Corridor Elementary School - Eugene 4J

somewhere in the day. Choice is the essence of Corridor School-not only the choice to be here since it is a magnet school, but also the many choices throughout the school day as to how the children will accomplish mastery of a certain skill. Corridor classes average 22 students who are grouped by grade level from 8:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. for instruction in math, reading/language arts, social studies, science and health. The homeroom teacher accommodates abilities with creative and enriching programs while the structure of the morning program helps students accept responsibility for their behavior and academic achievement and is followed by a portion of the day that involves student choice. During the afternoon (1-2:35 p.m.) the Corridor program is essentially a commitment to tap into and recognize each individual’s strengths within the school community. Teacher strengths and expertise are utilized to create a variety of curriculum enrichment classes that help build self esteem in the areas of visual and performing arts, science, technology, and P.E. A list of offerings is sent home prior to choosing classes so that parent and child prioritize choices. These offerings change approximately every three weeks and include such classes as wire sculpture, school newspaper, basket weaving, calligraphy, amphibians, chess and wood shop which allows teachers to determine how they can best use their strengths and teaching style at Corridor. Children of varying ages are often grouped across grade level for these classes, which encourages a sense of family. It is not unusual to see teams of multi-aged students working on projects together. Students love this part of the day and commit their mornings to reaching their highest academic potential in part because of it. There is a desire at Corridor for every child to discover their talents and interests and to have an opportunity to pursue them. Our staff strives to provide a positive learning environment for our students. We teach and model behavior expectations in all building spaces before, during and after school. Students are rewarded for being STARS (Safe, Thoughtful, Accepting, Responsible Students) with green star slips and can enter to win special prizes each week, which are announced over the intercom to the entire school. All students earn monthly incentives by following the school rules, such as Fun Fridays and other special events. Students are also recognized as Student of the Month in each classroom, and receive special rewards for their hard work. See our school website to learn more about our positive behavior support system. Corridor is also rich with technology. Each classroom is enriched with an interactive SMART Board, which allows teachers to infuse digital media into student’s curricula. Classrooms are also furnished with Mac laptops, which students use throughout their day to create projects, do research and practice concepts. Students also have access to digital camcorders and cameras, palm pilots, GPS and many other technology tools. Another distinctive feature of Corridor School is the annual musical production performed in the Soreng Theater of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Each play is written or modified, produced and directed by the teaching staff and is actively supported by the parents. These musical productions are much more than opportunities to perform... each musical production provides a theme around which a wide range of curriculum activities is woven. Due to the size of the student body,only the third through fifth graders will do the play. Corridor is an Oregon Green School and strives to instill green values in our students. It is our philosophy that teaching green living is vital for our future citizens of our community. Our school has an amazing, renovated school garden where students get a hands-on learning experience with concepts such as plants, harvesting, and insects. We have a strong recycling program in our classrooms and cafeteria, and we often do green projects to show students the importance of reusing materials. Corridor also has a composting program, where we use worm bins to reduce our cafeteria waste and create fabulous nutrients for our garden to grow! A final key component of Corridor School is the creation of more of a family atmosphere within the school context. There is a conscious effort to create a learning environment where everyone shares, collaborates and helps each other in the same way that healthy families do. This includes a lot of parental involvement in and out of the classroom. At Corridor one can find parents not only volunteering in the class and library but also sewing costumes, building and painting sets, organizing and supporting fundraisers, mentoring new families, assembling weekly newsletter information, even installing playground equipment-activities that support the school vision-to prepare children to be productive members of a global society and to have children leave this school with a sense of self-worth, a respect for all people and a zeal for life-long learning.