August 26, 2004

Mills Lawn to focus on quality of instruction for each child

Mills Lawn student Rachel Hammond, starting second grade, and her sister Megan, going into the sixth grade, came to the school through the rain last Friday with their mom Karen Hammond to study their class lists posted on the front door of the building. Both were happy to see that at least some of their closest friends ended up each of their classes, which began yesterday, Aug. 25.

By Lauren Heaton

BACK TO SCHOOL
The second in a series

Mills Lawn School Principal Christine Hatton takes seriously the message of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. And as the state defines and implements new testing standards for all elementary school students, she feels the best way to support the mandate is not through tests but by tailoring an education to fit the diverse needs of each individual in the classroom.

Her vision for the 2004–05 school year is to focus on improving the quality of instruction as it relates to each child “without teaching to the test,” Hatton said. “What we’re interested in is differentiating instruction enough for each child so that each student gets what he or she needs to be successful in school,” she said.

Testing will always be necessary because educational accountability is never going to go away, she said. But being aware of each child’s needs on a day-to-day basis and supplying that need in a “loving, nurturing” way is more effective than sacrificing fun and creative learning for testing curricula.

“We don’t have to do any Herculean thing to get our kids to pass this test,” Hatton said.

Last year’s proficiency tests showed Mills Lawn is a “highly effective” school. Although not as high as the previous year’s “excellent,” this rating is a good standard to strive for if it allows teachers to bring more students into the fold to achieve academic success, she said.

“We’re not leaving any child behind, we never have and we never will.”

Mills Lawn will continue to emphasize the reading and writing program and strive to become a “literacy focused school,” Hatton said. Reading and writing skills need to be rigorously reinforced during the critical first few years of school because they are the foundation for learning in all other disciplines, she said.

Last year teachers chose from a long list of reading programs the two curriculums that one second-grade class and one third-grade class will pilot this school year. Teachers and staff will rate each program’s effectiveness in using rich literature to teach comprehension, phonics and awareness of letter sounds, reading fluency and vocabulary. Lastly, the programs must also prepare students for the national reading readiness standards. Teachers and staff will make a final decision on the programs at the end of the year.

The school is also building on last year’s Title 1 federal reading intervention grant used to purchase a leveled library collection to supplement textbook reading in all subjects across the curriculum for grades one through four. This year teachers are looking for grants to purchase the same type of supplemental library to help students in grades five and six who have difficulty reading their science or history basal text. Another federal grant in the works requires that the money only be used for first through third graders, in hopes that reading support at an early age will reduce the need for intervention for older students, Hatton said.

This is the year for new science texts and materials for students kindergarten through sixth grade, the first in seven years. Last year students piloted several science programs chosen from a larger list the previous year. The selection and pilot cycle was used three years ago for the math program, and next year the school will pilot social studies materials.

This year the video conference learning program has been set up to allow students direct access to most of the major museums, universities, and educational institutions through satellite connection. From the comfort of a Yellow Springs classroom with a computerized widescreen TV, students can view and interact live with the subjects they are learning about all over the country, and in some cases, the world.

Mills Lawn is excited about putting on an all-school musical again this year, under the leadership of kindergarten teacher and longtime concert producer Becky Brunsman. This is the first year since the 2001 production of Lost in the 50’s that Mills Lawn has attempted a big show using the whole school. Though the production has not been chosen yet, students are scheduled to begin rehearsing after winter break and perform sometime in February.

Hatton said she and teachers learned from the three-year artist-in-residence grant that ended last spring that they need to continue to challenge students in creative and highly interactive ways in order to maintain the school’s unique character and excellence in education. When the curriculum is diverse and active, the students are more engaged and so are the teachers.

“This staff is a really go-get-’em staff, and they are most happy when they are learning, working hard, having fun and doing things that are really far-out for kids,” Hatton said.

Since Hatton became the principal in 2001, she has been supporting the work the staff had already begun with the artist-in-residence project, the 50-year anniversary celebration and the gamut of new testing preparation. Finally this year, she felt she could add her own voice to lead the charge of maintaining the high standard of education at Mills Lawn.

“The first year you become somebody’s principal, you’re a tourist,” Hatton said. “This year I’ve got a feel, a vision that we’re capable of increasing our capacity so that if what we do day-to-day with the children is done in a loving, nurturing way, we’ll be just fine.”