By B.C. Manion
A rigorous learning atmosphere and having fun are not mutually exclusive.
At least that’s the way Anthony Jones sees it.
Jones is principal at Walker Middle Magnet School for International Studies, which became a magnet school this year.
The school, at 8282 N. Mobley Road in Odessa, is working toward gaining authorization as an International Baccalaureate Studies Middle Years Program, begins it inaugural year of classes when a new school year begins in Hillsborough County on Aug. 23.
The magnet school will place a high value on the arts of inquiry and reflection among and between teachers and students, Jones said.
Teachers will be asking themselves these types of questions, Jones said:
— Do my students play a role in the decision making in my room?
— Does my teaching style vary based on student needs, data and research? If so, is it possible for these changes to manifest themselves multiple times in the same lesson?
— Do my students serve as active or passive stakeholders during my lessons?
— Do I encourage my students to ask the question, “Why?” both of myself and of their classmates?
It will take three years to make the journey toward an IB designation, Jones said.
The focus at Walker will be on rigor, service and fun, the principal said.
School officials define rigor as “world-class, student-centered, higher-ordered classroom instruction,” according the school’s website.
Students will be “challenged to think, create, and stretch themselves to a higher level,” Jones said in an open letter dated Aug. 2, which explains the school’s expectations.
Beyond being challenged intellectually, students also will be called to service, Jones said. The aim of education, he said, is to apply what is learned to improve the world.
“Service is not an extracurricular in an IB school,” said Jones, who previously directed the IB magnet program at Hillsborough High School. It is part of the school’s curriculum.
But a little levity is needed, too, Jones said. “It’s going to be a place where it’s OK to laugh and have a good time.”
As a magnet school, all students are selected for Walker through a lottery. That means students ranging from low-functioning special education students through those who excel in academics are attending the school. Jones said he’s not aware of any seventh- or eighth-grader who wanted to return to the school that was turned away.
To keep abreast of what is happening at the school, follow it on Twitter @WalkerMiddleSch.
