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<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) "Kids feed off of enthusiasm and passion," says librarian Emily Wolfe (not pictured), who read poetry excerpts to a Sunnycrest Elementary School third-grade class as part of her Independence in the Library lesson on Thursday in Lake Stevens. (click to enlarge) Kevin Nortz / The Herald Sunnycrest elementary third-graders Alec Mulder (far left), Sean Barnes (left), Garrett Kraxberger (center) and Coleman Busby (right) share the library couch while reading poetry Thursday.   ADVERTISEMENT   Snohomish County's schools of distinction Sunnycrest Elementary, Lake Stevens Glenwood Elementary, Lake Stevens Dutch Hill Elementary, Snohomish Stanwood Elementary, Stanwood Post Middle School, Arlington Gateway Middle School, Everett Heatherwood Middle School, Mill Creek   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Poetry makes fun work of test preparation By Kaitlin Manry Herald Writer LAKE STEVENS -- Fifth-­graders listened, lips pursed in concentration, as librarian Emily Wolfe read poetry. "Boneless, translucent," she recited in a library at Sunnycrest* Elementary. "We undulate, undulate. Gelatinously." Hands shot in the air as students guessed the mystery creature's identity. "Fish, a snake," kids shouted. "It's not a snake," Wolfe replied. "It's translucent. Do you know what translucent is?" The students learned to define "undulate," "translucent" and "hulk" as Wolfe continued to read haiku from Jack Prelutsky's book "If Not for the Cat." Unwittingly, they practiced vocabulary and reading comprehension skills that may help them on the WASL. Principal Tim Haines said this sort of cross-discipline learning has helped boost Washington Assessment of Student Learning scores in recent years, earning Sunnycrest Elementary School a coveted spot on the state's Schools of Distinction list. Sunnycrest was among the seven schools in Snohomish County, and 98 in the state, to receive the honor last week. For a school to qualify, students must, as a group, exceed the state average on the fourth-, seventh- or 10th-grade WASL. Schools also must show considerable improvement over six years. Each school on the list has its own story about how it brought up test scores. At Stanwood Elementary School, teachers began tracking each child's phonics skills four years ago. Students are tested every eight weeks to help teachers determine their specific needs. "Nobody is under the radar," principal Victor Hanzeli said. "Everybody is being checked and watched and observed; so there's no slipping through the cracks." At Post Middle School in Arlington, kids who struggle with reading and writing are given extra attention. In smaller classes, teachers help them learn the skills they'll need to pass the WASL, principal Brian Beckley said. And at Sunnycrest, teachers are working together more and collaborating on lesson plans. They observe each other in the classroom and help determine how effective new lessons are, Haines said. Team teaching is tougher this year than last because Sunnycrest's staff and students are split at two separate campuses while the school building is closed for renovation. Still, teachers keep in touch by e-mail and work closely with the other teachers on their campus, Haines said. To get staff members thinking about how they learn, Haines started a required book club program this fall. All Sunnycrest staff are reading either "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer or "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly. Staff meet in groups to discuss the novels, which were written for young adults, and to analyze how they are learning from them. "This is a fairly radical and new idea," Haines said. "We've had one book study session when we sat down Oprah-style and talked about the book, talked about our thoughts, talked about our connection to the text." During the last school year, Sunnycrest hosted a series of classes for immigrant parents and their children. In the classes, they learned about the Lake Stevens school system, the importance of reading to their children and other topics. One session was at the local library, and parents walked away with library cards so they could check out books for their kids. These types of programs may not appear to be related to WASL performances, but Haines believes they increase student learning and indirectly boost WASL scores. As word of Sunnycrest's award has spread throughout the campuses, students have proudly stood in line to touch the school of distinction trophy. Kids have their own thoughts on why Sunnycrest won the award. "We're good students," third-grader Samantha Cote said. "We're listeners," said third-grader Kamarin Root. "We have great rules," added third-grader Ashley Mahan. Wolfe taught fourth grade before she became a librarian and she attributes the award largely to teachers' willingness to learn from each other. As the librarian, she visits both of Sunnycrest's campuses, and she said she has yet to encounter a teacher who insists on repeating the same lessons each year instead of trying new techniques. When teachers are exciting and engaged, students learn better, she said. "Anybody feeds off enthusiasm and passion," she said, standing in the library, paging through children's poetry books. "If I can show them how much I love to learn and how much I love to read, that can't help but be contagious." Back in front of her fifth-grade students, Wolfe explained that undulate means to move in waves. And, finally, students understood the haiku in its entirety. A girl called out the right answer. And Wolfe confirmed that a jellyfish is the boneless creature that undulates gelatinously. Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com. *Correction, Oct. 28, 2008: This article originally used an incorrect name for Sunnycrest Elementary. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. 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