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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate NEWS NOW Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... EDUCATION New Medford middle school would offer Montessori approach Medford will consider Valley School of Southern Oregon charter Comment By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 16, 2015 at 12:40 PM By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 16, 2015 at 12:40 PM » Social News A group of local parents and educators will make its case to the Medford School Board for a Montessori-based, public charter school for sixth- through eighth-graders. The Valley School of Southern Oregon would offer a middle school experience that emphasizes project-based learning strategies and science, technology, engineering and math curriculum and would encourage students to take responsibility for their education, per the Montessori model, organizers said. “Our ultimate goal is that students will become intrinsically motivated to learn and that they will own their learning,” said Andrea Dabbs-Partsafas, chairwoman of the Valley School Board, a former teacher and the mother of two Abraham Lincoln Elementary students. The school submitted two charter proposals to the Medford School District earlier this year — Jan. 12 and March 9 — but both were deemed incomplete under school board policy, said Julie Evans, the district’s director of elementary education and charter school liaison. However, its third proposal, which is 519 pages long, was submitted March 30, deemed complete April 3 and is now available for review on the district’s website. The Medford School Board will hear from Amy Maukonen, founder and director of the Valley School, during a work session at 5:15 p.m. Monday and accept comments on the Valley School during a public hearing at 7 p.m. that day in the boardroom at 815 S. Oakdale Ave., Medford. After the hearing, the board has 30 days to decide whether to sponsor the proposed three-year charter with the Valley School. Evans said she anticipates the board will make its decision at either the May 4 or May 18 meeting. In the meantime, the Medford School Board will have to gauge “whether the value of the public charter school is outweighed by any directly identifiable, significant and adverse impact on the quality of the public education of students residing in the school district," according to Oregon Revised Statutes. If approved, the charter school would open this fall to 75 students, including 37 sixth-graders, 30 seventh-graders and eight eighth-graders, and by year three be catering to 100 students, including 30 sixth-graders, 33 seventh-graders and 37 eighth-graders. Students would be enrolled in the school or wait-listed based on a public lottery process. About 110 families already have expressed an interest in enrolling their children in the Valley School. Many of the children are currently in private schools, such as Medford Montessori and Siskiyou Montessori, or being homeschooled, said Maukonen. “We’re not trying to replace Hedrick or McLoughlin (middle schools),” said Dabbs-Partsafas. “We’re just saying, ‘Here’s another way of doing it.’ And the more options parents have within the public school system, the better results we’ll have … because everyone is getting what they need.” As a former White Mountain Middle School teacher, Dabbs-Partsafas said she would come in contact with as many as 200 students every day and spend her commute back to Medford thinking of all the students she had missed or misread that day. Together, she and Maukonen, who currently teaches in the Eagle Point School District, envisioned a more hands-on, community-minded, individualized learning experience for middle school students. “This is in no way, shape or form coming out of frustration,” Dabbs-Partsafas said. “It’s coming out of inspiration.” At the Valley School, students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades would take classes together, 25 per class. Mornings would be somewhat “traditional” with homeroom, math and language arts studies, Dabbs-Partsafas explained. Students would be responsible for setting personal goals, documenting their progress throughout the day, getting help if they’re struggling in a particular area, requesting a quiz if they’re feeling confident, and setting their afternoon schedule. During the afternoon, students could study art, music, gardening or another elective or participate in a project outside the classroom, among other things. “The kids are making choices about their time and what they are doing,” Dabbs-Partsafas said. “And with three teachers and two, full-time aides, each kid would have five different choices every hour.” Montessori curriculum, Maukonen said, is focused on providing a developmentally appropriate education for kids while teachers act as guides or facilitators. “Never do for a child what they can do for themselves,” Maukonen said, quoting Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori educational method. So far, the Valley School has raised about $20,000 and hopes to have about $50,000, including grants, by this fall. It also is waiting to enter negotiations on a facility until it gets the green light from the Medford School Board. “It’s kind of a chicken-egg situation, where it’s hard to negotiate on buildings because we haven’t entered a contract with the Medford School District,” Dabbs-Partsafas said. For more information on the proposed public charter school, see www.thevalleyschool.education or www.facebook.com/thevalleyschoolofsouthernoregon . Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or by email at [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 16, 2015 at 12:40 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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