Special Edition | Seth Pozzi -  Head of School

Setting students up for success in middle school (and beyond) is important work. Throughout my 17 years at WHPS, we have engaged in a comprehensive and ongoing process to clearly define the skills needed for middle school success and have backward planned these skills into our program. 

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LANDSCAPE
What can sometimes be both a blessing and a curse of living in Los Angeles is that there are so many different “flavors” of schools. Sometimes even two siblings from the same household may not attend the same middle school due to children’s different strengths and interests. While there are certainly some schools that WHPS students are more apt to feed into, truthfully there are about 30 schools that our families may be interested in. In this case, our backward plan doesn’t just need to align with one school, it needs to be based on a rich understanding of many different schools.

BACKWARD-PLANNING
We have invested a great deal of time visiting top middle schools and deconstructing what is needed for a smooth transition. We have also gathered extensive formal and informal feedback from alumni families and students. All of this information has helped us fine-tune our program to target skills that make the transition smooth and set our kids up for success.

CURRICULUM
We have cherry-picked many different skills that make for a smooth transition. For instance, we noticed that some independent schools teach the Cornell Note-Taking system, and we were able to bring that into our program. Even the way the reading and writing units are organized is backward-planned based on the genres and skills that benefit students the most as they move into middle school.

HOMEWORK
We have also looked at the homework load in different schools. While no great research suggests elementary students benefit from lots of homework, we have backward-planned homework so that it’s still short and very targeted in the lower grades. By upper elementary, our students learn to do their own backward planning as they begin to have more responsibility for project management. One of the "best" things that can happen to a 4th or 5th grader is to learn how to pick up the pieces and rebound when something doesn't go quite how they thought it would.

DEPTH OVER BREADTH
Our curriculum focuses on depth over breadth. Singapore Math may cover fewer topics each year than traditional programs but at much greater depth and with much more emphasis on critical thinking. We have found that students with stronger critical thinking skills tend to approach new topics with a problem-solving mindset and are better able to analyze information, evaluate arguments, and make sound judgments. 

STANDARDIZED TESTING
The ERB is different from the standardized tests students take in a public school in two ways: 1) it’s oriented toward critical thinking skills versus rote memorization and 2) it’s norm-referenced, showing how our kids stack up against other children in independent schools. The ERB doesn’t align directly with any specific curriculum. We have our students take it as a practice test in 3rd grade and after reviewing those practice tests, we adjust in 4th grade to fill in any gaps. By 5th grade, they score remarkably well. We attribute that to the level of backward planning our teachers do and the innate critical thinking that takes place in our program. 

PUBLIC SPEAKING & MOCK INTERVIEWS
Helping students find their voice and speak with eloquence, assertiveness, and confidence is a core strength of our program. Even in TK and kindergarten, students have many opportunities to speak to authentic audiences. Morning Assembly, Publishing Celebrations, Morning Meetings, being the class greeter, and SLCs are some of the ways we do this. Starting in 4th grade, students get to apply for their desired classroom job(s) for a full trimester. Upper Elementary students lead school tours and meet with prospective families. In 5th grade, we conduct mock interviews with our students to help them prepare for the independent school admissions process at the schools they are applying to. We also encourage them to bring their leadership notebooks to the interview. We have received feedback from many schools that they couldn’t believe how well our students could articulate their strengths, interests, and even their plans for further self-improvement.

MINDSET
So much of our program is designed to foster a growth mindset in children. The way we do goalsetting in our Leadership Notebooks is designed to continually impress upon students that learning is a process and it’s not about always being correct or successful right away. Even when our kindergartners set personal goals that may sound very simple, such as crossing the monkey bars, getting better at soccer, or doing yoga every day, they’re beginning to think about something they want to achieve and create a plan to work toward achieving it. In 4th and 5th grade, students begin using a planner for management. When this doesn’t always work, we discuss the importance of failing and how to pick up the pieces if you fail.

LOVE OF LEARNING
It’s also important not to lose sight of our school’s mission to develop a love of learning. When students enjoy learning, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and enthusiastic about their future education. Elementary school is a crucial time for developing this and so we have created a school culture that prioritizes curiosity, exploration, and creativity. By starting with the end goal in mind and planning backward to determine the steps needed to achieve this goal, all aspects of our school’s curriculum and culture align with our ultimate goal and mission.

Problem-Solving

Why does it matter so much?

Harvard University recently conducted a study looking at which skills best predicted a leader’s success in the workplace. Out of 100 skills, problem-solving skills were among the top skills on the list. These skills are vital in every child’s success throughout their lives. Whether it is getting into an Ivy League school, maintaining positive relationships, or being able to confidently tackle everyday tasks throughout our lives, problem-solving skills are something we utilize daily. Research has also shown that children who come into kindergarten “reading” and “doing math” but without independent problem-solving skills tend to fall behind their peers (who started kindergarten with lower math and early literacy scores) by 4th grade. 

“When we invite children to problem solve,
we are nurturing the perception that they are capable” 
~ Jane Nelsen

Just as with adults, children face challenges every day! Sometimes it is peer conflict and other times it may be a complicated math problem. Using their minds to think critically and problem-solve is a necessary skill that allows them to become confident, smart, and successful individuals. 

Here are a few ways that we can foster problem-solving skills in preschool-aged children: 

1. Encourage creative play
2. Ask open-ended questions and seek answers 
3. Try some do-it-yourself projects together
4. Allow children to experience failure and find solutions
5. Ask your children to help with daily tasks
6. Allow children to attempt to navigate obstacles independently before offering help
7. Model problem-solving behaviors

As children grow and develop, they will be better equipped to navigate life's challenges and find solutions to their problems. Helping children to become problem solvers is an important aspect of parenting, and it can have long-term benefits for their development and success!

Hi Barnyard friends,

We have been busy this month helping the animals manage the constant atmospheric river of rain. While not everyone enjoys the rain, our ducks have been loving it! Even so, everyone is looking forward to the Southern California sun we know we will get eventually. 

ELEMENTARY
April is a short month with Spring Break coming up. We are playing some Barnyard Jeopardy as a fun way to apply what we have been learning.

• Husbandry - We will begin the month by finishing up our lessons in human nutrition. Don’t forget, humans are another animal that we all need to take care of! We will also be working on nutritional care plans for some of the non-human animals. 
• Ecology - Classes planted barley, grass, and herbs. After Spring Break, we will begin harvesting some of these as food for our animals. Our rabbits will especially enjoy them. On top of this, we will be investigating animal migration. Why do animals do it and how do they know where to go?
• Evolution & Genetics - The month will start with discussions on convergent evolution. This is when two species evolve the same trait separately, without a common ancestor. Later this month, we will learn about speciation. Finally, everyone is excited about the culmination of our Evolution Simulation project, where we will see all the creatures that have evolved in very different ways throughout the whole year.

PRESCHOOL
As we [hopefully] enjoy more favorable weather this month, students will get to have lots more direct interaction with our animals, including time with our goats, sheep, and other hoofstock. Our big learning focus this month will be learning about the difficult job of raising babies. We will investigate the many things animals need to worry about when raising young and compare/contrast these with what the children think human parents/guardians worry about. These are always fun discussions with our preschoolers!

Let’s all cross our fingers for some sunshine and warmth this coming month. Mrs. Mackenzie and Mr. Matthew, as well as all the animals, hope we can all soak up the sun and lots of learning, too!

-Mr. Matthew and Ms. Mackenzie

The WHPS Science & Nature Center is on Instagram @whpschool_barnyard