A community affair: Meadowbrook School maintains an energetic yet relaxed and positive climate at a time when pressure to achieve higher test scores has turned some schools into tense academic factories

Leadership, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Mike Martucci, Susan Van Zant

At Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway, students are thriving. Test scores improve as students move through the grades. A look at attendance rates reveals that the average daily attendance has been 97.3 percent. Over the past three years, office referrals have declined dramatically. Visitors routinely remark that the school climate is energetic yet relaxed and positive. Students, parents and staff are actively involved.

How is this happening at a time when schools grow larger and larger and the pressure to achieve higher and higher test scores threatens to turn schools into tense academic factories?

School climate and achievement are greatly enhanced by developing a strong sense of community. Before- and after-school programs give students and teachers an opportunity to know each other outside of the classroom in less formal settings. This provides the social glue that helps the entire educational process proceed more smoothly.

The hours after school when students tend to be most vulnerable due to parents' work schedules are turned into times of multiple benefit, developing students' skills, socialization and sense of community.

Meadowbrook's dedicated and caring staff members encourage students to become involved in a full range of co-curricular activities addressing students' interests and developmental levels. A comprehensive after-school athletic program is complemented by after-school academic tutorials and a wide variety of social, recreational and service club activities. Virtually every one of the more than 1,550 students remain after school to participate in one or more activities or events at some time during the school year. Activity buses leave an hour and a half after the end of the scheduled academic school day to accommodate students.

In alignment with school-wide goals to ensure academic and social success, programs are in place to identify, redirect and support students. In addition to classroom support, students may be invited to participate in after-school, teacher-sponsored tutorials. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, math and science teachers offer after-school assistance. Language arts/social studies teachers provide assistance on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Last year's records show that math teachers worked with 436 students, language arts/social studies teachers with 338 students and science teachers worked with 117 students.

The English Language Learners After School College Preparatory Tutorial is available to assist these students with study and goal management three days each week.

Student-2-Student Tutorial Program

The Student-2-Student Tutorial Program recruits eighth graders to tutor struggling sixth-grade students. Last year 80 eighth graders tutored 125 sixth graders. Eighth graders must apply to serve as tutors. They must have at least a 3.5 grade point average and outstanding marks in citizenship and work habits.

Tutors receive training related to effective, positive ways to work one-on-one with students. They are paid $5 an hour for their efforts by the parents of the students they tutor. Since it is the first real job for most of them, they take the responsibility seriously. Records indicate that sixth grade participants' average math scores improved 8.5 percent, language scores improved 9.4 percent and GPA's rose to 2.3. In addition, this program provides an avenue for sixth graders to bond with positive older role models.

Our Mentor Program is designed to support academic progress and to provide social guidance for students who would benefit from a caring adult role model. This program has seen to date more than 40 adult mentors from all segments of the community. They meet with more than 50 students for at least a half-hour each week. Statistics here again reveal a trend toward improved grades, behavior and attendance.

This past year, approximately 40 percent of the student body participated in after-school sports, including tennis, volleyball, basketball, cross-country, track and field, wrestling, flag football, soccer and creative dance. Twenty-eight teams spread over five sports seasons, with most sports offering a three-week intramural program followed by the selection of an all-star team that competes with other middle schools. All sports offer divisions for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

Clubs on compus

Campus clubs are sponsored by teachers and are designed to serve a variety of recreational and social interests. About 600 students are members of one or more clubs. These clubs include chess, creative dance, Bible, ecology, computer, choral ensemble, skateboard, Chinese language and culture, international cooking, drama, and a Kiwanis-sponsored Builders' Club.

The Opera Club meets during lunch to study and learn about the many facets of opera. Members and their parents attend six operas annually. Band and orchestra groups practice after school and stage periodic concerts.

The Gold Club, led by two teachers, is an intervention support group created specifically to assist those who are not achieving academic or social success because of their inappropriate behavior. The after-school club format allows students to participate in twice-weekly support sessions without missing class time.