By Diana Whittle
While many school districts across the state struggle to offer electives to middle-school students, the Kyrene district is announcing an expansion, in both the number of choices and the frequency of the exploratory classes, for this academic year, 2016-17.
The change is due to a recent decision by the Governing Board to boost the number of subject choices offered and to allow an additional elective period for middle-school students between the sixth to eighth grades, says Jim Verrill, Kyrene’s director of curriculum and learning services.
“Our students are lucky to have the support of the Kyrene Governing Board and the community to provide an education that supports the whole child,” said Verrill.
He says the increased emphasis on elective classes represents sound educational practice, both academically and developmentally.
“The middle-school years, ages 11-13, are a critical stage in a child’s development. By offering the chance to experience and explore subjects beyond Language Arts and Math, we help prepare our students for high school and then college, when they will be asked to hone their interests and ultimately develop a career path,” said Verrill.
Governing Board President Bernadette Coggins agrees that expanding the electives choices for students was valuable.
“When we were forced to make reductions to the middle school electives schedule, I made a commitment to the community and to our students to restore the full five-day schedule as soon as possible. With the passage of Prop 123, the board felt it was important to make this a priority.
“Having the ability to pursue an interest in fine arts, physical education or STEM is what keeps them engaged in their learning.”
Coggins also noted that the expansion will broaden students’ appreciation, even if they don’t pursue what they’ve learned into later life.
“Electives allow students to dance, create, move and think—to sing with a group or act out in an appropriate way, to paint, get messy and build something with their own hands. Students have a chance to experiment and apply knowledge with hands-on projects.”
Verrill says the middle-school years are a time educationally when students should be introduced to a wider variety of electives—even if they decide they aren’t interested in a particular subject long-term.
“We see electives as a chance for youngsters to broaden their horizons, try new things and begin to find their niche. If we nurture students in an area that excites them, it meets the overall goal of increasing their interest in learning and their confidence in succeeding academically in all subjects.”
Students in the fifth grade are given an elective preference sheet and can still select from traditional electives, such as a variety of music classes, including band, chorus and orchestra; visual arts; Spanish and theater.
Several examples of new middle-school elective offerings include coding and web design at Kyrene Middle School; advanced band and chorus at some schools, along with a STEAMD engineering class at Aprende, Akimel A-al and Altadeña.
As technology starts to dominate our culture and our schools—including our teaching strategies—the chance to allow students to use their creativity and to pursue interests is very important, says Verrill.
“Kyrene still offers after-hours clubs, or extra-curricular activities, which can meet before or after school and give students another opportunity to explore ways to complete community service or to develop hobbies.”
Currently, opportunities vary by school, but may include yearbook, National Junior Honor Society, jazz and wind ensemble, Friends of Rachel, intramurals, theater, annual science or astronomy nights, debate club, book club, running club and more.
