At Salk Middle School, all 8th graders receive the same history lesson, no matter which teacher they have. American Studies teaching partners Stacy Piper and Kirsten Flerchinger use their Monday morning late start time to collaborate, plan, and make sure both of their classes stay aligned.
"Stacy and I are in lockstep in regard to the curriculum that we're teaching every single day, our grading policies, when we're looking at data, how students are performing, and then adjusting our instruction from there," said Flerchinger.
"Whether it's my student or Kirsten's student, we're here. Those kids can come to either one of us and receive the help they may need," Piper echoed.
Both classes begin with European exploration and end with Reconstruction after the Civil War. Piper’s ultimate goal is to prompt students to think for themselves.
"We're teaching them to create their own thoughts and to be able to be educated in a way that they can expand and grow as they become adults and hopefully be productive members of our society and know what it means to vote and how to be engaged in their local government, and how to feel that they have a voice," she said.
Both teachers take their collaboration time very seriously.
"That time for us to be together is extremely important. We spend that time looking at data, planning, making sure everything is aligned with our learning goals, ensuring all of our activities are going to be beneficial for the kids, not just throw something in as busywork," said Flerchinger.
"Piper agreed, saying, “It gives us an opportunity to come together and look at how we can best impact our kids, how we can build something together that will give our kids the opportunity to think for themselves."
For an inside look into more of our lessons, check out our Classroom Windows series and other videos on YouTube.