the school :: a brief sketch
A.M.Y. (Alternative Middle Years) at James Martin is a magnet school of the Philadelphia school district that brings together students from over 90 different elementary schools from all over the city. Students are selected through a computerized lottery to maintain a racial balance with no consideration given to grades, standardized test scores, behavior, attendance, or disabilities.
Demographics: The student body at AMY is extremely diverse: 46% White, 33% African American, 18% Latino, and 3% Asian. 32% of students receive special education services, including services for gifted students. Over 72% of the student body is at or below the poverty level. The school has approximately 400 students with an average of 25-30 students per class.
Curriculum: Because AMY was officially dubbed an “Experimental School” by the Pennsylvania State Department of Education, they are able to bypass certain bureaucratic rules, though NCLB has resulted in further regulations (for example, the Philadelphia Core Curriculum mentioned below). Currently, this “experimental status” manifests itself in some vertically integrated classes, thematic electives, a trimester-based calendar, alternative assessments, narrative report cards, and student selected course schedules.
My Classes: During my time at AMY, I was responsible for two classes: one section of 7th grade Language Arts (29 students) and one section of 8th grade Language Arts (28 students). Each class met daily for 90 minutes, and activities ranged from whole group discussion and lecture to individualized seat work and small group activities. The materials and curriculum I designed lessons around were given to the school by the Philadelphia School District. This Core Curriculum specified which skills, concepts, and corresponding texts should be taught on a weekly pacing schedule. The District keeps teachers accountable to the Core Curriculum through Benchmark Tests administered at the end of each eight-week cycle.