Mountain View School’s Multipurpose Room was abuzz with anticipation Friday as 51 sixth-graders sat down for hour-long exit interviews with local educators, civic leaders and other members of the public.
The interviews have been a decade-long tradition at the Goleta Union School District campus at 5465 Queen Ann Lane, off North Kellogg Avenue above Cathedral Oaks Road. They’re intended to help further the elementary school students’ transition to junior high school.
The students — divided into groups of two or three and matched with an adult — answer reflective questions on what they’ve learned and experienced during their time at Mountain View.
Prior to the event, the students wrote formal letters to their interviewers, introducing themselves and the subjects they would talk about during the face-to-face meeting.
The sixth-graders came dressed up and prepared with their school work to present to their interviewers. Some students started off timidly, but then spoke with increasing enthusiasm as they got more comfortable and excited to have the opportunity to share what they’ve accomplished and learned.
“What we’re working on throughout the entire year is that idea of having them be reflective,” Mountain View sixth-grade teacher Lisa Embury said. “And then also learning how they learn, learning their way of understanding, and getting to a point where they can articulate their learning.
“That’s everyday, all the time. Whether we’re in math and having to explain a problem, to working collaboratively on different projects … It’s sort of building throughout the entire year.”
She added that the process actually starts well before sixth grade.
“It’s also happening as they’re going throughout the entire school,” she said.
The students expressed a strong appreciation for the education they received during their seven years — for most of them, anyway — at the K-6 school, and said they were excited to be moving on to the next stage.
They readily talked about picking up skills and techniques that they will carry with them to junior high. Common goals students had set for themselves included procrastinating less and being more organized.
Some things students shared:
» “In the beginning of the year, I use to give up more easily but now I persevere more.”
» “I used to read only for homework but now I read because I want to.”
» “In the beginning of the year I thought I was pretty good at writing, but I actually grew a lot more.”
» “I enjoy math because I find it very useful for real life.”
» “Learning history now has helped me understand things today.”
The students also were able to demonstrate their creativity. One student shared how his science project gave him the chance to innovate when he used physics to explain the ring toss carnival game. Another student boasted that her work gave her artistic freedom.
Many students noted that they preferred working in groups rather than alone, especially with fun projects.
One student explained that working collaboratively was better since each team member knew what part they were assigned and they never argued. At a young age, these kids are already understanding the importance of being able to work with other people and the importance of good communication.
Another positive experience cited was having Mental Health Matters speakers visit campus. The students then had the chance to make posters presenting what they learned from the forums.
When asked what the students valued at Mountain View, many answered that they appreciated the people and the tight-knit community. Everyone knows each other and they are all friends, many said.
Today’s sixth-graders use Google Classroom to access their assignments on the Internet and take online math lessons through the CPM Educational Program. CPM, a nonprofit educational consortium of middle and high school teachers and university professors, offers a complete math program for grades six through 12, teaching the subject through problem solving, reasoning and communication.
Among the interviewers was Goleta Union School District Superintendent Bill Banning, who is retiring this month after 35 years in public education, the last five as GUSD’s top administrator.
“This is the only school in our district that does something like this,” he said. “It’s very reflective of the quality of education that kids get in every school in our district. Although it’s unique and a very special thing here, I would put what Mountain View does here as an example and reflection as what happens in all of our schools.
“It may be surprising to people that Goleta as a whole has almost 50 percent of all of the students here that are either learning English or living in poverty. This is a district that has reached out to find the right criteria and the right activities that support learning in every school.”
— Noozhawk intern Julia Lee can be reached at jlee@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.