Instruction influences school design

The Whitefish School District is constructing a new high school and along with it developing a new curriculum intended to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

Parents, students and community members attended a tour of the new school building Feb. 11 and learned about how teaching and learning techniques have changed and influenced the school’s design.

The changes are part of the school district’s strategic goals that call for instruction to be set in a foundation of providing a relevant and rigorous education.

“We are building a learning community of excellence,” Principal Kerry Drown told the crowd of about 300 gathered in the gymnasium.

Smaller tour groups traveled through the current school building, a saw the already remodeled areas, such as the gymnasium and locker rooms. In the new school that is still under construction, the focus was not only on pointing out the new cafeteria and library, but also providing an overview of the vision for learning.

Superintendent Kate Orozco said the building has been designed with education in mind.

“We don’t think of learning as kids sitting in desks in a row,” she said. “We want students to be able to gather and collaborate.”

Small gathering areas outside classrooms have been designed to create a space for student groups to come together to work on projects. Orozco pointed to another example of instruction influencing design — the student store is attached to the business classroom with the intent that the business students will operate the store.

Teacher Todd Spangler spoke about how new science classrooms will benefit learning through flexibility, safety and storage. Tables will be the same height as lab stations, allowing for rooms to be configured to accommodate labs.

“We’ll be able to have huge work spaces which is important for physics,” he said. “A beam through the center of classroom will allow us to attach pulleys to it. We’ll have dedicated chemical storage that can be locked up.”

Teacher Colleen Sullivan talked about the improvement in infrastructure in the science classrooms compared to what is currently being used.

“I have one cold water sink now for my biology class and we have to roll out extra outlets,” she said. “It will be exciting to have electricity and water at every lab station.”

The second-floor library serves as the hub of the school. Hallways branch out from the center point to house classrooms.

Activities Director Aric Harris described the wings of the school as interdisciplinary.

“Not all the science classrooms and not all the English classrooms will be together,” he said. “The classes will be intermixed to encourage collaboration between subjects.”

Inside unfinished classrooms with bare drywall, teachers shared their vision for instruction in the new school.

One group of teachers shared their plans for a new course they hope to offer. The “food systems and societies” class would look at food as it connects to science, culture and society.

Teacher Eric Sawtelle gave an example of a potential learning project that would focus on tea. Students would learn about tea from a number of perspectives, including the science of growing tea and the cultural significance of tea around the world. English classes could write business proposals for selling tea that is grown in the classroom.

“We can tie in this one idea with all of the core curriculum,” he said. “We will have the space to expand learning beyond the classroom.”

Teacher Jacquie Gaertner noted that teachers have been training and working together to create new curriculum that create ways to make connections across subjects.

“Learning in isolation is a shame because there is so many crossovers,” she said.

To facilitate changes in instruction, the district is looking at a switch to a block schedule.

The school board last month made the decision to support continuing efforts to create longer class periods. Currently students have 48-minute classes. A block schedule would involve 90-minute classes.

The schedule change is expected to provide for deeper instruction and open up opportunities for more labs, projects and collaborative learning.

Concerns were raised about how the change might effect the quality of the music programs at the school.

The school is still working to determine exactly what that schedule would look like. A minimum of two alternative schedules is expected to be completed in March with a board vote made in April. If approved, the new student schedule would be ready in May.

Trustee Shawn Watts noted that the construction project along with changes to instruction and the schedule are all part of bringing about the district’s goals for education.

“We’re hoping the physical space in the classroom and more time with extended learning times will support that,” he said.