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Pair of Chapman teachers express support for consolidation
By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com
Two Chapman Elementary teachers are expressing their support for a consolidated middle school for the Northwest school district.
Scott Musil, teaches science and social studies in grades five through eight, and Scott Miller, who teaches language arts in grades six through eight, said they are speaking both as teachers and from personal experience.
Musil said he attended a 7-12 school in Ord, while Miller said he attended 6-9 Morton Middle School that had more than 2,000 students.
As a teacher, Musil said, he believes a larger middle school would allow a better grouping of students. He said not all students learn in the same way and at the same rate.
In a small school, classes are so small, there is no choice but to have students of varying ability levels in the same room, Musil said. In a middle school with 80 students, it would be possible to have four classes with four different levels of kids.
Miller made the same point, noting the students who take longer to grasp a new concept can get frustrated if the pace of the class seems too fast.
Likewise, he said, a student who already understands a concept or quickly learns it, can get frustrated and bored if other students can’t keep up.
One concept that emerged during Musil’s and Miller’s separate interviews was students who take longer to master an academic concept might be more willing to get involved in class discussions if they aren’t in a room where another student always knows the answer first.
Miller said the 6-9 grade configuration occurred because Omaha made a transition from a 7-9 junior high, to a 6-9 middle. He described the temporary 6-9 hybrid junior high/middle school as a mistake.
That would seem to validate the idea of mixing older kids with younger kids can be problematic.
But Miller said it seems wrong to “expect the worst” and think it is automatic a senior will pick on a sixth-grader if the two students cross paths.
Musil said high school students and middle school students will cross paths. But he said there was absolutely no separation between older kids and younger kids in Ord’s 7-9 building. Musil said he never experienced any problems.
Miller said having A, B and C teams at sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grades should provide plenty of opportunity for participation.
Musil — who said he is “not athletic at all” — said he more likely would have gone out for sports at Ord if he had been in an even smaller school. However, he said he was more musically inclined and he had a better musical experience by being at a larger school.
Both Musil and Miller objected to comments they’ve heard about schools like Chapman and St. Libory closing if grades 6 to 8 are consolidated. They thought such talk constituted scare tactics.
When pressed, they said another possibility might be a fear of an eventual closing because of an inability to maintain an adequate K-5 enrollment.
But they each pointed to the opportunity to add more sections of preschool and Chapman’s large kindergarten class of 17 to be more optimistic about having adequate enrollment over the long term even if the grade configuration is changed to K-5 or perhaps PreK-5.
They each objected to threats by some parents to transfer their kids out of the Northwest district if the grade configuration is changed. They each said there are no other K-8 districts in the area.
In fact, Miller can envision the day when there are no longer K-8 schools in Nebraska.
Scott Musil, teaches science and social studies in grades five through eight, and Scott Miller, who teaches language arts in grades six through eight, said they are speaking both as teachers and from personal experience.
Musil said he attended a 7-12 school in Ord, while Miller said he attended 6-9 Morton Middle School that had more than 2,000 students.
As a teacher, Musil said, he believes a larger middle school would allow a better grouping of students. He said not all students learn in the same way and at the same rate.
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Miller made the same point, noting the students who take longer to grasp a new concept can get frustrated if the pace of the class seems too fast.
Likewise, he said, a student who already understands a concept or quickly learns it, can get frustrated and bored if other students can’t keep up.
One concept that emerged during Musil’s and Miller’s separate interviews was students who take longer to master an academic concept might be more willing to get involved in class discussions if they aren’t in a room where another student always knows the answer first.
Miller said the 6-9 grade configuration occurred because Omaha made a transition from a 7-9 junior high, to a 6-9 middle. He described the temporary 6-9 hybrid junior high/middle school as a mistake.
That would seem to validate the idea of mixing older kids with younger kids can be problematic.
But Miller said it seems wrong to “expect the worst” and think it is automatic a senior will pick on a sixth-grader if the two students cross paths.
Musil said high school students and middle school students will cross paths. But he said there was absolutely no separation between older kids and younger kids in Ord’s 7-9 building. Musil said he never experienced any problems.
Miller said having A, B and C teams at sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grades should provide plenty of opportunity for participation.
Musil — who said he is “not athletic at all” — said he more likely would have gone out for sports at Ord if he had been in an even smaller school. However, he said he was more musically inclined and he had a better musical experience by being at a larger school.
Both Musil and Miller objected to comments they’ve heard about schools like Chapman and St. Libory closing if grades 6 to 8 are consolidated. They thought such talk constituted scare tactics.
When pressed, they said another possibility might be a fear of an eventual closing because of an inability to maintain an adequate K-5 enrollment.
But they each pointed to the opportunity to add more sections of preschool and Chapman’s large kindergarten class of 17 to be more optimistic about having adequate enrollment over the long term even if the grade configuration is changed to K-5 or perhaps PreK-5.
They each objected to threats by some parents to transfer their kids out of the Northwest district if the grade configuration is changed. They each said there are no other K-8 districts in the area.
In fact, Miller can envision the day when there are no longer K-8 schools in Nebraska.
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