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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Learning transition: East Valley students are first class in district revamp

They are studying subjects typical to seventh-graders – reading “The Outsiders” and thinking about the differences between what is socially acceptable now and in 1967, when the book was written.

They are reading the newspaper and talking about current events.

They have new freedoms as middle-schoolers, but also new responsibilities as they grow into young adults.

They are meeting new friends from throughout the district and settling into new school schedules.

“Mr. Russell says we have to be mature about it,” said Brookelynn Goodwater, 12, talking about the changes in their day-to-day lives.

Seventh-graders at East Farms STEAM Magnet School in the East Valley School District – and their counterparts throughout the district – are in a new position as the district revamps how it teaches its middle-school-age students. The seventh-graders are the first class of “homegrown” middle-schoolers at East Farms, which emphasizes science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.Two years ago, these students were fifth-graders, expecting to attend Mountain View Middle School in the sixth grade. The district decided that year to change the way it taught its middle school students, opting to keep them at their neighborhood elementary schools through the eighth grade and closing Mountain View. East Valley Middle School is now the Middle Level Learning Center, where seventh- and eighth-grade students will participate in enrichment or exploratory classes.

This year there are new portable classrooms for the school’s 55 seventh-graders. They spend their mornings learning core subjects before getting on the bus for a 10-minute ride to the Middle Level Learning Center, where they take classes such as physical education and music or art with the current eighth-graders.

“I think it’s going great,” said East Farms Principal Tammy Fuller. She said there have been a few glitches – lockers at the middle school are always a challenge during the first few days of school, as well as finding the right bus at the end of the day – but the students are responding well to their new environments.

Fuller said the students benefit from being around teachers who have known them since they started kindergarten. She also said they benefit from having two principals looking out for them during the day. She works closely with Jim McAdam, principal of the middle school.

Each day is structured. One group of students begins the day in Chris Russell’s two-hour language arts and social studies block. After a 15-minute break, they head over to Angie Bordwell’s science and math class.

At noon, they get on the bus for the Middle Level Learning Center. There, they have lunch before moving on to their classes.

The physical education class right after lunch is the largest class during the day. Four teachers lead the class of 120 students – who come from the district’s four neighborhood schools. They are divided into smaller groups after attendance.

PE teacher Mark Chalich said it is wonderful to have all two and a half gyms full of students every day.

If students aren’t musically inclined – there are classes for choir, orchestra and band – they can take drama or art. McAdam calls these courses exploratory classes for students to find something they like.

While the school day ends at 2:20 p.m., many of the seventh-graders have signed up for after-school sports.

“I’ve been enjoying football after school,” said Jay Plunkett, an East Farms seventh-grader. He said school has been going well, although the first few days felt rushed when they arrived at the center, with not much time to eat lunch.

“Now we’re getting here earlier in time for lunch,” he said.

They are middle-schoolers in every way, and you could see the differences between them and the primary students during a fire drill Wednesday.

Size is the most obvious difference – compared to the seventh-graders, the primary students are tiny. Beyond that, both groups are managed differently by faculty and staff. While the primary students walk single-file to the playground during the fire drill, the older students quietly walk in groups. The primary teachers raise their hands to get their students’ attention, while Russell and Bordwell walk over to the students to talk to them as individuals.

Fuller said that last year the sixth-graders earned freedoms, much like students at a middle school would have.

“Middle school students don’t walk in lines,” Fuller said. They also don’t have to wait in the gym before their buses arrive; they can wait wherever they want as long as they are quiet.

Russell said that as the year progresses, his students will begin to make the change from being elementary students to more mature young adults. Fuller agrees.

“I think they are going to be just fine,” Fuller said.