Then second-grader Alex Ruemmler was grouped into the “lower class” of immigrants as she and her class went through a simulation as part of a project on immigration. Most of the class sat down in the cramped spaces after getting onto the “ship” to Ellis Island. They watched discontented, as the “first class” got space and food in their “cabin.”
Through this simulation, Ruemmler and her fellow students learned the struggles immigrants needed to go through coming to the U.S. for over 60 years.
Over the course of the year, Ruemmler’s class participated in many more simulations as part of the Charter School of Morgan Hill’s unique curriculum.
A charter school, such as Discovery Charter in San Jose and Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco, is a publicly funded school run by a board, teachers and parents, which operates on a curriculum separate from local and state regulations. In order to get started, these schools must have a charter stating their goals for their students and has the freedom to “adjust [the] curriculum to meet the students needs,” according to National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Many of them focus specifically on a particular field such as science, technology, engineering, math or performing arts.
In order to attend many charter schools, students apply for admission and are chosen in a lottery.
Ruemmler said it is difficult to be admitted at her charter school and that the probability of being waitlisted as a kindergartener is high. In addition, getting into a charter school as a first grader or older is only possible if a student attending the school drops his or her spot. For Ruemmler, admission into the K-8 Charter School of Morgan Hill was a result of a student dropping out shortly after the start of the school year.
Once admitted, Ruemmler and her classmates took part in project-based learning that required independent research without using textbooks.
Ruemmler said that the activities helped her remember the information more than using textbook-based approach, as the two to three weeks allotted for each project allowed more time to understand the material.
“We had a lot more freedom in what we wanted to learn at the charter school because the projects were really open ended,” Ruemmler said.
Ruemmler, now a sophomore, transferred from her charter school to the Saratoga public school, Foothill Elementary School in fifth grade when her dad took a new job in Mountain View.
Joining public school was a huge change, as a public school’s curriculum is formed to meet state and local standards and more often involves the use of textbooks and tests.Leaving the charter school atmosphere for a more ordinary public school curriculum required academic adjustments on Ruemmler’s part.
In addition, moving away from her old charter school meant leaving the childhood friends she had grew up with.
“We were a lot closer together because there were fewer [students at the charter school], and we were always working together,” she said.
She contrasted the cooperative environment of the charter school with what she too often sees here.
“I do not like how people are constantly comparing themselves to each other and staying up until midnight or longer studying,” Ruemmler said. “While it is good to be prepared for a test, I do not think it should come at the cost of your health.”
Having experienced two drastically different school systems, Ruemmler concludes that the hands-on, cooperative teaching style a the Morgan Hill charter school helped her understand concepts more thoroughly.
In addition, she said she had more opportunities to explore non-academic interests such as agriculture at her charter school.
Despite the benefits of her old school system, she has also thrived here academically, and she has found a passion for being on the school’s Color Guard and Winter Guard teams.
“Things are different, but just because everything is standardized does not mean you do not have the ability to explore what you want,” Ruemmler said.
