The main focus of our library media center is on developing information literacy skills. Guided by Ms. Annyce Jenkins, students, teachers, and parents enjoy reading, and doing research projects.

Performing Arts Workshop was founded on the belief that basic survival skills, such as the ability to communicate, think critically and make choices, can be imparted to children and youth through the performing arts. Here at John Muir, the P.A.W. program provides innovative learning techniques to culturally, educationally and economically diverse youth. Using methodology pioneered by founder Gloria Unti, P.A.W. instructors teach the creative process to our students.

John Muir Elementary School will soon be involved in a youth driven project to learn about alternatives to violence. This project will culminate in students designing tiles which express their feelings of peace, as well as their heritage and traditions. These tiles will join with tiles from different schools, churches, organizations, and families in the Western Addition. They will be installed along the wall bordering Koshland Park, a half block from John Muir Elementary School. For more information, please contact Barbara Wenger at 415-502-5217.

We have two Pre-Kindergarten classes on site. We are funded by Title I and serve the same population as the elementary school. Most of our students move on to John Muir School. The SFUSD administers the program and the principals evaluate the staff. In one class we have seven different home languages...Bosnian, Spanish, Laotian, Chinese, Ethiopian, English and Arabic.

Our child development department has mandated that we implement the project approach in our ECE curriculum, in addition to the use of some High Scope practice and general ECE tenants. This is our first year to use the project approach and we have begun with two; first, a McDonald's restaurant in the dramatic play area, and then the documentation and work on the rebuilding of a large housing project just across the street from the school.

Currently, we are beginning to study insects, worms and snails in our school/community garden at Koshland Park. This is a public park one block away. We have a garden bed and work with the two school gardeners. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring the natural world into our experience at school.

Information on early childhood education.

PIP is a school-based program designed to help primary grade children adapt to the school environment and to enhance their personal development by increasing their self-esteem, teaching them appropriate behavior and improving their ability to express themselves.

PIP students meet with a trained aide once a week. At John Muir we have a special playroom equipped with toys, craft materials and games. When students visit the playroom they can select any activity or just sit and talk with an adult who is there for them alone.

Reading Recovery is a short-term, literacy intervention program designed to assist children in the first grade who are having difficulty learning to read and write. Children eligible for the program are identified by their classroom teachers as the lowest in their class in reading acquisition. The program is designed to move children in a short time from the bottom of their class to the average where they can profit from regular classroom instruction. It is meant to be used in conjunction with good first teaching practices. Barbara Langerman, our Reading Recovery specialist, spends thirty minutes, one-on-one, daily with a student.

This short-term, individually designed program of instruction allows children to succeed before they enter a cycle of failure. Reading Recovery is supplemental to classroom instruction and lasts an average of 12-20 weeks, at the end of which children have developed a self-extending system that uses a variety of strategies to read increasingly difficult text and to independently write their own messages.

Student outcomes are sustained over time. Research on students after program completion has demonstrated continued growth in reading and writing without continued Reading Recovery support or other specific interventions.

The San Francisco Education Fund is sponsoring the project "Fostering Ecoliteracy and Literacy at the John Muir School Learning Garden." This project will help to strengthen our literacy program and provide the many benefits of developing a school garden. Thank you Ed Fund!

Visit the San Francisco Education Fund's new website at (www.sfedfund.org) for extensive pages of teacher resources.

Sandtray is a process of imaginative play that involves a child's creating scenes in sand using miniature figures and objects. One of the most exciting aspects of this program is the non-judged, open communication between student and teacher. Teachers notice that students are often more calm and focused after sandtray. As students are able to express their inner lives and as teachers are better able to understand their students, learning thrives.

The John Muir School/San Francisco State University Partnership allows us to have a facilitated support group for teachers and recent graduates of the Muir Alternative Teacher Education (MATE) program. This group meets twice monthly to address a variety of topics ranging from classroom management to curriculum. The SUP Initiative is one of several research and development efforts of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative.

New this year to John Muir is a special program called the Socialization Group. This program is designed to develop and improve social skills, build self-esteem, assist in classroom behavior and improve overall learning for kindergarten through 5th grade students. Children meet twice weekly in the afternoon in a group of six children with two para-professionals. Curriculum includes: empathy building, conflict resolution, and anger management.

The San Francisco Zen Center has been very helpful to John Muir School over the past four years. Located a half block away from school, they have been involved in many school events. Through a grant from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, they were able to hire our first garden mentor who networked with teachers and classes to build and develop our school garden in Koshland Park. Recently, they gave a gift of $2000 to support this garden. Also, Zen Center helped to sponsor field trips to their Green Gulch Farm in Marin County for all John Muir students and teachers last spring. Numerous holiday parties for the community have also been hosted by the San Francisco Zen Center. The John Muir School community thanks you for your ongoing support.