Changes for Lake View Elementary keep coming: STEAM learning is next

For two years, Lake View Elementary students have been uprooted and bused to other schools while asbestos was removed from their Huntington Beach campus.

When the school reopens in the fall and students return for the first time since it was closed in October 2014, they’ll face another major change.

The campus will have switched to a STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — focus.

In their classes, students will sit in groups, rather than at desks in rows, to facilitate creativity, collaboration and critical thinking, said Principal Jamie Goodwyn.

“We wanted to change the look of learning and make sure students are getting 21st-century learning,” she said.

For example, instead of having students read about photosynthesis in a textbook, teachers would take them outside to observe photosynthesis at work, she said.

Reading, writing and history will also be incorporated into the lesson plans, and students will also work on computers more often than just having computer lab once a week.

The Ocean View School District spent last week holding informational sessions. During the Monday morning gathering, parents seemed generally supportive of the new educational direction.

“I’m excited about the technology and the STEAM focus,” said Jerilee Flores, who will be sending her third-grade son to the school. “My only concern is that this is ground level and they’re working out the kinks and bugs.”

Brenda Thornburg compared Lake View to a forest fire and its need to sprout from the ashes of a bad period.

“Lake View has essentially been destroyed,” she said. “What happens to a forest fire in the Sequoias? We get new growth. Lake View was destroyed, and there was a lot of bad-mouthing going around with low test scores and stuff of that nature. I think this is just a perfect application.”

Gina Clayton-Tarvin, the school district board president, who is also a sixth-grade teacher in Cerritos, said Lake View was chosen to become STEAM focused because it already had classes in robotics and engineering and its students participated in the arts at Westmont Elementary School in Westminster, one of a handful of schools in the county chosen last year as a Disney Performance School — a program that allows students to collaborate with the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on a Disney musical.

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FOR THE RECORD
April 28, 11:39 a.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Westmont Elementary is located in Anaheim. In fact, the school is located in Westminster. Also, Gina Clayton-Tarvin teaches in Cerritos, not Los Angeles.
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Goodwyn noted that STEAM plays a role at Vista View Middle School, where Lake View students move on to. She also said that traditionally biology, computer science and physics classes are not taught until high school but that the district wanted to expose the elementary students to these subjects early to spark interest.

The district hopes Lake View will be the “flagship school” for STEAM, Clayton-Tarvin said.

She said while Lake View’s 225 students suffered some discomfort from having to attend class in other schools, they experienced the least amount of change of the three elementary campuses that were closed for asbestos removal.

Oak View and Hope View students were moved to schools in Buena Park and Westminster. Lake View students were sent to a school a mile away within the same district, Clayton-Tarvin said.

Oak View and Hope View both reopened within the last few months.

When Lake View reopens Sept. 7, it will have new flooring, walls, lighting, heating, fire alarms and other safety systems, as well as classrooms set up for the STEAM technique.

Goodwyn said she expects students to be excited about the curriculum change, especially with it being hands-on, and teachers will work with their students at the beginning of the year through bonding exercises to ease the transition.

“I believe it’s going to be exciting for them because they get to go back home,” she said. “Not only are they going home, but they’re going to a new and exciting environment that’s very engaging and interactive. Just like any new school year, there’s that element of nervousness, so our teachers are going to make sure to do a lot of collaborative activities to make sure they feel comfortable.”

Carol Hansen, district superintendent, said: “This is an opportunity for these students to experience an innovative education program, using new learning tools and methods that will best prepare them for college and careers. It is our hope that the STEAM program at Lake View will serve as the model for all of our elementary schools as we plan for the future.”

STEAM and STEM — STEAM without the arts — education have been stressed nationally.

The number of scientists in the U.S. has been declining. In 2009, U.S. scientists wrote nearly 29% of research papers in influential journals, compared with 40% in 1981, according to the National Math and Science Initiative, a public-private partnership created to promote education in math and science.

President Obama in 2010 too has declared the importance for STEM education, stating that within a decade, American students “must move from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Lake View is on the cusp of that, Clayton-Tarvin said.

“When you teach science, it’s very critical to have students engaged and working with each other, especially when doing laboratory work,” she said.

She noted Common Core — a statewide educational initiative — also focuses on students working more together rather than a teacher just giving direct instruction.

“We’re looking at the teacher not being the focus, but the students being the focus,” said Goodwyn, who currently serves as principal at Star View Elementary but will take on her new role at Lake View in the fall. “The students become self-directed learners.”

Lake View staff will be trained in how to teach STEAM over the summer. Other interested Ocean View School District teachers who want to bring this model to their classrooms can join the lessons.

Next steps for parents

Parents have until 4:30 p.m. Friday to enroll their students in Lake View by turning in the proper paperwork to the school district. Students who previously attended Lake View will automatically be enrolled.

If parents do not want to send their children to the school, they will have to submit an intradistrict transfer request to the district by Friday. Parents will receive notification of approval or denial after May 1.

Parents of students who don’t live within the district but want their children to attend Lake View must submit an interdistrict transfer request form to their district of residence. Those parents will be notified after June 1.

Approval is based upon space, grades and staffing.

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Brittany Woolsey, brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey