NEW JACKSON SCHOOL TO OFFER NEW APPROACH

JACKSON -- The construction of Jackson Middle School, two months from completion, means more than roomier conditions for students and teachers.

A whole teaching philosophy will change when students walk through the doors for the 1995-96 school year.

Jackson Middle School, located on Route D, will house sixth and seventh grades. Sixth graders currently attend West Lane, North or Burfordville Elementary schools. All seventh graders are at Jackson Junior High.

All the older schools need additional space, said new middle school principal Dan Beard, but junior high is the worst. Even when the seventh grade leaves, every classroom will be filled.

Junior high language arts teacher Ellen Lukens said she and other teachers are thrilled to be moving next school year.

"We were tempted to work nights and put up bricks ourselves, but they wouldn't issue us hard hats," she joked.

Western geography teacher Cheryl Hanschen said she primarily looked forward to having her own classroom. In her position at the junior high, she changes classrooms three times a day. Some teachers change every hour.

About 275 sixth-grade students and 295 seventh-grade students are expected to enroll at the new facility, which can accommodate up to 850. There shouldn't be trouble with overcrowding for some time, and the student-teacher ratio will be around 25 to 1.

In fact, many classrooms will sit vacant for the first year and beyond.

A tour of the middle school, which cost about $4.9 million, is impressive. Skylights brighten all areas of the building, including a huge, airy library. Tile floors feature Jackson's school colors -- red and black. Shiny red lockers line seventh-grade hallways.

Classroom equipment is first-rate, too. The industrial technology class features individual work areas where students can turn on a light to indicate they need help. There are 15 stations in the science lab, which Beard said was the envy of senior high school science teachers.

There is a computer lab, too, but funding didn't allow for computers to fill it. The school board is looking into grants so students may use computers soon.

But changes don't stop with the physical. Jackson Middle School began implementing a new way of teaching over the last school year, and it will be in effect during the coming school year.

School officials call it team teaching, and the purpose is to provide sixth graders with a sense of security while getting them used to the idea of changing classrooms.

Teams of two or three teachers will see the same students all day. A group of students will learn language arts, reading, vocabulary and spelling from one teacher, then the entire group will move to another classroom to learn science. They will move a third time to learn social studies. One of the two or three teachers also will teach math.

Sixth graders will take physical education four days a week, and art and music classes will be incorporated into their schedules, too.

Beard said seventh grade at Jackson Middle School will be more traditional, but teachers will be assigned to the same group of students so the teachers can communicate about trouble areas and also develop lessons that complement other subjects. However, when students change classes, they won't be with the same children all the time.

It's confusing, teachers concede.

"It's a good program, but a scheduling nightmare," Lukens, the language arts teacher, said. "Fortunately, Dr. Beard can handle it."

Seventh-grade students will learn reading-language arts, science, math, world geography, physical education, study skills, health, music, art, life skills and industrial technology. They may take band if they want.

Beard said changes in the teaching methods for both levels make adjustment to junior high and high school easier, which benefits Jackson students as they continue their educational careers.

There will be an open house at the new facility before the next school year, he said, providing parents the opportunity to see where their children will be educated.