By Amanda Flitter
Staff Writer
November 10, 2008 05:50 am MANCHESTER — Parents who had expressed concerns about sixth-grade science teaching methods at Memorial School in Manchester were heard loud and clear by administration. Superintendent Marcia O'Neil has announced that, beginning the week of Nov. 17, science and social studies will be taught in alternating units throughout the year. Science will also be taught during an enrichment block each week and will be infused and connected with other topics the students are studying. Units will be about a month in length. At Essex Elementary, where science and social studies are taught throughout the year, there will be no changes, and O'Neil said the time spent on science in both schools is the same. The decision, announced at a School Committee meeting last week, was made following a meeting with sixth-grade teachers and administrators. Originally, social studies was going to be taught intensively for the first half of the year, and science was going to be taught intensively for the second half of the year. But during a School Committee meeting last month parents, came forward with concerns and questions about the lack of daily science. O'Neil also said the district began work this summer to develop other areas of the science curriculum after determining sixth-grade science was heavy on life science. She said she is planning to bring sixth-grade teachers together to look at how to compact life science so they can spend more time on areas such as space and technology. Curriculum director Scott Morrison said the district is working on bringing teachers together so they can share effective science teaching methods. Committee member Ann Cameron expressed the importance of having equality between Essex Elementary and Memorial, especially with sixth grades across the district moving into the new middle high school building next year. She said it is important to bring the kids into the middle school with the same tools. "The reality is that there are two different things going on in two different schools," she said. O'Neil pointed out there is a way to have equality without the same teaching method. "There are different ways to get to the same point," she said. "There are different ways to integrate the curriculum." Committee members questioned how equality between the two schools and the success of teaching models could be measured. O'Neil suggested the option of using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests as a gauge. Currently, the district is working to improve its overall science scores, which tended to be lower than the math and English scores. However, she pointed out there are many factors, such as time and intensity level, to account for when comparing the schools' results. The importance of hands-on instruction in science was also mentioned during the meeting, and O'Neil said the district is looking for opportunities for this type of instruction as well. Amanda Flitter can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com
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