LA PALMA : Classes Put Students on Right Track

Students in Doug Sterling’s seventh-grade history class at Walker Junior High School weren’t always the above-average students they are today.

In fact, each of these students was recognized by their sixth-grade teacher as being at risk of dropping out of school if they did not receive special academic attention.

Before entering Walker’s At Risk program, the students were making D grades or lower. Now, most of them maintain a B average in all their classes, Sterling said.

The dramatic turnaround is attributable to a curriculum that Sterling developed and teaches with English teacher Carolyn Sypkens. A year after its implementation, the program for seventh- and eighth-grade students was recognized by the state during the last school year as the best in California for students with academic difficulties.

The At Risk classes combine computer training, personalized instruction and a system of classroom discipline. The combination helps to establish student self-esteem and “empowers both the students and the teacher,” Sterling said.

The discipline program, central to the class’s success, requires students to analyze and modify their own behavior.

“It empowers the students because they are in control--they must accept the consequences of their own actions,” Sterling said.

At the beginning of each year, Sterling spends five days teaching the system, and illustrating it by showing the students movies such as “Back to the Future,” which present moral problems to which they can apply theories used in his system.

After that, Sterling said, discipline ceases to be a problem in the classroom, and he is free to spend 100% of the class time instructing rather than trying to maintain order. Sypkens said she uses the time to develop ways of presenting the material to the students that hold their interest and promote maximum success.

Sypkens’ English class, along with Sterling’s history class, form the core of the program.

“A lot of these kids have low self-esteem. They’ve never had success in school. This really helps,” Sypkens said.

Both teachers have been trained to spot each student’s problem area--and strength. They then tailor their instruction to fit those needs.

“Every student is an expert at something by the time they leave this class,” Sterling said.

Some students become computer experts, some research experts and some geography experts. Sterling said he encourages the other students to go to their “expert” peers for assistance whenever they can.

“What we’re teaching here more than anything is a life skill,” Sterling said.

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