Upper Elementary Staffs Seek Solutions

Since the beginning of this school year, parents of students in Farmington Schools' reconfigured upper elementary schools "have been clamoring for change,” Catherine Cost, director of instructional services said.

After closing four school buildings last year, officials reconfigured and to accomodate 5th and 6th graders, while and house 7th and 8th graders. Power and Warner Upper Elementary Schools have had certain amount of chaos, she said, surrounding certain times of the day – like arrival and dismissal, recess and when advanced math students leave their classrooms for special instruction.

That could change, as the schools’ staff members reorganize and regroup, the result of what the district is calling its “5/6 Visioning Work Group." In an update given at the Farmington School Board's May 24 meeting, officials heard a list of 12 recommendations developed since the group started meeting earlier this year. Ten of them have been agreed upon by the work group, which is made up of teachers, support staff and administrators. Two are still in development.

Some of the recommendations are to prepare the district’s fourth graders to transition to the upper elementary schools, and to make clear what behaviors are expected as they make the transition and navigate those two years of school.

Others centered on how teachers work together. They work in teams of two, Cost said, and the teachers will be empowered to identify their own teams and will work more closely together.  They’ll coordinate and teach in rooms that are in proximity to each other. Teams will be responsible for teaching English, math, science and social studies. Other teachers will instruct students in music, art, physical education and accelerated math, Cost said.

And math is one of the sticking points in the yet-to-be-approved recommendations. One school of thought is that upper elementary students no longer should be moved into advanced math classes.

If the teaching team determines that a student is a full grade level ahead of his class, he or she would be able to take a more advanced math class. But moving too many students during the day is disruptive to the schedule, Cost said.

The idea, according to the list of recommendations, is that moving students in an organized manner cuts down on the time lost to classroom transitions.

Because some of the recommendations would impact student scheduling, the work group would like to meet again before the end of May, and soon after invite parents of fourth- and fifth-graders to meet at Power and Warner upper elementary schools and offer input before implementation.