McKinley Elementary

Skip to main content
Mobile Menu
Happy New Year!
Español Việt Nam

School Day Programs

 
SEAL

McKinley Elementary School utilizes the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) Model to enrich our kindergarteners through 3rd-grade students’ language and literacy. We immerse our students in a language-rich environment and instruction with emphasis on expressive and complex oral language development and enriched vocabulary.  Our teacher-created thematic units align with the Next Generation Science Standards and HIstory-Social Science Content Standards. Each theme incorporates hands-on science projects, language through arts, and field trips to build students’ background knowledge.

Parent participation is a crucial element of SEAL at McKinley.  Thus, we highly encourage parent involvement through home-school connections and volunteerism.  We conclude every theme with a “Gallery Walk,” where parents and families are invited into our classrooms to see and hear about students’ learning and discoveries during each unit.

For further information about this program, please contact McKinley's SEAL Coach, Maryel Ambat at [email protected].

Playworks
 
"Play provides an unparalleled opportunity to foster the physical, social, and emotional development of our kids. Since 1996, the Playworks Coach program has worked on-site with low-income schools, engineering a powerful system of play that is making a daily difference where it is most needed. With energy and imagination, high fives and hula hoops, Playworks builds play and physical activity into a positive school environment, offering opportunities throughout the entire day" 
https://www.playworks.org
 
On site we have Coach Melissa, who provides structured activities during our morning and lunch recess times.  She also provides each class with bi-weekly Class Game Time, and this becomes an opportunity for the students to learn the games that will be gradually introduced to the students.  The program also trains Junior Coaches (students) to help facilitate the games and resolve any conflicts during play time. 
City Peace Project

Student Ally Education Program (Peacekeepers)

Without proper direction, creative energy could be released through negative expressions of crime, substance abuse, and violence.  Teens in the Student Ally Education Program discover appropriate contexts in which to showcase their talents; thus, ultimately recovering a sense of purpose and pride in themselves, their family, and their community.  TCPP staff (Student Allies) personally walk with youth in safe, caring, small group settings. Student Allies implement a curriculum designed to foster accountability and responsibility.  They encourage these youth to learn how to make healthy decisions, set & reach goals, and to have the proper communication skills needed to be successful in life.

Garden Classes
 
The school garden is managed through a partnership with CommUniverCity, a local community-based organization with roots in community health, education, and neighborhood revitalization. Lead by SJSU students, garden workshops take two forms: in-class science lessons tied to NGSS curriculum, as well as an after-school garden club with CORAL participants.
Lessons are taught over a six week period each Fall and Spring, and activities include planting, weeding, watering, composting, fertilizing, and harvesting. Topics include the food cycle, healthy eating, germination, the plant life cycle, and climate change. At the end of the garden education series, participating classes are invited to a field trip to Veggielution, a nearby urban farm.
For more information, please visit www.cucsj.org or contact [email protected].