ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611180010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-24 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE
Provide a school within a school, a "home base"' for each child.
* Each grade should be released from class at a different time, and lunch should be separate for each grade. Ideally, buildings would have a wing or area for each grade level.
* Within each grade, teams of two to four teachers - who teach the four core areas - spend most of the day with a set group of students.
Each student should have an advocate, someone he or she can turn to.
* Each morning at Dublin Middle, students gather in small groups with a teacher to discuss everything from problems with friends to study skills.
Curriculum should be integrated and encourage pupils to explore new areas.
* Themes are often carried across the four core areas. A sixth-grade team at Christiansburg, for example, recently finished a unit on Egypt where the students examined pyramids in math and studied ancient Egyptian culture in social studies.
* Generally, pupils are allowed to explore different electives, giving them a chance to try an activity without pressure. Often, they rotate electives such as art, vocational technologies and music.
Parents should be involved.
* Before students began a recent project, Dublin teacher Sandy Cauthen required a parent's signature to notify and involve them in the activity.
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