From the archives: CMS Comunity School

Story and photos by Joshua Cole
(originally published in Jan. 15, 2009, Denver Herald-Dispatch. Story related to one published in the Feb. 4, 2010, Denver Herald-Dispatch)

CMS Community School brings everyone together



Photo caption: English teacher Ann Larson helps second grader Alejandra Montes, a native Spanish speaker, during literacy. CMS Community School's dual-language program encourages bilingual learners.

On its 50th anniversary, Charles M. Schenck Elementary School changed its name, and it's more than just to ensure that people don't mispronounce it.

CMS Community School's new moniker reflects the growing collaboration and cooperation among and between parents, families, children, teachers and staff.

CMS applied for and got distinction from Denver Public Schools as a Beacon Learning School, earning distinctions and grants to fund various programs that promote its unique situation, including after-school activities, parent classes and seminars, and teacher training.

Teaching children means teaching parents
Although a teacher can only control what goes on in his or her classroom, support in the hours a child is at home only helps a teacher further education goals. All parents want their children to succeed, but often times, either resources may be limited or parents may not know what to do, especially parents that don't know English. In the southwest community, many parents also grew up in a different country and culture, so their expectations of school are different.

“People are eager to help their family and their kids, and it's our job to put it out there,” said CMS Community Liaison Morgain Sanchez.

At CMS, the staff and faculty have reached out to the community on a schoolwide level—not just at parent-teacher conferences, or phone calls or letters home.

All of the parent programs are headed by Sanchez, hired in 2007-08 as the liaison.

In CMS's three-tiered approach, the school provides education for parents, with English classes at different times of the day, and seminars on children's expectations and ways that parents can help with homework. In the second tier, the building is also a place for parents to learn with other families, including seminars on legal issues, exercise, health, CPR and a 12-week class focused on women issues and mental health. Between 15 and 60 parents come to each presentation.

“I like it because it's an open door for the parents,” said Armida Solis, a parent who is learning English and volunteers twice a week. “

After reaching out to help the community, the school then gives parents a chance to give back to CMS. Some parents help in a classroom multiple times per week, and most parents do something at the school at least once per week. Parents run the weekly nacho sale, a fund raiser each Friday after school, currently gaining money for a SMART board in the music classroom. About once a month, parents spend a day organizing classrooms, paper or other materials so that teachers can spend more time on planning or other activities. Annually, the parent leadership organized the carnival.

“You have to get people in the door first,” said Principal Kristin Nelson-Steinhoff. “You have to get them comfortable. You have to create that sense of community. You have to do all of those things before you can talk about schools and kids and academics.”

Photo caption: Maricrus Coria and Brenda Lopez figure out and trace geometric shapes in their first grade literacy squared classroom (Spanish speakers that learn mostly in Spanish through second grade).

Respecting language, respecting culture, respecting each other
When students first learn English in school, they get three years of sheltered learning before they're expected to be fluent enough in English to be in full English classes. Oftentimes, students become proficient readers and writers in their first language only through the third grade, while their English remains low.

“They may speak Spanish when they come out of schools, but their literacy is at a third-grade level in Spanish,” Sanchez said.

CMS is trying to build bilingual readers and writers, not only their skills but also their confidence.

“I don't want my kids to lose their culture,” said Solis, who has three children at CMS.

In CMS's dual-language program, students learn for half of the day in English and half of the day in Spanish. Students are split between two classrooms. One group is strong in Spanish, while the other is strong in English. In the morning, they learn reading, writing and math in their at-home language, and in the afternoon they switch for reading, writing and math in the other language.

For two periods of the day, half of the English-speaking students work with half of the Spanish-speaking students on either Spanish or English (the language for the shared class switches each week).

Spanish-speaking students not only learn from the teacher, but also learn and teach each other.
Sanchez's son Agustin is a native English speaker in second grade of the dual-language program.

“It's the only program where Spanish is honored,” Sanchez said. “Their Spanish is very valuable. My son is fascinated by learning Spanish, and he thinks that the Spanish speakers are geniuses, the kids that are already bilingual are unbelievable.”

Further, students learn a second language at the same rate they're learning a first language. The average English reading level for English-speaking first graders in 2008 in the dual language program at CMS was about the same for first graders at CMS in the normal English class.

In Ann Larson's second-grade afternoon literacy class, about half of the class had a hand raised, eager to share a sentence or story. Larson was teaching English for the native Spanish speakers. Saul, who had been looking at the ground, confused, anxiously raised his hand to share his breakfast. “I eat, uh, eggs (pause) for breakfast,” he got out. Ms. Larson congratulated him for sharing, and a big smile spread across his face.

“Especially the native Spanish speakers, they're talking more,” said first grade dual-language teacher Gina Torres.

Two out of four classes in kindergarten, first and second grade are dual-language classes. One other is a literacy squared class (mostly taught in Spanish for grades K-2), and the fourth classroom is taught in English. The dual-language program started only three years ago at CMS, and it is rolling through each grade until the whole school has it.

“Our vision is, our hope is to create high-level bilinguals, kids that can read and write and speak and understand both English and Spanish at high levels,” Nelson-Steinhoff said. “Those will be our future professionals.”

After the normal school hours, CMS provides dance, gym, sports as well as academic tutoring, all free.

Teachers learning and working together
CMS has also ensured that the teachers are more involved with each other and the students.

Because teachers in the dual-language program switch students in the middle of each day, they talk in the middle to make sure that they're at the same place in the curriculum and that they're not repeating anything.

In December 2007, the Colorado Department of Education audited the school, finding all strengths and weaknesses in the school. All staff members, including the custodians, helped form the action plan on the school's top goals.

Half of the teachers (20 out of 40) started last winter earning a Master's degree in bilingual education together. Instead of traveling to Boulder or to downtown Denver, each Tuesday a professor from the University of Colorado visits the school.

After declining in student population, the school has increased enrollment the last three years. Parents who move out of the neighborhood keep their children at CMS. Teachers have a high retention rate, Nelson-Steinhoff said. And parents are always roaming the school, helping teachers and children excited and happy to be in a positive, caring community.