Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Notable Middle School Program Improvements for 2024-25
Early Middle School Progress
At this time last year, we announced the implementation of the Early Middle School program, a cohort model designed for students who have completed either Grade 4 or Grade 5. This year, we are pleased to report that the EMS program has become a vital and positive learning community, and that students are thriving, building community, and exploring content in multiple modalities and levels of personalization.
Highlights from this year have included interdisciplinary experiences such as beekeeping and Wilderness Wednesdays, while community building has occurred through the classroom jobs program, mix-it-up lunches with middle school, first chapter Fridays, SEL lessons, and much more!
Students experience the best of both worlds in EMS, with aspects of the independence of middle school combined with the nurturing and self-contained aspects of an elementary school classroom. We have seen the class grow throughout the year, with several students successfully joining mid-year. Interest in Early Middle School enrollment for 2024-25 is strong. Some students who have spent the day shadowing in EMS have wanted to come back the very next day!
Creation of the Upper Middle School Program at Wooster
We are excited to announce the next iteration in our ongoing efforts to create the best possible Middle School at Wooster with the evolution of our 7th and 8th grades into the Upper Middle School program starting in 2024-25. As we continue to better incorporate the teaming model, sharpening our focus on meeting students where they are and helping them to go further in terms of skills and dispositions development, we see an opportunity during the last two years of our Middle School to create a learning and development experience that builds upon our Early Middle School program.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Personalized Learning for All Students
The Upper Middle School program design delivers skill-building and knowledge acquisition that is individualized to the jagged learning profiles of students, and delivered in level-alike small groups and larger, whole class experiences. For instance, students who may be struggling in an area like reading, can also have the opportunity to move forward and accelerate in math if they are ready, and vice versa. By building from an understanding of what students need, and utilizing content, projects, and experiences as the context for learning, our Upper Middle School program is designed to ensure that all students develop the skills, dispositions, and knowledge they need to be excited and confident about school, learning, and their unique abilities as they enter into Upper School.
Jagged Student Learning Profiles
While built to align with expectations of more traditional grade levels, the Upper Middle School program is different in that it starts with the fact that young people at this age are jagged, meaning that they are already strong in some areas and weaker in others. Assessment data that we routinely collect confirms this reality. When we review multiple years of reading, writing, and math data for our 7th and 8th grade students, we consistently observe a vast spread of skills and extensive overlap between the two grade levels. This should not be the cause for alarm that it is in so many schools, but rather a natural expectation given what we know about childhood and adolescent brain development. We also know that young people need to be engaged in order to learn, and build confidence through the successful navigation of challenging experiences. We see the Upper Middle School program at Wooster School as a great opportunity to meet student learning needs while also fostering a love of learning, strong relationships, and a fun community in which all students are known, challenged, and supported.
Thinking Beyond Grade Level Designations
Understanding the underlying purposes of the program requires stepping away from grade level identification as connected to the skills of our students, and instead viewing these skills on a continuum, with a goal of reaching an individual maximum level of proficiency by the conclusion of middle school. Students combined into a cohort of 7th and 8th graders will study the same content through a looping curriculum model, and work towards mastery of skills through that content. The added benefit of this combined cohort is the creation and maintenance of social opportunities essential to the development of middle schoolers. Middle schoolers need ample time to explore who they are and to practice social skills and connection-making within an ecosystem that prioritizes social-emotional learning. The larger size of the combined cohort enhances these opportunities for our students.
Key Program Features:
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
● An emphasis on small groups and individual opportunities for targeted skill, knowledge, and disposition building within the context of the regular school day.
● A project-based design for learning which keeps students active and engaged, often outdoors on our expansive campus, and interacting with each other and their teachers as they learn, collaborate, and build strong relationships.
● Personalized instruction that leverages the jaggedness of students.
○ Opportunities for students to go deeper and pursue growing passions, via honors experiences.
○ Structures to support re-teaching, remediation, and extra support.
● A curricular design which “loops” content, concepts, and knowledge year to year, resulting in strong preparation for Upper School.
● A favorable student to teacher ratio which supports our ability to understand student needs and keep them moving on an upward trajectory in terms of their learning and development.
Creation of the Middle School Math Lab
Inspired by the success of the Upper School Math Lab, beginning in the fall of 2023, we created a Math Lab experience for students in our middle school programs. The Wooster Middle School Math Lab empowers students to discover, develop, and enrich their appreciation for mathematics. The Math Lab incorporates two structures: Math Workshop and Math Support.
● Math Workshop: Middle School students at Wooster engage in a weekly Math Workshop experience in the Math Lab. Math Workshop incorporates experiential and hands-on learning with an emphasis on developing the core mathematical thinking habits: knowing and understanding, investigating patterns, communicating with mathematics, modeling and application, and using technology in math.
● Math Support: The Middle School Math Lab also serves as a space where students can seek out additional math learning support. The Math Lab Teacher is available for unscheduled drop-ins. Alternatively, students can sign-up for an appointment ahead of time and/or teachers can sign a student up for an appointment.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Notable Upper School Program Improvements for 2024-25
DLI and Advanced Courses
The Deep Learning Initiative has been in place at Wooster for ten years, and has continued to evolve both in the variety of course offerings and in the number of teachers who design and facilitate them. As we have continued to think about these courses – particularly the ways in which they challenge students in terms of course content and learning behaviors necessary for success in college – we are also seeing a natural distinction which exists within the designs for learning on college campuses. To address this difference, beginning in 2024-2025, some classes that have been previously classified as DLI courses, will become what we are calling Advanced courses.
Our DLI courses, modeled after college-level seminar courses, will continue to engage students in a more flexible course design – a level of shared content mixed with a deeper intellectual dive into content – specifically focused around research questions designed by students through the tutorial model. As in a college seminar, DLI courses incorporate the Tutorial Model and include a curriculum that is both flexible and learner-centered. Tutorials in DLI are small groups of students who work independently and collaboratively to design and explore questions of shared interest. Within the context of the small group, individuals critique the work of their fellow students and present their findings to the teacher through culminating presentations. Through tutorial experiences, students in DLI classes practice agency, independence, and curiosity in pursuit of developing the skill of inquiry.
Our new Advanced courses, modeled after college-level survey courses, will emphasize breadth of content, challenging students to engage with rigorous material in a context which is relatively fast-paced. By design, these courses are more prescriptive, including teacher-designed curriculum and teacher-designed inquiry. Assessments in these classes may include research papers and large summative assessments. As shown in the diagram below, both Advanced and DLI will still represent our most rigorous courses.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
10th Grade World History and World Literature
Beginning in 2024-25, students in 10th grade will enroll in two classes – World History and World Literature – rather than in a single Humanities II class as in previous years. While these courses will be taught as two distinct classes, they will align thematically and teachers of these classes will frequently collaborate. 10th grade World History and World Literature will better bridge the transition from the 9th grade Humanities I experience to upper level English and history coursework that we offer to 11th and 12th grade students.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Pathways Program Progress
During the fall of 2023, we launched the Pathways Program for students in the 9th and 10th grades. Pathways teaches essential executive functioning skills in a supportive environment. Students apply these skills in context, in their core content area courses.
Initially envisioned as a 1-year program, students have embraced this support and so we have expanded the program. Looking ahead to 2024-25, Pathways will be available to students in grades 9-11 with a design allowing for mixed-grade level cohorts in a 2-year program.
Year 1 of Pathways includes regular mini-lessons and guided learning activities that introduce executive functioning concepts and teach concrete strategies for students. Students have class time to connect these tools to their core content area coursework.
Year 2 of the Pathways Program provides more time for the application of strategies and selfreflection. The instructional focus centers around coaching and mentorship as students discover which strategies work best for them in various contexts.
Cell Phone Policy
For a number of years, the Upper School had a cell phone policy which required that students only engage with their phones in certain areas of campus while they had a free period, and never while they were in class. We had also asked that students not look at their phones during passing periods, nor when they were in the Dining Room. While we had been able to hold the line in classrooms – though with daily, frequent reminders for many – our efforts to “police” cell phones in other areas had not been successful. Students were turning to their phones with increasing frequency whenever they could, and we were also seeing a marked increase in negative interactions and behaviors that involved the use of cell phones and social media platforms in general. As a result, beginning on Monday, April 29, we instituted a new cell phone policy for the Upper School.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Rationale
Because the platforms, content, and social-media on phones are explicitly designed to attract and capture our attention at all times, it is not surprising that our students are largely in thrall to them. Lest we forget, many adults are hooked as well. The problem, of course, is that the capability of cell phones to distract, the resultant erosion of the ability to focus one’s attention for longer periods of time (because that does not fit the advertising-based metrics which frame the design), and the “choice” to look at one’s phone rather than engage with other humans, all combine to undermine the development of nearly all of the skills, dispositions, and knowledge development that are core to our mission. Cell phones are certainly not bad in all ways, but their negative effect on students' attention, personal interactions, and sometimes even behaviors in school has become both problematic and irrefutable. Put simply, if our goal is human development through interaction and relationship development – largely in person and with little or no technological mediation – then smartphones are truly the last thing that we would want in a student's hands all day long.
While we acknowledge that learning how to understand and manage one's use of technology is an important life skill, we also feel strongly that the underlying skills, dispositions, and knowledge required to do so are difficult to learn when one is also trying to manage that technology at the same time. Additionally, the ongoing diminution of students' ability to attend to teachers, learning materials, and each other, is having a serious impact on their ability to develop important foundational learning and life skills and dispositions, like reading stamina, collaboration, deep thinking, curiosity, and tolerance for social and individual discomfort.
Given these factors and considerations we decided this year that removing phones and other cellular devices from the academic day was in the best interests of our student body. Under this new policy, Upper School students have the choice of either leaving their cell phones, smart watches, or any other cellular devices at home, or placing them in a locker here at school for the day. Lockers will be located around campus by grade level and students will be required to lock up their phones in a designated locker before 8:55 AM each morning and be able to retrieve them at 3:45 PM each day. Students will retain the key to their individual locker for the day, though all of the lockers will be secured until 3:45 PM. Temporary lockers will also be available for students who arrive late to school or need to leave early. Parents can be in touch with students, and vice versa, during the school day by using the phone in the Main Office, which is located in the middle school. By the end of next week, students and families in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, will receive an email with additional details regarding logistics.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
While this new policy will certainly require some adjustment on all of our parts, we feel strongly that the benefits will far outweigh any short-term discomforts or inconveniences. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward. Please see our school webpage for more information and research regarding phones.
Leadership and Management Skills at Wooster School
Since its inception, Wooster School has utilized a senior year, prefect-based system to organize and lead its Jobs Program. Senior students manage other students as they perform tasks in service to the school ranging from cleaning floors and desks to organizing and assigning Student Ambassadors who tour visitors to the school. While this system has served the school well, and the number of prefect opportunities has expanded from 4 to 12 over the last ten years, we’ve come to realize that it falls far short of our goal of having every student participate in an intentionally designed learning experience involving leadership and followership while here at Wooster School.
This program included an annual process to select a limited number of students for leadership positions, but lacked intentional curricula and programming to support these leaders (prefects) in their learning about leadership and teamwork. Additionally, the design of the process and program effectively eliminated 80% of students from having an assured, authentic, intentional leadership experience during their senior year at Wooster School. Neither of these two program elements were in line with our goal of challenging students, through opportunity and intentionally designed learning experiences, to develop skills and dispositions – and build confidence – in areas like leadership and followership that will be of great use in school, and in life.
We are very excited, therefore, to announce the launch of the Leadership and Management Skills Program at Wooster School. Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, every senior will have the opportunity to practice their leadership and management skills as a prefect. Rather than choosing only 12 single, year-long prefects we will design three ten-week leadership rotations over the course of the year that will result in every senior engaging in this pivotal learning experience. Based upon an assessment of our school needs, we have also expanded some existing prefect positions and added others, so that we now have a total of 20 prefect positions.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
After an application and selection process which is not unlike what we have done in the past, seniors will be assigned positions, and organized into teams of three for each prefect position and rotate through in the fall, spring, and winter. When not leading, the other members of these triumvirates will be learning with and from each other while supporting the current prefect. To help manage the program and support our leaders, we are also establishing the position of Coordinator of Student Leadership, a person who will act as a leadership coach for seniors as they engage in their work. We are also working on plans to better incorporate leadership and management learning into the Junior Seminar program, as well as redesigning the roles for juniors in the jobs program so as to better prepare them for their responsibilities as seniors.
While the human development and real-world benefits of these leadership learning experiences are plainly evident, an added benefit is that colleges and universities have made clear that authentic leadership and management experiences are highly sought after in their applicants. We are excited that starting next year, every Wooster School student will, in fact, be a better leader, follower, and teammate as a result of their experiences as senior leaders.
Wooster School Strength to Strength 2024-25
Notable Whole School Improvements for 2024-25
Effort Grades Transitioning to Learner Behavior Feedback
We continue to engage in a purposeful self-study focused on grading and feedback at Wooster. Faculty and administrators have been meeting regularly to unpack the purpose of grades and feedback and to refine our practices. For those of you interested in what we have been reading about grading, you might check out On Your Mark, by Thomas Guskey, or Grading for Equity, by Joe Feldman.
In the spring and summer of 2023, we made substantive progress around the area of Effort Grades. Through focus group conversations and reflective exercises, teachers and administrators partnered to create the Learner Behaviors Rubric, a purposeful tool that articulates the skills and dispositions that we most value at Wooster School perseverance, reflection, agency, collaboration, and time-management.
During the 2023-24 school year, we transitioned from Effort Grades to Learner Behavior Feedback. Looking ahead to 2024-25, students will receive personalized feedback on these essential skills and dispositions.
Days of Reflection
In January, Wooster students took a full day out of the typical schedule to engage in a Day of Reflection, which because of the pandemic, was the first such day we have had in several years. As a community, we gathered to explore the purpose for this time, set our intentions, and to calibrate our understanding of the key aspects of what it means to be a reflective learner. Students then spent the day in advisory groups, facilitated by adults. Students engaged in reflective work around their learning, including their learner behaviors, specific core competencies, progress towards class work completion, and goal setting. Students conferenced with adults throughout the process, and while each moved at a pace specific to their needs, all had an opportunity to discuss, reflect on, and report to you about their thinking. The day concluded with appreciations, and with group summaries of the work that had been done. Feedback gathered from parents, students, and teachers will be used to continue to refine and improve our ability to allow students to pause, reflect, and continue to grow as learners.