Drop grade system in schools
BY TIM IHMS, FOUNDER, CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR ACADEMY
The American Federation of Teachers reported in 1997 that a majority of teachers had promoted unprepared students in the previous year.
Another pair of researchers (Jay Heubert and Robert Hauser) reported on their results of tracking 6- to 8-year-olds during the 1980s and 1990s. They found in their research that 31 percent of 12- to 14-year-old students were in the wrong grade for their age.
Both of these research samples are meant highlight the problem of students moving from grade to grade before they are academically ready.
If you look up “moving students from grade to grade” on Google, there really is not much there. Almost everything concerning grades refers to grading papers or skipping grades. There is really nothing about the practice of using grade placement as a management system. What is the purpose of having students placed in grades? My best guess for using the grade system is so students can be presented a hierarchy of skills and knowledge as they get older. Having students sharing the same age placed in a grade is the idea for each grade. Then the idea goes that the students will move along with the same skills to the next
grade. But very few students fit into this idea of one size fits all.
All students enter school at different months of the 5-year-old spectrum. They all enter with varying degrees of experiences and skills already learned. Some have entered with varying ideas of whether school is an enjoyable place to be. A few are 6-years-old. On the first day of school, all students arrive as unique learning individuals.
As students complete the first year, they all have different skill levels. The students may have been presented the same material, but it does not mean they all learned it. Larger class sizes of 24 to 30 mean those students who need extra attention academically or behaviorally will be pushed on to the next year with little to show for their first year, except knowing they are already behind.
None of this needs to happen. Drop the grade system of student management and base the student advancement on skills acquired, like we do at Christ Our Saviour Academy in Gilbert.
All students at Christ Our Saviour Academy move onto new goals based on what was mastered the previous day. The teacher and student know exactly what skills are mastered because feedback is immediate each day. Teachers know where the student needs extra help because of that feedback.
Many students will learn how to cope with large classes by ignoring the teacher when she talks, and just completing the work. Others will struggle.
First grade advancement is hardly that. It is an advancement based on age, not on skills. This creates greater frustration, behavior problems and labeling.
We do not look for students at Christ Our Saviour Academy to pass a class or earn a good grade. That is not the purpose of school. The school’s purpose is for our students to better their skills and understanding of the world around them. Reaching for high grades works against learning. It hinders progress and the desire to be in school.
Students look forward to school at Christ Our Saviour Academy because they have clear goals and learn from teachers who care at a school where the focus is on the student, not on their grades or promotion.
See more at: http://bit.ly/1K19Buk.
Worship guide
There is a place of worship for a variety of religions in Gilbert. Here is a partial list of some of the congregations in the town. Want to be added to this list? Email christina@gilbertsunnews.com.
The Bridge Church
860 E. Warner Rd., Suites 101 & 103 Gilbert 85296
480-294-7888 www.bridgechurchaz.org
Services: 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays We exist to show the world who Jesus is, and we believe that when people get to know Jesus as He really is, their lives will change forever. Therefore, it is our passion to help people know Jesus throughout Gilbert, Metro Phoenix and the world.
Central Christian Church—Gilbert 965 E. Germann Rd., Gilbert 85297 www.centralaz.com/ Arena/?page=5644
Services: 5:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sundays
While the Bible itself is the church’s official document of faith, the website lists a variety of statements that
fundamentally define the church. Please visit the website for more information.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints
3301 S. Greenfield Rd., Gilbert 85297 (480) 822-5000
www.lds.org/church/temples/gilbertarizona?lang=eng
For more information about the temple, visit the website above.
First United Methodist Church of Gilbert
331 S. Cooper Rd., Gilbert 85233 (480) 892-9166
www.gilbertumc.org
Services: 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. (traditional services) and 11 a.m. (contemporary service) Sundays
There are two traditional services—8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.—with the Chancel choir and traditional worship. The 11 a.m. service has a contemporary feel, with music from the Praise Band. The 9:30 a.m. service generally has the largest attendance.
Christ Our Saviour Academy now enrolling
Christ Our Saviour Academy is enrolling kindergarten through eighth grade students for its private school in downtown Gilbert.
The school theme of “Supporting our families in the training of their children through a personalized education” highlights the emphasis of the school. Through individualized, nonlecture approaches to instruction, students have their own individual goals to master each day. Classrooms are multigrade with 15 students. Tim and Lori Ihms
are both certified teachers who have successfully used the personalized approach for more than 40 years. For more information on the school and enrollment, visit www.christoursaviouracademy.com
Christ Our Saviour Academy is located at 202 S. Gilbert Rd., Gilbert. For more information, call (520) 428-4631 or email admin@christoursaviouracademy.com
No perfect people allowed
Whoever you are, and wherever you are on your spiritual journey... ...you are welcome at the Bridge
WORSHIP GUIDE from page 41
Gilbert Presbyterian Church
235 E. Guadalupe Rd., Gilbert 85234 (480) 892-6753
www.azgpc.org
Services: 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays
Gilbert Presbyterian Church is called to be a Christ-centered covenant family nurtured by the Holy Spirit to worship God and to share God’s love with everyone.
Living Water United Methodist Fellowship
Highland Park Elementary School 230 N Cole. Dr., Gilbert 85234 www.livingwaterum.org
Services: 10 a.m. Sundays
Living Water exists to bring people in to meet Christ, build people up to follow Christ and send people out to share Christ.
Mission Community Church
4450 E. Elliot Rd., Gilbert 85234 (480) 545-4024
www.mission68.org
Services: 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturdays; and 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. Sundays
The Bible is God’s word to all people. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth and without error in the original manuscripts.
Real Life Church
Church services at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts
4132 E. Pecos Rd., Gilbert 85295 (480) 444-0231 or www.reallife.cc
The church believes in one God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is the creator of all things, including man.
Redemption Gilbert
1820 W. Elliot Rd, Gilbert 85233 (480) 632-2220 www.gilbert.redemptionaz.com/ about/a-brief-overview/ Services: 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays
Gospel means good news, but it is truly the most profound and glorious truth ever revealed. It is not advice, nor is it a system or philosophy to add to the congregants’ lives. It is an exclusive truth claim, a holistic worldview, the true story of the whole world, which by its very nature must redefine and recolor everything else.
Resurrection Episcopal Church Meets at Gilbert Community Center, 130 N. Oak St., Gilbert 85233, each month except June.
(480) 719-5343
www.resurrectiongilbert.org
Services: Call for information
The world sends the message that we must hold right beliefs and exhibit right behaviors before we can rightly belong. To God, that idea is backward. We always belong to God, and in Christ nothing can separate us from his love and acceptance. Growth in Godly ways of being and doing is cultivated when we acknowledge that we are already known and loved by God. All people are welcome at the church, and congregation officials don’t just say it, they live it.
St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
2654 E. Williams Field Rd., Gilbert 85295 (480) 279-6737
www.smarymag.org
A Roman Catholic parish that witnesses the love of Jesus Christ through evangelization, Catechesis and celebration of the Sacraments.
San Tan Bible Church
1424 S. Promenade Lane, Gilbert 85296
Phone number not available. www.santanbible.org
Services: 8:30 a.m. (Bible hour); 9:30 a.m. (Café 2:42) and 10 a.m. worship service Sundays
The church believes the glory of God is the chief end of all we do.
Sun Valley Community Church
456 E. Ray Rd., Gilbert 85296 (480) 632-8920, www.sunvalleycc.com
Services: 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. Sundays
The atmosphere is casual and friendly at Sun Valley Community Church. It places high value on authentic Christian living and placing Christ at the center of all our teachings. The church also offers worship music that is current and uplifting, along with focused weekend sermons that break down the Bible in a way that makes it easy to connect the word of God with today’s busy life.
Two Rivers Church
326 E. Guadalupe Rd., Gilbert 85234 (480) 892-2435, www.2riverschurch.org
Services: 6 p.m. Saturdays; and 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Spanish) Sundays
Two Rivers Church exists to help lead congregants into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by encouraging and equipping them to love God intimately and serve others. It has a casual environment with a serious faith.
