ST. LOUIS - The Hazelwood School District is set to begin the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 21 and one middle school in the district is set to look a bit different.
Hazelwood Southeast Middle School is set to give student more opportunities to learn more career-related skills as the school transitioned to a more Thematic school.
Thematic learning is based on the idea that knowledge acquisition is efficient among students when they learn in the context of a coherent and holistic way and when they can associate whatever they learn to their surrounding and real life examples.
Hazelwood School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Middle School Education Dr. Eric Arbetter joined Total Information A.M. to discuss the curriculum change for the school and how much will it help the school.
Arbetter says the district decided to go this route with the middle school as a way to both recruit more teachers at the school and help students get more engaged.
"We're focused on that whole child experience with our students both intellectually, emotionally and socially," said Arbetter, "We developed a specific focus on career, technical eduation and goal setting for our students."
Among the biggest changes at the school alongside the curriculum change is that the school hours will be extended on some days as a way to help students get more additional school hours and programming each week. Mondays will remain normal 8 am - 3 p.m. hours will Tuesdays to Fridays will from 8 a.m. to 4:30 pm.
Arbetter credits the school's principal Marsha Wallace for developing the concept and says the school tried to create a curriculum around vocational and career training on their own.
"(Wallace) really wanted to think of a way to engage her students more and also give them a step up as they head to high school," said Arbetter.
Some schools, mostly high schools have seen more vocational and career training in their curriculum. St. Mary's South Side Catholic High School has also begun adding more vocational education into their curriculum.
Monday's will be different compared to the rest of the district middle schools, with the school offering new classes with help of local community partners like the St. Louis Zoo. Some of the news classes that will be offered include STEM literacy, coding classes, farming and designing zoo habitats.
Student will also get to learn real life skills like resume building, interviewing, how to do college visits, etc.
Arbetter says a huge benefits to the change too is that it will help give teachers time off as teachers at the school will be required to only work 11 Mondays throughout the school year, giving many teachers four-day work weeks. Teachers will also get an extra $6,500 stipend at the school.
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