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School News...
Merkin Teachers Are California Math/Science Partners
Paving the way to a bright future in the global economy for their students are the math and science departments at Richard Merkin Middle Academy who are participating in a $23.2 million program designed to improve academic achievement.
The teachers are participating in The California Mathematics and Science Partnership (CaMSP), which provides two years of professional development to “help children succeed in math and science by enhancing the skills of their teachers,” explains State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. The Merkin teachers attend monthly instruction during the school years plus two intensive summer sessions. “It is a good program that allows us to self-evaluate our teaching methods and develop effective strategies,” says math teacher Leticia Vallejo. “The strategies are immediately useful in the classroom. Next month we begin studying a method that has proven effective in Japanese schools.” The science teachers’ program also adds field trips for hands-on training. Recently, they went to Palos Verdes to explore fault lines by the ocean’s edge with an eye toward designing lessons for their own students.
The CaMSP math curriculum ranges from training in self-evaluation for teachers to the use of practical materials to keep instruction lively. For example, every student in Ms. Vallejo’s math classes uses a whiteboard – suggested by and obtained through CaMSP.
“We use them every day. Seeing your math work on a whiteboard provides instant feedback for the kids,” she says, “and the opportunity for me to work with them personally. The boards have enhanced the learning environment.”
MASS Lives Up to its Name
Urban ecology? Epidemiology? College courses, perhaps, but rarely expected on the class schedule of a ninth grader. Unless that high school freshman attends the Math and Science School (MASS), one of the newest Alliance high schools.
These unusual courses are available as electives in addition to the biology classes required of the students in their first year of this focused school. “Our science curriculum is entirely based on California instructional standards. Our teachers wanted to guide our teens to even higher academic levels,” says Dr. Derrick Chau, Principal of MASS.
The Los Angeles River was the classroom recently for the urban ecology students. Their teacher Laura Ruiz says, “We are studying the interaction between living things in an urban environment. The kids are learning new ways to look at what they’ve seen their whole lives.” The class combines science, math, and language arts. Students keep field journals in which they record the results of their developing observation skills. “It’s been very successful,” Ms. Ruiz reports. “Before we went to the LA River, students predicted they’d see litter and concrete. Instead they got close looks at dozens of species of plants and animals. Now they are asking important questions like who is responsible for our urban environment.” During Spring Break, ecology students will spend five days on Santa Cruz Island, learning about the rare natural world that is protected at the Island Reserve.
In Brendan Vitt’s epidemiology class, the discussion is intense and mature. “We are focusing on the HIV /Aids pandemic and how it relates to their adolescent lives in East Los Angeles, he says. From the study of cell biology to the routes of transmission of the infection to the myths surrounding the virus, “The class teaches biology, public health, personal responsibility, and sensitivity to the subject,” Mr. Vitt adds. And writing skills, too. The class wrote a five-scene play about HIV, which they presented to the entire school. Their dramatic work represents a collaboration of disciplines with the Theatre of Heart’s artist-in-residence program.
New Teamwork for HP Students
Their team enters the room with energy; the co-captains proudly leading the group that everyone agrees is a winner. The goal is as specific as a basketball hoop, but this isn’t about athletics. It’s about academics.
The fourteen tenth graders are the Student Academic Mentors at Huntington Park College-Ready Academy. They have trained for six weeks to become one-on-one peer mentors to classmates who are struggling with school and grades. “We see kids failing their classes, and we’re learning the skills to help them change fails to success,” says co-captain Ruby Meza.
The unique program matches struggling ninth graders with these peer mentors who aim to establish a relationship that can help them become better students in the short term and successful graduates in the long-term. “If kids take the opportunities in high school, they can make something of themselves as adults in the future,” explains mentor Edemir Martinez.
The mentors are trained by Dr, John Hyland, who designed the program. They learn a range of strategies from the importance of a strong, welcoming greeting that includes a firm handshake and direct eye contact, the ability to lead a “notebook review” (how is your binder organized for classes, what else is in it?), and the skill of “self-talk” (listening for what is not being said as well as what is being said). “The mentors want to help others. The skills they are developing are making them better students, too,” says Dr. Hyland. “They are learning the value of informal, indirect conversations that enable others to understand their own behavior and perhaps see reason to change it.”
Omar Romero smiles at that. When he started the mentoring class, his notebook was a mess. “When we learned notebook review, I reorganized mine and it works much better for me,” he declares. Co-Captain Jennifer Melara calls the Academic Mentoring “a great experience for us and our mentees.”
