December 15, 2009

St. Cat's starting wireless middle school program

No more pencils,
No more books,
No more teacher's dirty looks!
Well, two out of three isn't bad! Incoming sixth graders at St. Catherine's will face an unfamiliar landscape, as the 145-year old school -- which began as a girls academy in 1864 -- embraces cyberspace with a new "wireless" middle school next September. The program will provide all students with their own netbooks -- a smaller version of a laptop computer -- and the kids will work interactively online with eBooks.

"No more heavy textbooks to lug around," says the program's founding teacher, Elisabeth Blandford, who taught for 37 years before "retiring" from Unified to create this middle school program for St. Cat's. The program allows St. Cat's to "go green and save money and trees as we cut back on paper use."

More importantly, "students will be learning in a different way -- with an interdisciplinary format."

Blandford said the middle school will start with 25 students in sixth grade, and will add a grade each subsequent year as the students progress (offering sixth and seventh next year, and sixth, seventh and eighth the year after) ... unless there are enough students for a seventh grade class in September as well. "We're almost there already for the sixth grade," Blandford said Tuesday night.

Blandford, who is developing the program, will be its first -- and only -- teacher this first year, teaching all the core classes: English, science, math and history. "The following year, with a second grade, we'll be team teaching," she said. The netbooks -- their smaller keyboard is perfect for smaller hands -- and wireless access to eBooks are not the program's only new wrinkle. Interdisciplinary teaching, with coordinated lessons, is another.

She explained it this way: In geography class, the students might be studying Pakistan and Afghanistan. In English, they would be reading Three Cups of Tea, about mountain climber Greg Mortenson's efforts to start schools in rural Pakistan. Math would be pulled in with doing statistics, or whatever they're studying in math, on demographics and population. The same with science: the children will develop projects, individually or in small groups. "The idea is to be able to apply their knowledge in the next unit."

"The first thing the students will be exposed to is critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills, and using those in all the projects they do." Blandford said this this approach was developed by Jefferson Lighthouse in 1972. She taught Lighthouse at McKinley Middle School for 12 years, then went to Mitchell. "I was so disappointed when the Lighthouse program took hit after hit. Thirty years ago, when it was developed, it was 30 years ahead of its time."

"By seeing how concepts and skills are used differently or in the same way across the curriculum, students understand the concepts and skills better, remember them longer, and apply them appropriately to new learning situations. They are ready to apply those concepts and skills in the real world. Research shows us that this method of teaching is superior," said Blandford.

"I expect there will be some sixth graders doing seventh grade math. The idea is to meet every kid where they are and help them succeed, and facilitate the pace they are comfortable with."

A master teacher, Blandford has a Master's Degree from Carthage College, and was the Phi Delta Kappa 2007 Outstanding Educator of the Year in Southeastern Wisconsin. She retired from Unified to take this job, and says: "This is the biggest, most exciting opportunity of my career. I've never been more excited.

"I've been a 'public school lady' all along, and I think the public schools in Racine are doing a great job, considering all the problems they have to deal with, like educational requirements not funded by the state. I've had many absolutely fabulous colleagues. Now I'm doing something different.

"I keep walking down the halls saying -- you remember the line from Field of Dreams? -- 'Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa.' Well for me, the answer is, 'No, it's St. Cat's.' "

St. Cat's said its new wireless program will prepare middle school students for twenty-first century problem solving, putting students on a fast track and enabling them to begin taking high school credit classes as seventh and eighth grade students.

"Successful learning starts with willing students, supportive parents and outstanding teachers. Elisabeth Blandford will be the cornerstone of our staff as we assemble a first-rate faculty over the next few years. It will take some time, but I am confident that our mission, curriculum, technology and teachers will place our new 6-12 program among the very best schools,” said Christopher Olley, St. Catherine’s High School president.

For more information on becoming a student contact Sean Brady, St. Cat's admissions director, by email or phone at 632-2785 ext. 429. Students must sign up by Jan. 15 for classes which start next September. Tuition is $4,500 a year, with $1,500 financial aid available. Tech/book fee is $400.

24 comments:

  1. Interdisciplinary teaching is such a wonderful strategy for teaching I can hardly believe that we haven't adopted it in all public schools yet.
    Finally, for those of us who tend stared out the windows in algebra will be able to say I actually used it outside of that class.
    I wish they did this in my son's schools.

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  2. Easier to have mommy, daddy, sis, or brother do your homework.

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  3. I would NEVER trust a former Unified administrator within the walls of a Catholic school. But then again, St. Cat's is becoming less and less Catholic as the years go by, so no surprise there.

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  4. St. Cat's is trying to kill what is left of the Catholic grade schools in town. Real nice, guys!

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  5. I have always been a supporter of SCHS and am a grad, however I agree that this is going to kill the rest of the Catholic grade schools. St Joes in Kenosha did this and did not find any increase in their HS enrollment. By the time the middle school were ready for HS, they already had the "been there, done that" attitude and did not want to remain for HS.

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  6. This is the 1st step in the consolidation of Catholic schools. Each school can no longer make it on its own. The parishes subsidize a large portion of the tuition today and their contributions are down. Whether we like it or not, finacially if Catholic schools want to be prevelant in the future, consolidation is required. The lower grades will need to be combined and then funneled to St. Catherines.

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  7. Seriously people? God forbid that a strong education program is being implemented at a school! Interdisciplinary teaching that allows students to learn in an exciting way and make connections to the world outside of the school walls surely goes against Catholicism and should be banned. Not to mention we really don't want our children getting too ahead of themselves in their learning as they might be smarter than their classmates at another high school! We wouldn't want smart kids roaming around. And I certainly doubt that teachers have any means to challenge students that are at the top of their class, so yes, we should just keep the kids learning at the level they are currently at. It's worked well thus far, right?

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  8. Really 10:10 - where did you read any of that in the preceeding emails? I certainly didn't. The dsicussion was about coordiantion between the rest of the Catholic Schools and SC. No one is bemoaning the school or the program.
    Cool down

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  9. "I would NEVER trust a former Unified administrator within the walls of a Catholic school."

    "By the time the middle school were ready for HS, they already had the "been there, done that" attitude and did not want to remain for HS."

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  10. Heather in Caledonia12/16/2009 12:27 PM

    Excellent! Great idea. My son is using a curriculum in his online school that uses interdisciplinary teaching. It does make some of his more "boring" subjects interesting to him. This is also a good step in moving more classwork to the computer. I do think it is also helpful, however, to still have some textbooks and do some work with paper and pencil. Computers are so very important to know these days, but there will be times when good handwriting and the ability to think without a screen in front of you comes in handy. :) I hope this leads to more home-based learning for kids, also, as I think for many it is a more productive and efficient use of time (for those with a parent or guardian at home.)

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  11. Heather - you better get back to your teaching - your break is over!

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  12. Heather in Caledonia12/16/2009 2:56 PM

    Ahh... it's Recess time again. :)

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  13. Heather- at least you can have fun with my jabs - you're cool for that. So be good so you do not have to stay after school.

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  14. Will Ole destroy St. Eds by creating a middle school at SCHS? Will tuition be $8300.00 per year per student? At one time I was an advocate of Catholic and other such private schools, having sent 1 child through grade school and still having 2 in, my thoughts have since changed. Will the 6-8th graders be exposed to that which already hurts SCHS?

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  15. Not being in the know, what is it that is currently hurting SCHS?

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  16. 6:29, If it is, what it was, when I attended St.Cats, its simple: a four letter word that rhyms with hugs!

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  17. Heather in Caledonia12/16/2009 9:33 PM

    Thanks, 3:23 :) I got all my work done for the day!

    I was wondering - does anyone know what software package they will be using?

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  18. Love the interdisciplinary approach. I just can't believe we haven't evolved more in our culture to see the obvious benefits of that. When I taught in a free school in early 70s--JFK Prep--we made some efforts to do so and 40 years later it is still just an idea...until now? Hurray. I just wish the school tried harder to recruit and work with the Latin population and cared more for the need to educate a very viable leadership community in the church of the future and the culture at large.

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  19. Why does Olly want to become a GOD? Why does he want to destroy all the Catholic grade schools left when they are trying to get new families to become part of the church? What is he doing to promote families and children to be Catholic and support the church? I definately see SCHS becoming less Catholic and more public everyday...less about what it means to be a St. Catherine's Angel! And why oh why would I want my middle school age child to go to school with High School students? Don't they have enough issues going on!

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  20. 7:17 - you are an idiot, there are probably some drugs in any high school, I'll bet you this, there are far less drugs at St. Catherine's and if they find drugs you are out. In addition you will not find guns, gangs, knives, mutiple pregnacy's, as you do in the public high schools. At St. Cat's, the home team and opponents can "even" enter and leave through the same doors. Isn't that a sad commentary about the rules they have to put in place at RSUD.

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  21. The cross-curricular approach will surely be the strength of the program. With the increasing quantity of content being pressed into schools' curricula, this will give teachers the ability to cover greater breadth while providing depth to students' learning through critical and creative applications. My BIG concern is not for the introduction of netbooks as the main portal of information transfer, it is the fact that these computers are the sole means of content distribution. Electronic content, no matter what the administrators might be selling their public, is just not "there yet" and is not ready to supplant traditional text. I would hope that educators are picking their curricular materials based on content, not on what is available electronically. While we all need to strive to reduce our carbon footprints, jumping wholesale into a paper-free environment is fairly radical, and might be at the cost of the learners (at least initially until electronic distribution becomes more mainstream).

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  22. I am curious how when they will be charging less than 5K can they afford the latest in high tech schooling? We spend 2-3 times that for RUSD. What does a teacher get paid at St. Cats? What sort of benefits do they receive? There is such a gap in how much it costs to educate.

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  23. 11:12
    Teachers get paid a 1/3 of what public schools do and with A LOT less benefits...that is except for the new 6th grade teacher! The teacher teach there for the love of St.Cat's and her mission and the love of the high school students that have had the benefit to walk her halls

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  24. This is a wonderful idea! Having had the benefit of the Lighthouse education myself I am so glad to see it be implemented in Racine again. Learning this way not only makes the classroom more interesting but also taught me critical and creative thinking skills. I had Mrs. Blandford as a teacher (she was never an administrator) and she is incredible in the classroom--gifted with kids of all different backgrounds and abilities. Good luck to St. Cats in starting this new program!

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