Enriching the student experience at Mepham

On Feb. 2, Mepham High School students celebrated Chandeleur Day, learning about the traditions surrounding the French holiday, which, much like Groundhog Day, is about predicting the future. They capped the event by cooking up a batch of crepes.

Yes, teachers and administrators at the school would say, the celebration was, well, different. But, this year, quite a bit has been different at Mepham.

Students by the dozen have been spotted flying kites in the school’s back parking lot. They’ve been found in the principal’s office, chatting in small groups about books. And this Friday, they’re scheduled to take part in a Bollywood dance class to learn about the rhythmic dance style popularized in Indian musicals.

Mepham students, of course, continue to take the state-required course load. But the school now offers a series of enrichment classes that enable students to explore subjects their teachers love and wish they could teach — but can never get to during the day because they must cover the state curriculum.

The classes are all part of Mepham’s new Enriching Learners in Tomorrow’s Education program, or ELITE, explained Principal Michael Harrington, who is pioneering it with Maureen Welsh, the school’s math chairwoman, and Stacey Weiler, a math teacher and administrative intern.

Enrichment classes are held after school by teacher volunteers, and generally last an hour. Some may take place over two or three days. Harrington said that some 500 of Mepham’s 1,300 students have signed up for one or more of the classes.

Mepham developed the program with help from Angel Kozlowski, director of mathematics for the Bethpage School District, who did a presentation on Bethpage’s own enrichment program, the Bethpage 21st Century Scholars Program, at a recent conference attended by Harrington and Mepham teachers.

“We were pretty intrigued by what we heard” about Bethpage’s program, Harrington said.

Mepham’s ELITE program has been in full swing since October. Welsh said that the idea behind the program is to “promote higher thinking skills.” For example, the kite-flying class, held in October, taught lessons in geometry and physics — while the students were having fun.