Revisiting the Team Structure at Minnie Howard
Ben Vastola and Bobby Sweeney
In the debate over what to do with Minnie Howard, the ninth grade campus enters its second year of using a team format. It consists of eight teams, each with their own set of team teachers. Academy Administrator of Teams 1-4 Robert Bowes said, “The team system gives students a collection of students and teachers that they are comfortable with.”
Minnie Howard first used the team format ten years ago, but later stopped using this system. Last year, however, teams made their return to the school. The main difference between the teams ten years ago and now is the number of students, with over 860 students enrolled as of 2018.
The goal of teams is to make the transition from middle school to high school easier for students. Teams in the middle schools and at Minnie Howard have similar structures as both provide students with a routine that they are used to but there are more teams at Minnie Howard.
“The teams made the transition a lot smoother and feel a lot more organized than I would have thought. The teams were also helpful because it was very easy to find my counselor and talk to them and get comfortable with them,” said freshman Reed Travis.
Organization is a key component of the team format. Teachers have more communication with each other to better plan for assignments and balance workload for students. This ensures that students do not have tests or large assignments in every class on the same day, keeping the new high school students from being overwhelmed.
The team format not only benefits the students, but also the teachers. Special Education teacher Morgan Ray said, “The best part is the collaboration and potential co-planning among teachers. It helps us prepare for challenges that students may experience.” Most of the teachers stay within their team, allowing them to meet and discuss ways to improve learning for students.
Teachers also have the ability to tackle any student issue that occur in multiple classes. “This is a great time for us to troubleshoot academic and behavioral issues, as well as secure support from administrators, counselors, social workers, and service providers if needed,” said Ray.
The class of 2022 is the first class to see the transition from the team format at Minnie Howard to the main T.C. campus. One concern is the shift from a smaller learning environment at Minnie Howard to the non-team oriented and highly populated main campus.
While the team system at Minnie Howard may help some better adjust to the structure and massive number of students at the King Street Campus, it also minimizes the number of interactions between different students because students in different teams only have the chance to see each other during electives and P.E.
The teams are here for the foreseeable future. According to Bowes, the administration hopes to support students academically, emotionally and socially.
