Los Alamos High School Teacher Lori Thompson visited the Los Alamos Daily Post Monday afternoon to present the news team with flowers and a large thank you card signed by all of her students expressing appreciation for the support the Post has given them this school year. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
In the first year of the Literature and Composition in Sports (Sports Lit) program at Los Alamos High School, English teachers Lori Thompson and Ellen McBee have been introducing their students to an exciting new world.
“The sports literature class has exceeded expectations!” LAHS Principal Renee Dunwoody said. “It is always amazing when LAHS teachers use their creativity and passion to develop a class because the students can feel the joy in the lessons. This class has made English engaging for the first time for some students. We are pleased with the number of students enrolled this year and hope we see as much success in future years.”
Thompson is passionate about literature and sports.
“There’s so much in sports culture to read and write about,” she said. “The goal is to get students to read and write about something they are interested in.”
Thompson was a three-sport athlete in high school and is certified to teach English and physical education. She has led the summer PE program at the high school for several years and has been playing sports since she was five.
“It makes perfect sense for me to teach this class,” she said.
Sports Lit student Jack Dunwoody said the class keeps them engaged and entertained.
“I’m learning about both sports and English and it makes class fun,” he said.
Thompson is brimming with ideas for the new course, which became available for sophomores and juniors last fall. It has been approved for English core credit at LAHS and also by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
“I am grateful that we have Lori Thompson and Ellen McBee on our team!” Acting Superintendent Jennifer Guy said. “They deeply care about students and that shows in the time and energy they put into creating a class that is different and engaging for students. This class is a model for how we can make learning interesting for our students.”
McBee said she first heard about Sports Lit one morning when she was on her way to English 9.
“Lori told me that the class was a possibility,” she said. “I have a background in journalism, and I thought it sounded like fun, so I told her that I would love to co-teach it with her. I also thought this would be a great way for us to provide new learning experiences and explorations for students.”
It was at this point that McBee and Thompson began working on the new class in earnest, she said.
“We talked about books we would read, units we would teach, and where we were going to get our materials,” McBee said. “Fortunately for us, the LAPS Foundation took an interest and we received a lot of support from them.”
Sports Lit is a real English class, she said.
“We do grammar and vocabulary and the kids write something every day. We’re also reading and discussing literature around sports,” McBee said. “Studies show that kids can read more difficult material when they are interested in the topic, and we are certainly seeing the students make progress in reading and writing this year.”
McBee explained that she and Thompson also are seeing their students recover their social skills in the “post-lockdown world”.
“We move the students around the room frequently so they all get to know, and work with, each other,” she said. “We take field trips and write about them. We’re also taking advantage of local resources like the Los Alamos Daily Post and the Senior Center. For us, the class is a great opportunity not only to get our kids college and career ready, but for them to realize the benefits to living in a close, connected community.”
Thompson reflected on the first year of the Literature & Composition in Sports program.
“First of all, the idea for Sports Lit came from Scott Pomeroy, the LAHS Auto Shop teacher. He cares deeply for the students and saw the need for a hands-on, Sports Media-type English class. The idea was to have an option for a core, English class that would be high interest to help students succeed. He brought the idea to me since I am certified in PE and run the Summer PE program. It definitely piqued my interest, and I took the idea and ran with it,” Thompson said. “When presenting the idea to my English department, Ellen McBee who is a special education English teacher immediately jumped on board. She quickly realized that this type of class would be perfect for an inclusion English class. We ended up with two co-taught classes. Ellen has been my rock this year, and I could not have created and started this class without her.”
Registration for Sports Lit exceeded their expectations, Thompson said, adding that they would have been happy with two or three, but we ended up with five sections and 140 students.
“This was beyond what we imagined, but we are thrilled for the opportunity,” she said. “Creating the class from scratch is both challenging and exciting; we are having way too much fun teaching the classes this year. We feel supported by the LAHS administration and the community. The athletic department, Ann Stewart and Doug Weiss, have provided exciting opportunities for the students to be spotters at football games and also learn how to run the scoreboard in the gym.”
Thompson added that she and McBee have many people to thank for partnering with them on this educational journey. The LAPS Foundation got them started with a Big Ideas Grant, which helped them with books and other supplies.
They also thanked the following guest speakers who have presented to the classes this year: Morrie Pongratz, J.P. Murrieta, Steve and Kathy Boerigter and Coach Bob Scott.
“Their presentations were so inspiring, and we appreciate all their time and energy,” Thompson said. “Another big thank you goes to Executive Director Bernadette Laurtizen and all the seniors at the Betty Ehart Senior Center for allowing us to visit and interview them. The students loved hearing all the stories and wise advice they were given. They still talk about how meaningful it was.”
“Another huge thank you goes to Carol Clark and the staff of the Los Alamos Daily Post. They have supported and partnered with us from the beginning. Before Course Selection last year, Bonnie Gordon interviewed me and helped advertise for the new class,” Thompson said. “Whenever we had a guest speaker or field trip, the Daily Post was there to document it. In the fall, they opened their office to us five times for each class to come for a field trip and agreed to publish student articles. The students were thrilled to see their published work in the print edition. This is proof of their success that they can keep forever. It doesn’t get better than that!”
Real-world-learning is so meaningful, and the goal of this class, she said.
“One of the goals of Sports Lit was to make learning relative for the students. At least once a month, we either have a guest speaker or partake in a learning experience in the community,” Thompson said.
As they move from winter to spring, the teachers do have one more educational field trip planned. In April, the Sports Lit classes will be touring Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.
“The tour guides will be giving us a behind the scenes look at the stadium and culture of baseball. In conjunction with the field trip, we will be reading the book Shoeless Joe. The quote from the book and also movie Field of Dreams says, “If you build it, they will come”, Thompson said. “This sentiment rings true for the inception and fruition of Literature and Composition in Sports at LAHS. Journalism and sports writing are big parts of the class. Through the DECA program, one of our Sports Lit students, Ryan Peterson, just won 1st Place in Sports and Entertainment Marketing and received a $500 Scholarship to Eastern New Mexico University. We hope to continue this successful class next year as well as future years to come.”