Earlier this month, Rep Maurice Hinchey (D-Hurley) announced a five-year, $745,035 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Poughkeepsie City School District with the funds supporting the America’s Choice Whole School Reform Model, and the ongoing implementation of small learning communities in the district’s high school.
“This grant will help create a smaller, more personalized learning environment for students in Poughkeepsie,” stated Hinchey in a press release. “As classrooms grow, it is important that we find ways to ensure that every student is provided with the tools and resources necessary to achieve academic success.”
Poughkeepsie Middle School was the first school in the district to begin implementing America’s Choice in September 2006. The high school followed suit in September 2007, with the introduction of small learning communities.
“It looks like the middle school has picked up tremendously in the state assessments,” said recently retired Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Karen Markeloff. “It’s obvious that there’s been a remarkable amount of hard work done by the staff and the students.”
Markeloff has worked in the Poughkeepsie school district for 31 years, and has served as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the past 20. She will be replaced by Jose Carrion, who previously served as the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources.
Markeloff applied for the grant earlier this year, and received the news that the school had been awarded the funds on June 30 – her final day of work.
“I was really excited. Actually, I was shocked. I couldn’t focus,” she said.
According to Markeloff, the district has been approved for three years of the potential five-year grant. At the end of the three-year period the district has to reapply for the remaining two years of funding.
Building a learning path
The funds come from the Department of Education’s Smaller Learning Communities grant program, which is designed to encourage large high schools to undertake research-based strategies in developing and implementing smaller learning environments.
Raymond Duncan, president of the school’s Board of Education, said that implementation of the communities began last year with the creation of the ninth-grade academy. Now, when students enter 10th grade, they will spend each quarter of the academic year in a separate learning community. The communities were created by teachers and ranked by a committee, which was put together by Superintendent Laval Wilson, who reviewed the committee’s findings and approved the plans.
Once students enter their junior year, they will narrow their studies down to two learning communities – spending half the school year in each – and by their senior year, each student will participate in one learning community. There will also be a college-track program for students who opt not to participate in this style of learning.
“In schools today we don’t want children to be nameless and faceless. We don’t want them to get lost in a big environment,” said Duncan. “The high school has over 1,000 students, and by implementing small learning communities we’re trying to break the building down a little bit – to create stronger ties between the teachers and the students.”