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LocationAmity Creek Magnet School ContactGary Bruner, Principal DescriptionWalking into Amity Creek Magnet School is much like walking into any school. Faint smells of school lunch waft through the air, children's artwork is proudly displayed on the walls, and the sound of learning fills the hall. There are classrooms, an office, and a principal mingling with students and teachers. Beyond these things, however, Amity Creek is much different than typical schools. This is a school of choice, not only because it is a magnet school, which by definition means it's a school of choice, but because choice is the foundation of the educational philosophy held by every educator in the school. Bend's first magnet school, Amity Creek opened its doors in 1995 to 121 students. Since that time the school has grown to 155 students. This school was the dream of several veteran Bend teachers who longed to do school a little differently. While Amity Creek meets the same academic requirements as all elementary schools in the district, and while some of its features and underlying concepts are common in other classrooms, it is a fundamentally different kind of school that is organized around a child-initiated approach to learning. It is based on the understanding that each child is uniquely gifted, that children construct their own knowledge, and that learning is a natural, continuous, social process that results from a child's engagement with the world. The primary function of the staff is to facilitate and nurture this learning process by responding to the individual needs and interests of each child. Children are allowed the freedom and support they need to do the exploring, interacting, creating, communicating, questioning, and independent thinking that are all so essential to a quality education. Amity's vision statement reads: "Amity Creek Magnet School is rooted in the concept of community -- a community of learners encompassing students, families and staff. We are centered around a child-initiated approach to learning and committed to the progress of all members." This child-initiated approach is based on the following assumptions:
Evidence of these assumptions is everywhere in the school: Where curriculum doesn't guide instruction, kids do. Amity Creek aims to create an environment for children that is safe and comfortable for learning and growing. This environment is rooted in the concept of the school as a non-hierarchic community, in which children, family, and staff are all included as equally valued and respected members. Each day begins with a school community time that staff and visitors attend that helps reaffirm this sense of community. The community concept fosters social responsibility and self-discipline within each child. It also promotes group decisionmaking and democratic values. The school environment is designed to promote problem solving, learner independence, and flexible interaction. The primary function of the staff is to facilitate the natural learning process by responding to the individual needs and interests of each child. A balance is sought between independence and guidance. Being able to observe individual students and implement relevant instruction accordingly is an important component of each teacher's role. This skill allows them to continually reshape their instruction based on learner need, as does each teacher's specialization in developmental education. The staff is committed to ongoing personal growth as well as professional development. They collaborate as a team throughout each day in order to exchange information, ideas, and insights that help them plan for, adjust to, and meet the changing needs of the community. The staff also share their ideas, what they read, and what they are excited about with the children and parents. In sharing what they learn with the community, the staff demonstrate that learning is an important and fulfilling lifelong process. Teachers use varied instructional strategies depending on the developmental stages and needs of each child. Children's ideas, interests, play, and words are taken seriously. Teachers respond in ways that seek to stimulate further thought and imagination. They help students make connections between ideas and disciplines. Information is presented in a multisensory environment emphasizing process-learning. In a multisensory environment, a student has ample opportunity to feel comfortable pursuing interests in a variety of ways. For example, a student can learn mathematical concepts by playing an instrument, listening to music, or building with clay or wood. The environment is set up so that children can observe and/or model other children, work in groups, or work individually. Encouragement, redirection, and reinforcement are primary methods of classroom management. Children's natural instinct to work cooperatively is honored. Teachers model and discuss logical thinking skills, thereby helping students develop sound decisionmaking strategies. Risk-taking is supported and encouraged; "mistakes" are seen as normal and expected steps in process-learning, and teachers work to respond in ways that preserve children's self-esteem. All teachers at Amity know the names of all students, and teachers are always available to any student for any reason. Teachers don't take many breaks -- they want to remain accessible. At lunch they sit at a table in the main hallway (the school does not have a cafeteria) and mingle with each other and with students. During recess they are in the classrooms to spend time with students who may choose to stay inside. After school they talk to children, parents, and former students who come to visit. Let there be no mistake -- teaching at Amity Creek is intense. At this school, there is a higher than average level of contact with all students. There is also a higher than average level of contact with other teachers. In addition to daily interaction, staff meetings at school, and ongoing teaming efforts, this small group of seven full-time staff (six teachers) and several part-time staff have a "debriefing" each week on Friday evening when they gather for dinner. It's their way of maintaining community among themselves. They realize that when they share a common philosophy, students receive a more seamless education. Amity Creek's curriculum is characterized by abundant choices, big and small. Whether the choices are about learning arrangement (group or individually), environment (inside or outside), or topic (quilting, mosaics, or watercolors during schoolwide art centers), students are given as many choices as possible. That is not to say that the school is without formal structure. Like any school, there are many times in each classroom that students abide by the schedule and instruction determined by students and their teachers. The daily scheduling of activities, however, seeks to allow children the time they need to communicate and explore. The planning and implementation of this curriculum is made possible by flexible scheduling and daily collaboration between staff members. During the day, there are blocks of time when children are able to mix throughout the school such as at daily community time, all-school midday storytime, and before and after the official school day. Any child can express to his homeroom teacher a desire to be in another class for a special project. The staff observes how each day evolves so that they can make necessary changes to meet the children's needs. Within and beyond the formal requirements of the district, the children's needs and interests help drive and shape the curriculum. Instruction is presented in an integrated fashion, recognizing the connections across disciplines. As part of this integrated approach, writing and reading are taught simultaneously. Children develop an awareness of phonics through interaction with meaningful print. Literacy is the goal -- phonics is not taught in isolation. Meaningful and purposeful reading and writing are critical. Through play, movement, and language, children find many reasons to read and write. The staff encourages, supports, and facilitates more reading and writing so that meaning is always at the center. The same thought given to reading and writing are given to mathematical concepts. Many opportunities are provided for children to discover mathematics through exploration and investigation, instead of approaching it as an isolated, abstract subject. For example, a six-year-old can build a Lego town and compare the length of certain pieces as he builds, while a 10-year old might build his own Lego town and concentrate on the scale of the model to create balance. Numeration is developed through manipulation of concrete objects and is understood before students move to formal operations. The development of logical thinking and problem solving is emphasized. The curriculum is also seen as extending beyond the cognitive realm to include attention to the social, physical, and emotional components of growth and development. Student progress is defined in terms of individual growth and development. Daily personal observation is a critical assessment tool. Periodic written narratives and a student portfolio system provide meaningful documentation. Other appropriate assessment procedures are implemented as needed, or as mandated by the state. Students are also asked, on occasion, to provide personal reflections of where they perceive their progress to be. Beyond academics, beyond teaching and learning, the culture of community and choice is pervasive at Amity Creek. Students -- even they youngest ones -- are given the responsibility to make sound choices for themselves. The school belongs to the children and they love to be there. They are free to move about as they wish, though an adult must always know that the children are in a safe and appropriate place. They are free to roam the halls in sock feet. They can move about in groups or pairs or alone, but never in rigid lines. They can elect to go outside for recess or stay in. They can sing and dance, write their own stories, and create as they wish. It is up to teachers to facilitate and draw connections between the world of play and the very closely related world of learning. Parents play a critical role in every aspect of the school. It begins when they choose Amity Creek as the school for their family, and continues every day their child (or children) are there. The doors at Amity Creek are always open. Parents come and go throughout the day. Sometimes they volunteer to help teachers with specific projects, sometimes they just sit with the children during story time or class discussions. They are encouraged to participate in any capacity they desire. Parents are generally very supportive of the unique approach Amity Creek takes, even if they are a little unsure of it. On occasion, a family decides that the school isn't what they want, but that is rare. Most families find Amity Creek to be a haven for risk-taking and learning. Not surprisingly, the approach at Amity Creek has encountered skepticism. Though the teachers knew their approach was working, and professed this with conviction at any opportunity, it was not until February 2000 that the school received validation of its efforts. Along with a few select Oregon schools, Amity Creek Elementary School was rated as exceptional by the Oregon Department of Education in the its first-ever "report cards" of every public school and district in the state. As part of only 3.9 percent of schools deemed "exceptional" by the state, and as Central Oregon's only school receiving the highest rating, Amity Creek has distinguished itself. Achieving this rating means that on average, more than 75 percent of students met or exceeded state standards on state reading, writing, math multiple choice, and math problem-solving tests. It also means that the school showed strong improvement over time on state reading and math multiple-choice tests, as well as having attendance rates averaging 94 percent. "Test scores have never been the reason we do anything, so it was a little funny to have this happen to us," notes one of Amity's founding teachers, Marta Bruner. Regardless, the school is thankful for the positive attention generated by the rating and uses it to share the Amity philosophy with a broader audience. Observed Outcomes
Keys to Success
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