Q+&+A

Questions ( and answers ) regarding the Gateway Secondary School

Question: What grades will this school serve? ANSWER: This school will serve students in grades 6 and 7 for the 2010-11 school year and grow by one grade level per year until 2013-14 when it will serve grades 6-10 -- the five years that make up the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.

Question: How are students served in this school who might be working "above grade level" in certain subjects? ANSWER: ​ One of the main differences between IB-MYP and all other models of middle schooling is the emphasis on //**depth**// over breadth. For that reason, many students who find traditional course work easy or less-challenging, find significant challenge and enrichment through learing in an IB school. The notion of grade-level acceleration in single subject areas is not consistent with MYP's holistic and inclusive framework. The only area where students are allowed to study at an "advanced" level is in mathematics toward the final years of the MYP (grades 8, 9, 10) and this must still be the IB-version of what is called Extended Mathematics. Students experiencing Extended Mathematics would remain with their community of learners across all 7 remaining IB subject areas. We would staff the Gateway School with teachers qualified to deliver MYP Extended Mathematics when we have students ready for that level of study. Services for identified Gifted and Talented learners in this school would come primarily through professional development delivered by G/T consultants to teachers in all subject areas in the interest of challenging a wide range of learners.

Question: What types of extra curricular activites will be available to students in this school? Will they have the option to go to another school to participate in extra curricular activities there? ANSWER: Students will have opportunities to pursue activities of interest to them as part of the culture of this school. Perhaps different than other schools, students will be expected to take a __leadership role__ in the organization and delivery of these opportunities. We will begin working on these options once the students come together for the first days of school. Within a short time, we plan to have a series of after-school/after-hours short-term and long-term activities planned with student input. A starting point would be the discussion tab on the home page of this wiki. Please encourage your learner to post to this tab and pay special attention to the need for their role in leading and organizing these activities. Students may always particiate in events that take place at other middle schools, but parents should be aware that these are not always district-sponsored events. Often they are events held at the middle schools, but organized by outside agencies. No transportation will be provided to students participating in events at other schools. Parents should also research which activities are actually offered to 6th graders at other middle schools, as many are limited to 8th graders.

Question: How does this new school relate to the IB Diploma Programme at Central Academy? ANSWER: The plan is for this school to grow one grade each year until the 2013-14 school year when it will serve students from grades 6-10. At that point, 10th graders will be well-prepared for the coursework offered through the Diploma Programme offered next door at Central Academy if they so choose. They will also have had interactions with many of the instructors from that Programme, as many will also teach MYP courses at the 9th and 10th grade level. The IB curriculum framework is from PK-12th grade, so there should not be concerns about gaps in preparation provided that the student experienced the full MYP. Even students who only participate in 9th and 10th grade MYP are in a good position to realize all the benefits from the Diploma Programme.

ANSWER:Mostly teacher-created assessments, but these will be aligned with the MYP "Aims and Objectives" for the 8 subject areas. Students will also be expected to take certain district-created literacy, math and science assessments as well as ITBS. Students will receive letter grades in this school, but these grades will be communicated along with the standards that are set for each subject area for each grade level.
 * Question:What type of assessments will be used to determine achievement level and what grading system  will be used?

Question: Will the students be allowed to progress according to their abilities, grade levels, scores? In other words if they are advance in certain areas will they be allowed to proceed to the next grade level in that particular subject or challenged in that subject matter? ANSWER:All students should find MYP challenging. The depth of study into broader concepts, rather than narrow content areas is what creates opportunities for challenge for all students, particularly those who have already grasped what we would consider to be "basic" skills. There will be no grade-level acceleration in any subject area, as that is inconsistent with IB standards and practices for MYP and generally inconsistent with adolescent child development theory. Teachers will engage in professional development to continue to improve in the ways that they reach learners of all abilities. For example, students at the Gateway School will not take courses at Central Academy as many other 8th graders currently do, as those are not IB offerings.

Question: Once the student has completed this "middle" school curriculum, where do they go to finish their last two years? ANSWER:The MYP is a 6th-10th grade model. Gateway will be the only school to offer the full 5 years of MYP. Students at Gateway for 6th - 8th grade may continue there for the last two years of MYP, or they may choose to enroll in a comprehensive high school -- much better prepared for the challenges of high-level course work if they so choose. Students who stay with Gateway through 10th grade should also have a significant interest and solid preparation for the Diploma Programme at Central Academy, offered to 11th and 12th graders.

Question:Is this curriculum set up in a traditional class schedule or is it block classes? For example an hour and a half for each subject for one semester then classes change the next quarter. ANSWER:Academics will be blocked at this school at the start. That may change over time. Science and math will be in one extended block and Language Arts/Humanities will be in the other. Teachers will use discretion as to how much of each block to use to focus on single subjects and how much to use in integrating the subjects.

Question: How much feedback do the student's parents get on progress is it every 6 weeks, 8 weeks, semester? ANSWER: We'll discuss this with the newly-hired staff when we start meeting later this month. Of course, with the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus, you should be able to get almost real-time updates on progress. Right now middle schools report quarterly. My guess is that parents would advocate for more, rather than less, feedback. ||