DAYLIGHTS
A Newsletter from Gina Healy
Principal, Day Middle School

May 1, 2008 Volume 2, no. 5

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Dear Families,
I am writing this special edition of Daylights to share with you the proposed changes to next year's program of studies and schedule.  As part of the BRIM initiative, middle school teachers and administrators have been rethinking the organization and structure of the middle schools across the district and studying best practices in order to improve our schools.  Unfortunately, there has been some misinformation circulating in the community which I would like to clarify here.  Of particular concern is the link between the proposed changes to our program and the override (The two are not related.) I hope that this newsletter will help you to understand the changes that my principal colleagues and I are proposing.  We are confident that these changes will strengthen our offerings and the experience of all students at Day and at the other middle schools in Newton.
Some Background Information
 
Let me start by saying that each principal wants to retain the particular character of his/her school.  We also recognize that we each need to give up certain aspects of our operations if we are to create something new that we all share. One of the desired outcomes of the BRIM* initiative is a move toward more equitable offerings across the district and a common schedule that will preserve program and allow the schools to share resources.  The proposed changes to the Middle School program are the result of more than two years of work and study by the Middle School Principals, the curiculum coordinators and other central office staff, our faculties, and two consultants.  We have formed professional learning communities to study literature on successful middle schools, have attended conferences, visited schools throughout New England, and examined our own practices in order to develop what we believe should be part of all Newton Middle School students' experience.  The four middle school principals have agreed to create a common program of studies and schedule for all middle school students in the district that will be phased in over a  two year period (we need time for professional development, curriculum development, and budget to secure staffing to make the program work fully.)  We are committed to creating a learning environment that is academically rigorous, developmentally responsive and socially equitable and to preparing our students for a future that we cannot even imagine. 
 
While these changes are driven more by philosophy than finances, fiscal realities govern any decisions that are made in schools.  I must emphasize that the proposed program of studies and schedule are not dependent on whether or not an override passes. It is true, however,  that a common schedule will actually allow us to preserve programs in difficult budget cycles in that we may be able to share staff and other resources across schools. 
 
It is important to note that these changes, like any other changes in working conditions need to be negotiated with the Newton Teachers' Association.  We have included the association leadership in our planning and are working with the NTA's Middle School Joint Oversight Committee to work toward an approved plan.
 
(*BRIM - Breaking Ranks in the Middle Schools, a national middle school reform movement sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals' Association.)
The Proposed Program of Studies
 
The proposed program of studies contains many of the features of what is already offered at Day, with a few refinements and changes in terminology.  For example, what we are calling the Exploratory Wheel in the new program is what is known at Day as the Arts Rotation.  What we know as "electives" now are being called "extensions" (team extensions and multi-team extensions) in the new plan. Team period will be "Community Period.."  
 

Program of Studies in Year 1 - 35 periods/week

     Grade 6

            Math, Science, English, Social Studies daily                                  20 periods

Math & Reading Seminars (MARS) 4x/wk*                                       4 periods

World Language 3x/wk                                                                    3 periods

(French, Spanish, Chinese for all, Italian in North side schools)

Exploratory Wheel**                                                                        4 periods

(Music, Art, Tech/Engineering, Drama, Health/Dev. Guidance)

Physical Education 3x/wk                                                                3 periods

Community Period                                                                           1 period

 

*Musical Ensembles will meet 2x/wk during MARS
 
**Exploratory Wheel in Year 2 will consist of 2 strands:

·         Fine Arts (Art, Music, Communications:  Drama)

·         21st Century Skills (Tech/Engineering, Health/Dev. Guidance, Global Awareness)

 

Program of Studies in Year 2 -35 periods/week

     Grade 7 & 8

            Math, Science, English, Social Studies daily                                20 periods

2 Team Extensions or Multi-team extensions 2x/wk each*              4 periods

World Language 5x/wk                                                                 5 periods

(French, Spanish, Chinese for all, Italian on North side)

Exploratory Wheel**                                                                     3 periods

(Music, Art, Tech/Engineering, Drama, Health/Dev. Guidance)

Physical Education 2x/wk                                                             2 periods

Community Period                                                                        1 period

 

*Musical Ensembles will meet 2x/wk during Team/Multi-team extensions

**Exploratory Wheel in Year 2 will consist of 2 strands:

·         Fine Arts (Art, Music, Communications: Media and Writing, gr. 7; Public Speaking, gr. 8)

·        21st Century Skills (Tech/Eng, Health, Interactive Communications, gr. 7, Citizenship for the 21st Centrury, gr. 8)  

 
The most significant departures from the current Day plan are in the sixth grade program.  We were concerned about the drop-off of direct instruction in language arts and mathematics between 5th and 6th grades. (Fifth-graders have 120 minutes/day of English/language arts and 90 minutes/day of math, but in the current program 6th graders have only 49 minutes/day of each.)  We plan to bridge this gap by offering Math and Reading Seminars (MARS) during four periods/week.  These courses, taught by team teachers with curriculum developed by teachers and the coordiators, will bolster students' skills and offer both challenge for those students who are ready for more advanced work and reinforcement of skills for struggling students.  They will also address the concern that although students come to us knowing how to read and with considerable math knowledge, they need to be taught a specific skill set to be prepared for the more challenging and abstract expository reading and mathematical reasoning they would be doing in middle and high school.  Sixth grade is an opportune time to strengthen reading, writing, and mathematical skills that students will need to use and apply to their future work as they negotiate the challenges of secondary school studies.  The Math and Reading Seminars will be scheduled In the place of two periods of DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) and the two-period elective.
 
The second year of implementation will bring changes to all grades in that we are planning exciting courses that will ready students for the future.  We will be working with teachers and curriculum coordinators throughout the coming school year to develop the 21st Century Skills strand. 
 
 
 Scheduling Considerations 
 
As I stated above, the schedule is subject to negotiations with the Newton Teachers' Association Joint Oversight Committee.  That said, the plan  for next year's schedule will resemble Day's current timetable in that we have agreed to adopt a five-day schedule (Monday-Friday) as is the practice at the elementary and high schools.  We will have three marking periods (trimesters.)  We are proposing a seven-period day with a fixed rotation of periods (math meets at different times every day, but always at the same time on a given day of the week.)  Periods will be 49-50 minutes long and there will be a lunch period of 25-29 minutes.  Students will be grouped on two- or four-person teacher teams and the team sizes will be approximately 90.

 

 

Because of the misinformation circulating in the community, there has been a good deal of controversy about next year's program.  Ironically, Day will experience the fewest changes of all of the middle schools. The biggest changes to the Day schedule and program of studies are the move from quarters to trimesters and the 6th grade MARS program which will eliminate elective choices in 6th grade. (7th and 8th graders will retain elective choices in the team extensions and multi-team extensions.)  The other middle schools will experience more dramatic changes -- a move from six-day cycle to a five day schedule, a move from a six-period day to a seven-period day, the adoption of the exploratory wheel for all students, adding world languages, reducing the number of times world languages meet in the 6th grade, to name a few. 

 

I admit that there has been little communication about all of this with parents.  This is because of an accelerated implementation timeline for this work,  the changing nature of our plans, and ongoing negotiations with the NTA Middle School Oversight Committee (the teachers' association board that needs to approve changes to the schedule.)  Our original intention was to implement these changes in the 2009-2010 school year, and that would have given us more time to share our plans with families.  However, by working in a shorter time frame we are actually able to make some economies across the schools and to preserve programs and positions that might have been eliminated.

 
I hope that this newsletter has answered some of your questions.  I look forward to working with you and your children to continue to provide outstanding opportunities for students at Day both in and out of the classroom.
.
Sincerely,
 
Gina Healy
Principal, Day Middle School
617-559-9100
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F. A. Day Middle School | 21 Minot Place | Newtonville | MA | 02460