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Winship
Middle School—where
students succeed
Surrounded by redwoods and
tucked away on a quiet street in Cutten stands Winship Middle School.
The former junior high school was built, along with the Zane campus,
in 1964 with proceeds from a community school bond measure.
In the summer of 1998, the
expansive 30-acre campus received a dramatic physical change when new
breezeway roofs were constructed between its buildings. With help from
the state, in the form of critical hardship money, the $900,000 breezeway
project beautified the school and added greatly to its aesthetic appeal.
The March 2002 Eureka school bond measure will again contribute to the
look of the campus with construction of a brand new multipurpose room/cafeteria
and classroom modernization.
Winship’s recent changes
haven’t been limited to breezeway roofs. In September 2001, the
school went through an academic change when staff welcomed the district’s
sixth-graders. Now in its second year as a middle school, the staff,
students and parents are pleased with the results.
Middle
school—the best place for sixth-graders
For Winship sixth grade teacher
Sheri Jensen, the benefits to having sixth-graders in a middle school
setting are clear.
“I do believe that it’s
the best place for the sixth grade students,” said Jensen. “They
come here and they’re ready to be active in school activities such
as on-campus clubs and athletic teams. The culture of the middle school
really offers diversity and the unique opportunity to be with 125 of
their peers. As far as academics go, it’s nice to be articulated
with the seventh and eighth grades. Most of what is on the high school
exit exam is really based on middle school mathematics. To have that
continuum here at Winship and to be able to speak with the seventh and
eighth grade math teachers is a real plus for the students.”
During a typical school day,
sixth grade students at Winship spend much of their time with their
core teacher. “It helps them feel centered,” said Jensen “It’s
a personal connection we have with our students. We feel it’s really
important for sixth grade students to have that base. They go as a class
to the science teachers. We also have an exploratory wheel that includes
band, drama, art, Spanish, keyboarding, and meeting grade-level standards
classes in math, reading and a homework help class.”
Because the model of 6-8
middle schools was new to the Eureka community, there were some academic
and social concerns on the part of parents. In other local districts,
the middle school model has been used successfully for many years. In
California, there are 1,156 middle schools compared with 21 junior high
schools.
“When I spoke with parents
during the first year of Eureka’s middle schools there were concerns
about the change,” remarked Jensen. “This year, parents came
in feeling more comfortable about having their sixth-graders here. Kim
Cobine, our principal, is committed to helping sixth-graders make a
smooth transition. We are also constantly evaluating and reflecting
on how well we’re serving students and families.”
They
leave thinking differently about the world
Greg Colyar has been teaching
science at Winship for 16 years. One of the challenges with bringing
the sixth-graders on campus was how to offer a true science experience.
“At the recent California
Science Teachers Association conference, teachers from all over the
State were just in awe at how we’re teaching science to sixth-graders,”
noted Colyar.
“Sixth-graders rotate
through and get an experience with each teacher. We took the sixth grade
science content standards and divided them up among the teachers so
as sixth-graders come through, they’re sure to get that standard
from me and the others. Having sixth-graders come into science also
gives them a feel of having to switch classes. They have different expectations
from different teachers. By taking science every day, they also get
much more science instruction than a typical sixth grade class. All
students at Winship will know the science standards when they go to
the high school. Eureka High’s science teachers have told us that
they’re well-prepared. They leave our science program thinking
differently about the world and that’s the idea.”
Colyar enjoys sharing his
teaching methods. “The way I teach science is I use the constructivist
theory. The idea is that you have to get the knowledge they have pent
up in their heads about say pendulums or density, and you have to get
all that out. Because if it’s in there and you just layer in something
else, that foundation is never really questioned or thought about. The
kids say I mess with their heads, but the polite thing is you ask questions
to force them to express their ideas and then you carve an uncertainty
in that belief that they have. Then they do the lab, and they want to
find out and come to a resolution.”
One of the first labs Colyar
has his eighth grade science students perform involves staring at a
flame. “We studied fire and we got into a major discussion about
what does a flame look like. I asked what color is a flame? Is it yellow,
blue, orange or white. We get into a discussion and then they’re
ready to stare at a flame. Unless you get them wondering, and get them
questioning their ideas, it doesn’t work.”
Colyar has a passion for
hands-on science. “You learn science by doing, learning it out
of a book doesn’t make sense. It’s like learning how to jump
rope by reading an instruction manual.”
Would
your parent be impressed with your math?
When Winship mathematics
teacher Beth Baker talks about the school’s new accelerated math
program, her eyes light up. The program, aligned with the California
mathematics standards, was first piloted three years ago at Winship
by noted mathematics teacher Bill Funkhouser. It was such a success
that the rest of the mathematics department adopted it in 2001.
“Accelerated math is
a piece of software that can individually track every single student,”
states Baker. “I have 150 students and accelerated math keeps track
of what each kid is good at and where they’re struggling and provides
individual worksheets for every single student at exactly their ability
level which is something that a teacher of 150 students could never
hope to do.”
Seventh and eighth-graders devote between one and two days a week to
accelerated math. Every time a student finishes an accelerated math
worksheet card, their card gets scanned and the computer immediately
grades every single problem they just completed. Based on their performance,
the computer immediately prints out the next set of problems.
Baker is pleased with how
the program assists her in helping students. “It assesses if they’re
good at something, if they’re struggling, if it’s about the
right level and then it responds accordingly. What it does is it tailors
lessons to every single student. Lots of kids miss area of a triangle
because they forgot to divide by two when they did length times width,
and the computer catches it right away.”
Baker knows that with algebra
lessons being taught in the eighth grade, some parents might feel like
they’re at a loss to help with homework. “Many times when
we finish a question I’ll ask the kids ‘If your parent was
looking over your shoulder right now would they be impressed with the
math that you’re doing?’ and the answer is usually ‘yeah.’”
Our
book circulation has doubled
Every school librarian’s
dream is to have all students reading more books. But something much
more is happening at Winship Middle School. The school introduced a
new supplemental reading program called Accelerated Reader last year,
and the results have been dramatic.
“Our circulation has
at least doubled because of the Accelerated Reader program,” said
Loretta Saenz, Winship’s library media teacher. “With this
program, every kid has a choice at their reading level. Due to the commitment
of this school, each student has hundreds of books to choose from—not
just ten or twenty.”
At the beginning of the school
year, every student goes to the school’s library and takes a computerized
test that determines the student’s “reading comfort zone.”
They begin by answering a series of multiple choice questions that reflect
the student’s ability to read and interpret increasingly complex
writing. Once the student is assigned a comfort zone rating, then they
can come in and search for books to read. “The Accelerated Reader
program has a bank of quizzes that the students can access after reading
the book of their choice. This quiz provides a measure of how well the
student is understanding and remembering what they have been reading,”
remarked Saenz.”
Some Winship language arts
teachers are using Accelerated Reader as a significant part of their
supplemental reading grade and others use it for extra credit.
“I have kids who come
in here every day and take quizzes on books they’ve read the night
before,” smiles Saenz. “I have kids who have exceeded the
number of books they needed to read for the program.”
Accelerated Reader is designed
to challenge students and boost their reading comfort zone throughout
the school year. Saenz explains, “The teachers will eventually
suggest to the student that they can bump up their comfort zone. And
conversely, if a student is not passing the quizzes, that’s a red
flag for the teacher so they come up with a strategy for improvement.
It depends on the kid. Is the book too long? Are you not taking the
quiz soon enough after you’re reading it to retain much? How are
you making your choices? Did you pick the story out? The teachers work
with them in a number of different ways to help make them more successful
readers.”
Winship
welcomes families
Winship encourages interested
parents and community members to take a personal tour of the school
and its classrooms. Contact principal Kim
Cobine at 441-2487 during school hours to arrange a tour. Winship
is located at 2500 Cypress Avenue, off Walnut Avenue in Cutten.
Information about Winship
can also be found on the Internet at: www.eurekacityschools.org/winship.
- Sheldon J. Reber, Director
of School and Community Relations
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Winship
library media teacher Loretta Saenz helps students with their accelerated
reading quiz.
