Curriculum Planning at Windham High School
May 23, 2008
Pelham-Windham News
When the doors open to students for the first time at the new Windham High School, about 16 months from now, the person holding the title of principal will be Richard Manley. In anticipation, Manley and other members of the Windham School District administration already are putting considerable time into making plans for those students. Manley officially assumes the job of principal July 1.
During its first year, Windham High School, set to open in September of 2009, will house only freshmen and sophomores. Juniors and seniors will continue to attend Salem High School, based on a recently signed tuition agreement.
According to Manley, the hiring of high school “deans” is underway. It is anticipated that these new positions, billed as “the planning team,” will be filled soon and the people occupying these slots will come on board in July of 2008.
“What is this high school all about?” Manley asked rhetorically, during the school board’s meeting on Tuesday, May 6. His first charge will be getting to know what the community wants. Looking into what Salem offers its students will be an important part of the picture for Windham, he said.
Another of the initial tasks assigned to the planning team will be looking into accreditation, a multi-year undertaking. “We need to make sure our planning is consistent with what’s required for accreditation,” Manley said. Planners also will look into technological issues regarding equipment needs.
Many classes will be taught through inter-disciplinary instruction, using team teaching techniques. A “single-model” approach to instruction is more common in the United States, Manley said, adding that an “interdisciplinary approach is more difficult to implement.”
Scheduling of classes will involve about 80-minute blocks of time, curriculum coordinator Amanda Lacaroz said. Eight daily periods will be scheduled for the entire school year, but each student will not have every class every day. A team teaching approach will be used for English and social studies, which will be taught simultaneously with two teachers, using a humanities approach to learning. Freshmen will be offered “Foundations of Society,” sophomores “American Studies”; and eventually juniors will expand their learning to “Global Studies.” There will be teacher collaboration in mathematics and science.
An Applied Science and Technology Center will be included with programs eventually offered to all four grades. The center will offer a hands-on approach to learning and will focus on engineering studies, according to Lacaroz. “Learning centers,” rather than traditional study halls, will be available to students. There also are plans to provide greater flexibility in selecting elective classes, she said, such as art, music, wellness, theater and dance.
Manley also spoke briefly about his recent trip to China, where he “shadowed” a high school principal. Academically, Manley said, the Chinese students he met were very advanced and achieving at a high level, despite meager spending as compared to what is spent on students in the United States. However, Chinese students are not “as well-rounded as American students,” he said. “That will continue to be our advantage,” he said, referring to the diverse types of education and extracurricular activities provided in the United States.
Looking forward to the coming school year, which begins on July 1, Assistant Superintendent Roxanne Wilson said, “It’s going to be a very busy fall” for all members of the administration, as they work toward having Windham High School ready for its “classes of 2011 and 2012.”