FL charter school sees strong end to first year
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Staff members say a new emphasis on career education and project- based learning resulted in a constructive first year at Fountain Lake’s charter middle school.
Preparations for the shift began in earnest when the district was approved for the charter school last winter. School officials visited other charter schools and spent months developing a proposal before meeting with the state.
The school introduced Personalized Success Plans for every student at Fountain Lake Middle School Cobra Digital Prep Academy. The
PSPs are meant to help guide a student on their desired college or career plans through the time they graduate from high school.
The plans are incorporated into the school’s advisory class and Project Lead the Way courses. Every teacher and two aides met with their own groups of students in an advisory class at the start of every school day for 20 minutes.
Teachers discuss the habits, goals, potential careers and other student interests in the advisory classes. The teachers work with the same group of students through each grade until they move on to the high school.
“It is very important the teachers make those connections and have those relationships with the kids,” said Linda Webb, the school counselor. “There is no possible way that one person can see 400- something kids in a week, but now there is one person they can see every day that is keeping track and keeping up with them.”
The school incorporated concepts from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen Covey, into its approach. Students discussed productive actions and delved into “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” by Covey’s son, Sean Covey.
Principal Frank Janaskie said he and teachers convey to students the benefits of being proactive. Students are taught to always be cognizant of what they want to accomplish at the end of every day, week, month, year and further into the future.
“You’re trying to readjust the culture a little bit and the language that you’re using for your kids,” Janaskie said.
Project Lead the Way courses from the Gateway middle school curriculum were introduced to provide challenging and engaging options for students with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. Teachers took part in PLTW training from a student’s point of view and received materials for class projects.
Fountain Lake offered students in grades 5- 8 PLTW classes in Design and Modeling, Automation and Robotics, Energy and the Environment, Flight and Space, Science of Technology, Magic of Electrons, Green Architecture and Medical Detectives. Fifth- graders are typically taught under the PLTW Launch curriculum for elementary students.
“I think all of us have tried to implement more hands- on, project- based things and we were able to get some extra training at the end of last year and this summer,” said Kim Richard, a science and PLTW teacher. “So we could not only just have projects in our project classes, but have projects in our regular classes, too. It’s kind of a complete mind shift of how we are teaching and how are doing things.”
The school worked to integrate more student- led learning with teachers as facilitators. Teachers who did not teach PLTW classes took park in training for facilitators of Environmental and Spatial Technologies programs.
Teachers who participated in EAST training developed their own classes like Coding, Garage Band, Digital Photography and Newspaper. Janaskie said the new classes focused on “exploration” for students to discover their interests and continue to learn more about them in high school.
“We are trying to supply kids with the exploration of opportunities,” Janaskie said. “We are hoping the classes they are seeing and exploring in, maybe that’s a catch for them, or that ‘ hook.’”
Webb took on more responsibilities relating to career education this year. The school conducted “interest inventories” at the beginning of the year to focus their education and activities on their areas of interest.
Students were able to select their classes. Those who did not begin the year in their first or second choices were able to rotate into their top picks after one or two nine weeks.
Webb invited a number of speakers to discuss their careers with students interested in particular fields. She also worked to organize field trips geared for specific interests.
Students who are curious about government and administration toured the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock and met state legislators. Others who are interested in agriculture and natural resources visited Garvan Woodland Gardens.
The students were given a lead role in parent/ teacher conferences. Parents were invited to the school to meet with the students and their advisers, who have access to students’ grades in order to discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
“That way, we can talk to them about that stuff instead of just hearing from their English teacher that they are missing work,” Richard said. “We can talk to them about it, too.”
Staff members said the changes resulted in students being more engaged, enjoying school more and exuding more confidence. They said students have new opportunities to present what they have accomplished.
“We saw a change in some of the students who, last year, I know for a fact would have told you they didn’t like coming to school,” Janaskie said. “Now they like coming to school.”
“When they are excited about doing something and they are wanting to do it, the biggest headache is I can’t keep up with who all wants to go first,” Richard said.
Webb said the number of students who did not enjoy school dropped significantly. She said students have benefited from more involvement through “The Leader in Me” model. The school will continue in leadership training for at least another two years.
“A lot of places have a few leaders, but I think we try to see that leadership potential in every single kid, because they have it,” Webb said. “You just have to look for it.”
“This year, for me, as a teacher, has been probably my best year,” Richard said. “I have enjoyed it. I look forward to coming to work every day. I definitely see a difference.”