Extra Credit: Kristi Schooler - Hillcrest Elementary, Elgin
Need to know: Teaches a second-/third-grade monolingual class. Has taught for eight years and was a teacher assistant for 12 years while her own three kids were school age. This is her second year at Hillcrest.
Q. When your district started multi-age classrooms, were you eager to participate or did you need convinced? Why?
Kristi Schooler. When I was called for job opportunities in the district, I actually chose the second-/third-grade split because I absolutely love the age group. I've had a lot of experience in third grade. I enjoy the eagerness to learn at this age combined with their emerging independence. Obviously I had concerns about it being a split. Initially. I didn't know what that would look like even though I had experience volunteering in a split while I was in college.
Q. What advantages does a multi-age/grade classroom offer for students over a traditional single-grade classroom?
Schooler. There are a few advantages. One advantage is if you do end up with students from the year before, there is less time getting to know the students and them getting to know the classroom expectations. For example, this year I ended up with two third-grade students that I had as second-graders. This year they have so much more confidence. They know the routine of the classroom and help others with classroom expectations.
Another advantage that I've seen this year has been my second-graders challenging themselves. Some of them will finish what they're working on in math and they voluntarily come over and join our third-grade math. I've also noticed with math that I can do some concepts as a whole group so it works as a review for third grade and it's a newly introduced concept for second grade. With our district using a new math program this year, it's been helpful to be able to see what my third-graders are already expected to know.
Q. What challenges have you handled that you didn't expect when you started teaching a multi-age class?
Schooler. There have been a few challenges that I didn't really expect. The biggest would probably be that a split requires more of a time commitment on my part. My planning time takes a little longer. There are certain concepts in reading and language arts that are taught to the whole group. However, I then have to plan for all the different leveled groups, which is true for any classroom teacher. Math is taught by grade level, so I have to plan for both grade levels and make accommodations for students in those grade levels.
I also noticed that doing report cards takes me longer than when I taught a solid grade level. When I enter grades, I have to do all one grade level then go back and do the next grade level.
I was also a little surprised in the beginning how much I needed to relieve parents' concerns. Students seem to adjust better to the idea of being in a split than some parents.
Q. If you could combine two non-education things the way you mix two grade levels, what would you blend?
Schooler. I had a lot of different thoughts on this. The one thing I thought about when I think of my split is music. Having a split reminds me of a band. A drum solo is cool and a guitar solo is too, but combined they make the song complete.