Flex time lets middle school students spread their wings

DANVILLE – At South View Middle School, Jerry McGlaughlin spends most of the day teaching sixth-graders about grammar and punctuation, literary genres and devices and how to write complete sentences and effective essays.

But come 3 p.m., he starts doling out facts about animal anatomy and behavior, sounding less like a language arts teacher and more like a zoologist – or at least someone who knows his way around pets.

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