Paulson, who taught math at Sobrato High School for
three years, enjoys the difference in format at MOHILA.
For starters, he’s working with far fewer kids—there are
eleven in-school kids enrolled this year, and another dozen
or so homeschool kids whose work he helps to grade.
“It’s an alternative education, a different setting where
they are able to work independently at their own pace
as opposed to a class where the teacher sets the pace,”
Paulson explained.
Some students work way ahead of pace, while others
just try to keep up with the 5 percent per week pace that
Paulson suggests, so that they are done by the end of the
18-or-20 week semesters.
Tessa, age 16, a high school junior likes the self-paced
part of the program. “You’re not limited to an amount of
time so if you do math for an entire day, you can get really
ahead,” she said.
She also feels that she can focus better with fewer
students competing for attention. “Unlike in regular school
this class actually focuses and gets thing done. Because it’s a
smaller atmosphere, not forty kids to one teacher.”
Lexi, age 13, in 8 th grade, likes that she can repeat a
section as many times as needed. “At normal school you
have to go along with the teacher, learn what the teacher
teaches, but here if you don’t understand it you can go over
it as many times as you like.”
Paulson acknowledged, “Kids have different needs.” He
added that this program appeals to “The super creative
ones that are really motivated, and can really reach their
potential.”
It’s also nice for kids who have “anxiety type issues,” he
said. “We are a small environment, one teacher to deal with,
and the kids don’t have to explain themselves to a lot of
different teachers.”
Indeed, the room was quiet, despite multiple students
working there. Occasionally, a student raised a hand to call
for Paulson, or leaned over and chatted with a neighbor.
This all allows for a peaceful air of relaxation not usually
found in a typical classroom.
“We don’t have periods so we don’t have to move
around,” said Alan, age 18. “It’s relaxed and laid back.”
Though they don’t have periods, they do have an
informal structure. Paulson said the students come in
at 8:45 am then go to PE sometime within that first
hour. When they return, they do additional work for
up to another hour and a half. Then he leads them in
collaborative projects, “for building the interpersonal and
presentation type skills they wouldn’t always get in an online
environment,” he said. This is followed by more coursework.
It’s important to Paulson to split up the day, “because you
can’t sit in front of the computer for six hours at a time. I try
to mix it up and give them their opportunities to get their
brains unwound.”
Even more exciting to students and teachers alike are
the number of electives available to them that they would
be unlikely to take in traditional or even private schools.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
“We have students taking forensic science, criminology,
gothic literature, and AV production,” Paulson described.
As a bonus, Paulson gets to learn alongside the students
as he grades their written work, organizes discussions and
collaborative projects or science experiments with them.
“I like that because I’m interested in all these different
areas,” he said.
The middle-school-aged kids take four cores: English,
History, Science and Math, and can take up to two electives
on top of that. High-school-aged kids add a foreign language
for two years, and some students are also taking advanced
placement (AP) classes. For these latter two types of classes,
students work with teachers online through Edmentum,
rather than with Paulson.
Paulson also finds that having kids of different ages and
grades working together is a unique benefit of the format.
“They each bring their own strengths,” he explained. “If
a younger one is stronger in math than some of the older
ones, they can shine in different ways. I think it’s neat that
they cross over and interact.”
The students themselves also like the crossover and
expressed that the small format allows them to bond with
each other without any judgments or peer pressure.
As the program expands, Paulson would like to arrange
for more break-out groups where he can focus on specific
subjects and do some direct teaching with a group on one
particular subject. He’d also like to be able to do more field
trips. “That might be stimulating in some way to expose
them to more [educational opportunities], because it’s a
small group. Otherwise, he just wants to see the program
continue because it clearly meets a need.
Gomes, too, is hopeful for the future of the program.
Once the state grants them the designation of being a stand-
alone school, they’ll have a grand opening.
“We’re really excited to have the opportunity and honor
to work with neat kids and super cool families and provide
a solution for them as traditional schooling wasn’t working
for them and their family.”
Vera Gomes, Principal
APRIL/MAY 2018
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