Multiage Classrooms Are a Bethel Tradition

NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series on Bethel Elementary School’s Multiage Program. The period for applications to the program begins today and runs through March 23.

There is often a low hum in the classroom run by Tara Richter and Laura Kennedy. It is not from the rustling of a moody heat pump warming into action, but the sound of focused eight and nine-year-olds working on a lesson. When the noise gets to be a bit much in the spacious classroom, Richter calmly raises her hand, the volume dims and the hum returns.

If it seems incongruous that a room of 46 children could produce anything less than a low roar, then you haven’t spent much time in a multi-age classroom. And at Bethel Elementary School, multi-age classrooms are something close to a tradition.

Starting at the Start

The tradition began with Millie Yarborough in 1997. When Yarborough first began exploring the idea of a multi-age classroom she had been teaching for six years. She did some research and studied its intricacies for about a year. Yarborough can’t say exactly why she began looking into it.

“I felt like there was a better way to reach children,” she said. “I wasn’t entrenched in a certain way of teaching, so I was ready for it.”

She worked with then-principal Dr. Kathy Howard to prepare a proposal to the Greenville County Schools Superintendent at the time, Dr. Rudolph Gordon. Yarborough was expecting a length review process, but much to her surprise, it was approved after only three months. “Dr. Gordon was a big advocate for multi-age teaching,” she said.

Yarborough immediately went to work designing a curriculum to meet South Carolina standards and talking to parents who might be interested in having their children in the program.

The present multiage programs are primary (Grades 1 and 2) and intermediate (Grades 3 and 4). But, when Yarborough started, kindergarten was included in the primary classes.

In a sentiment echoed by Richter and Kennedy, Yarborough said it is important for the classroom teacher to set expectations for parents. “We never told parents this is the best way to learn, but it’s a choice they can look into,” she said. “It’s a commitment for the whole family, not just the student in the classroom.”

It’s also a big commitment for a teacher. “Multi-age is not for every teacher,” Yarborough explained. “You are team-teaching and you give up some of the autonomy you would have in a regular classroom. You become more of a facilitator.”

The team-teaching aspect is one of the best aspects of multi-age according to Richter. “It’s the part of the job I love the most,” she said.

Adding an Intermediate Level

Richter was recruited to multi-age teaching by Yarborough and she eventually signed on, but only after insisting that Kennedy be her co-teacher.

Richter and Kennedy each had about 15 years of experience when they made the move to multi-age. Richter believes having that experience was critical. “We knew the curriculum already so it was just a matter of turning it into multi-age,” she said.

A training seminar in Indianapolis was helpful also. “That training session made all the difference,“ Kennedy said. “We met some Canadian teachers there and our learning centers really grew out of what we learned from them.”

The learning centers allow students to learn at their own pace while working in small groups, usually of about six.

Despite all their preparations, the first year was challenging. “It was a good year, but we were still learning and the support we received from administration and parent was really important.”

From a subject standpoint, Kennedy teaches Language Arts and History, while Richter teaches Math and Science. “We complement each other’s skills, “ Richter said. “Not having to plan everything and having someone share that load is a big help.”

Planning is essential to their success, particularly when it comes to standardized tests.

Language Arts is integrated and Math is taught traditionally, while Science and Social Studies alternate years. So, that means that a third-grader must take a PASS (Palmetto Assessment of State Standards) exam in the year he or she was taught fourth grade science or social studies. Unsurprisingly, test scores aren’t as strong when the students are tested in off-grade years. But whatever shortfall exists is more than made up for in the on year. Meaning that a third-grader who was taught the fourth-grade curriculum in Social Studies might not do well on that year’s third grade PASS test. But when he or she takes the fourth grade test the following year, there will be a noticeable bump in scores.

Richter and Kennedy supplement the curriculum with special lessons and a variety of strategies meant to help students during off-year testing. Even with 46 kids in the class — they’ve had as many as 51 — there is still an abundance of individualized instruction. Sometimes, that learning comes from fellow students.

“The learning is highly collaborative,” Richter said. “The fourth graders know what to expect in their second year in the program and they coach the third-graders. But we still encourage the third-graders to think for themselves and not to listen to everything the fourth-graders tell them.”

It is possible for a student to spend four years in a multi-age program and students who took primary multi-age do get preference in a structured lottery to continue into the intermediate level. Whether the students are in the program for two or four years, some of the biggest beneficiaries are teachers — fifth-grade teachers to be precise.

“The fifth-grade teachers love our kids,” Richter said with pride. “When they get them, (our kids) are very self-driven and capable.”

At the Administrative and District Level

Current Bethel principal Brenda Byrd is among the supporters of the multiage program. Her own daughter was taught by Richter and Kennedy.

While some might suggest that the multiage classroom is an example of innovation in education, Byrd observed that it’s actually quite traditional. “It harkens back to the days of the one-room schoolhouse, “ she said. “It’s been very successful here in the Bethel community.”

Greenville County School Board Trustee Lisa Wells sees several advantages in the multi-age classroom. One of them is the self-directed nature of learning. “I like that there are children that are more mature in a classroom and that they can help direct what the atmosphere is going to be like,” Wells said.

And key to that atmosphere is the low hum of learning.

“We think of that as good noise,” Richter said.

Wednesday: Multi-age classrooms from the parent and student perspective.

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