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“I am a fortunate human being because I was able to 'inherit' some incredible professionals,” says Bessie Allen Middle School Principal Aaron Sadoff (left). Those incredible professionals include (seated left to right) Judy Jarvenpaa and Julie Skaer, and (standing left to right) MaryAnn Johnson, Deb Kiser, and Lee Skaar.
By Terry Lawler
Contributing writer
Thanks in part to an administration that is willing to listen and trust them, a group of dedicated teachers at Bessie Allen Middle School in North Fond du Lac have developed an innovative and successful approach to getting kids to finish their homework. “It’s not to say that teachers here in the past didn’t have good ideas. Those ideas just weren’t allowed to flourish” like they can now, said North Fond du Lac Education Association Co-President Judy Jarvenpaa. Three years ago, Jarvenpaa, a special education teacher, and several other North Fond du Lac teachers were taking a course on professional learning communities from their district administrator, Sue McFarlane. The teachers at Bessie Allen had identified their biggest concern regarding their students: many students did not turn in assignments on time or at all. “As a staff, we were frustrated with chasing down late work from our kids,” Jarvenpaa said. McFarlane encouraged the teachers to see what they could do creatively within the time frame of the school day. The school had developed the NET Program (Needs Exceptional Teamwork) to help at-risk students, but as school principal Aaron Sadoff says, “Let’s face it. In the middle school all the students are at-risk.” The teachers at Bessie Allen started brainstorming various plans and hit upon the idea of a 9th Hour Study Period, a special study hall that would aggressively address the problem of missing assignments. As it turned out, their plan reaped many more benefits than they had anticipated. After piloting the 9th Hour Study Period in the spring of 2005, the Bessie Allen staff spent many volunteer hours over the summer refining the concept. They asked that the school day be altered slightly to accommodate the 9th hour and that some small changes be made in the bus schedule. Lee Skaar, an 8th grade teacher, recalled, “The amazing part of the process, especially in regard to the changes we requested, was that there was no administrator saying, ‘You’d better do this or that.’ We sat down as a staff and dealt with whatever obstacles we had to overcome.” The 9th Hour Study was initiated in 2005-06 and has dramatically changed the students’ performances and attitudes about school. The concept is simple: students who fail to hand in any assignment during the school day have their names placed on a list. Those lists are collected and compiled by Julie Skaer, a 7th-grade instructor. “I have a smaller study hall than the other staff members which allows me to attend to the administrative work,” Skaer said. “A couple of my students collect the lists, we fill out spreadsheets we have created, and we get that information back to all the teachers by 8th hour.” Deb Kiser, a 6th-grade teacher, said the study period is in the cafetorium, which has been fully stocked with textbooks, dictionaries, and other supplies. “Our kids can’t come to us and say they can’t complete their assignments for lack of materials,” Kiser said. Last year there were two teachers working with students in 9th hour. This year there are four. Students who complete their missing work in their regular study halls can submit it before the end of the school day and be taken off the 9th hour list. However, every day six to 12 students attend 9th hour not because they have to, but because they want to. “The kids don’t view 9th hour as a punitive situation,” said MaryAnn Johnson, a 4th-grade instructor and co-president of NFEA. “They see it as an opportunity to get their work done. Ninth-grade teachers tell us that they have noticed a huge difference in the students’ taking responsibility for getting their work done. The students are also much more open to after-school sessions with counselors or for getting extra help. Our students are learning to prioritize their work, deciding what they can accomplish on their own and what they need to take to 9th hour.” The parents of Bessie Allen’s students have, for the most part, embraced the 9th Hour Study. “Most just say to their kids, ‘You’d better be there,’ ” Skaar said. “We cannot assume that every student is going to go home and get an hour of structured homework time. It’s not realistic,” Sadoff said. Kiser said, “It’s not good enough to say, ‘I taught this and you didn’t get it. Oh well.’” “I am a fortunate human being because I was able to ‘inherit’ some incredible professionals,” said Sadoff, who is in his first full year as principal. “These teachers are truly a professional learning community. We have great things going on here and I want to empower my staff members to do everything they can to educate kids. We want to foster an atmosphere that says it’s good to take risks and it’s good to focus on student learning.” This year the 7th- and 8th-grade teachers have common planning time. The 6th-grade teachers will have it in the near future. “It’s fabulous,” Jarvenpaa said. “Everybody communicates with each other more effectively, and that makes our jobs easier.” The Bessie Allen staff is quick to note that their plan would not work for everyone. “The size of our staff and student body is very conducive to the success of our 9th Hour Study,” Johnson said. “Our solution to the homework problem is unique to our situation.” Jarvenpaa added, “A staff should be bold enough to go to their administration and say, ‘This is a problem. We want to deal with it.’” Posted March 6, 2007 |