Teams at LHS?

By: Kristen Schulze

Some of you may have heard the latest buzz about team teaching. Just in case you were wondering, here's a summary of the info that the teacher's got. The plan is to have students assigned to teams, like at the middle school, only it's just for freshmen. So, basically, this doesn't affect any of us... nevertheless, some of us have younger siblings and a few of us care about what's going to be happening in our school next year. So here's the scoop.

All freshmen, including transfer students, will be assigned to teams when they enter school in the fall. This means there will be a certain group of teachers for each team and that group of students will have the following classes together: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. All band and chorus students will be contained in two teams; otherwise, students are chosen randomly. SSR will remain in place, but the teachers on each team can decide when they want it.

Because the teachers of each team need to be together, many room assignments will be changed, eliminating the themed hallways, such as the "English wing" (upper C). This also means that class hallways could become extinct because there will be teams in all of the hallways except for the language hall (lower B). If lockers are assigned as they are now, then Spirit Week can go on as it has. If not, it may be a little dificult, as freshman teams will dominate nearly every wing. Many teachers will have to move from the rooms that they have taught in for years simply because that room has been designated for a team other than the one the teacher is in.

If a student needs to be in a class that is outside his or her team, it should not be a problem. For instance, if an eighth grade student took algebra and wants to move on to geometry their freshman year, they can do that. Likewise, if a student is not ready to take algebra as a freshman, they can take a lower level course. In that aspect, things will not change.

The main reason the administration is planning on this program is because it should help teachers get to know their students better by giving them fewer classes to teach. Another reason is so that teachers do not feel as alienated in the teaching process. Each of the teachers will have a planning period every other day so they can work together for the students' benefit. Each student will continue to have a personalized learning plan so they can get what they want out of the school. Hopefully, this will be a success benefiting both students and teachers. There seems to be some opposition to the plans, especially in concern to the room arrangements. Somehow, it does not seem neccessary for the teachers to move or do away with "themed" hallways. They could still meet every other day even if their classes were not held next door to each other. Because of the way our school is set up, it seems to make sense to have it the way it is now: each wing containing a subject. In reality, the teams won't change much; freshmen are usually within their class in basic subjects anyway. It seems as though the team system will only complicate things without many benefits, although it is expected to help students feel more in touch with the school system and therefore encourage them to do well in school. Since it is only for freshmen, there is the possibility that it could isolate them even more from the rest of the school, as far as integration into the high school goes. It is early in the process of implementing these plans, so we cannot expect to know much yet. If all goes well, the staff and administration will get all the marvelous things they are expecting from this endeavor. If not, hey-- I'm a senior.