Leslie B. Lehn Middle School in the Port Byron Central School District will be shying away from the conventional this year.
The middle school will alter the configuration of the fifth- and sixth-grade levels in an attempt to ease the transition from elementary school to middle school and foster the maturity required for traveling to different classes, said school principal Sally Feinberg.
In previous years, the school featured the traditional scheduling set-up. The fifth-grade classes were self-contained with core subjects taught by one teacher with only music, art and gym taught by other educators while the sixth-grade classes embodied the conventional “departmentalized” schedule with students traveling to different teachers for different subjects.
Beginning this year, the four fifth-grade teachers and four sixth-grade teachers will divide into pairs, sharing the instruction of the core subjects, Feinberg said.
“For example, one teacher will teach social studies and English while the other teaches science and reading,” she said. “All teachers will teach math.”
What will this do for fifth- and sixth-grade students?
“For the fifth-grade students, it creates a transition to more of a middle school model as opposed to the typical self-contained model in elementary school,” Feinberg said. “They begin to move more often than in elementary school.
“For the sixth-grade students, it allows more time for students to grow, develop and mature so that when they transition to a completely departmental model, the students have the maturity to handle the freedoms that are inherent in moving from class to class,” she continued. “It also allows for more personal interactions with students and more parent contact time because the sixth grade teachers' student numbers will be cut in half.”
Superintendent Neil O'Brien was exposed to this practice during his time with the Fairport Central School District, Feinberg said. The middle school modeled their configuration from the one used in Fairport. The middle schools in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District have a similar configuration, she said.
Feinberg is hopeful that, by reducing the time children - especially the sixth graders - travel in the hallways, there will be a reduction in disciplinary issues.
“They are not developmentally ready, quite yet, to be out in the hall as often, not every 40 minutes as it was in the past,” she said.
“Typically, discipline problems occur when they are in places where there is less supervision than there is in a classroom,” Feinberg added. “Children are definitely supervised in the hall, but less so. They are moving in the hallways and have more opportunities for creative antics.”
Though this is a pilot program and there will be an evaluation at the end of the year, Feinberg is confident that the middle school will continue with this configuration for years to come.
“I believe it has a proven track record in other districts, and so I wouldn't be surprised if we continued with it.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239.
In previous years, the school featured the traditional scheduling set-up. The fifth-grade classes were self-contained with core subjects taught by one teacher with only music, art and gym taught by other educators while the sixth-grade classes embodied the conventional “departmentalized” schedule with students traveling to different teachers for different subjects.
Beginning this year, the four fifth-grade teachers and four sixth-grade teachers will divide into pairs, sharing the instruction of the core subjects, Feinberg said.
“For example, one teacher will teach social studies and English while the other teaches science and reading,” she said. “All teachers will teach math.”
What will this do for fifth- and sixth-grade students?
“For the fifth-grade students, it creates a transition to more of a middle school model as opposed to the typical self-contained model in elementary school,” Feinberg said. “They begin to move more often than in elementary school.
“For the sixth-grade students, it allows more time for students to grow, develop and mature so that when they transition to a completely departmental model, the students have the maturity to handle the freedoms that are inherent in moving from class to class,” she continued. “It also allows for more personal interactions with students and more parent contact time because the sixth grade teachers' student numbers will be cut in half.”
Superintendent Neil O'Brien was exposed to this practice during his time with the Fairport Central School District, Feinberg said. The middle school modeled their configuration from the one used in Fairport. The middle schools in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District have a similar configuration, she said.
Feinberg is hopeful that, by reducing the time children - especially the sixth graders - travel in the hallways, there will be a reduction in disciplinary issues.
“They are not developmentally ready, quite yet, to be out in the hall as often, not every 40 minutes as it was in the past,” she said.
“Typically, discipline problems occur when they are in places where there is less supervision than there is in a classroom,” Feinberg added. “Children are definitely supervised in the hall, but less so. They are moving in the hallways and have more opportunities for creative antics.”
Though this is a pilot program and there will be an evaluation at the end of the year, Feinberg is confident that the middle school will continue with this configuration for years to come.
“I believe it has a proven track record in other districts, and so I wouldn't be surprised if we continued with it.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239.
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