James Madison Memorial High School - Small Learning Communities Grant

Small Learning Communities Grant

In 2001, Memorial received a U.S. Department of Education Small Learning Communities federal grant to support a "neighborhood" reorganization. Students would be assigned to "backyards" consisting of approximately 20 students and a staff member, Backyards are grouped together to form "blocks", which are grouped to form "neighborhoods". In total there would be 100 backyards which combine to form 5 blocks which combine to form 4 neighborhoods. Started during the 2002-03 school year, the goal was to create a smaller environment where students would feel connected to each other and staff members. Different from a traditional homeroom concept, students are assigned to "backyards" consisting of approximately 20 students and 2 staff members (teachers, nurses, librarians, counselors, etc.) Students remain in the same backyard with the same students and teachers for their entire high school career. Backyard is currently receiving mostly negative views from students, and is under debate for improvement. Each neighborhood is assigned a vice principal to help ensure consistency in administration as students matriculate. In total there are 100 backyards that combine to form 20 blocks that combine to form 4 neighborhoods (Rock, Wolf, Fox, and Wisconsin).