Team teachers tie class together

Published 4:25 am Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Thirty-seven kids is just too many for one sixth-grade class.

That’s the problem that faced Enterprise Schools Superintendent Brad Royse this year. Splitting the class in half was the logical step, but not the kind one, Royse said.

“School had already started and I didn’t want to make the kids decide which teacher they wanted,” he said.

Instead, he played to the strengths of two new first-year teachers, Kyle Crawford and Jordan Alford, and divided the class only by subject matter.

The teachers are in adjacent rooms and the kids cycle between them, 18 students at a time.

“It’s much like junior high,” said Crawford. “The students just switch classes.”

Crawford teaches math, science and social studies, while Alford teaches English, reading and spelling.

So far, the parents and students love this arrangement, Royse said.

It’s the best of both worlds: small class sizes means more teacher interaction, and sixth grade is still a single class, socially.