Ponaganset Middle School

Middle Level Interdisciplinary Teams

An interdisciplinary team consists of two or more teachers from different subject areas and the group of students they commonly instruct. Team teachers plan, coordinate, and evaluate curriculum and instruction across academic areas. Teams cultivate meaningful and regular communication with families. Teams often share the same schedule and the same area of the building. For teachers, teams provide a collaborative and supportive work group. For students, teams offer stable relationships with teachers and peers (Jackson & Davis, 2000).

Principles for organizing effective teams include:

1. Keep teams small in terms of number of teachers and students.

2. Provide sufficient individual and team planning time for teachers.

3. Allow teams to design their students' daily schedule.

4. Assign teams to their own area of the building.

5. Allow teams to work together for multiple years. (Erb & Stevenson, 1999)

Characteristics of highly effective teams include:

1. Student-centered focus.

2. Strong commitment to academic achievement.

3. Collaborative policies and accountability systems.

4. Strong sense of team community.

5. Regular communication with parents.

6. A proactive approach.

7. Teachers who work professionally and collaboratively. (George & Alexander, 2003)

PMS currently has five interdisciplinary teams consisting of four core academic teachers - English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies.  Each team is supported by a special education teacher and/or a literacy or numeracy teacher.  The teams are housed in a "suite" that contains the classrooms, a science lab, lockers and lavatories.  Students may also have "special" classes with the Unified Arts Team of teachers - art, library, health, music, physical education, STEM and technology education.

PMS Interdisciplinary  Teams

Grade 6 – Purple                             Grade 6 – Yellow

Math                K. Botelho                                        Math              B. Gendreau                         

Science            M. Simao                                          Science           B. Gendreau

Soc St.             C. Hollingworth                               Soc St.           K. Gammell 

ELA                 G. MacMillan             ELA               K. Gammell

Special Ed       M. Ubel Special Ed       A. Saccoccio 

Grade 7 –  Green                            Grades 7 & 8 –  Orange

Math                 J. Barrows                                       Math               S. Curran                 

Science        J. Rollins                                           Science            D. Armstrong 

Soc St.              M. Goudreau                                    Soc St.              K. Gold

ELA                 N. Alger                                            ELA                  D. Leary

Special Ed       K. Hogan           Special Ed        A. Saccoccio