One of the areas I have been thinking
about doing action research on is our school/grades configuration.
Currently, our district has the intermediate school model, meaning that
our elementary schools are K-4 and feed into an intermediate school
which is 5-6. Those intermediate schools feed into a middle school
which are 7-8, and those feed into our high schools. We are one of only
a few districts in Texas which have this model. Over the years, there
has been a lot of talk about which model is better-- the intermediate
model or the true middle school model (which would require us to
dissolve our intermediate campuses, sending 5th grade back to elementary
and 6th grade to middle school).
As a middle school teacher, I certainly have my opinions about what I would prefer, but I think some action research on the topic would help me see the bigger picture. I'd really like to see what the research says about which model might be better for our particular demographic. Some say that students at the intermediate level are helped and nurtured into the transition to secondary school. Some say that dissolving the intermediate schools would create more accountability at all grade levels and help students by giving them fewer transitions to new schools. Others say this comes down to budget, pure and simple. I am most interest in what would be best for the students I teach.
However, as an administrator, I would be very curious about the impact that a change to our configuration might have on personnel, resources, property, and our fiscal budget in addition to the impact that it would have on our students. I think that action research on this topic would give me a better understanding of what may need to be done for our district in terms of configuring our schools.
As a middle school teacher, I certainly have my opinions about what I would prefer, but I think some action research on the topic would help me see the bigger picture. I'd really like to see what the research says about which model might be better for our particular demographic. Some say that students at the intermediate level are helped and nurtured into the transition to secondary school. Some say that dissolving the intermediate schools would create more accountability at all grade levels and help students by giving them fewer transitions to new schools. Others say this comes down to budget, pure and simple. I am most interest in what would be best for the students I teach.
However, as an administrator, I would be very curious about the impact that a change to our configuration might have on personnel, resources, property, and our fiscal budget in addition to the impact that it would have on our students. I think that action research on this topic would give me a better understanding of what may need to be done for our district in terms of configuring our schools.
I think that's a great action research topic. I've often wondered myself about all of the different models there are at the intermediate levels. I know when I went to school in Atlanta the elementary was K-6, intermediate was 7-9, and high school was 10-12. Of course that was loooong time ago! I had not even heard of the model your district has until I moved to Texas. Since I don't teach at the intermediate level, I'm curious to know what your opinion is.
ReplyDeleteI have an opinion, lol! I'm just not sure if I'm right! In my opinion, I think it would benefit our students to have the 5th grade back at elementary and the 6th grade at our middle school campus in terms of academics. It presents fewer transitions for students and can really benefit vertical teams by lessening the isolation and increasing the accountability felt by having two campuses with only two grade levels. :) However, that is only my educated guess. The research would tell!
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