Many of you, particularly those with students in lower school, have questions about next year. I am unable to answer some of your questions because teacher contracts will not be issued until early next week and it would be premature to discuss individual teachers until those contracts are returned. I can tell you that I am excited about staffing for next year.
 
Our overall instructional philosophy is to implement team teaching which allows teachers to teach to their strengths while maintaining the familiar homeroom atmosphere. Our planning for next year puts students first and promotes individualized education.  
 
First grade will be taught by three teachers. Current enrollment warrants only one section of first grade. All three teachers, two part-time and one full-time, will focus on their strengths. Their schedules will overlap. Each will work with the entire class. As a team they will have the flexibility to group children in any number of configurations, in order to tailor the curriculum to individual students. The class will be divided into two sections for resource classes - science, computer, music, art, P.E. and Spanish. Should first grade enrollment increase, we can divide the class into two separate sections.
 
Second grade has sufficient enrollment for two sections. Third grade will follow the model described for first grade, with the exception that two teachers will team up to teach a single section. Again, this model allows for grouping of students, which leads to individualized instruction. 
 
The plan for fourth and fifth grades is for three veteran teachers to teach to their strengths. Each of the teachers will instruct four sections, comprised of half the students in a class, in their core subject areas. We will continue our tradition of small classes, while building leadership skills in three fourth and fifth grade combined homerooms.
 
We have scheduled a special Open Forum for Thursday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. We invite you to ask any questions you have about the 2009-2010 school year. In the meantime, please feel free to talk to me. Make an appointment or send me an e-mail at dpatterson@topekacollegiate.org.
 
With warm regards,

 
 
 

 

 

Dick Patterson
Acting Head of School