- What does "House" mean in educational terms?
A "House" consists of classrooms ranging from K-5
grades. Designated hallways and wings of
the building will each contain a "House" of classes from grades
K-5. This format of the way the classes
are laid out in the building is different from the traditional way schools have
arranged grade levels since moving away from the one house school room. Each house will be identified using the
colors: red, green, blue, yellow, and purple.
The "House" name and concept was developed by Ron Clark, an
innovative educator who runs his own Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. He uses the Harry Potter theme for his
houses; we will use a different theme.
Our "Houses" will be identified by colors. Our houses will be heterogeneously balanced
with multi-leveled learners.
- Will each "House" have the same schedule throughout the school day?
Yes, each "House" will have the same block of time
on their schedule for each academic area as well as lunch, recess, and
Specials. This allows two things to
happen to benefit students. First, it
allows "House" teachers to have a common planning time to plan
together twice a week and vertically align the curriculum from K-5th
grades. Vertical Alignment planning
consists of each teacher in each grade level of the "House" planning instruction together using their
grade level TEKS (Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills – Curriculum).
During the planning, teachers will be collaborating with each other, the
Instructional Coach, and Administrators on how they teach each concept and what
they need from the grade level below in
order to bridge the gaps in curriculum.
This planning approach will help to narrow the gaps between one grade
level to the next. This type of planning
will ensure that purposeful instruction aligned to multi-leveled TEKS is
happening on a weekly basis in every "House." Secondly, since all teachers in the
"House" have the same blocks of time scheduled for
academics/instruction, students within the "House" will be allowed to
fluidly move amongst their "House" for higher level instruction or
for remediation. This approach allows
for more individualized instruction for every student. Since students in every class will travel to
different classrooms at different times, no student will stand out or feel
different. Teachers in each
"House" will identify themselves as a "House" teacher, not
a grade level teacher. This will
alleviate any concerns students may have about spending time in other classes
within their "House."
- How will the "House" Concept work with special programs such as: G.T., Special Education, 504, and E.S.L.?
All special programs will be served by each
"House." Students who are in a special program will be serviced
throughout each "House." So,
any accommodations or modifications will be given to every teacher in the
"House" to use with the students who are identified under a special
program.
- Will multi-age children be grouped together for Specials and Recess?
No, students will be grouped together with their age
appropriate peers. We have three
playgrounds that will be utilized during recess for grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5. The same type of grouping formula will be
used during Special's Time.
- Will my child get to play and socialize with peers their own age from other classrooms in different "Houses?"
Yes, every 7th day, each grade level will have
Special's time together while their grade level teachers plan grade level
instruction with their team of teachers – not "House" team. In education terms, this is the time where
grade level teachers will horizontally align the grade level curriculum and
plan instruction together. In addition
to the students' normal recess time on the 7th day, students will
get an additional 30 minutes of recess time every 7 days at the beginning of
Specials. After 30 minutes of recess,
students will go to an enrichment class of their choice with a Special's
teacher. Each enrichment class will last
9 weeks. At the end of the 9 weeks,
students may change their enrichment class choice.
- Will every teacher in a "House" be certified to teach grades K-5?
Every MRE teacher is highly qualified to teach on the
Elementary Level in each "House."
Our Fifth grade teachers are certified to teach up to 6th
grade with some having certifications that span all the way to 12th
grade. They know what the expectations
are for students to be prepared for 6th grade. Although 5th graders will not have
the advantage of moving up a grade level for higher level instruction, our 5th
grade teachers can provide this type of instruction through Enrichment,
Curriculum Compacting and Product Based Learning.
- Will the Curriculum at MRE change?
No, the curriculum will not change. We will continue to teach using the
curriculum the state requires us to use – TEKS.
The acronym TEKS means – Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Our school district aligned the TEKS into
what we currently use as our scope and sequence – MAC -Montgomery Aligned
Curriculum. The only change that will
happen is with the planning of instruction and how it will be delivered.
- Will this approach socially benefit my child?
Yes, but in a good way.
Students who experience the benefit of learning in a "House"
learn how to socialize with children younger and older. This prepares them for Jr. High, High School,
and the real world. Younger students
look up to the older students and begin to pick up academic/higher level learning
vocabulary that they will retain at a younger age. The older children will be allowed to model
and teach the younger ones. This builds
character traits, teaches compassion, patience, and empathy. It is a well-known fact that the best way to
retain a skill is to teach it to someone else.
- What is the purpose of students staying in the same "House" from Kindergarten through 5th grade?
The "House" concept encourages the development of
lifelong relationships with peers and teachers.
Well renown educator Ruby Payne says, "The single most important
thing a teacher should do first is build a relationship with every
student. Kids don't want to learn from
people they don't like."
"House Teachers" will have a lot of opportunity to get to know
all of the students through various activities throughout the day. They will see students in morning house
meetings, lunch time, and while students are moving within the house for higher
level instruction and remediation. It
will be the goal of every teacher in the house to get to know all students in
the house by name. Since our students
will become very familiar and comfortable with each teacher, transitioning from
one year to the next will be easier for our students and our teachers since
they will already know each other. This
means our teachers in each house will already know their personalities,
learning modalities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Teachers won't have to spend the first
several months of school learning their students. Instead, purposeful instruction can begin
immediately.
- Can siblings be together within the same"House."
Yes! We encourage
it. Parents may request for siblings to
be in the same "House." This will be an advantage for parents because
it will enable them to go on a field trip with all of their children at one
time. Parents can come up for lunch and
eat with all of their children at once.
House parties will make it more convenient for parents to attend all of
their children's parties within a reasonable time period. "House" expectations will be
consistent with every child in the "House."
- Can parents request a change for the next school year if they are unhappy with their child's "House" assignment?
Yes, at the end of the year a parent may request a
"House" change if they feel it wasn't a fit for their child. Parents may not request a specific teacher or
"House" color.
- How will the "House" concept be evaluated for effectiveness?
We will use our
academic data throughout the year to measure success of the house concept. This will be done by using beginning, middle,
and end of the year data in Reading, Writing, Math, and Science. This data will be compared to our data from
previous years. We expect to see some
progress by the end of the first year, but as with any new approach, we feel it
will take 3-5 years to see big outcomes.
In addition to academic performance as a measurement tool, we will also
be monitoring how the approach itself is working with students and staff. My Assistant Principal, Instructional Coach
and I will be involved in the planning at each "House" planning
meeting. Teachers will be able to give
us feedback on the operation side with schedules, student transitions, house
concerns, etc. Anything that needs to be
tweaked or changed can be discussed during this time. Teacher feedback is vital for growth.
- How does E-Tracks/SEM fit into "Houses?"
E-Track/School Wide
Enrichment Model is not going away. We
believe that every child should develop their interest and discover their
passions. It is our job to help them
uncover their gift. Instead of grade
level E-Track sessions, we will have "House" E-Track Sessions.
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