New Multi-Grade Classroom Improves instruction at Spring Valley Academy

New Multi-Grade Classroom Improves instruction at Spring Valley Academy
Story by Vicki Swetnam

Ohio Conference’s Spring Valley Academy in Centerville, Ohio, added a multi-grade classroom for students in grades 4-6 with varying ability levels. Alison Jobson recently returned to SVA and says she is excited to teach in a multi-grade classroom.

“What a wonderful opportunity to differentiate instruction on a whole new level ... It’s like differentiated integration to the 10th power! My students know and understand that they are receiving individualized instruction that meets their current needs, to take them where they need to be, and also empowers them with extended studies,” says Jobson. “It’s rewarding to see a sixth-grader assisting a fourth-grader in math, or my fifth-graders listening in on the fourth-grade science lesson and choosing to be a part of the dis- cussion as they recall studies from last year.”

The program allows accelerated students who are able to move up a grade level in a content area with ease. “So, to essentially have a small school classroom environment within this larger community allows students to get the best of both worlds,” says Darren Wilkins, principal.