As the Levan Scott Academy principal, Ms. Fryman, and I walked into a classroom, children were gathered around the teacher listening to the story she was reading. All eyes were fixed on the teacher with the exception of one young lady who was working a puzzle. This was all part of the Conscious Discipline method used at Scott. Every child has her safe place to go when she is upset and the classroom setting is not working. This is exactly what was going on with the child working the puzzle. According to the principal, by using Conscious Discipline, referrals decreased by 200 hundred since its implementation and use school-wide.
Ms. Fryman continued to show me the classrooms throughout the school. As we walked into the three different second grade classrooms, they were all using the new math curriculum. Although they were all teaching the same content – inverse operation - each teacher was doing it just a little differently. One teacher had manipulatives so the children could use these for subtraction. One teacher was using both “2nd grade problems” and “adult problems” to show that the concept worked no matter how large the numbers. One teacher was having her students work problems in their math workbooks.
Because of the growth in Scott Academy, a module was added in the back of the building. Having only seen modules from the outside, I was very curious to see what one looked like on the inside. To my surprise, the module very much resembled the actual school. The music room was similar to any other elementary music room I have observed, adorned with instruments, chairs, and any other items to enhance a music class. Two fifth grade classrooms are housed in the module. One fifth grade teacher kept her children engaged and focused in their small, hot classroom. Even I became mesmerized by her reading, retelling, and acting out of the social studies book. The other fifth grade classroom remained focused even after Ms. Fryman and entered. It was only after the teacher introduced us that they realized we were there. He explained the role of a school board member and the “chain of command” for FWCS after his introduction.
Levan Scott Academy is tucked away on the southeast side of Fort Wayne. The majority of students are minority students, and I was happy to see that many of the teachers and other staffed resembled those they are working with every day. This school is a safe zone for many of these students, and the family-like setting created by the principal and other staff will forever be remembered by those attended this wonderful school.
Ms. Fryman continued to show me the classrooms throughout the school. As we walked into the three different second grade classrooms, they were all using the new math curriculum. Although they were all teaching the same content – inverse operation - each teacher was doing it just a little differently. One teacher had manipulatives so the children could use these for subtraction. One teacher was using both “2nd grade problems” and “adult problems” to show that the concept worked no matter how large the numbers. One teacher was having her students work problems in their math workbooks.
Because of the growth in Scott Academy, a module was added in the back of the building. Having only seen modules from the outside, I was very curious to see what one looked like on the inside. To my surprise, the module very much resembled the actual school. The music room was similar to any other elementary music room I have observed, adorned with instruments, chairs, and any other items to enhance a music class. Two fifth grade classrooms are housed in the module. One fifth grade teacher kept her children engaged and focused in their small, hot classroom. Even I became mesmerized by her reading, retelling, and acting out of the social studies book. The other fifth grade classroom remained focused even after Ms. Fryman and entered. It was only after the teacher introduced us that they realized we were there. He explained the role of a school board member and the “chain of command” for FWCS after his introduction.
Levan Scott Academy is tucked away on the southeast side of Fort Wayne. The majority of students are minority students, and I was happy to see that many of the teachers and other staffed resembled those they are working with every day. This school is a safe zone for many of these students, and the family-like setting created by the principal and other staff will forever be remembered by those attended this wonderful school.