Grant to help Churchill get `smaller'.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

After deciding last year to forgo the small-schools path followed by North Eugene High School, Churchill High School has received a five-year, $774,000 federal grant to bolster its own "smaller learning communities."

The grant, believed to be the second-largest ever to go to a single district school, will help Churchill strengthen existing programs and create new ones. The programs will include a summer "bridge" program for incoming eighth-grade students who are behind in reading and math, and an "advisory" period that pairs a small group of students with one teacher to discuss topics such as graduation requirements and post-secondary plans.

The funds will pay for consulting services and a wealth of staff training, planning time and travel to conferences and other schools with standout smaller learning communities.

"It feels like a whole new burst of energy," said Grant Conway, a social studies teacher in Churchill's Advanced Small Learning Community, geared toward high-achieving students on the Advanced Placement track. "It's getting people excited again."

Churchill ushered in smaller learning communities - called SLCs - in 2001, thanks to an earlier $604,000 grant through the same U.S. Department of Education Smaller Learning Communities program. Since then, the program has distributed at least $835 million to school districts around the country, including 15 others in Oregon.

At that time, Churchill already had in place two programs within the larger school - the International High School and the Rachel Carson Center for Natural Resources - as well as Certificate of Advanced Mastery courses in particular career areas.

With the initial grant, the school created five SLCs for freshmen and sophomores, some of which have been altered or renamed in the ensuing years: Business and Law; Science and Humanities Integrated Projects; Health and Medical Studies; Arts and Communication; and Advanced. Students take most of their basic courses in their SLCs, such as social studies and language arts and, in some cases, math, science and health. They spend about half their school day in the SLC, the rest in electives and other classes. Students stick together and keep the same two or three SLC teachers for both years.

"At a big high school, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle," Principal Dennis Biggerstaff said. "It's really good to have teachers and students who know you."

Biggerstaff said the SLCs have been popular with students and parents. `Universally, (parents) like the SLCs, mainly because their kids feel connected," he said.

Students in Conway's history class Wednesday said they enjoy being around classmates who share their commitment to academics. "It's cool because the kids are interested in the same things you are," sophomore Erik Knapp said. "And it's nice because you get to know (the teachers) and they get to know you."

In another wing of the school, sophomore Mark Hohenberger pored over a medical terminology worksheet in his health and medical studies SLC class. Dead-set on being a firefighter, he has appreciated getting a jump on the know-how he'll need to be a licensed paramedic.

"It's been good," he said of being in an SLC, "but it's also kind of nice to meet new people. I'm looking forward to my junior and senior years when I'm not locked into certain classes."

He may have a bit less freedom than he anticipates. As part of the grant, Biggerstaff said the school hopes to expand the SLCs to serve all 1,280 students, possibly making some or all four-year programs.

SLCs are similar to the small schools taking shape at North Eugene High School: Both strive to boost student achievement by creating a more personalized learning environment, where every student is known and held to high standards.

But there is a key difference. North Eugene intends to make its three schools completely autonomous. Each has not only its own theme, but its own principal, schedule and curriculum. While North Eugene students are allowed to "cross over" and take classes in other schools on a limited basis, the school - in its first year of the new format - is striving for eventual separation.

SLCs, on the other hand, are still considered part of a cohesive, larger whole, with students free to choose from the full range of elective classes.

In April 2005, the Churchill staff voted on whether to apply for a small-schools grant through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust. North Eugene received such a grant the year before, for $900,000. The vote was 54 percent in favor, not enough to satisfy the agreed-upon 60 percent buy-in.

Conway said he was disappointed at the time.

"In hindsight, because the staff was divided at that time, I think this is a really great alternative," he said. "It was pretty polarized, and with this there's a lot of buy-in."

Biggerstaff, who got word of the grant late last month, said many staff members are pleased the grant will build on their success with SLCs, rather than forcing a difficult overhaul.

Laurie Moses, the district's director of high school services, said neither Sheldon nor South Eugene High School has expressed any interest in either small schools or SLCs. "However, each of those high schools is working on ways in which they can personalize the learning experiences for their students," she said. "They are also working on the three Rs - rigor, relevance and relationships."