Commentary; Posted: 1/8/03

Students, staff make Century great

Ben Lewis
Guest Columnist

Century Junior High opened its doors in the fall of 2000. Designed around the concept of houses for each grade, the building has 63 teaching stations and ample field space for athletics. The house concept divides the building into three grades with each grade having their own wing. Each grade of around 340 students is divided into two teaching teams. The net result is that a large building of 1026 students feels smaller to the students.

Most students have four of their seven classes within a few steps of each other. In addition, team teachers work with a common group of students, allowing them to coordinate instruction and support for students on their team.

Our students come from Scandia, Columbus, Forest Lake, Forest View and St. Peterís Elementary schools and are truly outstanding young people. They are bright, curious, kind and thoughtful. They love to learn, are active in extra-curricular activities and care about community.

We recently raised over 3000 food and personal items for local food shelves, contributed over $5000 to the 9/11 relief and had 30 of our students contribute a day to community service as part of our first Make a Difference Day. Our annual testing shows that our students score well compared to state and national results.

We offer a full range of classes, with elective offerings in three languages, industrial technology, family and consumer science, art and music. Students with high ability are able to access accelerated classes in English, math, social studies and 9th grade science. Students who need additional support can take advantage of after school learning programs, a interdisciplinary team we call BLAST, or, if needed, a great special education department. We are actively participating in the Turning the Pages Together program by reading17 minutes a day four days a week.

Our staff is well trained, experienced and caring. Over 100 people work here and all of them are caring and dedicated to the wellbeing and education of our students. Over 60 percent of our teachers have their masterís degree compared to 43 percent statewide.

On any given day teachers may involve and enhance student learning with innovative and creative programs for our students. Today students are dressed in clothes from different time periods which they researched and made, others are measuring the density of the human body by displacement of water, while eighth grade social studies is preparing skits depicting scenes from a book about the Revolutionary War's effect on teens. These are only samples of the ways that the teachers make learning real and take it beyond the pages in a textbook.

Students who are actively engaged in learning through activities like these remember more information better and for a longer time.

Century also supports the emotional and developmental needs of students through our advisor advisee program, an active student leadership group, school dances, academic recognition, character development programs and an excellent guidance department. Our most recent efforts in this area are to reduce the amount of bullying that occurs here. Students and staff are working together to learn more about and set a standard of behavior which does not include bullying behavior. We feel strongly that Century is above bullying!

I am proud of Century Junior High. Century is a great school with great kids and staff who do wonderful things for our community!

Writer Ben Lewis is principal at Century Junior High School in Forest Lake.

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