Integrated Thematic Instruction

ITI teaching is used in each house to impress upon students the integrated nature of all learning. The ultimate goal is to reinforce skills and concepts that are common throughout disciplines presented in the high school curricula. Teachers, within each house, work cooperatively to creat units of study focusing on selected themes integrating two or more specific disciplines.

For example, a basic theme could be The Civil Rights Movement. The English teacher may discuss literature reflecting the movement, the social studies teacher may focus on the government documents of the movement, the art teacher may focus on the art work reflecting the movment issues, the psychology teacher may focus on the psychology of prejudice and attitude change.

This is a valuable tool to assist students perpare for the MCAS, because ITI units naturally demand that students communicate effectively through reading, writing, speaking, and computing.

All students will be assigned to a TGA group. These student groups meet regularly with guidance couselors. This affect a significant increase in the time students work with their guidance counselors. The optimum size for the group is one staff member, who functions as a mentor/advocate, and 15 students.

The TGA Program will provide a home base for each student. The purpose will be: strengthen academic performance, learn to respond to obstacles to learn with initiative and perseverance, and develop necessary skills to work in diverse groups. Teachers may choose the following types of activities: tutorial sessions, directed studies, problem solving sessions, and/or team building activities.