Make connections and spend time in the garden this summer with JAMS and Nathan Hale families!

Looking for a fun and healthy summer activity?  Hale's large and thriving school garden is the place to be from 4 to 6 PM every Sunday night through Labor Day weekend.  Come help us maintain the garden, and share in the harvest at the end of the evening.  The garden is located north of the Jane Addams Middle School Campus.  EVERYONE is welcome--Hale students, JAMS students, siblings, families, and neighbors.  Students can earn service hours.

Please join us!  For more information, please contact teacher Jessica Torvik at jjtorvik@seattleschools.org<mailto:jjtorvik@seattleschools.org>

Math Placement for JAMS 6th Graders

Principal Montgomery has sent us information about students' placement in math classes this coming year. She has sent the District's math placement recommendations to 5th grade teachers by now, so you can contact your child's teacher or you can contact Ms. Montgomery at p l mont gomery at seattle schools dot org [remove spaces, replace words with symbols] about your child's JAMS math placement.

Families may opt up by a level, but you need to fill out the paperwork and mail it to JAMS.  Bringing the paperwork to JAMS after July 1 would be best.  Here’s the link to the opt in form. Scroll down until you see a table of languages and select the language you’d like the form in. If you can’t open it, please contact Ms. Montgomery and she can send it to you as a Word document.

Matrix used for 6th grade math placement

Highest Fall or Winter 5th Grade MAP Score	4th Grade MSP Score
	200 - 425	426 - 475	476 - 524	525 and above
100 - 229	CMP 1	CMP 1	CMP 1	CMP 1
230 - 239	CMP 1	CMP 2	CMP 2	CMP 2
240 - 249	CMP 1	CMP 2	CMP 3	CMP 3
250 and  above	CMP 1	CMP 2	CMP 3	Algebra 1

"CMP" stands for the district-adopted middle school curriculum, Connected Mathematics Project. JAMS will be using an updated version. More information about the curriculum can be found at the Pearson website.

Math Placement FAQ

What is the recommendation based on? 

The recommendation is based on MAP and state assessment results from grades 4 and 5. The recommendation matrix is displayed above.

Why does the district use 4th grade scores in placement recommendations? 

Middle schools need to build their schedules well before 5th grade MSP results are available.

Why are some students recommended to skip over a math class? 

The vast majority of students will not be recommended to skip a math class. Most of our math students will be recommended to take the next course in sequence. Math is developmental and sequential and very few students can skip an entire grade of math and not experience repercussions later. Nevertheless, in an effort to offer the best mathematical opportunities for all students, a very few students may be a recommended to take a course beyond the next one in sequence.

What if a family disagrees with the recommendation? 

A family may choose to ask a middle school to place a student in a math class one year beyond the recommended course. To do so, most schools require the students and families to sign a placement contract. 

What should a family consider in helping a student enroll in the right middle school math class? 

Families are encouraged to be very thoughtful about their math enrollment decisions.  Students and parents/guardians should carefully consider a student’s math acuity, confidence, work ethic, and strength of foundational mathematics skills before enrolling in an advanced pathway.

Can students opt into Algebra 1 in Middle School? 

The math department believes the best way to help students be prepared for college and careers is through completion of a mathematics pathway that allows students to experience a balance of procedural fluency and conceptual understanding. To ensure this, it has been the tradition in SPS not to allow students to opt into Algebra 1. However, this year, to accommodate the possibility that the recommended math course may miss a student who is ready for Algebra 1, the district has decided to offer an Algebra readiness test to students who meet one but not both of the criteria for placement in Algebra 1. This test can be requested by the parents or teacher of a fifth grader. It will be given at John Stanford Center once a month beginning in April. More information on this Algebra readiness test can be obtained from Anna Box, Math Program Manager, or Shawn Cook, Assessment Development Professional. Scores and resulting placement recommendations will be communicated to families and to the middle school where the student will enroll.

JAMS Music announcements from Debra Schaaf

Music Announcements

First meeting of Friends of Jane Addams Music (FOJAM): Wednesday, June 11, 7 pm, JAMS Library: This organization will support the JAMS Music Department to ensure high-quality experiences for all music students. Please join us!!

Music Mailing List

If you haven’t already, please register your email address and child’s information here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14qCTd2KY00wGNm8LfSa3IZ6cU2O35fKTyCoyL8prWCs/viewform

6^th Grade Music Placement Audition Dates

There will be 4 levels each of Concert Band and String Orchestra available at JAMS next year. Try-outs for placement in Band and Orchestra Classes will be held Saturday, June 7 and Saturday, June 14 at JAMS. An audition is NOT necessary for students who wish to join band or orchestra for the first time, or who would like to begin a new instrument.

Students should bring their instrument and music/book, and should be prepared to play something that they feel they play well.

Here is the link to the sign-up for BAND (Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, all saxes, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone/Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion.): http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4BAEAA2BABF58-band

Here is the link to the sign-up for ORCHESTRA: (Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass): http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4BAEAA2BABF58-orchestra

7^th and 8^th Grade Placement

Students from Hamilton and Eckstein Middle Schools will be placed in band or orchestra classes based on recommendations from Mr. Rowe, Mrs. Armaly, Mr. Escobedo, and Mr. Smith. Students transferring from other middle schools will need to audition for placement. Please use one of the links above to sign up.

Senior Jazz Audition Date

Admission to Sr. Jazz is by audition only; at least a year of Junior Jazz experience is required. Instrumentation is limited to standard big-band: alto, tenor and baritone saxes; trumpets; trombones; and rhythm section. Auditions for Senior Jazz Band will be held Friday, June 13 at JAMS. Students should be prepared to play:

Horns: (saxes, trumpets & trombones): two different major scales of their choice (one of which must be two octaves) and one chromatic scale (preferably two octaves), a piece that demonstrates understanding of jazz style, a demonstration of improvisation (optional; concert B flat blues is recommended. There are high-quality backing tracks available on Youtube for practice, or you can use Jamey Aebersold discs) and sight-reading.

Piano, bass, guitar: a prepared piece that demonstrates understanding of jazz style, a demonstration of improvisation (optional; concert B flat blues is recommended) and sight-reading

Drum Set: demonstrate steady time in three different styles: Swing, Latin of your choice, third style of your choice; sight-reading.

Although this sounds like a lot, I promise to keep this as low-key and low-stress as possible, and am thinking of this as a first opportunity to get to know students individually and to just find out what they know and can already do. If there’s something listed in the audition requirements that students are unsure of, DON’T PANIC! We’re here to learn!!

Here is the link to the sign-up for SR. JAZZ: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4BAEAA2BABF58-srjazz

Junior Jazz Sign-up

Junior Jazz is open to students who have at least one year of experience on their instrument. Sign-up forms will be available after the start of school. Junior Jazz will meet twice a week after school on Wednesdays and Fridays, and will be taught by Colin Pulkrabek.

Questions? Contact Deborah Schaaf: deschaaf@seattleschools.org

Instrument Rentals

If you are new to band or orchestra, you will need an instrument! Renting an instrument generally costs between $25 and $45 per month. Here is a list of shops that provide rental services:

The Bass Church: (specializing in double bass)

9716 Phinney Ave N

Seattle, WA 98103

(206) 784-6626

Bischofberger Violins: (Violin, viola cello)

1314 E John St

Seattle, WA 98102

(206) 324-3119

Capitol Music Center:

1006 NE 50^th Street

Seattle, WA  98105

(206) 622-0171

Hammond-Ashley Violins: (All orchestral strings, including double bass)

320 Third Ave NE

Issaquah, WA  98027

(425) 392-396

Kennelly Keys Music:

Across the street from Northgate Mall
10720 5th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98125
(206) 440-8299

Metropolitan Music:

8414 5^th Ave NE

Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 729-9299

Mills Music:

13500 Bel Red Road Suite A

Bellevue, WA 98005

(425) 643-3100

Seattle Sound Repair

4122 Stone Way N

Seattle, WA  98103

(206) 659-9023

It is the policy of the JAMS Music Department that every interested student be able to participate, regardless of his/her family’s ability to provide an instrument. If instrument rental causes financial hardship, please contact us about borrowing a school instrument.

JAMS PTSA's website: the best, most immediate source of information

Hopefully, many readers have already discovered the JAMS PTSA official website:

www.jamsptsa.org 

The PTSA website is undoubtedly the best source of updated information about events and developments at JAMS.  There is also the JAMS Fusion page, jams.www.seattleschools.org (yes, that's correct), which is perhaps less user-friendly, but has detailed announcements that Paula Montgomery posts directly.

Both of these resources include the option for you to sign up to receive email updates. We encourage you to join these email lists.  You'll get news about topics such as the election of PTSA officers, ongoing hiring of teachers, and upcoming meetings for your children to get to know their new school.

A note about this blog:
You will have noticed that the posts on this blog have been few and far between as of late -- this is partly due to personal pressures and partly due to the fact that the PTSA and Ms. Montgomery now have direct means of communication with the JAMS community.  This blog was created back when JAMS was only an idea, and there were no other sources of information and organization. Now, there are other, centralized sources of direct information. The blog will continue to exist, but it will exist mainly in the form of discussions rather than intermittent news blasts. Please send your suggestions for topics to janeaddamsmsblog@gmail.com.  Thanks!

JAMS music booster club (FOJAM) seeks volunteers for its Board of Directors

More good news for music-loving JAMS families: Zari Magness, the president of Hamilton's very active and effective music booster club, has announced the formation of a similar club for JAMS!  Zari is looking for volunteers for the FOJAM (Friends of Jane Addams Music) Board of Directors. Please see Zari's message below. If you would like to get involved, you should be able to get a message to Zari through principal Paula Montgomery at p l mont gom ery at seattle schools dot org or the incoming JAMS Music Teacher Leader, Debra Schaaf: d e schaaf at seattle schools dot org [remove spaces, replace words with symbols].  Music at JAMS is going to be fantastic!

Dear incoming JAMS families,

I am pleased to update you on the status of the new nonprofit music booster
club for Jane Addams Middle School. The purpose of the organization is to
support the music program and music directors at Jane Addams and provide
enrichment for all music students. We are happy to announce that Articles of
incorporation for Friends of Jane Addams Music (FOJAM) have been filed with
the state by one of the Hamilton parents, Faith Pettis of Pacifica Law
Group. We are grateful to Faith and her firm who agreed to do the legal work
pro bono for FOJAM. We still need to make the 501c3 filing with the IRS
which will incur some additional filing fees, but we will detail those later
on.

In the meanwhile, we need to identify 7 volunteer director positions for the
FOJAM board. Attached please find a short document (~8 pages) with the board
structure and responsibilities and let me know if any of these positions are
of interest to you. Ideally the board should be representative of all
schools feeding into JAMS. Once we have nominations for these positions, a
meeting will be called to vote on the directors as well as to vote on the
FOJAM bylaws.

If you can not commit to a board position right now, there are many
volunteer positions where you can help. These non-board positions are also
listed in the boxes in the attached document as well but I can provide you
more details on what they entail. To provide a great music experience for
our students at JAMS, please consider helping out by volunteering for any of
the many jobs that will need you when school starts. If you have experience
writing grants, please contact me, so we can start brain-storming while the
FOJAM startup goes through.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.

Sincerely,
Zari Magness
2013-14 President

          Friends of Music at Hamilton International Middle school. 

Your Input Sought on 6th Grade Electives!

 

JAMS Principal Paula Montgomery and the Parent Core Team are seeking input from families heading to JAMS in the next few years about 6th grade electives.  Please keep in mind that this does not impact students entering 7th and 8th grade. 

Parents! JAMS would like your opinion about 6^th grade!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JAMSElectives

JAMS PTSA Charter Member Meeting; Officer Nominations Sought

From the Jane Addams Middle School PTSA Steering Committee:

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 2nd, 7 PM in the JAMS Cafeteria for our CHARTER MEMBER meeting. Bring your checkbooks as we will be signing up members for our newly formed PTSA. At this meeting we will also be electing our Executive Board.

We are currently soliciting nominations for the following positions:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Legislative Chair

If you would like to be considered, or you would like to nominate someone else, please send a brief statement to:
nominations@jamsptsa.org. Also, all positions, except for President, can be shared between two people.

More information can be found at www.jamsptsa.org.

Please consider being an integral part of our new middle school.

 

Looking forward to seeing you there,
The JAMS PTSA Steering Committee

JAMS News and Open Thread

MEETINGS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS
Don't forget! There are two important dates coming up for prospective Jane Addams Middle School families.

TOMORROW, February 11:
5:30-6:30 p.m., in the Jane Addams library, principals Paula Montgomery (JAMS) and Debbie Nelson (JAK-8) will be available to talk to families of current Jane Addams K-8 students who will be 7th or 8th graders next year about the differences between JAMS and JAK-8.

6:30-7:30 pm, in the Jane Addams auditorium,  Information Night for prospective JAMS families. This is a chance for you to tour the school and ask questions about the JAMS program.

TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW, February 25: 
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Jane Addams library, Special Education Executive Director McWilliams and other Special Education staff will be available to discuss Special Education Services at JAMS for 2014-2015.

6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Jane Addams auditorium, the second Information Night for prospective JAMS families, another chance to tour the school and ask questions about the JAMS program.

JAMS AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS: YMCA ON BOARD
The JAMS PTSA Steering Committee has announced on its website that after-school activity programs at JAMS will be run by the YMCA!  This is great news for people who were wondering or worried about how this would be pulled off at a new school. The YMCA runs the after-school activity programs at Eckstein and HIMS.


MORE TEACHER HIRING NEWS
The JAMS Fusion Page official website has announced the hiring of four more teacher leaders: science leader, language arts leader, head counselor, and assistant principal. With the music teacher leader hire announced earlier, this makes five teacher leader positions filled. If you are interested in participating in the teacher hiring process, you can take the SEA interview training and let Principal Montgomery know that you would like to participate in an interview team.  There is a training scheduled for tomorrow, February 11.


REMINDER: LET MS. SCHAAF KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S MUSIC TALENTS AND NEEDS!
As reported earlier, the JAMS PTSA Steering Committee is helping the new music teacher leader, Debra Schaaf, gather information ahead of time about the music program needs of kids who may be coming to JAMS. Please visit the JAMS PTSA Steering Committee's website to fill out the online information form.


OPEN THREAD
Feel free to discuss any and all of these things in the comments to this post, or anything else (on-topic) that's on your mind!

New JAMS PTSA web site puts you in touch with Music Department and PTSA!

The JAMS PTSA Steering committee has set up a web site -- www.jamsptsa.org -- to keep families informed of all events happening at the new Jane Addams Middle School.  This site has links for useful JAMS-specific information.  The Steering Committee is busily working on putting together the charter application for JAMS membership in the Washington State PTA.

Here's a great opportunity for music-loving kids to let Debra Schaaf, the Music Teacher Leader of JAMS, know about their talents and what music opportunities they'd like to have at JAMS.  Click on "JAMS Music Information Form" in the upper right corner of the main page to submit your information to help Ms. Schaaf and Principal Montgomery in their music planning.

Thanks to the JAMS PTSA Steering Committee for their ongoing work!

Open thread: what topics would YOU like to see as posts?

What do you want to talk about? Do you want to write a guest post for this blog?

As always, please review our guidelines before commenting.

Guest Post: Please advocate TODAY for aligning JAMS and Hale bell times!

IMPORTANT!  Please advocate TODAY for the alignment of the JAMS and Nathan Hale bell times!

Background:  The Transportation Service Standards, up for School Board approval, have JAMS in bussing tier 1 (7:35 arrival time), and Nathan Hale HS in bussing tier 2 (8:25 arrival time).  Principals Montgomery (JAMS) and Hudson (Nathan Hale) endorse an alignment of the bell times for JAMS and Hale, with JAMS’ bell time 15 minutes prior to that of Hale.  There are a myriad of reasons why this would be beneficial to both schools.  For example:

1.      High school students would be able to walk their middle school-aged siblings to school.

2.      8^th grade JAMS students could more easily “Walk to Hale” for advanced classes (i.e. Math, Science, Music, and World Language).

3.      It would allow for easier coordination of shared instructors between the campuses.

4.      Crossing guards/security presence can be maximized during similar times.

5.      Hale students can smoothly tutor/assistant/coach teach at JAMS.

6.      Coordinated bell times would be attractive to prospective families, and will help make JAMS a success story from the start.  This is important, since JAMS is the first new comprehensive secondary school to be opened by SPS in perhaps 50 years, and the first of four new secondary schools to be opened by SPS in the next 5 years.

With intentionally-staggered bell times and the sharing of resources between the two schools, JAMS implementation costs should be reduced, while educational equity is improved.  This is not a novel strategy.  The E-STEM K-8 program currently in the Jane Addams building has “Walk to Hale for Math,” and Nathan Hale students mentor afterschool programming for the K-8, such as Robotics. 

The pushback to aligning the bell times appears to be costs, though in looking at the Big Picture, it would seem as though any additional transportation costs would be outweighed the cost and educational benefits of coordination between JAMS and Nathan Hale. 

Bottom line:  Education, not transportation, should drive the bell times, and, the educators responsible have an intentional strategy to meet the needs of students that is best served by the 15 minute – staggered bell time approach.   

At last week’s School Board meeting, the Superintendent requested that action on the Transportation Service Standards be delayed until the February 5^th School Board meeting.  The School Board directors approved of this delay.  The delay allows SPS Staff time to do more analysis.  The JAMS/Hale bell time alignment should be part of this analysis.  An updated Transportation Service Standards document should be included in the Friday Post of the School Board meeting agenda.  That leaves only a few days for prospective JAMS families to advocate for the alignment of JAMS and Hale bell times.

If you haven’t done so already, please send an email requesting that the transportation schedule for JAMS be shifted later, so that it would allow for the JAMS bell time to be 15 minutes prior to Nathan Hale’s established bell time.

The alignment of bell times is a critical first step toward establishing a long-term, mutually-beneficial educational partnership between the two school communities; one which will better serve our children, one which will help get JAMS off to a strong start – right out of the gate, and one which will reap benefits for many years to come.

Thank you!

Kim McCormick

Parent, John Rogers Elementary

Email addresses for advocacy letters (please send emails to all the addresses listed below, with the subject line of “JAMS Bell Times – Please align with Nathan Hale’s”
 

Superintendent Banda: superintendent@seattleschools.org

SPS Assistant Superintendent of Operations (Pegi McEvoy):  pmcevoy@seattleschools.org

SPS Transportation Dept:  transdept@seattleschools.org

SPS Arrival/Departure Time Feedback: arrivaltimes@seattleschools.org

Seattle School Board:  sharon.peaslee@seattleschools.org, sherry.carr@seattleschools.org, betty.patu@seattleschools.org, martha.mclaren@seattleschools.org, harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org, sue.peters@seattleschools.org, stephan.blanford@seattleschools.org

__________________________________________________________

JAMS Plans is happy to publish guest posts from the community (either signed or anonymous) that conform to the blog's guidelines. If you would like to write a guest post, please email us at janeaddamsmsblog@gmail.com.

 

Open thread for community conversation

Let's talk! Please review and abide by the blog's commenting guidelines.

STUDENT VOTE! Help choose the new JAMS mascot!

JAMS Principal Paula Montgomery just released a survey asking future JAMS students to vote on the new school mascot!

Here is the link: JAMS Mascot Survey link, Students Only

How exciting! Please help spread the word so that as many future students as possible can vote!

Music Teacher Leader Announced; Interview Training

JAMS has hired its first teacher!  From the JAMS Fusion page:

JAMS Music Leader Announced

We are incredibly pleased to announce that Debra Schaaf has accepted the position as the Music Leader for Jane Addams Middle School.

Debra has built the instrumental music programs at both Orca k-8 as well as Aki Middle School. She has developed significant arts partnerships for students throughout the district and also serves as lead teacher through our Career ladder teacher program. With nearly 20 years of music expereince, Debra has the right skill set to lead the development of the Jane Addams Middle School music program. She will be a great addition to the great cadre of music educators in North Seattle. Please join us in welcoming her as the first Jane Addams Middle School teacher!

 You can watch a performance by the Orca Jazz Band here!

Hiring of teacher leaders is going on right now, and hiring of other teachers will be continuing into the spring.  Anyone who would like to participate on an interview team must complete the Seattle Education Association training and then notify Paula Montgomery of their interest.  Students can participate in the training and be on an interview team, too!

There is an interview training being held TODAY at the Jane Addams building from 4-5 p.m.  Contact Paula Montgomery at p l mont gom ery at seattle schools dot org [remove spaces, replace words with symbols] to see whether there is space if you are interested in joining in today. 

The next training being held at the John Stanford Center is on February 11, 2014.  Email Regina Redmond at: SEA at washington ea dot org [remove spaces, replace words with symbols] to register (pre-registration is required).

Student Clubs and Activities

Student clubs and activities are an integral part of providing the kind of comprehensive student experience that we all want for our kids at JAMS. As one commenter so eloquently put it about her current Eckstein 7th grader:

I would like his last year of middle school to be HAPPY not just tolerable so I think that some activities which empower, energize and connect kids as a group would be very welcome.

Similarly, L.H. emailed us:

I’d be interested to get a conversation going about particular student clubs as I am interested in starting a Model United Nations club that could serve to unify kids from different programs, and be interesting and fun. I have a friend whose kids do this in California and they get to go to the United Nations in NYC for a trip - could be really cool

Sounds fabulous! What clubs would you and your kids like to see at JAMS? Interests that current fifth graders would like to pursue or develop? For example, many Sacajawea kids have an interest in theatre from the school play and an amazing 4th/5th grade teacher who uses theatre as a strong teaching tool in his class.

Eckstein and Hamilton appear to offer after-school clubs through the YMCA: [list of current Eckstein clubs; opens as PDF in new window]. [List of current Hamilton offerings; opens as PDF in new window]

Commenters on this blog have also suggested:

• Ultimate Frisbee club (co-ed, multi-age activity in which many Eckstein and HIMS kids participate)
• FLL robotics team
• Drama
• Ski Bus

Are there other freestanding clubs that Eckstein and Hamilton students want to continue? 
 

The other question is getting the clubs up and running for the fall. One commenter noted:

At Eckstein, it seems like teachers are often in charge of many extra-curriculars..such as coaching sports teams and chaperoning ski bus. I am not sure if this is standard throughout Seattle Middle schools but I am hoping we will see this at JAMS. It also is a great way for kids to form an additional bond with teachers.

How do we do this? If your kid is really interested in a particular activity, are you able and willing to start getting together with other like-minded parents to support that activity at JAMS? This blog would be available to help you communicate and find each other. Let's work on this together!

Parent Core Team applications due tomorrow; SpEd news; Info Nights

JAMS Special Education Meeting on February 25
Do you have questions or concerns about how Special Ed will be implemented at JAMS? There is an important meeting coming up on Tuesday, February 25! From the JAMS Fusion website:

On Tuesday, February 25 from 5:30-6:30, Executive Director McWilliams and other Special Education staff will be available in the JAMS library to discuss Special Education Services at JAMS for 2014-2015. This is prior to the all school information meeting that begins at 6:30.

JAMS Info Nights 2/11 and 2/25

There will be two general JAMS Information Night meetings. They will be held in the Jane Addams building auditorium on the following dates:

Tuesday, February 11, 6:30-7:30 pm
Tuesday, February 25, 6:30-7:30 pm

 

REMINDER: Applications are due TOMORROW, January 10, to join the Parent Core Team that will be instrumental in planning our new school. The application form can be found at the bottom of the JAMS Fusion page.

Later start time for JAMS?

A couple of people have emailed the blog suggesting a later start time for JAMS. A parent raised this issue at a JAMS meeting and later started an online petition for an 8:30 start time to match that of Nathan Hale. Tracy's petition makes some great points. Please check it out!

The National Sleep Foundation points out in an article on later school start times that adolescents need as much sleep as children, but the changes in their bodies make their natural "fall asleep" time later.

So how does this compare with other schools? Most Seattle middle schools start at 7:50. (Denny is the only exception -- it starts at 7:40!) Hale starts at 8:30; Garfield and Ingraham both start at 8:00.

So, what do you think? Any downsides?

World Language Programming at JAMS

World languages have generated the most emails to this blog and also have been prominent in the comments to several posts.  Clearly this is a topic that lots of us care about!  Principal Montgomery has said that Karen Kodama, the district's International Education Administrator, is helping with planning and continuity for world languages at JAMS.

Ms. Montgomery earlier sent us the following: "Yes to foreign languages, starting for 6th graders. At this point, I can say absolutely Spanish and Japanese due in large part to preparing students for high school. I will need to see the number of current 6th graders in French before making a decision."

Choosing the languages won't be easy -- there are continuity issues for students transferring to JAMS from Eckstein, Hamilton, and Jane Addams K-8, as well as issues of preparing students for language study at the high school level at Nathan Hale, Garfield, and Ingraham.

	JA K-8	Eckstein	Hamilton	Hale	Garfield	Ingraham
Chinese	X			maybe in the works?
Japanese		X	X	X	X	X
Spanish	X	X	X	X	X	X
French		X		X	X	X

 Eckstein offers three languages starting in 7th grade. Hamilton has only 2 languages, but offers them for three years. 

KM pointed out in a comment: "From what I understand, two years of a World Language taken in middle school counts towards one year of high-school level World Language, so a student who has taken a World Language, for two years, in middle school could enter at the second year level in high school."  


Spanish: Definitely will be offered
Paula Montgomery has stated that Spanish will definitely be offered at JAMS.  

French: On the fence

As noted above, Ms. Montgomery will need to see how many kids would be interested in French before a decision is made about whether to offer French.  L. A. emailed us:

My son is a current seventh grader at Eckstein. Students are not able to begin a foreign language at Eckstein until 7th grade so if Ms. Montgomery is counting current 6th grade students taking French then Eckstein would have zero or none. I'm worried this will impact her decision on whether or not to offer second year French to incoming eight graders.

For Nathan Hale, two years of middle school foreign language classes allows a freshman student to start the same language at a second year high school level. My son would need to continue French in eighth grade in order to qualify for this two year deal. French is offered at Nathan Hale.

He loves his current French teacher at Eckstein, wants to continue French next year (and at the high school level), and is very disappointed to hear he may not have that opportunity at the new JAMS. 

Lori had previously commented and pointed out that this might be a place to use mitigation funds:

I'm curious how languages will be handled with kids coming in from Eckstein and Hamilton, which have slightly different offerings. Both have Spanish and Japanese, but only Eckstein has French. Seems those kids already studying French should be able to continue, but will there be enough to support a teacher? I hope this an area where the district can provide mitigation funds. That is, even if it's only a handful of kids, and such a low number generally wouldn't justify a position, they'll make a "hardship" exception so children can continue their chosen language. A school with 700 kids probably wouldn't normally offer 3 different languages, but this one should have to, given the circumstances.

Japanese: Continued from HIMS and Eckstein but possibly phased out

 Wedgwood Family commented: "Paula also mentioned three years of language being offered to every student and phasing out Japanese for new langauge learners and adding Mandarin. Will JAMS become an international school?"

Shannon commented: "For the Japanese Language program at HIMS they have an exchange program and end of the year trip for 8th graders who have had 2 years of Japanese. My son was looking forward to participating."

Ms.Montgomery has indicated that Japanese will be offered at JAMS; however, she has stated that Japanese might be offered only temporarily, until the 7th and 8th graders coming from Eckstein and Hamilton have moved on to high school.

Mandarin Chinese: A Possibility

At her meeting with Sacajawea parents, Paula Montgomery mentioned that Hale is actually encouraging her to offer Mandarin Chinese at JAMS. It sounded as though Hale was considering or instituting a Mandarin track.

Z. X. emailed us:  

"I would very much like to see that Chinese is offered as an option for foreign language at the new JAM middle school. Many students would have liked to taken it if it were offered at HIMS (or at least their parents would have liked their kids to take it). In fact, many parents lobbied the principle at HIMS, but it was not possible because the foreign language teachers were already hired there.  Since JAM is starting new, this will be a golden opportunity to start to offer Chinese. It would be a strategically smart move."

KM commented: "JA K-8 offers Spanish and Chinese/Mandarin (Mandarin is new this year). Historically, languages at the K-8 were only available for 7th and 8th graders, but I'm not sure if that still applied to this year's (large) 6th grade class."

As mentioned above, Ms. Montgomery has mentioned the possibility that JAMS and Hale could institute a continuous track for Mandarin Chinese.

Language travel opportunities?
A few commenters have written about how much their Eckstein or Hamilton students have been looking forward to traveling with their language classes in their 8th grade year. These do indeed sound like amazing opportunities that would be really hard for these kids to give up. 

Shannon commented: "For the Japanese Language program at HIMS they have an exchange program and end of the year trip for 8th graders who have had 2 years of Japanese. My son was looking forward to participating"

JoRo commented: "Please offer French. I hope you are able to pull together a language travel program for language students. That is the #1 thing my kid was looking forward to - for her 8th grade at eckstein."

Leanne G. commented:

For the Spanish program, Eckstein students travel to Costa Rica after the end of school each year...it is typically a combination of tourism and service projects, as well as home stays with host families. Ihave only heard good things about it...my daughter would have participated next year after her 8th grade year. I think the best way to learn about these programs is to have language leads/Paula schedule some time with the coordinating teachers at Eckstein or Hamilton. Apollonia Guerra is the Eckstein Spanish teacher who coordinates the Costa Rica trip.