Austin ISD August 2007

Austin ISD August 2007

Written by Beth Wade Tuesday, 07 August 2007

Program softens middle school transition.

Sixth-grade students at Murchison Middle School are no longer sharing the hallways with older students. The school was the first in Austin ISD to host a sixth grade center last year, where students attend most classes away from the other grades on the campus.The result is an easier transition to middle school.

Sixth-grade classes are in portable buildings, and students only go to the main building to take science and elective classes or go to their lockers.

“The whole middle school concept is based around teams and around the grade levels, and if we were able to get all of the same grade levels together, it provided a comfort zone for those kids because they know each other,” said Principal Kimiko Cartwright. “Also, we were able to get our teachers around the same area. We were able to provide a small community within this huge school of 1,200.”

Sixth graders are on a different bell schedule from the rest of the school with eight periods, and tend to keep in the same group of portables throughout the day.

“We wanted to schedule language arts for two periods, but the positive offshoot of that is that when they transition to classes, the seventh and eighth graders are not transitioning at that time,” Cartwright said. “When you are a sixth grader, it can be a little scary to be outside, especially at a school our size. This way they aren’t all outside [together].”

With the success of the center at Murchison, the district has decided to try a similar program in schools on the east side of Austin, including Webb, Dobie, Pearce, Kealing and Garcia.

“[Murchison] became my model and now I’m doing it in five of my needy schools, because I think that’s the model we should use,” Dr. Pat Forgione, AISD superintendent, said. “Austin used to have a sixth grade center where they take you out of all the schools and then you go on to junior high. We can’t afford it anymore. We have our elementary schools pre-k to fifth and now we have middle schools six to eight, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a wing and make it a sixth grade center. That’s what worked so well at Murchison, and the teachers loved it, the parents loved it. When you find a good practice you move it into your needier schools.”

Students at each grade level are divided into teams led by four teachers and remain with the same group of students throughout the school year. The program can also work as a transition tool for students entering the sixth grade who might otherwise feel intimidated in the larger school environment, Cartwright said.

“This is a smaller setting. They feel like this is their section of the building, and they don’t have to worry about the entire campus and the entire student body. So it breaks it down a little bit into something that’s a little more like what they had in elementary school,” she said. “It makes it a much nicer environment and a more comfortable feeling.”

Then

• 6th graders in 7 classesa day.
• An average of 30-40 students per class
• Teachers in class five out of seven periods a day.

Now

• 6th graders in 8 classes a day
• An average of 25 students per classes
• Teachers in classes six out of 8 periods a day

2007-2008

Sixth grade centers at five more Austin middle schools

• Webb
• Dobie
• Pearce
• Kealing
• Garcia

Dr. Pat Forgione, AISD superintendent, hopes to introduce the sixth grade center concept in all 18 AISD middle schools.

AISD specialty education programs

Whether a student wants to work in a kitchen, or treat those who end up burning themselves in one, AISD has a program for it. The Austin district gives parents and students options within the public school system for advanced or occupational studies through their magnet schools and special campuses. The programs require application and draw students from all over the district; AISD provides the transportation to make this possible. The district funds these programs through the use of school funds, donations and private partnerships.

1. The Liberal Arts and Science Academy at LBJ High School

• Formerly located at Johnston High, the LASA advanced academic program moved to LBJ in 2002. The curriculum, written by the school’s teachers specifically for LASA students, rigorously covers all the core subjects and is designed for those who are looking to be accepted into highly selective colleges. Applications are accepted from freshmen and sophomores in January, and students must take a placement exam.
• Example courses: Medical Microbiology, Multivariable Calculus
• More info: www.lbjhs.net/lasa

2. Lanier Health Sciences Institute

• Created in 2003 with the help of St. David’s, Seton, ACC, Travis County Medical Society and the University of Texas, the institute allows AISD students to study to become medical, lab and pharmacy technicians or nurses. Soon, the school will offer pre med, dental, pharmacy and veterinary. Students can earn college credits and sometimes certification in certain fields. Interested students can apply in eighth through 11th grade.
• Example courses: Health Science Technology
• More info: www.austinisd.org/schools/website.phtml?id=121

3. Kealing Magnet Program

• Students from all over Austin apply to this liberal arts, math and science magnet school. Kealing focuses on the role of technology in education and student-led research. Students apply with a questionnaire from a parent, examples of work, grades and a self evaluation. Kealing has taken state awards in science, math and chess.
• Example courses: Forensic Science, Programming in Java, Comic Books as Literature
• More info: www.austinisd.org/schools/website.phtml?id=028

4. Ann Richards School For Young Women Leaders

• There was a three-to-one ratio of applicants to positions for the first year of this new college preparatory school for middle and high school girls. Each grade will hold 115 students when the school opens this month, and the curriculum will be tailored to the academic and athletic strategies that work best for young girls. Uniforms are required at the school, but there is no tuition for those students accepted into the program.
• Example courses: Girls As Leaders
• More info: http://www.austinisd.org/schools/annrichards

5. Fine Arts Academy at McCallum

• Students at this four-year program can choose to major in music, visual arts, dance or theater arts, and although technically a “school within a school,” all of McCallum’s students interact in similar classes. To apply, eighth grade students must present a portfolio or an audition and offer letters of reference. In 2005, Newsweek magazine ranked the academy within the nation’s top three percent for American high schools.
• Example courses: Computer Animation, Art History
• More info: www.austinschools.org/campus/mccallum/fine_arts/

6. Travis Institute of Hospitality & Culinary Arts

• Accepting high school students from both AISD and the Texas School for the Deaf, the Institute offers a two-year program with a paid summer internship that prepares students for jobs in the culinary and hospitality fields. Students can earn college credit in many of the courses, and students in the hospitality program spend several days a week at local hotels getting hands-on experience.
• Example courses: Food Production, Management & Service, Travel and Tourism Marketing
• More info: www.austinisd.org/schools/website.phtml?id=023

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