Students experiment with special ‘LIFT’ courses

Math. Science. Reading. Social studies.

Those are the subjects taught in every classroom around the world. This year, Fairfield Middle School has added to that core curriculum by offering courses seldom seen at a junior high: African drumming, interior design, computer coding, chess, Legos, photography and even the self-defense martial art jiu-jitsu.

Those specialty classes are all taught at the end of the day from 3-3:30 p.m. They are referred to as 'LIFT” classes, because they raise students to be the best in whatever their passion. Students are typically in the same LIFT course for five or six weeks before rotating to a new one.

FMS Principal Laura Atwood said the LIFT structure is based on an educational model called multi-tiered system of supports. In MTSS, time at the end of the day is set aside for students to reinforce the material they learned that day before advancing to the next lesson.

Christina Freeman, an instructional coach for grades 2-8 who helped create LIFT, said some students use the final half hour of the day for math or reading interventions. If students have already mastered the core concepts, they get to participate in a list of enrichment courses.

'Our structure is a work in progress but we are so encouraged by the results we are seeing in student achievement,” Atwood said. 'Staff have been excellent and flexible in working on this structure to make it work for our students. When we are analyzing student progress and making new groups, it gets messy fast. Staff and students have been flexible and super patient.”

Out of the ordinary

The school wanted to offer enrichment courses that students wouldn't cover in a typical day.

'We tried to offer a variety of choices to meet different needs and passion areas,” Atwood said. 'We know allowing student choice creates passion and inspiration to learn.”

The district sought to take advantage of the unique talents of its staff and faculty, who supervise and lead the sessions. The students also give feedback on the kind of classes they'd like to see. Atwood said the ultimate goal of LIFT is to put the students in control of their own education.

'We want this to be a student-driven experience where they are running the groups and leading the learning,” she said. 'We also wanted to give students who are not in enrichment [courses] to participate in fun activities, so we took a break for a couple of weeks so all students could participate in fun team-building activities.”

Students take the lead

Freeman gave a few examples of how LIFT puts students in charge: the interior design class wanted to put inspirational quotes in the hallway, so they picked the most heavily trafficked parts of the school and are sketching quotes on them now; members of the baking class decided to make desserts they had never done before; the photography class has chosen the subjects for its photographs, and is planning a service project whereby it posts pictures of shelter animals online to help them find a home.

Middle school officials hope to expand the program outside the classroom, turning LIFT into a half-day course featuring field trips, fishing and community service projects, just to name a few ideas.

'We want to work with our community and get our students out there to explore and give back,” Atwood said.

At the moment, LIFT classes are mostly led by teachers or staff in the district, but FMS is eager to get volunteers from outside the district, too.

'The more people we have, the smaller the group sizes, which is ideal,” Atwood said. 'Also, the more people we have, the more opportunities we have to display our passion areas and teach students some of our unique skillsets that students find interesting.”

Freeman said high school students who have a study hall eighth hour have volunteered their time by leading classes, too.

'Some of those high school students are teaching the chess class,” Freeman said.

Helping others

FMS students are keen on 'paying it forward” by helping their younger colleagues. Students in grades sixth through eighth have volunteered to be fifth-grade helpers or Pence helpers.

'About 12-15 middle school kids go to Pence during LIFT every day to help out in the classroom,” Freeman said.

Fairfield Middle School restructured its class schedule this year to make time for LIFT. Last year, students reported to a homeroom teacher for the final 14 minutes of the day, where they reviewed their assignment journals for the days and weeks ahead. That period was scrapped.

A few other changes were eliminating the 'Channel 1 News Time” at the beginning of the day, and shortening classes by two minutes.

That gave the school five more minutes for lunch and a 30-minute period at the end of the day. Now students use those final 30 minutes to review what they learned that day, or participate in one of the many LIFT courses.