He skyrocketed and was at grade level by the end of 2nd grade. Young children are not the only students who benefit from the strong teacher-student relationships and individual attention provided by looping, say experts. Patricia Crosby, a 7th and 8th grade language arts and social studies teacher at Robert J. Coelho Middle School in Attleboro, Mass., cites many of the same benefits of looping as her colleagues in elementary schools. In addition to those benefits, Crosby states that the trust a student has in a teacher can become even more important as children become adolescents. Think how great it would be.
Adolescence is a tough time.
Many young people's lives have been saved because they found a mentor in high school and were able to form a bond with a teacher through having him or her as a teacher for more than one class. Helping At-Risk Students Succeed Jan Jubert, a 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Lac du Flambeau Public School in Lac du Flambeau, Wisc., agrees with Grant that looping provides opportunities for students who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the education system. Of her 15 students, most come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and have been identified as at-risk. Additionally, one child in Jubert's class is deaf and requires an interpreter, and the students' ability levels range from learning disabled to gifted and talented. Jubert believes that equal opportunity, which requires equal education, will enable the children to set and reach their life goals.