LWL Learning Territory: Fall 2013 Edition

A Community of Care

Safety Patrol, family engagement embody evolution of community building at LWL

One morning in January, just before the start of the school day, a car sat double-parked in front of Learning Without Limits. Not out of the ordinary in the rush of parents dropping off students for school. But when the car began to roll backwards down the hill – with no driver behind the wheel – things were quickly and dangerously no longer typical.

LWL Safety Patrol members line up for duty

Immediately, six parents, along with Positive Climate Coach E.W. Wainwright, rushed into the street and literally held the car from rolling any further downhill. Just at that moment, 4th-grade teacher Manny Herrera drove his car up behind the vehicle, stopping it for good, fender to bumper. After calling AAA, Herrera made it back to his classroom in time to start the morning with his students.

"That display of heroism on the part of our parents and teachers was so great to see," recalls Principal Leo Fuchs. Moments like this, he says, are representative of "a creation of community" that embodies these words in the Learning Without Limits vision: We grow into leaders who are passionate and care about making our world better.

Inspired by that incident, students got into the act as well, founding the first LWL Safety Patrol (pictured above), whose members are out in front of the building every morning. As one Patrol leader says, "It feels great to be on the Safety Patrol because we get to keep other kids safe. It's important for us to look out for each other." For their valor, the Safety Patrol recently was awarded a trophy by the Oakland Police Department.

As with so many efforts at LWL, the Safety Patrol is supported by families, with Maria Sanchez (mother of then 5th-grader Lian) leading the way. Families have become even more deeply involved this year, particularly through our Family Leadership Committee, which meets weekly to discuss the issues most critical to them and the school. "They're all there together at the parent level, supporting each other and giving important feedback that helps our school community evolve and support our students' learning in the most positive way," says Fuchs. "What an amazing family LWL is and has become." 

Blended Learning Pilot Steers LWL Into Future

As Learning Without Limits students are well aware, technology is not going anywhere. Or, probably more accurately, it's going everywhere. And it's clearly here to stay, on LWL's campus. Through a new Blended Learning initiative, LWL staff and students are harnessing computer-based learning to accelerate both Math and English Language Arts achievement.

Blended Learning in action at LWL

Piloted last year in the 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms of Ryan Kiesel, Tess O'Brien, and Manny Herrera – and with the support our technology lead Alix Black – Blended Learning unites online assessments and lessons with traditional teaching to make instruction both personalized and data-driven, to maximize small-group teaching, and to boost students' ownership of their learning.

After scouting Blended Learning programs at other Bay Area schools, last March Herrera and staff launched a version that best suits LWL. It works like this: After teaching the entire classroom a specific lesson for 15 minutes, all the students call up an "exit ticket" (or assessment) on their laptops. (Herrera's room is now outfitted with a laptop per student.)

In the days of paper and pencil assessments, students' mastery (or lack of it) might not be known until, at the earliest, the end of the school day, when a teacher had the time to look through them. But with Blended Learning, Herrera can see where each student stands on the skill being tested, immediately after they've completed the exit ticket. Herrera is also able to show the entire class the percentage of students who performed well, which creates a team-like culture in the room.

Those who ace the skill go on to use the adaptive software, which meets each student at their level and allows them to access increasingly challenging material. While this personalized, independent work is going on, Herrera is able to work directly with very small groups of students, "reteaching" the skill based on their specific misunderstanding of the material. 

This real-time assessment and targeted teaching, says Herrera, is "what's really powerful about Blended Learning. This way, I'm able to figure it all out, right there in the moment, and deliver individualized support to the students who need it. And for the kids who master the skill right away, they are able to use the adaptive software and are being challenged at a rate that wasn't possible before." After this step, students then take a second exit ticket to reassess their knowledge of the skill being taught. "It's exciting when we get to see our [collective] score the second time," explains 4th-grader Dominic. "When we do well, like 80 percent or higher, everyone is like, 'Yes!!' We're all proud, and it motivates us to do well again the next time."

Dominic and his classmate Jennifer don't usually improve from one exit to ticket to the next — but this is because they regularly get it right the first time. They both appreciate the adaptive software that then allows them to advance through more challenging lessons. "I like that you can just go faster and faster through things," explains Jennifer. "You go up through each level and the program keeps challenging you to do better and better."

The kids also understand the importance of using technology in general, when they think down the road. "It's important for us to use technology," says Dominic, "because if you don't know how to do some of this stuff in the future, you might not be able to move on in life. Understanding technology can help us do better in college and get jobs we really want to get."

As for the future of Blended Learning at LWL, Herrera and other staff are eager to take this model and move it into other grades, starting with 2nd and 3rd grade, then on into kindergarten and 1st grade. Also, he says, "We want to move toward kids not just consuming technology, but being producers, using higher levels of technology to show their learning through PowerPoint, video, and other advanced tools."

Blended Learning at Home
Students can now use adaptive software online for extra practice! Families, visit www.lwlelementary.org and click the "LWL LAUNCH PAGE" link under the "Students & Families" tab. 

Support Learning Without Limits!

In a state that spends roughly $3,000 less per student than the national average, funding ambitious initiatives like Blended Learning requires equally ambitious fundraising.

You can help! Please consider a tax-deductible donation to support our technology-based Blended Learning and other key programs at LWL. You can donate online at www.lwlelementary.org or by mail to: "OSF/LWL," PO Box 27148, Oakland, CA 94602. Thank you!

You can download a printable PDF of this newsletter here. 

The Elmhurst Beat: Fall 2013

Opportunities Abound: Apprenticeships Expand and Evolve at Elmhurst

“When you first open something up, it makes you more interested.”

7th-grader Silia is talking literally – about dissecting a frog – but taken more broadly, her statement could just as easily describe Elmhurst Community Prep’s entire Citizen Schools Apprenticeship program. When presented with new opportunities, students immerse themselves in those new experiences.

Such was the case with Dr. Gina Westhoff’s “Dissect Like a Doctor” apprenticeship. An oncologist at Stanford University, Westhoff brought both her medical expertise and a middle-school teacher background to the class, giving students the chance to dissect a flower, an earthworm, a frog, and a fetal pig. They even learned surgical techniques, performing an actual suture on a pig’s foot.

“I really wanted to frame this as a serious medical apprenticeship,” explains Westhoff. “In med school, you take the Hippocratic Oath when you graduate. We had each kid read the Oath on the first day and put on a lab coat to introduce them to our mini-profession, as student doctors.” As 7th-grader Julio puts it, “We actually got to go and do what real doctors do. Once we learned the basics, we got more and more into it.”
 

The truly hands-on – or “hands in!” as one student said – nature of the lessons left a deep impression. “By dissecting animals like a frog or fetal pig, you really get to learn, up close, about animal and human anatomy in a new way,” says 7th-grader Nicole.
 

The experience also had a compassionate effect on the kids. “Seeing their organs, you realize animals are so similar to us,” says Julio. “So we could relate to the animals.” Silia takes it a step further: “I want to become a veterinarian now!”
 

“Dr. Westhoff is a great teacher,” says 7th-grader Josue. “She makes the lessons so fun. This apprenticeship also helped us cooperate with others and share our ideas and philosophies.” 

“The apprenticeship was such a great opportunity for me to interact with kids and show them what I love,” says Westhoff. “Seeing their excitement and energy makes me feel like I’m doing something right and something good. Science can be really powerful, because students get to take ownership of their learning through hands-on, real-world experience. This has been a great way to get kids engaged in science and biology and highlight careers in medicine.”
 

The young scientists have clearly thought that far down the road. “If you get into a college class or career that has to do with dissecting or understanding organs,” reflects Julio, “we won’t be nervous because we already know a lot." 

"Our Drills Will Knock You Out!"

“Our Citizen Schools apprenticeships focused on a range of enrichment and acceleration,” says Principal Kilian Betlach. “We had students being taught science by a Stanford doctor, and then within our closer community, we had a student’s auntie teach our Drill Team.”

“It was my niece [6th-grader Ashanique] who got me into this,” says Drill Team Leader Shanisha Matlock. “It felt great that she thought of me to come in and teach something at her school.”

During Elmhurst’s spring WOW! event, Matlock’s troupe provided the dramatic finale to an evening of amazing performances, from a rendition of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” to a student-led fashion show. Filing onto the stage in perfectly disciplined fashion, the team did not disappoint the standing-room only audience.

“We scream, we shout, our drills will knock you out!” the students exclaimed in unison, with Matlock directing from in front of the stage. “It felt amazing to see them onstage performing,” reflects Matlock. “It felt so good to be able to teach them something and watch them show me – and the audience – exactly how it’s done. They did great, and they were so proud to hear everybody cheering and screaming.”

“I was nervous at first because there were so many people in the crowd,” says 6th-grade Drill Team member Lanesha, who was also co-emcee for the entire WOW! event. “But we knew we had practiced so much with Ms. Shanisha that we didn’t need to feel nervous anymore. We showed a lot of unity onstage, followed her directions, never gave up on each other, and performed as a team.

Blended Learning Debuts

While technology has always been a focus at ECP, the school continues to break new ground with the ways students are learning and demonstrating understanding. Elmhurst was one of just two OUSD middle schools selected to participate in the Rogers Family Foundation Blending Learning Pilot. Here, ECP students and staff use online tools like Achieve3000, Khan Academy, and Manage High to personalize their learning and raise achievement. In English class, students use Google Docs to share and edit their essays; in History, they participate in online simulations and role-playing games to deepen their knowledge of the Colonial period and the Civil War; in Math, students are able to complete activities that are targeted for just what they need to practice.

This year, almost half of ECP’s classes — including the entire 8th grade — will feature technology integration as a key component of our instructional program. We are working to guarantee at least one Chromebook for every two students, so that teachers can differentiate curriculum and students can rapidly improve their knowledge and skills. “We believe the use of technology is a key part of closing the opportunity gap and preparing young people for college and career,” says principal Kilian Betlach.

Support Our Scholars!

In a state that spends roughly $3,000 less per student than the national average, public schools like ours must appeal to the wider community for support. Science is just one area where we could use more resources. “Science can be hard to fund at schools,” says “Dissect Like a Doctor” volunteer Gina Westhoff. “That means really good hands-on classes are hard to come by. For that reason, kids aren’t always able to see how science relates to the real world or what it would look like if they wanted to pursue it. Given hands-on experience in middle school, they may look to science as something to pursue in the future.”

To help give our students the resources they deserve – like hands-on science tools and materials – please consider a tax-deductible donation online at
www.elmhurstcommunityprep.org or by mail: “OSF/Elmhurst,” P.O. Box 27148, Oakland, CA 94602.
 

Thank you!