Education S.F. Schools Trend Toward Customized Curricula

By JOHN SENA

Several efforts under way to transform traditional facilities into subject-focused magnets

By John Sena

The New Mexican

If your child thinks math is boring, Ellen Perez might have an answer.

Say you’re really interested in being “green” and want your kids to be, too —

John Goekler and Brian Skeele might be your men.

Traditional middle schools or high schools aren’t quite your cup of tea? Robin Chavez is working on something for you, too.

All of them are part of a budding movement in the Santa Fe Public Schools to provide more choices for parents and students.

They all want to start magnet schools — facilities that choose a specific focus to attract students and offer a unique curriculum. And they all hope to open these schools in the next two years.

“We’re rolling forward,” said Perez, principal at Larragoite Elementary School. “We actually have a five-year plan.”

Perez is working with her staff and outside partners to establish a math, science and technology magnet where the focus would be on teaching how those subjects are used in the real world.

Annette Youngren, a teacher at the school who is getting her master’s degree in math, is helping Perez to establish curriculum and get the rest of the staff on board with the project.

The school’s goal, Youngren said, is to show kids the practical application of math and science and get them excited about those subjects. That is especially important in New Mexico, she said, because some of the highest-paying jobs in the state are driven by math and science.

Perez is already working with two University of New Mexico professors to help develop curriculum. The school is also partnering with New Mexico Highlands University. As part of the partnership, education students will student-teach at Larragoite, and university staff will provide professional development for Larragoite teachers, Perez said.

The school has also been chosen by a national marketing firm to receive free marketing services, she said.

The school would be open to students living in its enrollment zone first, and then a lottery would be held for any remaining spots. Students who don’t want to attend the magnet school in their enrollment zone would be able to transfer to another nearby school.

Currently, Perez is working to complete a magnet school application that must be approved by the school board. The first draft of the application is due in November, and, if approved, the magnet would begin operation in fall 2009.

Goekler and Skeele are spearheading a sustainability and environmental science magnet effort at Alvord Elementary.

The two started pushing for the magnet this spring, when Alvord was threatened with closure. Their efforts prompted the school board not to close the school.

Now they’re working with new Principal Karen Sneiders to complete the magnet application and make their ideas more concrete.

Some of those ideas include more expeditionary and hands-on learning, as well as a school garden or greenhouse where students can grow their own food, Goekler said.

By using exercises like the greenhouse, Skeele said, students also get to see a living demonstration of biology and other academic subjects. The school could also serve as a place for teens and adults to learn about sustainability, he added.

Like Larragoite, the Alvord magnet school would accept students from its enrollment zone first, with a lottery for any remaining spots.

Sneiders said she will get more input from staff before completing the draft application, but she is hoping to have a more detailed plan for the school by January.

Robin Chavez, principal at Alameda Middle School, is also working to flesh out her idea for a 7-12 magnet school there.

If Alameda became a magnet school, it would likely change its name, officials said, and would accept applications from across the district. No students would be zoned to attend Alameda.

To accommodate more students and unique programs, the school would also have to undergo major renovations, Chavez said.

The school would use a computer-based curriculum — to allow students to catch up or get ahead — in conjunction with academic and art electives aimed at engaging students in the curriculum, Chavez said.

The idea, Chavez said, is to make academics as relevant and exciting as art or music programs.

Officials have also thought about using the magnet concept for long-term suspended or expelled students, who currently have no place to go, she said.

Because of the need for renovations, a magnet school at Alameda likely would not open until fall of 2010, Chavez said.

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