I found the article on Orange Middle School to be very interesting mostly because I often wonder what is done in poor, urban schools where passing state tests is a challenge. The ideas that they have come up with to help bring about greater achievement among students are good.
I especially like the idea of creating small learning communities within the school. This allows for more active learning and interaction among peers within each group. In addition, this allows for teachers to know students better and to provide more support. This kind of involvement is especially important in these lower socioeconomic areas such as Orange, where there is not much support from home many times and where students need the active guidance of positive adults in their lives.
The idea of students wearing uniforms to school, although a bold decision, is one that I think is beneficial. So much of students’ identity comes from what the up to date styles are and many times to keep up with this costs a great deal, monetarily and emotionally. Asking all students to wear a common uniform is an idea that removes this stress from the lives of especially middle school students who are very vulnerable when it comes to keeping up with the latest trends, many of which may be out of the reach of families living in poorer areas.
My recommendations to add to what is already being done, first would include some type of peer leadership program for older students to interact with younger students in positive ways. Students who are identified as positive examples, could in some way be involved with those other students in a leadership capacity. This could be done within the middle school itself, but could also involve students going to local elementary schools on occasion, to lead activities dealing with peer pressure, etc... In addition, I would recommend group/ individual counseling situations with trained guidance counselors in addition to the small group meetings that are already in place. These meetings could be with select students who may need even more support from the school. In this way, students would be allowed to discuss emotional issues that they may carry with them from their homes. So often, students who are carrying baggage from family situations, cannot focus their attention on academic tasks until they figure out ways to cope with these emotional issues. This is probably one of the reasons why poor, urban schools have so much difficulty passing state tests and producing high achieving students.
I give Orange Middle School a lot of credit for all of the efforts being made to create a better place for students. I hope that they find a lot of success in these changes and that students benefit from these attempts.
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4 comments:
I have worked in two dramatically different "poor urban schools." The first school is a New Jersey Star School with score over 90 percent across the grade levels. This school was constantly visited by state official who wanted to know what was the magic ingredient. The second school I chose to transfer to is a year six in need of improvement. The major difference and perhaps "magic ingredient" is the teachers along with a well defined structure, challenging curriculum and high expectations.
Kids are not as different as we tend to believe. Students in poor urban schools have the same potential and dreams as everyone else. I have always wonder how come to schools with similar needs can perform so differently? The determining factors are within the school structure.
I love the idea of having the older students working with the younger students. I think you are on to something with this strategy. One consideration is to have the older students team up with someone younger like a big brother or sister in the school. In many schools teachers are partnered for reasons of development. Maybe the students can help one another to develop as well.
I noticed that you were in favor of school uniforms. I agree that these were a good idea. I liked how you noted that they might remove stress from the kids. Working in an urban school, my first reaction was that it will remove disputes over gang colors. I didn't even think about the stress middle-schoolers might have over outfits each day.
How do you suppose that a school can sustain change over time, especially in this day and age of changing building leadership?
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