Please support the continuation of an 8-period day at Silver Spring International Middle School because we believe it is vital to the success of our large population of vulnerable students and because without it we are concerned that some of our most powerful programs are in jeopardy.
Silver Spring International is a complex mix of programs: Middle Years Programme IB , two language immersion programs, and an autism resources program. SSIMS also has a 49% FARMS rate and a very diverse student population.
If we are forced to change to a 7-period daily schedule, students will lose in several ways
· The most fragile students, who would otherwise be enrolled in both double-block math and reading will receive less instruction and will not be able to achieve at the same levels.
· Children who need extra support in math or reading would have to choose between a second period of the subject and an elective. Those who need the extra help would not have an elective and for many of those children, school offers their only exposure to the arts or a foreign language.
· Spanish and French immersion students would likely receive 2 rather than 3 periods in the target language. If immersion maintains the 3 periods, immersion students would have no electives at all.
- Shorter classes held every day will affect the ability to delve deeply into a subject and increase the daily homework pressures children face.
- Adding extra transitions with 7 daily periods would be especially challenging at SSIMS because it is housed in a large, former high school with a gym that is a long walk from the main building.
- The outstanding music program, in which an astounding one third of students participate, would be in serious jeopardy. Because more than half of the electives currently offered would be eliminated, the successful band, orchestra, and choral programs would be destroyed. This happened recently at Eastern Middle School when it changed from an 8-period to a 7-period schedule and its music program was decimated, dropping from hundreds of students to 30.
- Other unique programs, e.g. Lights, Camera, Literacy, would also be at risk.