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School to Community Connection |
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Issue 103 Healdsburg Junior High To Become Middle School At a recent public forum entitled “The Middle School Journey” John Curry, Principal of Healdsburg Junior High (HJH), addressed the upcoming transition of the 7th-8th grade junior high to a 6th-8th grade middle school. HJH will be welcoming not only incoming seventh graders but also sixth graders for the 2006-2007 school year. Curry was well- prepared. He explained that a configuration that offers three consecutive years, 6th-8th grade, will significantly benefit the physical, intellectual and social needs of the students. The middle school will be academically challenging, socially equitable and developmentally responsive to the middle school-aged adolescent student. Sixty-nine percent of all middle level schools in the United States are currently 6th-8th grade, an increase from only 23% in 1971. Curry and his staff look forward to having three years to build relationships with parents and students. Academic assessments (standardized testing) will more accurately represent the quality level of the existing programs and provide data to improve instruction. And, these improvements can be implemented with the students that were tested. Curry pointed out, “Now, we lose one-half of our student population before we get assessment results which could benefit our academic curriculum.” Pat Sabo, HJH instructor, provided some of the history for the decision to add 6th grade to the site. She indicated that the Healdsburg Unified School District (HUSD) began considering a 6th-8th grade configuration 12 years ago. Final recommendation was made for HJH to become a middle school this year. She emphasized that this decision was driven by what is educationally best for the students. (As a footnote: Ms. Sabo has been teaching junior high for approximately three decades and was recently nominated as California League of Middle Schools Educator of the Year. She is a highly respected educator and….. her students love her.) Bob Carter, Interim Superintendent of HUSD, stated that Healdsburg is the perfect size of community for a “seamless K-12 curriculum”. His experience in other school districts with the middle school configuration has been good and he assured parents that for the coming school year “parents and staff will know exactly what is going on” with the middle school and encouraged parents to attend future forums to keep the communication two-way. In keeping with Mr. Carter’s goal to have all participants in the process well informed, there are regularly scheduled meetings with the incoming sixth grade instructors and the junior high staff about curriculum, bell schedules, and extracurricular activities for the students. School site administrators are evaluating what schedule of classes will work best for the sixth grade population at HJH. Three distinct programs are under consideration for the sixth graders. They have been identified as the “Self-Contained Model” (similar to what they have now with a single teacher), the “50/50 Model” (two teachers) and the “2-2-2 Model” (three teachers). Patti Reeves, Vice-Principal of HJH, pointed out that the final decision has not been made but that the 2-2-2 configuration may provide the greatest flexibility for scheduling the broad and varied needs of students, teachers and facilities. Because of Mrs. Reeves prior teaching experience in a middle school she said that “One of the really great things of having a middle school is that the students are gentler. It really is an unexpected benefit and strength”. As a parent of a fifth grader, I am excited about the increase in educational and extracurricular activities offered to the sixth grade at the middle school. Still to be determined is if the sixth graders will be able to participate in after school sports. In my opinion it would only help Healdsburg become more competitive with the many middle schools in our sports league. A case in point…in early December the HJH seventh grade girl’s volleyball team had their first match of the season against Creekside Middle School in Rohnert Park. For the majority of the Healdsburg players it was their first volleyball competition ever. They played a great match and in fact won the first game out of three. But the experience and teamwork of Creekside prevailed---their team had been playing together since sixth grade! There are questions still unanswered about the middle school, but during the forum it was apparent that the interests of the Healdsburg students are the #1 priority of the school staff, the school district administration and the school board. Additional forums, as well as parent and student orientations will be held to communicate ongoing progress. If you have input or would like to contact John Curry directly, call 431-3410 or e-mail him at john.curry@husd.com. Information is also being posted on the school website at http://www.hjh.husd.com/ and will include a “Frequently Asked Questions” section to be updated as decisions are made. By Joyce Jensch Parent Volunteer, HUSD Communications Committee
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