School Information Series: Club Boulevard Elementary

Stir Crazy Mom and founder of SoDu Parents Posse, Kat is spearheading out latest series of posts.  In our quests for the best Durham school for our respective kiddos we are learning a lot, so we will be posting what we have learned about the schools we visit, impressions, and information. We would love your input as well, so if you have something to add about a school, please add it to the comments section of the post.

School Type: Durham Public Schools Magnet

"Club Boulevard Elementary is a Humanities Magnet. Instruction at Club centers on the study of literature, culture, and human interest and promotes individual creativity, exploration of diverse cultures, and the development of personal values. Club features the integration of the arts and sciences in thematic units, authentic literature, and a focus on Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences." (from DPS website) The below info is courtesy of a SoDu Parents Posse member, after a tour.

• There are generally 80-90 Kindergarten lottery spots open each year; last year there were 250 applications.
• There are 3 Kindergarten classrooms and 2 combined Kindergarten/1st
• The same instruction/stay together all day except during math. To determine if a child will be in a combo or Kindergarten only class, assessments are held before the school year begins to ensure that there are students across all learning levels in each class. Students who attended preschool are more likely to be placed in a combo class.
• Student:teacher ratio (for 2012-13 school year) is 12:1 (as well as the teachers themselves, this also includes assistants & student teachers). Many of the current Kindergarten & 1st at Club and specifically requested to teach there upon graduation.
• Teacher assignments are made in mid-June. There is a kindergarden readiness event in late May.
• A typical day for a Kindergartener (in a K/1st)

1. 8:35am: Breakfast
2. 8:45am: Students may begin to enter the classroom
3. 9:00am: Morning work
4. Morning meeting
5. Literacy Club (45 minutes, M-R) or Art (F) (Topics for Literacy Clubs are chosen by each group of 
6. Specials (Specials are music, art, dance, PE and Spanish, and are held in a separate building on the 
7. Science
8. Recess (30 minutes)
9. Lunch (12:25-12:50pm)
10. Movement
11. Writing
12. Literacy Centers (small group instruction)
13. Quiet Reading (10-20 minutes)
14. Snack
15. Afternoon meeting
16. Dismissal (3:30pm)

• Math (Kindergarteners have a rest period before beginning math – it’s 25-30 minutes at the beginning of the year and slowly gets shortened as the year progresses. Students may bring a blanket or towel from home to rest on, but mats are not provided. Student who do not sleep may have quiet time.)
• The students do community-based service projects throughout the year.
• There are after school programs available from 3:45-5pm on Tuesdays or (and?) Wednesdays. They run for 8 weeks and are $35-$45 for the length of the program. These are held in the Cafeteria and are generally non-academic focused (hula-hooping, karate, etc.).
• Buses are provided county-wide.
• There are many opportunities for parental involvement both in the classroom & with the school/PTA in general. 
• Families are kept informed in a variety of ways – school-wide info is posted outside the office and is available on the website; classroom specific info is provided in a newsletter, and some teachers have class blogs. 
• All visitors to the school must check-in at the office by logging into the computer and printing a visitors badge. It does not appear that the doors are locked, there are also many points of entry in the school.
• The school is very clean and cheerful looking. Students in the halls & classrooms were well behaved. The school is very diverse – almost every year it’s 33% Black/White/Hispanic.