When Dr. T.C. McCormick, Jr. Middle School has its first day of school Monday, Aug. 22, Hays CISD leaders hope the innovative methods employed there will lead to changes in other schools district-wide. Here are five of the ways McCormick plans to bring HCISD into the future.

Language. Instead of teachers, McCormick has "facilitators," and students are called "learners," Superintendent Michael McKie said. This lends itself to the system of teaching at McCormick.

"If you talk the talk, it's easier to walk the walk," Public Information Officer Tim Savoy said. "It also lets the kids know that this environment is different than other schools."

Independence. At the new middle school, children in grades 6 through 8 will have more freedom in how they learn new information and demonstrate a mastery of it, Principal Thad Gittens said.

“The big idea is really centered around creating a nontraditional instructional environment in which we build and enhance learners’ self-direction, independence and interdependence,” he said.

Collaboration. McCormick will place a huge emphasis on encouraging students to work together. Wider hallways equipped with furniture, accessible common spaces and desks that can be easily pushed together help create an environment in which students are encouraged to work and solve problems together, Gittens said. 

Movement. Much like the Montessori method of education, children at McCormick will be allowed to move around, and not be confined to sitting in a desk for eight hours a day. One innovation McCormick will take advantage of are small stools with a wiggly base, perfect for kids who can't seem to keep still during class.

"We need to teach the way that children learn," McKie said.

Many classrooms in the new school are equipped with shelving with a slick surface that doubles as a dry-erase board, and kids will also be encouraged to use markers to write on their desk. The district also purchased desks that are easy for students to get in and out of, unlike the traditional chairs that can be tricky to slide out of from the side.

Trailblazing. Eventually, some of McCormick's innovative methods could be utilized at other HCISD schools.

"The successful parts of the new model at McCormick will be adapted and spread to the other schools so all of the students in the district have that opportunity," Savoy said.

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