Mixing it up in Montana

he practical tech lab houses nine of the bathroom shells, each mounted on wheels so they can be rolled to a sewer pipe to give the plumbing a true test. Students work diligently and cooperatively at each of the cubicles. The kids are enjoying themselves, and they are aware of what they are learning.

"Teamwork," says Nathan Velin as he, Danny Blakesley, and Ben VandeVen install fixtures in their bathroom. "We're learning how to share information, how to share credit, and not be selfish."

Blakesley says the students also must learn to work independently. "We're having to help ourselves and learn how to solve problems." Adds VandeVen: "This is just fun—everything about it. We're learning how to take care of a house."

The projects also require math skills, art, and science, including lessons on the type of wood used in the bathroom construction, where it grows, and the value of recycling materials. "I like learning new things each day," says Jessica Dutton. "If I ever own a house and it has a plumbing or electrical problem, I want to know how to fix it so I don't have to pay a lot of money. I could also earn money doing this kind of work."

So what's the story here? Is Hellgate, a rural school that nudges the Missoula city limits, merely teaching kids outdated skills in newfangled ways? Pounding nails and drilling holes are not exactly the skills of the 21st century. But critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and decisionmaking skills are all high on the list of lessons to be learned.

"The more you can give them that's real, the better they're going to learn," says Principal Terry Vanderpan. "These are things they'll be exposed to the rest of their lives."

Hellgate, one of a handful of U.S. Department of Education-designated Blue Ribbon Schools, is providing students a well-rounded education, steeped in the hands-on learning so strongly advocated by middle school reformers. Hellgate also provides cutting-edge technological opportunities to the more than 350 sixth- through eighth-grade students who attend the school that sits on the rim of the Hellgate Canyon.

"This is a pretty high-tech school," notes Vanderpan. "By the time these kids arrive here, they're computer literate." Across the parking lot from Hellgate Middle School, the district elementary school gets students on the early road to technology. The two schools are plunked down in the middle of high-plains range and agricultural land cradled by the Lolo and Bitterroot mountains. Each of the elementary classrooms has at least five computers and teachers trained in their use.

photo, students at computer stations

The middle school includes two computer labs, each with 30 computers. Vanderpan hopes to build the inventory by placing additional computers in classrooms. "There would be less disruption and less time lost going to and from the labs," he says.

Each of the Hellgate School District's 120 computers is networked with links to the world through the Internet. "Our kids are using Windows 95 and all the tricks that come with it," Vanderpan says. Teachers have had ongoing inservice in computer use, and a district partnership with a local bank provides them low-interest loans to purchase computer systems for home use. Chris Deister, a district teacher and local area network (LAN) manager, helps teachers set up and test their systems before taking them home. "We want to make sure that everyone knows how to work with the computers," he says.

Students also take their computer skills outside the school, where they have built home pages for several local nonprofit organizations and the University of Montana. "The technology is really a gateway," says Fred Arnold, a seventh-grade language arts teacher. "The theme in the seventh grade is to develop self-educators. The technology represents another lens on learning, another way of developing self-educators."

Technology Individualizes Learning
When a laser beam carrying a radio signal slinked its way down the halls and bounced around the corners of Hellgate Middle School before snaking into Vanderpan's office last year, the principal knew that students were behind the prank. It was, Vanderpan figures, further proof that Hellgate students were getting on top of technology.

"I knew the laser beam could happen," he says, "but the radio signal was something else. I was just sitting here when the music of Twisted Sister or one of those groups rides in on a laser. I couldn't believe it."

In Hellgate's vocational technology lab, students work in teams of two at any of 16 stations, each equipped with a computer, a television, and a VCR. The lab is a required elective for all seventh- and eighth-grade students. They work and learn at eight of the stations—which include robotics, computer-assisted drafting, desktop publishing, audio broadcasting, research and design, graphics and animation, and others—in each of the two years. Students build and test scale bridges; carve wooden cars; build and launch rockets; and use computers for problem solving, calculating, and designing.

In the vocational tech lab, teachers bookmark items they want students to read and learn about on the computer. In addition, students explore the Internet from their workstations and watch educational videos related to their topics.

The exploratories, says teacher Jay Ingalls, keep students excited about learning and give them exposure to a variety of skills. Students work at their own pace, do independent research, and rely on each other for assistance. Pretests provide teachers and students valuable information on areas of strengths and weaknesses. Students also answer five questions a day before taking a final test at the end of their work at each individual station. They then move on to another station, where they pair up with new partners. "This gives students a chance to get to know how they work with others," Ingalls says. "In their research, they're encouraged to cooperate and share information."

The key to the computer-assisted learning at Hellgate is that it allows students to explore and frees teachers to individualize learning. "We can have 30 kids in here, each of them working on something different," Ingalls says. "This is a time for them to find out what they like and what they don't like." The lessons, he adds, are provided in an environment that engages students. "These are the things that get kids excited about learning—when they can do something physical, something tangible," Ingalls says.

Team Teaching, Integrated Curriculum, and Financial Control
Hellgate Middle School first opened in its present building just three years ago, when it also shifted from a traditional junior high school curriculum to a middle school concept. However, the school board, Vanderpan, and teachers began planning for the transition years before. Moving from self-contained, 45-minute junior high classes—each with a different teacher teaching a different discipline—to the integrated curriculum, team-teaching, experiential middle school model would require training and time for teachers to adjust.

For the first two years of the transition, teachers learned about the middle school concept and organized a site-based council, Vanderpan says. Another year was spent planning the new building and implementing the middle school concept. When Hellgate Middle School opened in 1992, the transition was complete. It included interdisciplinary curriculum with thematic units; team teaching; cooperative learning groups; an advisory group; exploratory courses; daily individual and team planning periods; and a "no-cut" activity program for music, sports, and clubs. "We feel that every student needs to wear a Hellgate Hawk uniform," Vanderpan says. "They're going to get cut from a high school team soon enough; now is the time for them to participate."

The timing of the shift in philosophy and the need for more space was fortunate and complimentary, Vanderpan and John Lundt wrote in the November 1995 Middle School Journal. "As teachers experienced the frustration of trying to hold large-group activities in rooms designed for classes of 30 students, they were also involved in the process of designing a building that would directly address these very concerns."

An elected nine-member site-based council consisting of Vanderpan, a teacher from each grade level, the school counselor, a resource teacher, a parent, and others oversees operation of the school. Plans are in the works to add a student to the team next year.

Hellgate Middle School switched to a team concept when it opened three years ago. That year, several teachers also traveled to Boston. They joined teachers from 90 schools from across the country for a two-week institute that laid the foundation for team teaching, integrated units, collaborative projects, cross-curriculum focus, and other innovations. Hellgate was in the midst of transforming from a fifth- through eighth-grade junior high school to a sixth- through eighth-grade middle school. It patterned its new approach on Turning Points, Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century, by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. (See related story, Turning Points: Serving Students Well.)

Today, the school provides a hybrid of approaches. Sixth-graders spend five 45-minute class periods with one teacher, then go to the practical technology lab for their exploratory. Seventh- and eighth-grade students are members of teams consisting of math, science, social studies, and language arts teachers. Art and music teachers also work occasionally with integrated teams, but scheduling problems prevent them from being full team members.

Teachers determine curriculum, work on teams, collaborate on projects, and integrate teaching units to provide a cross-curriculum focus. In addition, they control the school's $30,000 discretionary fund. "There was a time when I had control of the finances," Vanderpan says. "Teachers would come to me and document their classroom needs. In my infinite wisdom, I'd look over their purchase orders and ask, 'Do you need this?' I really had no clue."

A teacher committee now reviews requests and decides how to allocate the $30,000. "They spend it so much more wisely than I do, so much more efficiently," Vanderpan says.

Sally Tibbs, the eighth-grade science teacher, says teachers feel respected and supported at Hellgate. "We have an enlightened school board, and that has made a big difference. They've promoted the changes here all along and helped pay for them. We also have control over our own materials and resources budget, which is nice," says Tibbs, a Hellgate teacher since 1981.

Teachers engaged in the management of their school as well as in the day-to-day lives of their students have been instrumental in the restructuring and success at Hellgate, Vanderpan says. "Teachers here have all the control," he notes. "In fact, that's one of the main reasons that this school has been so successful; the teachers have so much say in what they do."

For more information, contact Principal Terry Vanderpan, (406) 721-2452, or visit the Hellgate Middle School home page: http://www.hellgate.k12.mt.us/middle/default.htm.

Turning Points: Serving Students Well

Turning Points, Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century, by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, examines the condition of America's young adolescents and how well middle grade schools, health institutions, and community organizations serve them.

In the Spring 1993 Carnegie Quarterly newsletter, the council writes:
"Approximately 28 million youngsters fall into the age group served by middle or junior high schools and high schools, and seven million—one in four—are considered at high risk of failing in school and engaging in such dangerous behavior as alcohol and illegal drug abuse, premature and unprotected sexual activity, and addiction to nicotine. They may become victims or perpetrators of violence. They may not be covered by insurance or have access to health care services. Another seven million may be at moderate risk and therefore are a matter of serious concern as well. Because, as a group, adolescents are vulnerable, they need special attention in school."
Turning Points' recommendations include:

1. Create small communities for learning—the key elements of these communities are schools-within-schools or houses, with students and teachers grouped together as teams

2. Teach a core academic program that results in students who are literate (including in the sci- ences), and know how to think critically, lead a healthy life, behave ethically, and assume the responsibilities of citizenship in a pluralistic society

3. Ensure success for all students through the elimination of tracking by achievement level

4. Staff middle grade schools with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents

5. Improve academic performance through the fostering of health and fitness of young adolescents

6. Reengage families in the education of young adolescents

7. Connect schools with communities—which together share responsibility for each middle grade student's success—through identifying service learning opportunities in the community

The Carnegie Quarterly notes that early results indicate that schools that implement the Turning Points recommendations provide more supportive environments and rigorous academic conditions for middle school students. "Early results from Corporation-supported research being conducted by Robert Felner, director of the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the University of Illinois, are extremely encouraging," Carnegie writes. "Initial findings show significant improvements in students' reading, mathematics, and language arts achievement, in students' rating of the supportiveness of the school environment, and in teachers' ratings of students' behavioral adjustment."

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