‘My Time’ at Wayzata Central Middle School Provides Students with Choices
More than 1,300 students attend Wayzata Central Middle School, and each has their own interest and passion.
To help foster those interests, the school launched an initiative this year called “My Time”
“During ‘My Time,’ students have a lot of choice in what their learning is and what they want to do during that time,” said Xavier Reed, the principal at Wayzata Central.
Reed says the idea behind My Time was to give students an option during the first hour of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do some type of structured learning.
“I think that it’s gone well,” Reed said. “I think that we have laid a foundation. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are getting there.”
The way My Time works is that students log onto an app called The Hub, where they’re presented with a choice of several different sessions.
If they need help with a particular subject, they can pick the study boost session. If students want to learn more about a certain piece of curriculum that interests them, they can pick the extension session. And if the kids want to try out an activity they may have never done before, they can pick the exploration session.
Some of the students we spoke with gave My Time a glowing review.
“I think it’s gone pretty well, yeah,” said Julia Robbennolt, a seventh-grade student. “I’ve gotten a lot of work done that I needed to do, and I’ve gotten to spend time with my friends.”
‘Birchview Buddies’
If you’re an eighth grader at Central, you can spend My Time at nearby Birchview Elementary and become a “Birchview Buddy.” It’s a program where the older kids can help students in grades three through five with their schoolwork.
Central 8th grader Julia Chauvin helps read with a 3rd grader at Birchview Elementary School.
“I get to teach other kids the way I wish I’d learned and the way that I understand it best,” said Julia Chauvin, an 8th grader at Central in the Birchview Buddies program. “And I hope that that helps them understand it better, and it makes their school days easier.”
Building any program from the ground up can have its challenges. This school year has given staff members at Central a starting point that will help them grow ‘My Time’ well into the future.
“We’re really looking forward to year two with My Time and how we can be even more effective with it,” Reed said.
Students are also encouraged to come up with their own ideas for My Time. Reed says there’s a group of students who are so passionate about cricket, they’re working to set up an all-school cricket match.
Related: Wayzata Central Middle School Art Project Could Set World Record
