INSIDE OUT: Shaw school works to enrich education

The Shaw Middle School welcomed back its students this year with more than just a fresh coat of paint, some new texts and a few additional teachers. This year, the Shaw school embarked on a new-and-improved West Philadelphia "cluster" -- a system that attempts to develop smaller, inter-disciplinary learning communities based around a central theme. "The concept is not new," West Philadelphia Cluster Leader Janice Butler said. "The focus changes not in terms of curriculum, but [in] their thematic strands and focuses." The West Philadelphia cluster is comprised of West Philadelphia High School and the 10 feeder schools which surround it. In the past, the Shaw school was broken up into smaller learning "houses." But this year the student body and teachers are divided into four distinct learning communities. Shaw Principal Al Bichner has made it his priority to involve parents and teachers as he implements the new curriculum structure to Shaw. He has adopted the slogan "Together Everyone Achieves More" -- or TEAM. Over the summer, Bichner sent a letter to parents describing the four learning communities and asking them to request a specific community for their children. Bichner also asked his teachers to request a learning community in which they would teach. University staff, faculty members and students are playing a key role in developing the curriculum for these learning communities and are working with students in the classroom on a regular basis. The Academic Improvement Motivation community learns desktop publishing techniques in the school's computer labs. According to Alisha Soslow, a 1994 College graduate and director of Penn programs at Shaw, the school's journalism program will focus on the community's history. "A newspaper increases communication, increases knowledge and gets kids out to talk with members of the community," Soslow said. John Puckett, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education, is working with Shaw AIM teachers on a curriculum stressing the community's social history. Last year, Daily Pennsylvanian editors and staff members taught Shaw students writing and journalism at the DP office, 4015 Walnut St., as part of their "Saturday School" program. The DP staff helped students produce "Class Act," an eight-page paper during the fall semester. Staff members also worked with Shaw students on a one-page supplement in the spring. The DP's four Saturday afternoon journalism workshops "got things rolling" for the AIM learning community, Soslow said. The "Saturday School" program will continue again this year. Students in the Bridge to Employment community study a curriculum based around a health careers theme. Bridge students go on to study at the John Bartram High School, which hosts a similar program. Puckett has also worked with some of his graduate students on the development of the Bridge curriculum. In addition, 22 University faculty members were matched up with Shaw students in a mentorship program last year. The program is likely to continue this year within the Bridge learning community. Wharton junior John Seeg and College junior Abby Close have been instrumental in the development of the Science Alliance learning community. The Science Alliance focuses on the environment of the urban community that surrounds Shaw. The University has also been instrumental in securing federal and state grant monies for Shaw's learning communities. University staff members helped the school district prepare a federal grant proposal that would deliver $250,000 to the West Philadelphia cluster's three middle schools over the next three years. The staff of the University's Center For Community Partnerships helped procure a grant of $49,000 from the Philadelphia Urban Resource Partnership, a Department of Agriculture program. The Shaw School and the Wilson Elementary School will share the money and use it for their environmental education programs. The Shaw School plans on using the money to remove concrete outside the school and replace it with a garden that will serve as the school's Environmental Education Lab. University members also helped the school get $45,000 from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor to support the school's Wednesday night Community School, which is open to all Shaw–area residents -- regardless of their age. "It's mutually beneficial for both sides," Soslow said of the University's involvement with the Shaw school.