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Diversity
and opportunities at Zane Middle School
There’s a buzz in the
air at Zane Middle School. During the morning break, students congregate
outside talking about the day’s activities as teachers and staff
prepare for the school day. The Zane school climate feels vibrant and
exciting. Students toss around a Nerf football. The bell rings and groups
of kids start toward their next class. The air becomes quiet. Learning
begins in the classrooms.
Zane mathematics teacher
Quiteria Perreira has been teaching at the school for 15 years. For
Perreira it’s the diversity and family feeling that makes her appreciate
working at Zane. “I think we’re a really tight staff. We like
each other, and it feels like a family here.
In terms of education, I
like Zane because the staff is so diverse, and there’s freedom
to be diverse here. There’s a belief that we can be different and
come together for a common cause; to provide an excellent education
for our students.”
Music teacher Bruce McCay
believes Zane presents opportunities for students. “I love a larger
school. There are more ways for the kids to excel because there are
more things for them to do. You can always find a group you can relate
to.”
Built in 1964 to serve as
a junior high school, Zane Middle School is now in its second year as
a 6-8 middle school. Zane’s entrance, off of Eureka’s S Street,
winds down a hill through Monterey pine trees and opens into an attractive
view of the wide, secluded 32-acre campus.
The March 2001 voter-approved
Eureka school bond measures will mean some physical changes for Zane.
The breezeway roofs between buildings will be replaced and the classrooms
will be modernized.
Sixth
grade teachers make learning fun
Garett Montana had been used
to teaching sixth-grade at an elementary school. Two years ago he made
a commitment to teach at the middle school. “The sixth grade teachers
made a tough decision to come to Zane. These people are dedicated. They’re
working extremely hard to make a program that will launch our sixth-graders
into seventh and eighth grade and be successful. That’s one of
the things that makes me happy to come to work every day is that these
teachers are driven people. These guys aren’t looking for any shortcuts,
they’re looking for time to teach what they need to teach and they
make it fun.”
For much of the day at Zane,
sixth grade students are learning with their core teacher. At the start
of first period, sixth-graders go to a science class taught by Zane’s
science teachers, or attend a reading intervention class while others
are with Montana in an English language development course. Their first
class is followed by math. Time after lunch is devoted to language arts
and social studies. During seventh period, sixth grade teachers have
a common prep time, and the students head to P.E. or their electives.
Zane’s elective offerings include Spanish, art, technology and
music.
Every day, Montana sees the
positive effect teaching sixth grade at a middle school has on his students.
“After teaching sixth grade at an elementary school, my honest
opinion now is there are some very good things to having a 6-8 middle
school. For one, they are mature enough and developmentally ready to
be here with older kids. When they come back as seventh-graders…
this is their school. They know about changing classes, they know about
study habits and homework and things that are a little more demanding
than an elementary school. They grow up a lot in sixth grade and they
get much more responsible. I feel that’s a big strength for them
here.”
Using technology to support
standards-based curriculum has been a hallmark of Montana’s classes.
His students have been learning about the ancient cultures of Turkey,
Egypt and Rome in social studies. “When we study Çatal Hüyük,
the ancient Turkish city, the kids use the Internet to see the photos
of the city and explore actual artifacts. Çatal Hüyük
is considered the earliest actual city. About 6,000 people lived there
between 6500 and 5400 b.c. The objective in teaching this lesson is
to show that when people started to learn to domesticate plants and
animals, it allowed them to have a surplus and begin to specialize.
The kids really enjoyed this lesson.”
10
pieces of paper and a foot of tape
Quiteria Perreira watches
as groups of her eighth grade students try to build the tallest free-standing
tower using only 10 pieces of paper and one foot of tape. The students
were discovering the open-ended problem solving activity had many solutions.
As Perreira walked around the room measuring the height of each tower
with a piece of string, her students struggled to keep their towers
standing even in the slightest breeze.
Perreira loves teaching math
and has seen a lot of changes in the way it’s been taught. “When
I first started teaching, we had the new California math framework and
it was very eclectic. It was exciting, we had lots of different kinds
of math to teach the kids, and what I liked about it was that you really
met the diverse population that we have at Zane. Students that would
excel in this area of math maybe wouldn’t excel in that. Our classes
were heterogeneous. There was a lot of interaction with students.”
New K-12 math standards were
adopted by the State, and now, in order that all students pass the California
High School Exit Exam, algebra is a required course for eighth-graders.
“When the framework moved back to basics and they pushed algebra
into eighth grade, that returned us to a more linear track,” remarked
Perreira. “Those students who had difficulties with math continue
to have difficulties, and those students who excel continue to excel.
Now having said that doesn’t mean I don’t like what were doing.
I think there are benefits; I think it’s exciting. Teaching algebra
to students is something I love. Everybody has an opportunity, and now
we’re expecting the same from all students.”
Perreira is convinced that
Zane can help all students in math. “We can totally service kids
that are a little bit under grade level. We have classes directed at
fixing some of the holes they have in math. We’re thinking about
trying to make the algebra program two years instead of one year so
that students are more successful and know their algebra better since
that’s the requirement of the State. I think we really service
our high achievers well. I feel like the kids are excited about having
something new to learn. It's nice to see them have a spark in their
eyes again.”
Music
is more than playing the songs
The Zane music program is
one of the most visible programs offered at the school. Music students
perform at the Dixieland Jazz Festival, go on tour to local elementary
schools and perform community concerts throughout the year. Over 240
students, almost one-third of the student body, participate in orchestra,
band, jazz band and choir. It’s a lot of hard work for students,
parents and music teachers Bruce McCay and Gwen Rust.
Bruce McCay came to Zane
with a vision for the program. “When I came here 13 years ago,
we had two band classes, an orchestra class and two general music classes.
And the general music classes were not performance classes. We now have
five band classes, two choirs and two orchestras. Some of that occurred
when we added sixth grade, but the program has expanded quite a bit
and we have all performance classes.”
According to McCay, one of
the reasons the program has been so successful is because he gets to
teach kids every day, and they learn more than just how to play the
songs. “In most of the school music programs, either by choice
or by necessity, kids aren’t taught how to play. What we’ve
been able to do is teach them how to read music, put emphasis on what
music is about and how it works, and when they go home to practice they
have much more knowledge to draw from. They become good sight-readers
so it takes us much less time to play any song we choose to do. They
progress much faster because we put that fundamental work in at the
beginning. That’s why we have a good program.”
Zane’s music students
also understand the relationship between music and science. “We
actually talk about how sound works. We go through a two-week period
where we’re studying what sound is, which is exactly what they
do in science. Those kids get it twice. I teach it more from a musical
perspective where they can understand the pitch and the relationships
of the notes.”
McCay is up for the challenge
of teaching a large music program. “A large program creates competition,
and competition creates success. That’s another key to the success
of this program is that we have four levels of band. If a kid is doing
well in band, they can move up; they can be rewarded. That doesn’t
happen at smaller schools.”
Parents’
perspectives
Parents see the quality and
opportunities that Zane offers its students. According to parent Claire
Smith, “The dedication and attitude of the staff makes me a true
believer in the job that is being done for all of the students, not
just a select few.”
Marca Kime appreciates all
that school staff do in supporting student learning. “The staff
at Zane has done a tremendous job of placing value and respect upon
each individual as well as on teaching and learning,” remarked
Kime.
For Ross Welch it’s
the caring teachers and opportunities that make Zane special. “I
am extremely impressed with the high caliber of teachers,” said
Welch. “All of the teachers worked together to make the [elementary
to middle school] transition a success and we felt our daughter has
had more opportunities in a larger school population.”
Zane encourages interested
parents and community members to take a personal tour of the school
and its classrooms. Contact principal Catalina Nocon at 441-2470 during
school hours to arrange a tour. Zane is located at 2155 S Street in
Eureka.
Information about Zane can
also be found on the school’s Web site at: www.eurekacityschools.org/zane/index.htm
- Sheldon J. Reber, Director
of School and Community Relations
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Sixth
grade teacher Garett Montana shares a math lesson with his students.
Zane
band students rehearse in the school’s music room.
