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(02/26/14 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Administrators and teachers from Fairview and Highland Park Elementary schools spoke at the Monroe County Community School Corporation Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday about their schools’ turnaround plans. Both Highland Park and Fairview received an F grade from the Indiana Department of Education for the 2012-13 school year and were designated priority schools.Priority schools are monitored closely by the IDOE, which includes classroom observation of teachers. If the IDOE determines that the school is not meeting the criteria of the turnaround principles through their new plan, the school might be required to change personnel, shift resources or accept the help of an outside management team to manage the school and develop a new plan. Priority schools must also submit a Student Achievement Plan. Highland has already completed its plan, and Fairview is close to finishing its plan. Highland Park Principal Maggie Dainton spoke first. Highland Park received a C for the 2011-12 school year and was named a focus-targeted school. Dainton highlighted the eight IDOE “Turnaround Principles Requirements,” which enforce schools to implement policies such as a school environment that supports the needs of children and to recruit, retain and develop effective teachers.Dainton then outlined the three main changes now occurring at Highland Park. All students in kindergarten to sixth grade are now participating in daily English/language arts and math enrichment/remediation time. Highland Park is also partnering with IU’s School Psychology Program to support students and teachers. “We look to adjust schedules, services and resources to meet the individual needs of these students in the coming school years,” Dainton said in her presentation.Fairview has now received an F from the IDOE two years in a row. Although Fairview’s ISTEP+ scores have improved during the past year in both English/language arts and math, seven of 10 students at Fairview are reading below grade level. Some are up to two years behind. Fairview Principal Tammy Miller said Fairview began working with the students at their instructional level in reading and math in the fall but said the final Fairview plan is not yet finished.“We continue to work at it,” Miller said. “It is our responsibility to fix it.”Fairview plans to reduce its student-to-teacher ratio and use small group learning as much as possible, communicate with parents to ensure they know about their child’s academic progress and connect with the community to gain more volunteers and resources for the school. Teacher Mary Wicker has been working at Fairview for more than 20 years and said the reading crisis has been going on for a long time. Teacher Robin Johnson said this turnaround plan has not been presented to them as an option but as a requirement. She said if children can’t read, they can’t do a math problem or go to the grocery store. “We’ve been a priority school now for two years,” Johnson said. Johnson said the writing team includes two parents and teachers from all areas of the school. Ann St. John, a volunteer at Fairview, said she was shocked at how much the Fairview community wants their students to succeed. “The Fairview Community is an awesome community,” she said. But, she said, she highly supports reading and thinks it is a problem that some children are reading two years behind grade level. “If that’s not a crisis, I don’t what is,” she said. Johnson said there are large reading gaps in classrooms at Fairview. She said some students in sixth grade read at a second grade level and some above a sixth grade level. She said she is excited for the new direction Fairview is heading, saying she thinks the plan will help target kids that need more attention. Fairview parent Lynette Anigbo said she believes it is important to challenge kids early on or they won’t be able to meet challenges later in life. She said perseverance is something that needs to be developed. Gloria Jacobs, a member of Fairview United Methodist Church, said the church has been trying to make connections with the school. “We are going to support Fairview Elementary in any way we can,” she said. Many in her congregation have signed up as volunteers at Fairview, herself included. “The children at Fairview are not just Fairview children,” Jacobs said. “They’re our children.”Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(02/24/14 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Drafts of the new Indiana Academic standards for math and English/language arts were released to the public last week for comment.Last spring, the Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1427, which asked the State Board of Education to conduct a review and implement the new standards by July 1, 2014. The SBOE must review current standards as well as establish college and career readiness standards.College and career ready panels have worked to revise the education standards and will look at them again once the public has had a chance to weigh in on the drafts.SBOE member Brad Oliver said he thinks the panels did their job well but said he doesn’t think the standards are complete quite yet. He said he doesn’t think some standards are fitting with their grade levels but said he does think the panels made each standard understandable and specific.“The standards seem to be clear statements on what students should know and do,” Oliver said.Standards are divided by grade level, then further by the different “strands” of the subject students must know.Some of the math strands are number sense, geometry, measurement, calculus and discrete mathematics. Some of the English/language arts strands are reading, language, writing and speaking and listening.Each strand is then divided up into a content area topic. The content area topics are specific to each grade level and what students at that age should be learning.For example, under the reading strand, a content area topic for kindergarten states the students must understand the English language moves left to right across a page. Under the same strand for fourth grade, a content area topic states the students must “apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding single words.”The public has until March 12 to complete a survey online about these new standards. Public input sessions will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in different cities in Indiana.After the public comment period, the standards will go back to the panels as well as the Indiana Education Roundtable. Oliver said the board has also invited national experts such as James Milgram, a mathematics professor at Stanford University , to evaluate the standards. SBOE member Andrea Neal said there are many solid parts of the new standards, but there are still some things she hopes to see changed. Neal teaches language arts and U.S. history at St. Richard’s Episcopal School in Indianapolis.So far, Neal has read all the language arts standards up to eighth grade. She said she does not believe Indiana has drafted the best standards yet for Hoosier children. She said there were places in the Common Core State Standards filled with jargon and some of that language is still prevalent in the new standards.“To me, that is not understandable by a parent,” Neal said. “I find that unnecessarily confusing.”She also said she believes some of the standards micromanage teachers and some are not developmentally appropriate for grade level.One example of a speaking and listening standard for kindergarten is students must “participate in collaborative conversations with various partners about appropriately complex topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.” Neal said she thinks the college and career readiness standards are being forced on kindergartners.She said she hopes parents look at these standards because if they don’t understand them, there is a problem. Neal expressed happiness, though, that these standards have become a topic of conversation in Indiana.
(02/19/14 1:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During a winter that dumped a record amount of snow in Indianapolis, schools across the state have been closed multiple times this school year. The Monroe County Community School Corporation missed five school days. Two of those days were waived by the State Department of Accreditation, but the other three still must be made up. Beverly Smith, director of school and community services for MCCSC, said the first day will be made up May 23. The other two makeup days will also be added on to the end of the school year. In Indiana, schools must be in session for 180 days, and any school days missed must be made up, unless waived by the state. Due to the snow days, the statewide testing window for ISTEP has changed, but MCCSC’s testing window will stay the same. Graduation dates for the corporation are also still on track, with students scheduled to graduate May 29-31. On Feb. 13, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz announced that schools would have more options to make up these school days. “As Hoosiers, we always expect harsh winter weather,” Ritz said in a press release. “However, this year’s storms have been extreme and have interrupted instruction for schools throughout the state. I have spoken with countless superintendents throughout the state, and they have all asked for more flexibility for scheduling instructional time.”Indiana schools will have the option to reschedule holidays, pre-established snow-flex days or professional development days without requesting a waiver from the IDOE. Schools also have the option to request conditional waivers from the IDOE that will allow them to add instructional time to their school days in addition to time already provided in their calendars. When the total additional time equals one school day, the school can apply for a conditional waiver of one day of instructional time from the IDOE. Students in first through sixth grade must be in school for five hours per instructional day, and students in seventh through 12th grade must be in school for six hours each day. Smith said teachers and staff diligently plan the time and information students will need to be successful academically each year, and snow days hinder this process. “We want our students to have as much time as possible in school as planned to be empowered, learn and grow,” Smith said in an email interview. Although this winter has been harsher than many in Indiana, Smith said she thinks MCCSC students, parents, faculty and staff handled the problems with grace as a community. “We know this has been a unique winter season in Monroe County, and we thank our parents, students, staff and faculty for their support and patience as we continue to move forward in hopes of warmer weather,” she said. Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(02/17/14 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Proponents of Seven Oaks Classical School spoke to members of the Bloomington community Saturday at the Monroe County Public Library about the charter school they hope to open in fall 2015.Seven Oaks would teach their students using a classical education curriculum, which emphasizes things like cultural literacy, Socratic discussion, character education and music and the arts. The school will be overseen by the Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative.Lindsey Weaver, a parent who hopes to send her children to Seven Oaks, said an understanding of music, history, literature and philosophy are intrinsic parts of a classical education.Phil Kilgore, director of the Barney Initiative, said he supports classical education in the classroom.“We have deep convictions about the need for restoration of classical education,” Kilgore said.Kilgore said four charter schools are now open in the United States under the leadership of the Barney Initiative in Texas, New Mexico, Georgia and Arkansas. The Barney Initiative is currently helping the founding board of Seven Oaks get the school up and running and will help the school find a leader once the school is implemented. Kilgore said once the school is in operation, they will visit again and spend time in the classrooms.Terrence Moore, a history professor at Hillsdale, outlined the curriculum that Seven Oaks would implement. “Indiana needs a classical charter school like this one,” he said.Moore said Seven Oaks would help put more beauty in students’ lives through the instruction of art and music. Students would also be required to read and write poetry.Students would study Latin as well as French or Spanish and learn history, social studies and about the Renaissance in middle school.“These are going to be the things that feed their minds and souls,” Moore said.Moore said teachers at Seven Oaks will be ones who put learning first. He said he believes in charter schools because they give families choices.“Not to have that choice in a town like Bloomington is odd,” he said.He compared the classical education to the education his grandparents had, when he said students knew how to do math without a calculator. Moore spoke about an experience he had when a cashier was not able to give him proper change because the cashier could not do the math without a calculator.For the initial enrollment at the school, every student who wants to be enrolled would get in until all spots were filled. When a child leaves the school, new families could get their child enrolled through a lottery system.“A lot of parents are looking for this kind of choice,” Moore said.The Green School is a second charter school hoping to serve Monroe and surrounding counties. The Green School’s curriculum would be focused on environmental sustainability and social justice.As of Jan. 27, the Green School founders are still working on the charter application.The Indiana Charter School Board oversees Indiana’s charter schools and reviews applications for new charter schools. The application process for a charter school to be opened consists of six steps — a letter of intent, full application, application evaluation, interview, a public hearing and an ICSB board meeting.“The ICSB’s mission is to authorize and hold accountable a portfolio of high-performing charter schools in which students achieve high levels of growth and graduate prepared for college and careers,” according to the ICSB mission statement.Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(02/14/14 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students at Summit Elementary School are challenging each other to read as many minutes as they can and achieve a school-wide goal of reading for 170,000 minutes during a period of two weeks. As part of the Reach for the Stars Reading program, all teachers decide how many minutes they think their students can read during Feb. 3-17. First grade teacher Andrea Livingston said her students are each trying to read for 300 minutes. During the two-week challenge, students also try to collect monetary pledges from friends and family. At the end of the challenge, half of the money the students raise goes back to them to buy more books and half of it goes to the classroom teacher to order more books for the classroom library. Livingston said the students don’t have to read only for the sake of their reading goal, but if their parents read to them or the younger students play with magnetic letters, those minutes count toward their total. She said every day at Summit the students have a 90-minute literacy block where the students focus only on reading and writing.Usborne Books and More organizes the program, and the students buy their new books from the company. Susan Anderson, education representative with Usborne, said the company highly encourages a culture of reading. “They are very supportive of anything pro-literacy,” she said. She said Usborne began the Reach for the Stars program about 20 years ago to help children develop a reading habit and then reward them with more books to sustain that habit.Students count minutes they read at home and at school toward their goal. At the end of the challenge, the school library also receives a 10-percent match of the total money raised in free books from Usborne.Livingston said the school has been participating in the program for a few years. She said the school sets its school-wide reading goal based on the number of students enrolled. Incentives are also offered from Usborne to the students, such as medals for students who are the top readers in each grade level. Summit is also providing incentives for its students, such as pizza parties for theclassrooms with the most time spent reading. Anderson said many children throughout the country aren’t reading at grade level. She said children becoming good readers and enjoying reading provides them with a strong base for the rest of their lives.“It’s very rewarding to me to partner with the schools,” she said. Anderson said other schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation participate in the program, as well as students at Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation, among others. The program has helped Livingston provide many more books for students in her class. She said one year she had more than $300 to spend on books for her classroom library. “I picked everything I wanted and still had more,” she said. “It was ridiculous — a good ridiculous.”Livingston said the program has helped create a love of learning at Summit. “They’re really good books,” she said. “We want to push every kid to learn how to read.”Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(02/13/14 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Gov. Mike Pence testified today before the Indiana Senate Education and Career and Development Committee in support of House Bill 1004.Authored by Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, the bill would help families in five Indiana counties afford early childhood education.Pence began his speech by mentioning one in five Indiana children lives in poverty. He said in order to eradicate poverty, children must be prepared to begin learn when they begin kindergarten, which is not always the case. “They arrive in kindergarten and spend too much time trying to catch up, and when that fails they spend too much of their lives dropping out — out of school, out of work and out of our communities,” Pence said. He said part of the problem starts at home, where children aren’t learning the skills they need to be successful. “I’ve seen firsthand pre-K programs that work with disadvantaged kids to get them the help they need before they start school,” Pence said. “We are indeed fortunate to have a broad range of public, faith-based and other private programs, all of which should be a part of our efforts to help give these children a better shot at success.”Many others testified in front of the committee to express their support of HB 1004. Charlie Geier, director of early learning and intervention with the Indiana Department of Education, said the push for early learning is both professional and personal for him. He has young children of his own and is also married to a kindergarten teacher. Geier said the current Indiana General Assembly is the one he has waited for to push forward for early childhood education. Early learning is currently divided into two stages, birth to age 5 and kindergarten to third grade.But he said from kindergarten to third grade, children are still developing socially and emotionally. He said these two worlds need to be bridged — there needs to be a birth to 3rd grade continuum. Dianna Wallace, executive director of the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children, said she celebrates the Indiana General Assembly’s Early Learning Advisory Committee. She said Indiana has to continue to make young children a priority. Wallace said the outcome of these early childhood education programs will not be seen until families are also engaged in their childrens’ education. Pence ended his statement urging Hoosiers to keep those children who are the least fortunate in mind. “As we consider this legislation, I urge you to do so first and foremost with Indiana’s disadvantaged children in mind,” Pence said. “For those of us blessed to call Indiana home, we owe it to all of our children, especially the least of these, to see to it that they start school ready to succeed.”— Sydney Murray
(02/12/14 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Timothy Dunnuck walked around the center, checking in on classes and chatting with children and teachers. As the manager of Campus Child Care, he has done this routine a thousand times. “Are you doing OK today?” he asked a 3-year-old child.The boy nodded. “Did you stick your foot in a hole yesterday?” Dunnuck said. “Yeah,” the boy said. “That’s too bad, you are all right now?” Dunnuck said.“I think so,” the boy said, nodding and giggling.Safety is always Dunnuck’s first concern, he said.“It is a big issue,” Dunnuck said. “Especially when kids are running around a playground, there are lots of threats out there.”As executive director of IU Early Childhood Education, he oversees five day cares that serve IU students and faculty. Amid reports of lax safety standards, the state government is trying to create a safer environment in Indiana day cares the past few years, an issue critics say has been overlooked for decades.As of July 1, 2013, Indiana child care centers were required to run staff background checks. The state also invested an additional $23 million in child care programs for low-income Hoosiers.Despite the efforts, operators and experts said the high cost of regulation, small inspection scope and high turnover of early childhood teachers slows progress.An untold amount of day cares can operate without licenses because if the number of children is fewer than five in total, they may be exempt. In Indiana, day cares can be divided into five categories. The first is licensed day care centers, which have the most regulations. Child Care Development Fund providers are day cares that receive federal funds that serve low-income parents. Day cares operated by churches register with the state voluntarily and are inspected twice every year. Licensed day care homes look after between six and 16 children at a residential home. Day care homes that care for less than five children have no inspection or rules because they can register and operate without a license.Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Spokesperson Marni Lemons said under current law, the only way to regulate the unlicensed or illegal homes or centers is through filed complaints.If authorities find a center is operating illegally, they will provide a cease and desist order.“That’s the extent of what we can do,” Lemons said. Dunnuck said he doesn’t understand why Indiana requires licenses for fishing and hunting, but a place that takes care of children can be operated without one. “We believe all centers should have the same requirement,” Dunnuck said.Indiana House Bill 1036 aims to tighten regulation of unlicensed daycares like church and home day cares. Opponents claim the bill, in the process of passing to the Indiana Senate, would interfere with the religious freedom of church day cares.The expense of background checks for workers can also slow the process of improving safety. Dunnuck said background checks cost him thousands of dollars because he has to pay $40 for each individual staff member for the three licensed centers he oversees.Some smaller day care centers may have to use money from the professional development budget, which they usually use to train their staff, Dunnuck said. Jon Racek, the father of two pre-school girls in Bloomington, said it took time to find a day care that was both qualified and affordable. Of the five day cares Dunnuck oversees, three were licensed. Toddler fees are $240 per week, and infant fees are $254 per week because toddlers and infants need the most attendance. Racek, an IU faculty member in the Department of Apparel Merchandising & Interior Design, said the cost of day care is too high.“It costs more than our mortgage,” Racek said. According to a study by Child Care Aware of America Advocacy Network, an organization that aims to provide information and services to parents across the nation, Indiana is among the least affordable day care states. A report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count shows 50 percent of preschool-aged children come from low-income families in Indiana.Despite the high cost, the money did not go to the pockets of day care center employees.“It’s not a money-making business,” Dunnuck said. “I wasn’t able to buy a house for my family until I was 50.”In recent years, preschool teachers’ average salaries are less than $22,000 nationwide, while bus drivers make $26,000 on average, according to Indeed.com. Michelle McCready, director of policy for Child Care Aware, said the money is being spent in multiple ways including payrolls, staff training, quality raising and regulation management.“This is not easy for either the parents or the child care providers,” she said.Dunnuck said he thinks the state is not doing enough because many people do not care that much about regulation of child care. Nationwide, Child Care Aware works on projects to increase the quality and availability of child care, undertaking research and advocating child care policies that aim to benefit communities, McCready said. The proposals will be applicable to all day care centers that receive federal funding.Unlicensed or illegal day care homes are still off the radar because no one is obligated to supervise them. “They only need to obey the fire marshal,” Dunnuck said.
(02/12/14 1:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana is one of 13 states and the District of Columbia awarded School Improvement Grants from the U.S. Department of Education to help turn around its lowest-performing schools. Indiana will receive more than $8.6 million, the second-highest amount of the 13 states. Georgia is set to receive more than $16 million. Washington received the next highest amount after Indiana, with a grant of more than $7 million. Combined, the states will receive more than $67 million.These grants are awarded to state educational agencies, who then award these grants to school districts in their state who are most in need and demonstrate a strong commitment to help their most struggling schools succeed. “When schools fail, our children and neighborhoods suffer,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a press release. “These School Improvement Grants are helping some of the lowest-achieving schools provide a better education for students who need it the most.”Indiana received School Improvement Grants in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in the amounts of $9,437,827, $9,240,201 and $9,352,258, respectively. Daniel Altman, press secretary with the Indiana Department of Education, said the application and criteria for schools that want to apply for these grants will be released later this month. The funds will be used during the 2014-2015 school year. “The (Indiana) Department of Education is dedicated to providing schools with the resources they need to ensure that all Hoosier children receive an equitable and high quality education,” Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said in a press release.— Sydney Murray
(02/12/14 1:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Throughout the nation, pre-kindergarten education is being hailed as one of the best ways to help children succeed in life. Indiana is no exception, with some legislators working to make pre-K education more widely available. President Barack Obama mentioned the importance of pre-K education during his State of the Union Address in January. Last year, Obama said he asked Congress to help make pre-K education available to all 4-year-olds in the country.Since he made this request to Congress, Obama said 30 states have raised pre-K funding on their own.According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, 1,332,663 children were enrolled in pre-K education programs for the 2011-12 school year. In Indiana, Senate Bill 389, authored by Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, would have required all public schools, including charter schools, to offer a preschool education program or to contract with a provider to offer a preschool education program. The bill is dead for the current legislative session. Rogers said her idea is still alive, though, in House Bill 1004.Authored by Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, the bill will create the early education scholarship pilot program.It is intended to help some low-income families afford pre-K education for their children.Rogers said when the bill comes to the Senate, she hopes to expand the bill to include children of all socioeconomic levels.She used to be a teacher and said she saw first-hand the difference between children who attended preschool and those who did not. For each dollar invested in pre-K education, $17 is returned on the investment because these children are usually not dependent on state assistance as adults, Rogers said.Rogers said only 15 percent of Indiana 4-year-olds are currently enrolled in a pre-K program, which ranks Indiana 45th in the nation. Tim Pritchett, director of school age care at the Monroe County Community School Corporation, said pre-K education has a positive ripple effect on children’s education as they continue through school.The Ready Set Grow program at MCCSC serves students ages 3 to 5. Pritchett said all MCCSC preschools teach their students literacy skills and use well-rounded curriculums.Pritchett has been working with Bloomington youth, ranging in age from young children to young adults, since 2002. “I’ve been passionate about serving youth in Bloomington of all ages for a long time,” he said. Pritchett said statistics show pre-K education helps kids in their later education and said there is a need in Bloomington for more accessible pre-K programs.State and local programs improve academic readiness for school, according to NIEER.“I would welcome more kids being in preschool,” Pritchett said. “I think the more kids we can get into pre-kindergarten, the better.”Joan Bertermann, director of Faith Lutheran Preschool, has been working in the field of early education for more than 30 years.Bertermann said there has always been a push for early childhood education, especially since more parents started working outside the home. She said pre-K education gives children a chance to learn, rather than just sit in front of a television.“The children have a learning-rich environment,” she said.Bertermann said at her preschool, there are no televisions for the children to watch and the students are always busy playing. She also noted that her preschool can help her students with their social development.Betermann said Faith Lutheran currently serves 46 children.These children will not only receive academic education, but will also learn physical and social skills.“It helps a child build a good foundation,” she said. “I want the best for the kids.”Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(02/07/14 4:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Parents, teachers and administrators from Fairview Elementary School are trying to improve the embattled school’s performance.Fairview received an F grade from the Indiana Department of Education for 2013. Fairview also received an F in 2012, which led the IDOE to designate Fairview a “priority school.” Despite these shortcomings, only a handful of parents attended the first focus group meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to meet with parents to gather input that will be used to inform Fairview Elementary School’s turnaround plan, according to a power point presented at the meeting.“Fairview certainly has a task before itself,” said Beverly Smith, director of School and Community Services at the Monroe County Community School Corporation. “I want to hear the parent input,” Smith said. “I really do.” During the focus group, Smith posed questions to parents, such as, “When planning for improvement, what does a successful Fairview student look like to you?” or, “What role should parents play in the school improvement efforts?”Throughout the night, the parents and teachers in attendance discussed the schools’ strengths and weaknesses. Fairview parent Mary Balle said she thinks the teachers at Fairview meet students in the middle, help them find their strengths and help them in their weak areas. Balle said she hopes her children learn critical thinking skills and engage in learning that will stay with them beyond their time at Fairview. “I want a teacher that thinks outside the box,” Balle said. Balle said she thinks the artful learning program at Fairview helps kids express their emotions and help their mind and body to connect. “I see art as incredibly powerful for all their different levels,” Balle said. “It gives them hope, I think.” Parent Jill Perkins said she wants teachers for her daughter who are good role models and can help teach her good social skills. “I see that happening here,” she said. Parent Melissa Harris addressed the fact that the standardized test scores of students at Fairview are lower than at other MCCSC schools. She said she thinks for some students, the problem exists at home, rather than at school.“Some of them don’t have a good life at home,” she said. Harris said she would also like to see more after-school activities actually take place on the Fairview campus, which might make it easier for students to participate in them. Harris said she would also like to see more parent-teacher conferences during the year. Many parents said they would like more communication between the school and parents, as well as more efforts to draw in parents that may not be as involved in their children’s education. There will be two more Fairview focus groups next week. One is from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Fairview cafeteria and the other is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Crestmont Center. Though the meetings are focused on parents, other members of the community are allowed to attend. “School improvement is a school, community effort,” Smith said.
(02/05/14 4:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Echoing strong legislative efforts during the 1980s to institute creationism in American schools, state money still indirectly funds controversial curriculum in the form of vouchers.Many Americans have resisted teachings about evolution, leading to a relatively low global ranking on public acceptance of the theory, according to a 2006 survey published in the national journal “Science.”A debate Tuesday night between evolutionist Bill Nye and creationist Ken Ham shed light on the issue of whether creationism can be considered a viable scientific theory.One such school that receives vouchers from the state of Indiana, Lighthouse Christian Academy, is located in Bloomington on West That Road.Lighthouse is a private school that participates in School Choice Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program.School Choice Indiana is designed to help families wishing to educate their children in alternative schools through state voucher funding if the student meets several eligibility requirements.“We are accredited by the state of Indiana. It’s called freeway status, which is actually designed for small public schools but also used for non-public schools,” said Don Wilson, president of Lighthouse Christian Academy. “As part of that accreditation, we do have to meet the same curriculum standards as any other school in the state of Indiana.”The Freeway School Program is an alternative to regular accreditation, allowing for a contract with the State Board of Education, according to the Indiana Non-Public Education Association website.Wilson said Lighthouse does not take an official position on any specific theory of creationism or affiliate itself with any church. Rather, the school’s position is “God is creator.”There are several different forms of creationism, IU biology professor Rudolf Raff said.These theories include theistic evolution, the belief in both evolution and God; young earth creationism, a belief in a literal interpretation of the biblical book Genesis; and intelligent design creationism, the belief that God created the earth and then allowed for evolutionary processes to occur.“Our students understand evolution very well,” Wilson said. “They also have a real understanding of creationism.”When studying the book of Genesis, for example, the students will examine both literal and non-literal interpretations, he said.The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation instituting the state voucher program in 2011, said Betsy Wiley, president of School Choice Indiana. Two years later, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled the program was constitutional.When a state authorizes a voucher program allowing for religious schools to be eligible for participation, the program is subject to constitutional questioning, according to the Georgetown Law Journal.“The U.S. Supreme Court has not definitively ruled on the constitutionality on voucher programs, although it was presented with and declined that opportunity in the October 1998 term,” according to the journal.Wiley said the voucher goes to the family, and then the family makes the decision as to which school they will attend.“It doesn’t go from the state to the school,” she said.The parents can choose to use all or part of the government funding to send their children to a public or private school of their choice, granted the school is participating in the voucher program.Creationists introduced equal time legislation in 19 states between 1980 and 1985, according to the San Diego Law Review.“One of those states was Louisiana, in which the 1981 Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution in Public School Instruction Act gave rise to Edwards v. Aguillard,” according to the review. The act prevented the teaching of evolution in public schools unless equal classroom time was given to creationism.In 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court decided the act violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment, the separation of church and state, because it lacked a clear secular purpose, according to the Edwards v. Aguillard Court opinion. “It’s a philosophical issue and an issue of origins rather than of science,” Wilson said. “But there’s also looking at the scientific evidence for creationism and looking at the weaknesses in evolutionary theory.”The Court argued the act’s purpose was to restructure the science curriculum to conform to a particular religious position.“There is no debate,” Raff said. “The scientific facts are clear. They come from physics, biology, chemistry, paleontology, geology, you name it. We know the science, and there’s no room for that kind of creationist material that’s generally taught in these schools.”Science is a purely physical approach to the nature of the world and leaves off the philosophical or religious notions, looking instead at what the evidence says, Raff said.“The evidence comes from the natural world, not from some other kind of source,” he said. “And I think people have a hard time distinguishing between what you learn from an examination of the natural world versus what you derive philosophically or religiously from a system of organizing your own sense of the universe.”
(02/04/14 4:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Parents of students in the Monroe County Community School Corporation gathered at Jackson Creek Middle School to discuss their children’s technology use. Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Gaal noted that while technology such as cameras, telephones and video games have been around for many years, information can now be distributed instantly. “Now we talk about images and messages going viral,” Gaal said. Gaal was joined by other members of the Bloomington community to discuss this issue. Gaal said there are more consequences that come along with today’s technology and said children don’t have the maturity to understand these consequences. “We know some of the content out there is not appropriate for children,” Gaal said. Attendees agreed child pornography has become a prevalent issue. Susie’s Place Executive Director Emily Perry warned parents about websites such as MeetMe and Stickam, which connects users with strangers. She said child porn has even begun to pop up on Pinterest. Perry said although parents see the people their children interact with on the internet as strangers, children consider these same people their peer group. Christine McAfee, Juvenile Division supervisor with the Monroe Circuit Court Probation Department, said she has seen situations where young people will share explicit pictures of themselves, which are then shared with more people than they intended. She said depending on the age of the person in the photo, this act could be considered dissemination of child pornography. Perry said it is important to talk to children about the dangers of sexting from an early age, by at least by fourth grade. She said she has already had a conversation about sexting with her child, who is in second grade. “It’s happening at a young age,” Gaal said.Bloomington High School North Principal Jeff Henderson said it is important to teach children about responsible technology use because they don’t understand the permanence of what they put online. Henderson said the part of a human’s brain that recognizes the consequences of actions isn’t fully developed until age 25. School rules have had to change over the years because of new and developing technology, Henderson said. “We can’t ignore the fact that this technology exists,” Henderson said.He said technology is even more prevalent because children can carry this technology around with them. Henderson said BHSN students are allowed to use their phones before and after school, during passing periods, at lunch and during class if they have a teacher’s permission. He said cyberbullying has become a major issue, and said it is harder to get away from bullying because online bullying can reach a child almost anywhere. As prosecutor, Gaal said he sees more and more cases that involve the use of technology and said it can be hard for parents to keep up with their children’s technological use because the parents might not be using the latest technology. Gaal said the overall message he hopes families and children learn is that once information is posted on the internet it is impossible to control who sees it and said it is important to put limits of where and how long children are able to access this technology. Henderson said although technology has its pitfalls, there are many positive aspects to it, some which allow teachers to pinpoint which topics their students need to cover more. However, he said it is important to be cautious. “We cannot ignore the fact that there are dangers that exist with this technology,” Henderson said.
(01/31/14 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>St. Charles Catholic School is observing Catholic Schools Week, an annual nationwide celebration.According to the National Catholic Educational Association, Catholic Schools Week began in 1974 and always begins on the last Sunday in January. The school week culminates with teacher appreciation day today. The entire school will gather together, and each grade will perform for the rest of the students. At the end, the teachers will present their dance to “What Does the Fox Say?”“The kids love to see the teachers make fools and make fun of themselves,” Mayer said.St. Charles planned many different fun-filled days for its students such as crazy sock day on Monday and crazy hair day on Tuesday, St. Charles Principal Alec Mayer said. On Thursday, the school participated in a school-wide volleyball tournament. Each class, including all the teachers, were separated into either red or black teams, the school colors. At the end of the day, the team that gained the most points won. Students were also allowed to wear school colors and jeans on Thursday instead of their uniforms. “Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation,” representatives of the NCEA said on the organization’s website. Before the school week started, students also participated in many different parts of the St. Charles masses during the weekend and performed jobs such as ushering. Catholic Schools Week will continue beyond the school week with a public open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. In art class, the students created constellations that will cover the entire art room for the open house. Mayer said this is an annual art project that has a different theme each year. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful art program our teacher does,” he said. Mayer said Catholic Schools Week helps St. Charles open itself up to the community. He also mentioned that registration for the school is now open to the public. “It’s just an opportunity for us to get the word out to people that they have options,” he said. “It’s something fun and celebrates who we are.”Since there is no Catholic high school in the Bloomington area, Mayer said the majority of the students attend Bloomington High School North or South.Mayer said St. Charles provides its students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in high school and said he hopes the students will take their experiences at Catholic school with them for the rest of their lives. “I would hope that we’ve planted a seed to teach them to be good Christian members of society,” Mayer said.
(01/30/14 6:49pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>St. Charles Catholic School is observing Catholic Schools Week, an annual nationwide celebration.According to the National Catholic Educational Association, Catholic Schools Week began in 1974 and always begins on the last Sunday in January. The school week culminates with teacher appreciation day on Friday. The entire school will gather together, and each grade will perform for the rest of the students. At the end, the teachers will present their dance to “What Does the Fox Say?”“The kids love to see the teachers make fools and make fun of themselves,” Mayer said.St. Charles has planned many different fun-filled days for its students such as crazy sock day on Monday and crazy hair day on Tuesday, St. Charles Principal Alec Mayer said. Elementary school students will also had the opportunity to wear their pajamas Wednesday and read all day long. The middle school students participated in a spelling bee.On Thursday, the school planned to participate in a school-wide volleyball tournament. Each grade from kindergarten through eighth grade has two classes. Each class, including all the teachers, would be separated into either red or black teams, the school colors. At the end of the day, the team that gained the most points would win. The students were also allowed to wear their school colors and jeans on Thursday instead of their uniforms. “Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation,” representatives of the NCEA said on the organization’s website. Before the school week started, students also participated in many different parts of the St. Charles masses during the weekend and performed jobs such as ushering. Catholic Schools Week will continue beyond the school week with a public open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. In art class, the students have created constellations that will cover the entire art room for the open house. Mayer said this is an annual art project that has a different theme each year. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful art program our teacher does,” he said. Mayer said Catholic Schools Week helps St. Charles open itself up to the community. He also mentioned that registration for the school is now open to the public. “It’s just an opportunity for us to get the word out to people that they have options,” he said. “It’s something fun and celebrates who we are.”For many of the eighth-grade students at St. Charles, this will be their last Catholic Schools Week. Since there is no Catholic high school in the Bloomington area, Mayer said the majority of the students attend Bloomington High School North or South.Mayer said St. Charles provides its students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in high school and said he hopes the students will take their experiences at Catholic school with them for the rest of their lives. “I would hope that we’ve planted a seed to teach them to be good Christian members of society,” Mayer said.
(01/28/14 5:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The spring grant cycle for the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools is now open. Faculty in the Monroe County Community School Corporation can apply for grants to supplement their students’ education. Cyrilla Helm, executive director of the Foundation, said the organization has been giving out grants since 1976. This year, the Foundation will give away $50,000 in grants. Faculty from preschool to the high school level can apply for the grants. In past years, schools have requested funding for science lab equipment and gym equipment such as soccer balls and nets. Helm said they receive many requests for classrooms teaching students with disabilities, including exercise balls for students to sit on while doing work. The Foundation raises its money through private funding, such as donations and fundraisers. Helm said the Foundation aims to fill a funding need for schools. Helm said many of the grants are based on increasing literacy opportunities for students. In the past, the Foundation has raised money for new books and funded trips to live productions of the stories students are reading in class. Some schools need equipment such as CPR dummies, Helm said, or equipment to play games like sharbade, a hockey game played on scooters in which kids lie on their stomachs and use their upper body to move around. “They have a lot of fun with that,” she said. Helm said these grants are important because education is a tool that will stay with students the rest of their lives and helps build self-esteem and confidence. “Education is something you can never take away from a kid,” she said. Applications for multi-classroom, school and system grants, ranging from $1,000-$5,000, will be accepted until 5 p.m. Feb. 3.Applications for classroom and small project grants ranging from $250-$1,000 will be accepted until all funds are depleted. Those interested can apply at mccsfoundation.org.
(01/17/14 5:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After falling from a grade of B from the Indiana Department of Education to an F in 2012, Templeton Elementary School was able to increase its grade to an A for 2013. Indiana A-F grades for individual schools were released at the beginning of December by the DOE. Corporation Accountability grades were also released Wednesday, with the Monroe County School Corporation receiving an A. Some schools did not fare as well as Templeton. Two MCCSC schools received Fs. Templeton was the only school that achieved a grade increase of that margin. Templeton Principal Donald Carver said the school didn’t really change any programming that might account for their sharp grade increase. He said the staff and students continued to move forward. He said one of the most important components to achieving success is to have a common curriculum across grade levels and a strong emphasis on applied skills, such as problem solving. Carver said MCCSC’s A grade shows the commitment throughout the corporation to higher learning. “When you score an A as a corporation, it really shows it’s not just one school,” he said. Carver emphasized no school can ever have the perfect formula for achieving excellent performance. He said if any school loses focus, the performance of the school may falter.“There’s no program that’s going to guarantee any school an A,” he said. “There’s not any one right program.”
(01/17/14 4:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a continuing effort to improve the quality of the state education system, the Indiana Coalition for Public Education of Monroe County organized a meeting at City Hall Thursday night with state senator Mark Stoops and local blogger Steve Hinnefeld to discuss issues and upcoming changes recently set forth by Gov. Mike Pence.The ICPE is a new bipartisan, non-profit organization. Its mission is to focus public tax dollars on the K-12 education of public school students by opposing legislation in the Indiana General Assembly that would fund private school vouchers, expand private school tax credits, privatize charter schools by allowing private colleges and agencies to be authorizers, put for-profit managers in place to take a profit from operating public schools and privatize public schools through any other means, according to the ICPE website.Hinnefeld is a local writer who created his own blog called School Matters, which posts information and topics about K-12 education. He said the topic of improving the quality of early education is an ongoing topic around the country. However, the difference of education quality in public and charter schools is due to various factors.“Generally charter schools pay their staff less because they hire less experienced teachers,” Hinnefeld said. “It’s not clear that there’s a definite need to provide an incentive for a need of teachers in charter schools.”ICPE board president Vic Smith, who was unable to attend the meeting, drafted a testimony for those in attendance in order to inform the public about the methods ICPE members believe the state should use to improve its early education system, primarily HB-1004, which was signed into law May 2013.“Indiana is way behind other states in making quality preschool experiences available to young Hoosiers,” Smith said. “We are one of only a handful of states that does not commit significant state dollars for preschool education. Clearly, we need to do better.”Smith said the bill has two elements that prevent the ICPE from currently being able to support it.Smith said he thinks preschool should be linked with education and included in the Indiana Department of Education.Secondly, Smith said he thinks section 10 of the bill, which allows all students to be eligible for a voucher in K-12 education, should be excluded. “The Indiana Coalition for Public Education deeply opposes any expansion of Choice Scholarships because as the K-12 voucher program grows, public school students get fewer resources,” he said.State senator Mark Stoops provided an overview of Gov. Pence’s recent state of the state address regarding how Indiana will not proceed with national Common Core standards but will create its own education standards instead. According to Stoops, Pence wants to expand the availability of public charter schools, create teacher innovation funds and offer $10,000 to any public school teacher who’s willing to transfer to a lower charter school.“Indiana has the money to expand preschool education through universal programming,” Stoops said. “We have the money to invest in our pre-K aged kids. All four-year-olds should have the benefit to have access to high quality preschools.”Follow reporter Brett Frieman on Twitter @brttfrmn.
(01/15/14 8:23pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Department of Education released A-F school corporation accountability grades today after a vote this morning by the State Board of Education. Both school corporations in Monroe County received passing grades for this year. The Monroe County Community School Corporation maintained an A grade for 2013, as determined by the Indiana Department of Education. MCCSC also received an A in 2012. The school corporation improved in points awarded by the Board of Education, receiving a score of 4 out of 4 possible points for 2013, up from 3.9 in 2012. Grades were finalized for the 289 Indiana school districts after individual school grades were released in December.Twelve MCCSC schools received A’s, five received C’s, one a B and two F’s. No school received a D. Ninety-four school districts in Indiana received A’s, 82 received B’s, 91 received C’s, 18 received D’s and four received F’s.In 2012, 93 schools received A’s, 57 received B’s, 107 received C’s, 25 received D’s and six received F’s. Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation, the school district covering the towns of Ellettsville and Stinesville in Monroe County, received a B and a score of 3.11 — up from a score of 2.76 and a C in 2012. The lowest grade received by any school corporation in Indiana in 2013 was a .15. The lowest grade received by a corporation in 2012 was .24. Grades were made available to the public after a vote Wednesday morning by the Indiana State Board of Education. — Sydney Murray
(01/15/14 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tears started flowing at Fairview Elementary School as parents discussed their children’s reading level and their future. After it was learned 70 percent of Fairview’s students were not reading at grade level, the school administration decided to take steps to help move the school forward. Fairview Principal Tammy Miller said some students are up to two years behind. Miller developed a plan to put students into small groups based on reading level.The new system was implemented Monday. Children returned to class with their original teachers on Tuesday in response to parents who did not agree with the new system. Miller said many students enjoyed the new system, which increased the time students focused on reading. She said she hoped this plan would help children who have fallen behind, but she failed to adequately communicate changes with parents. “I made a mistake and I went too fast,” Miller said. “We’re backing up, slowing it down.” Superintendent Judy DeMuth, Miller, administrators and about 20 parents — some with their children in tow — met in the Fairview library Tuesday night to discuss the future of the school. Miller said she was shocked that many parents didn’t know how far behind some students’ reading levels are. Fairview received a grade of “F” by the Indiana Department of Education for the second year in a row. It received C’s in 2010 and 2011. Miller came up with the plan after consulting both the Monroe County Community School Corporation and Fairview literacy coaches. She said this new program will still give children who are reading above grade level the chance to be challenged.Many parents at the meeting said they agreed with the new changes because they saw students react positively to their experience at school Monday. Daviann Hernandez started crying when talking about her children. Hernandez said if students can’t read, then they also can’t excel in any other subjects. DeMuth said the meeting exemplified how much parents, teachers and administrators love the Fairview community and its students. Pastor Andre Love has a 5- and 7-year-old at Fairview. Love spent much of the day Monday at Fairview and said the children were more obedient that day than usual. He also said it is important for parents to be involved in their children’s education and make their voices heard. “If we don’t speak up for our child, somebody else will,” he said. Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.
(12/22/13 10:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Department of Education released 2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools Dec. 20, with 12 schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation receiving As, five receiving Cs, one a B and two Fs. No school received a D. The only schools to receive Fs this year were Fairview Elementary and Highland Park Elementary. Fairview also received an F last year.Five MCCSC schools have received As all four years since 2010: Childs, Binford, Lakeview, University and Rogers Elementary Schools.Templeton Elementary School was able to improve their grade from an F last year to an A this year. “We are very proud at Templeton to be rated an A by the IDOE for the 2012-2013 school year,” Templeton principal Donald Carver said in an email. “It is definitely a more accurate reflection of the students, staff and families of Templeton.” Carver said their school works to implement new policies to help each student achieve their full potential. “With our rigorous curriculum based on the state standards we are constantly looking for ways to engage students, enrich and intervene every single student based on their individual needs to maximize their success, and we work together on a regular basis to continue to be better practitioners of our craft,” he said. Tammy Miller, director of elementary education for MCCSC, said schools are working to individualize learning for each student. “We need to help each student reach their potential with an individualized approach while also addressing the Twenty First Century Skills,” Miller said in an email. Miller said it is important to think of students first.“Higher achievement rates are often associated with schools that build instructional delivery systems emphasizing the needs of students first,” she said. “There is an emphasis on guaranteeing that each student will achieve mastery of the core curriculum and all aspects of the school are focused on this goal.”Gov. Mike Pence said the grades reflected the hard work of the students and teachers of Indiana. “The release of the 2012-2013 accountability grades demonstrate that our schools have risen to the challenge of improving outcomes across the state of Indiana and our kids are better for it,” Pence said in a press release. “These strong results are a testament to our students and the teachers whose dedication is delivering greater levels of success in the classroom every year.”Follow reporter Sydney Murray on Twitter @sydlm13.