middle Level Institute in Maine, where they studied block scheduling in depth. The school is also working closely with faculty from the University of Maine to take full advantage of current research on middle schools (see page 7). Armed with a deep understanding of block scheduling, the school was able to successfully adopt the reform in a very short time frame. Faculty felt so confident in the adoption of new reforms that they spearheaded plans for a region-wide conference to share their success and gather more information. This April, four schools, three from St. Thomas and one from the neighboring island of St. John, attended the conference that featured presentations from University of Maine faculty and other middle level educators. High on the agenda was integrated curriculum. This summer, teachers from Boschulte are looking forward to returning to Maine to learn more about integrated curriculums and other reform strategies. A schedule that did not work Before the reforms were adopted, teachers expressed frustration with a school schedule that simply did not meet the needs of young adolescents. "Six periods of 50 minutes were not working for our students," says Mr. Farrow. "There was simply too much movement." Once students settled down in their classes, teachers had scant moments to delve into their subjects before the bell rang. Teachers were hampered in their work, and many students were falling behind in their studies in large part because the schedule seemed at odds with learning. Under block scheduling, the students at Boschulte now have four 90-minute classes and a "skinny" 45-minute period at the end of the day for directed study and advisement. Teachers are teamed in math/science and English/social studies groups for instruction, thereby improving staff communication and encouraging a more collegial atmosphere. Academic study is also restructured; while students used to study six academic subjects in a marking period, they now study three. Much to the delight of the staff, a more flexible schedule has unleashed a lot of creative thinking about how to make the most of time spent with students. The short period at the end of the school day allows students who need more help with academic subjects |
to get the attention they need. In keeping with
the reality that many students do not
study every night, this last period has become an ideal time for students to do
homework and for teachers to provide
individualized instruction around these assignments.
Hands-on activities are the focus of the two periods of exploratory learning offered
each day. Students learn about career options, participate in arts and crafts, play chess,
and work with teachers in small groups on subjects of special interest to the students.
Mr. Farrow says that these classes are especially successful because they match student
interest with teacher expertise. Matching teachers
with motivated students allows teachers to
"teach what they really love, what they have a
passion for," according to Mr. Farrow.
Breakfast, steel band, and lunch leagues Boschulte starts its day at 6:30 a.m. with a breakfast program for students who wish to take part. To cut down on what Mr. Farrow characterizes as morning idleness, the school also offers steel band practice at that hour. The official school day starts at 7:30. Block scheduling has been a useful strategy in the middle of the school day, when lunch periods have traditionally been fraught with behavior problems. The school now offers a variety of options that keep students focused during a double lunch period. In addition to an exploratory class, intramural sports aptly named "the lunch leagues" provide students with an appealing way to spend their time. "We provide three different team sports over the school year. Students ask their teachers to come watch their teams, so we have built-in supervision. The schedule really works for us, cutting down on student conflicts and other behavior problems," say Mr. Farrow.
In summing up the transformation of the middle school, Mr. Farrow simply
states, "Change is the order of the day here."
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