August 25, 2005

BACK TO SCHOOL

“We’re filled to the brim,” the schools’ principal, John Gudgel, said in an interview last week.

The higher numbers can be traced to a monster-sized incoming class of 75 seventh graders, and a large eighth-grade class of 65 students, said Gudgel.

He described the increase as “a bubble” that will be balanced in the next few years by smaller-than-normal class sizes at Mills Lawn School. Traditionally, Gudgel said, classes range from about 45 to 55 students.

What those many students at YSHS and McKinney won’t be doing this year is eating a lot of pizza. Indeed, on their first lunch break on the first day of school they may have noticed many more carrots and far fewer fries.

“We as an educational institution need to be proactive about the importance of a healthy lifestyle,” Gudgel said.

In a collaborative effort between the YSHS Parent-Teacher Organization, Student Review Board, school administration and the schools’ food vendor, Child Nutrition Services, students will have significantly different choices for lunch from what they have had in previous years, Gudgel said. Rather than a daily option of pizza and French fries with the occasional vegetable, each day the lunch menu will feature fresh fruit, salad, vegetables and dip, and made-to-order deli sandwiches, with pizza making a sporadic appearance and French fries showing up only on Fridays.

Recent research indicated that about 31 percent of Miami Valley teenagers are overweight, compared with a national average of 16 percent, according to Gudgel. Those statistics “caused us to take notice,” he said.

Students will also immediately notice the spiffed-up gym, where blue bleachers have replaced the 41-year-old wooden bleachers, the walls have been painted and the floor varnished. It’s a total makeover for what Gudgel called one of the “sacred places of Yellow Springs,” a place where villagers traditionally gather in large numbers to watch events such as basketball games, concerts and graduation.

Parents may appreciate another change at the schools. For the first time this year, all teachers will use Progress Book, a computer program that allows parents to access the schools’ Web site and check their children’s assignments, as well as their progress in classes. All teachers are being trained in the program, said Gudgel. While a few teachers have already used the program, he said, teachers are required to use Progress Book beginning this year.

The new program is part of an effort to improve communication between teachers and parents, Gudgel said.

Three new teachers met their classes for the first time yesterday. Michelle Edwards will teach chemistry, Dennis Farmer will teach band and music history, and Terry Graves-Strieter will serve as coordinator of special education.

Also new this year is a series of talks, newly titled the Bulldog Alumni Lecture Series, in which YSHS graduates will share the stories of their lives, demonstrating to young people how they overcame obstacles that they faced.

While parents and teachers are valuable guides, young people sometimes take more seriously advice from those outside their immediate family or school, Gudgel said.

“We have a lot of notable alumni who have something to offer. Why not tap that source?” said Gudgel.

The schools will also continue the Math Initiative, in which math teachers from YSHS, McKinney and Mills Lawn are seeking to identify best practices in the teaching of math and ways to initiate those practices. The project also seeks to find ways to help students, especially girls and persons of color, overcome anxieties they may have with math and take more advanced math classes, Gudgel said.

The Math Initiative is an example of an “increased articulation” between Mills Lawn and McKinney, Gudgel said. Better communication between the two schools will only contribute to the well-being of students who graduate from Mills Lawn and then go on to McKinney, he said.

McKinney School initiatives

Another example of enhanced communication between Mills Lawn and McKinney is the McKinney Project II, which will take place during the first two to three weeks of the new school year, according to Pam Conine, the team leader at McKinney.

The project’s purpose is to help smooth the path from elementary school to middle school, a time that is almost always stressful for incoming seventh graders, Conine said.

“This will ease the transition into the middle school years and becoming a teenager,” she said.

During the first weeks of school, teachers have been asked to give only small amounts of homework, and some class time will be spent addressing with students “age-appropriate issues,” Conine said, including etiquette, bullying, social issues and appropriate dress. Students also will receive guidance in study skills and test-taking, she said.

In addition, all McKinney students will read and then discuss together The Misfits, a book that addresses social issues that middle school students often face, she said.

“I’m excited about it. Because we’re a small school we can personalize it as much as possible,” Conine said.

Conine said she is also enthused about “a renewed interest and energy surrounding the McKinney School Parent-Teacher Organization.” The PTO facilitates communication between teachers, parents and students, she said, and plans a gathering for parents to talk with teachers on Monday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. The PTO will also sponsor quarterly meetings for parents as well as the Parents-in-Residence week in October, during which parents may attend their child’s classes.

“I look forward to lots of opportunities for a home/school partnership,” Conine said.