Teachers Travel Far to Learn New Ideas : Small-School Districts Find First Conference Provides Big Benefit

The entire staff of the Spencer Valley Elementary School District in Santa Ysabel showed up for a teachers institute in Julian Thursday--all three of them.

So did seven of the nine teachers from the single school in the San Pasqual Union School District northeast of Escondido, braving the cold, wind-blown rain that swept across the fog-shrouded Cuyamaca Mountains.

And there were several instructors from the sprawling East County Mt. Empire Unified district, which with its 20-some teachers spread over seven schools stood out as “Goliath” Thursday at the county’s first Small District Language Arts Institute.

Participants Traded Ideas

Inside the drafty gym of Julian’s single elementary school, teachers from 12 small districts throughout the rural stretches of the county--an area almost the size of Connecticut--traded ideas on new classroom strategies, heard the latest on the state’s new language arts guidelines and visited with textbook publishers eager to pitch the books and guides developed to meet the state framework.

“The informal exchange of ideas over coffee, the chit-chat that goes on between teachers, that’s a major benefit from this conference,” said Roy Radke, a Mountain Empire district principal--one of two--who rotates among three elementary schools. The chance for the interaction was enough for Radke and the 70 other educators to each bring some food for the pot-luck lunch between the morning and afternoon seminars.

Added his colleague Anna Sullivan, who serves three schools: “We’re all so remote, we can’t just send our people to a workshop in San Diego, it’s more than a 100-mile round trip.”

‘Not Out of Mind’

Yet these districts must meet the same educational standards as their large urban counterparts in San Diego, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

“They may be out of sight, but they’re certainly not out of mind,” said Bill Clark, director of the small schools team for the San Diego County Office of Education, which sponsored the institute. The county office provides teacher training, curriculum guides and other help to districts too small or otherwise unable to afford those activities on their own.

“We do serve small districts individually, but I’ve found that bringing together these districts for a seminar allows interaction among teachers with similar problems because they do have particular needs different from that of a large district,” Chaparro said.

“When you have one teacher or less at each grade level--like the sixth-grade teacher from Borrego Springs is the department for English, math and everything else--you really want to have meetings like this where you can see how things are being implemented elsewhere.”

Literature Stressed

Thursday’s emphasis on the state’s new language arts model curriculum gave the 70 teachers a better idea of the specifics as well as showing them that many of their teaching methods may already fit in with the state plan. That plan stresses the use of literature, instead of traditional basal readers with abridged or altered stories, through which reading, writing, grammar and spelling will be integrated.

“I get a sense of excitement and purpose from hearing everybody,” said Polly Bradley, a special education teacher at Julian elementary. “I’ve got two little kids of my own, and it’s almost impossible to get down to the city.”

Bradley spent part of the morning looking through the fancy textbook displays that half a dozen publishers set up in the southern half of the gym. The state Department of Education has certified the texts of many publishers as meeting the new curriculum guidelines from which districts usually pick one for their use.

Adaptability Wanted

“I’m looking for materials that I can adapt for slow learners,” Bradley said. “I want to find literature that is stimulating to a 10-year-old but at the same time can be assimilated at a second-grade learning level . . . there’s not a lot of creativity in materials for special education students.”

Louise Jee, a parent volunteer from Borrego Elementary, carried away several sample books for teaching limited-English students new vocabulary. Jee will show them to the school’s English-as-a-second-language teacher whom she assists.

The teachers from San Pasqual were discussing whether they should go with a textbook that has little or no traditional phonics or grammar-related components or to select a series that encompasses both the state emphasis and traditional language-arts aspects.

“It’s helpful to see all of the publishers at the same time,” teacher Vickie Young said. The teachers as a group will decide on perhaps two finalists, then invite representatives of the publishers to the district for final presentations.

The Proper Fit

Among the considerations that Young and her colleagues listed as important to a small district in adopting: Will they be able to afford all the supplementary materials? Will new books at the primary grades fit into the existing curriculum at the higher grades?

“But that doesn’t mean it’s harder for a small district to decide,” Chaparro said. “In some ways, it’s easier because the teachers are more empowered, they have more independence; the teachers select as a group instead of a huge committee as happens in big districts like San Diego.”

In fact, most of the small districts will begin using new textbooks in September, whereas San Diego Unified will not make the change to new books until the fall of 1990.

“And, in general, I find a lot of experimentation in small districts,” Chaparro said. “Spencer Valley has been doing literature-based reading for years and, with three or four grades in one class, they have to have cooperative learning,” which is only beginning to take hold in other schools.

Wider Appeal

Spencer Valley teachers Margi Williams and Luanna Lynch talked with publishing representatives about books that appeal to themselves as well as students.

“We don’t take use a lot of supplements. For example, we do our spelling from the book we are using,” Lynch said. “And it’s nice to see that there are other teachers around who care about literature; that reinforces our beliefs.”

Macmillan Co. representative Roger F. Turk said teachers in small districts tend to talk more about the needs of individual children in looking at texts.

“Those from large districts from Day 1 are dickering about the deal they can make,” Turk said. “It’s like dealing with Donald Trump.” And, although the total sale for a district like Mt. Empire might be only $50,000--contrasted with the several millions of a large district--Turk and his fellow salespeople Thursday eagerly sought follow-up appointments with the districts in attendance.

“I taught in a rural district in Wisconsin once, and so I understand the importance of this to them,” Turk said.