Trustees Grant Permanent Status to Alternative Teaching Program

Despite some criticism of the program, Conejo Valley school trustees voted Thursday to turn an experiment in nontraditional instruction into a permanent way of teaching at a Thousand Oaks elementary school.

Speakers at the regular monthly meeting of the Conejo Valley Unified School District were mostly in favor of making Meadows Elementary School the only alternative primary school in the district. The board approved the issue by a 3-2 vote.

But trustees said they had heard many comments in recent weeks from critics of the program who worry that their children won’t get enough of the basics.

Kathy McCunney was one of the few parents who spoke against the program Thursday evening. She said her two sons are falling behind other students their age.

“I am aware of what other second-graders are doing,” she said, “and my son, who is doing quite well, does not even compare.”

But Lynne Kelsey said her daughter scored above the 97th percentile for reading, math and language in a recent national test. “What this tells me is that even with this radical new program in place, my daughter is learning what she needs to be successful on a standardized test,” she said.

Three years ago, the school scrapped its conventional teaching methods, which stressed rote memorization and in-class lessons, in favor of a program that emphasized “meaning-based learning.”

That means that students spend less time learning from textbooks and more time investigating the actual object of their studies, according to Principal Timothy Stephens.

For instance, students recently learned about pond life by building a pond “laboratory” in their classroom.

Teachers also rely on themes to bring relevance to math, reading and writing and frown upon letter grades. Instead, students are evaluated on a continuum of progress and skills.

Conejo Elementary School runs a similar program, but only in three classrooms, said Barbara Ryan, the district’s director of elementary education.

Proponents of the school’s new teaching methods heralded the board’s decision, saying it offers an alternative elementary school to parents who want their children to learn in a more creative, less structured environment.

But other parents and some trustees criticized the approach, saying it ignores the basics and that the no-grade policy makes it difficult for parents to determine how well their children are doing.

Stephens defended the program, saying that students are scoring slightly higher on national performance tests than they were several years ago.

In 1994, Meadows Elementary School students performed better than 71% of those taking a national standardized test for reading, math, spelling and language skills. In 1996, the school outperformed 75% of the test takers.

Stephens also said that many parents support the program.

“There are many ways to the good life,” he said before the meeting. “We have a critical mass here that really believes in what we are trying to do and recognizes we are making progress.”

A 1996 survey found that 48% of parents with children at the school strongly agreed that the new teaching methods had effectively engaged their children in “purposeful learning.” Eighteen percent moderately agreed, while 10% disagreed.

Stephens said the school is revising report cards in answer to complaints from parents who have said that they find it difficult to interpret them. Responding to such concerns, trustee Dorothy Beaubien at the Thursday meeting asked that the school consider giving letter grades to older students. Stephens said he will consider the possibility, if that is what parents want.

But for now, the new report cards will describe in simpler terms each child’s position on a skills continuum that starts at “beginning” and ends with “exceptionally fluent.”

Teachers will also be required to provide proof to parents that their child is performing at his or her level.

“If a teacher says that a child proofreads and corrects errors in writing consistently,” said Stephens, “there ought to be some work that reflects that.”

Ryan said that although some parents favor a more traditional approach, Meadows offers a choice to those who don’t.

“The majority of the parents going there want this program for their children,” she said. “They see it as a choice away from a more traditional program, and that’s what they are looking for.”