Alternative Approaches to ORGANIZING the School Day and Year

School Administrator, March, 1994 by Julia Anderson

Emerson serves about 800 students. Seventy-seven percent of these students are minorities, and 90 percent qualify for the free lunch program. The school views itself as a community of learners and strives to integrate its activities with the surrounding community, exposing the students to relevant life experiences whenever possible.

In addition the school offers English as a second language, Chapter 1 reading program, group and individual counseling, and a literacy program. Emerson houses a pre-kindergarten and a Chapter 1 program for four-year-olds.

Although the school district is reevaluating the year-round schedule, Emerson wants to maintain its year-round calendar (at least a single-track schedule) because the staff and administrators are convinced that it provides continuous uninterrupted learning for students.

The program began in September 1989.

(Contact: Anna Marie Ulibarri, Emerson Elementary School, 620 Georgia S.E., Albuquerque, N.M. 87108, 505-255-9091)

Reorganized Day

Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, Maine, with 350 students, serves a small, rural industrial 141 community. Classes are scheduled for double periods to offer students more opportunities for collaborative learning.

The school's Project 2000, an RJR Nabisco-funded program, also emphasizes small group instruction and hands-on learning opportunities for all students. The number of nontracked, activity-based courses has increased.

Project 2000 is designed to prepare students and staff for life in the next century by implementing a program of coordinated and constructive change at the school level. The curriculum is based on Maine's Common Core of Learning, a statement of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes all Maine high school graduates should possess.

Project 2000 also includes the computer networking of classrooms, staff development opportunities, and the development of participatory and interdisciplinary learning activities.

The program began in September 1991.

(Contact: Norman Higgins, Piscataquis Community High School, P.O. Box 118, Guilford, Maine 04443, 207-876-4625)

Common Factors

Administrators, teachers, and other professionals in these schools, in addition to having a clear vision of the purposes of their school, appear to share underlying beliefs. Some of these commonalities include:

* a belief that all children can learn at a high level even though children have different learning styles and rates. This means that being fair doesn't always mean being equal; rather, each child should get what he/she needs. School staff reorganize their programs in order to have the flexibility to provide additional resources (especially time) as needed;

* the realization that social realities in the community can interfere with students' ability to reach their potential. In response to these realities, the schools have accepted the challenge of providing non-traditional services to families, with the ultimate goal of enhancing learning;

* strong leadership, a vision of what is possible and a willingness to try something new;