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(04/03/14 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced its Birth to Five: Watch me Thrive! program, which aims to get all children on the same track once they reach kindergarten.This is part of a nationwide push to enhance early childhood education. Gov. Mike Pence signed House Bill 1004 into law Thursday, which will create a pilot pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds in up to five Indiana counties. The Birth to Five program encourages behavioral and developmental screenings for young children to help catch problems early on. The program also encourages families to celebrate milestones their children reach. “Early screening can lead to better access to services and supports, which can enhance children’s learning and development, minimize developmental delays and result in more positive outcomes in school and life,” said Michael Yudin, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, in an USDOE press release. These screenings will check children’s development progress and find any developmental delays, which can then lead to getting these children the help they need. According to the release, the initiative is meant to encourage early childhood experts — including practitioners in early care and education, primary health care, early intervention, child welfare and mental health — to work with children and their families.Most children are diagnosed with autism after the age of 4, although it can be diagnosed as early as age 2, according to the release. Rebecca Swanson, instructor for early childhood education at Hoosier Hills Career Center, assists high school students interested in working with children in the education field. Swanson said she thinks the new program seems like a sound option, and said she is also supportive of any federal money going toward early childhood education in any capacity. Getting kids the support they need helps them catch up and go to school without being held back, Swanson said. Swanson said at this point in a child’s life, the brain is developing very fast, faster than at any other point in life. If a child is delayed developmentally before the age of 5, it can be harder for them to catch up once they get to school.Swanson said the initiative will be especially great if it works hand in hand with other programs, such as Head Start, a federal program that helps children from low income families prepare for school by age 5. It is important to get children learning experiences early on becausechildren’s brains are like sponges at this age and they are excited to learn, Swanson said. “Every family looks forward to celebrating a child’s first steps or first words,” Linda Smith, HHS deputy assistant secretary and interdepartmental liaison for early childhood development for children and families, said in the release. “Combining the love and knowledge families have of their children with tools, guidance and tips recommended by experts can make the most of the developmental support children receive.”
(04/02/14 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fairview Elementary School Principal Tammy Miller welcomed several IU Herbert Presidential Scholars to Fairview Tuesday night to introduce them to the literacy program they will participate in with Fairview students.Fairview, which has received two failing grades by the Indiana State Board of Education two years in a row, is implementing a literacy program and incorporating the help of the Scholars. “It’s just phenomenal that we have connected,” Miller said. Miller said despite what people think about the A-F rating system, students at Fairview aren’t receiving what they need to succeed. Miller said about 90 percent of students at Fairview are on free and reduced lunch and 70 percent are behind in lessons they should be learning at their grade level. The program will take place once a week during April and the sessions will last an hour. The students who will participate in the program are ones the Fairview community believes will benefit from the program the most, Miller said. The parents of these children will also be involved with the tutoring sessions.Miller said they hope parents will learn some new skills so they can help their children at home. Dinner will also be provided for the families. Miller said about 30 Fairview students will be paired with Herbert Scholars on a one-to-one basis. Miller told the Scholars to engage the students by doing activities such as asking them to imagine another character’s point of view and encouraging them to read throughout the week. The students who participate in the program will be able to take an iPad home with them during the program. Miller said the Monroe County Community School Corporation has agreed to buy Hotspots for families without Internet access. The program will also receive books from Barnes and Noble, and each week the student will be able to pick out a book to take home. In the fall, Fairview hopes to start a year-round program.Miller said she thinks the program will be beneficial for both the Scholars and the students and said the relationship will keep the children coming back. “You bring many gifts and assets to our children,” Miller said. “We’re very grateful.”The Scholars will spend their first day with the children next week. Junior and Herbert Scholar Elizabeth Rettig said she volunteered for the program because she hasn’t ever worked with children. She also said she thinks she did well in school because she read well for her grade level. “I wanted to challenge myself because reading is really important,” she said.
(03/31/14 3:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Members of the Bloomington community met Thursday at the Monroe County Public Library to discuss the Green School, a charter school that could open in Bloomington.Michelle Henderson, member of the Founders Group for the Green School, said 19 people spoke in support of the new charter school and about 15 people spoke out against it.She said the auditorium in the library was full for the meeting.The school would focus on teaching sustainability and social justice, and Henderson said these two ideas would drive the curriculum.According to the school’s charter proposal, Green School “students, teachers and parents will foster respect, dignity and love for people and the natural world.”Henderson said proponents of the Green School had a variety of reasons why they supported it, but opponents mainly said they didn’t want money taken from public schools and given to charter schools. “It’s a very polarizing topic,” she said.Henderson said parents came from other areas of the state such as Kokomo, pledging they would send their children to the Green School. She said the charter school hopes to partner with IU and participate in activities such as having School of Public and Environmental Affairs students partnering with students from the Green School.“I think our vision for the school is such a perfect fit for Bloomington values,” she said.Henderson’s children will not attend the Green School because they are no longer elementary school-aged. She said she plans to work as the life skills educator at the school, helping students with social-emotional education.She said it is important for children to learn at a young age that they can make a difference in the world. She said at the school, students can learn how to make the world a better place, but would still perform well on standardized tests.Henderson said the school’s target population are students who struggle in traditional public schools. The Green School could serve a maximum of 240 students by its fourth year of operation.Students will be selected through a lottery system.Henderson said by May 1, the potential school will know whether or not its application was accepted by the Indiana Charter School Board. If it is, the school will open in August 2015.Jennifer Robinson, secretary for the Indiana Coalition for Public Education — Monroe County and South Central Indiana, attended the meeting Thursday and spoke in opposition to the Green School.Robinson said she respects the goals of the people founding the Green School, and the school will serve its students well.But she said she is concerned about the resources that will be taken from public schools to support the charter school.Robinson currently has two children in elementary school and one in preschool.“It really matters to me that they have qualified teachers,” Robinson said, adding that her children have had wonderful experiences in public school so far. She said components of the Green School, such as the arts-infused curriculum, is something that the community wants for all its students, not just a small group. Similarly, Robinson said she is thrilled Bloomingfoods Market and Deli will make lunches for students, but said all students need to have this opportunity.Robinson said she also worries about how transparent the charter school will be. There is no local control over how many charter schools come to Bloomington because it is decided by the Indiana Charter School Board. To take away groups of parents from public schools would be taking resources away, Robinson said.She said she is worried about charter schools taking away engaged families.“I’m just worried about the fragmentation of the community,” she said.
(03/28/14 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana became the first state in the country to drop nationally standardized K-12 curriculum standards this week.The standards, called Common Core, seek to align schools throughout the country so high school graduates have the skills and knowledge they need to enter further education or a career, according to the initiative’s website. Forty-five states and Washington, D.C., had signed on to use the common standards, until Gov. Mike Pence signed the law this week that removed Indiana.“I believe our students are best served when decisions about education are made at the state and local level,” Pence said when signing the bill.Common Core sets standards for English language arts and math curricula. By adopting Common Core, states choose to integrate those standards, rather than developing their own, which is one of the primary arguments of elected leaders who supported leaving the program.“Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers,” Pence said.Although Indiana’s the first state to pull out of Common Core after committing to it in 2010, other states are weighing the decision. About 100 bills have been introduced this spring in legislatures nationwide to slow or stop the standards, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.In Indiana, having standards that aren’t aligned with other states could mean that many resources such as teaching materials and standardized tests offered by Common Core won’t be applicable to the state’s public schools, said Jan Bergeson, director of secondary education at Monroe County Community School Corporation.“A lot of the resources created around the nation for support in classrooms will not fit our standards, Indiana’s standards,” Bergeson said. “We will need to select resources carefully to make sure they support our institutions.”State-approved standards, Common Core or otherwise, are used by school districts to develop their courses.Locally, MCCSC identifies the most important standards for students and prioritizes those in developing courses. There are too many standards to use them all in course development, Bergeson said.“We shape courses around the standards we deem as being essential for students to learn,” Bergeson said. “Standards are key. They’re our foundation.”Despite the decision to leave Common Core, the Indiana Department of Education is still going through a process to revise the state standards this spring.Bergeson said the drafts of standards she’s seen have largely been in line with Common Core.The final standards, which are being developed for “college and career readiness,” according to the Department of Education website, are scheduled for a vote in April, but Bergeson said she’s been told the final approval could be in the summer.“We’ll adjust,” she said. “We’ll make it work. I think we’re just waiting to see what is determined.”
(03/26/14 2:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A recent grant will provide Monroe County Community School Corporation with $300,000 in grant money each year for four years. MCCSC was one of 53 organizations in Indiana to receive 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program grants to help enrich students’ learning experiences. MCCSC was one of eight organizations to receive $300,000, the highest grant amount that could be received. According to an Indiana Department of Education press release, the program is designed to help students who attend high-poverty, low-performing schools. The money will be used to fund the Fairview EdVenture Camp at Fairview Elementary, as well as after-school programs at six of the neediest MCCSC elementary schools: Arlington Heights, Fairview, Grandview, Highland Park, Summit and Templeton, said Timothy Pritchett, director of school age care for MCCSC. EdVenture is a day camp that also provides academic hands-on opportunities for students. He said the staff of the camp will create lesson plans.The goal of the after-school programs are to provide a safe and active after-school environment for students, Pritchett said.Pritchett said the programs are voluntary for parents to enroll their students, but students in need might be referred to the program. Students in need might be students who are not doing well academically, but they also could be students who have a troubled home life, for example. MCCSC has been receiving this grant money every year since 2000, except for the current school year because of the government sequester, Pritchett said. Pritchett said one of the main goals of the program is to get children to experience activities in class they don’t normally get to and maybe inspire some of the students to pursue careers in these fields. A second goal of the 21st century program is to facilitate collaboration between school districts and community agencies, such as IU Health and Bloomington Parks and Recreation, Pritchett said. Pritchett said he estimates more than 300 students in MCCSC benefit from this money each year. “I look forward to working with these community organizations over the coming years as we continue to increase student performance throughout Indiana,” Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz said in the release. “These groups work throughout the state to support student learning and development in communities affected by poverty. I am honored to award these organizations, which are working every day to strengthen our communities.”Seventy-eight school corporations, nonprofits and community organizations applied for grants in Indiana. The IDOE applies for funding, which is then distributed from the IDOE to organizations as sub-grants. Indiana organizations received $11.1 million in grant money, with awards starting at $50,000.DeVonne Richburg, 21st Century program manager for the IDOE, said reviewers who are experts in after-school education score each application, and the scores help determine which organizations receive grants. Richburg said schools can receive priority points if they meet a certain set of criteria, such as a certain amount of students living in poverty in the school or if a school’s plans revolve around literacy achievement. She said the program tries to help programs become 21st Century Learning Centers. “We try to help as many programs as we possibly can,” Richburg said. Richburg said they try to reach programs in both rural and urban areas so they get good coverage throughout the state. She said these grants are important because the programs are an extension of the school day. “Any out-of-school learning helps with in-school learning,” she said.
(03/25/14 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>He wants every day to be different, so today David Chen will teach Chinese with fried green onion pancakes.It’s Sept. 20, the day after the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Fried green onion pancakes are staples.“Perfect day for a food lab,” he says, holding a plate of the oily, aromatic cakes with one hand and fumbling his keys with the other.Unlocking the door, he steps into the classroom he shares with Tri-North Middle School’s social studies teacher. Chinese characters are written on the chalkboard opposite the U.S. Constitution.Chen is Monroe County Community School Corporation’s first-ever Chinese language teacher. At a time when budgets are tight, and Indiana education seems obsessed with teaching students to pass tests, Chen is confident he can succeed where other teachers have failed. He not only wants every one of his students to pass Chinese, but to love learning the language, too.So far, he says, it’s working. His students are already learning at a rate faster than most high school classes.“Compare my 12- and 13-year-olds to high schoolers, and they’ll beat them every time,” he often says.But would they really beat them every time? He couldn’t possibly know. A first-time teacher, Chen has never taught a class of his own.So he’s taking it day by day. Each morning, he sets a goal — learn those words, then that sentence, then review last week’s stuff. That’s what food labs are for; the students are rewarded with food if they achieve the goal. He calls it “controlled chaos.”Last week, they cooked dumplings in class after learning how to say “I want.” Today, they’ll learn wo xiang chi cong you bing — I want eat fried green onion pancake.The bell rings, and students crash through the door. They shout their hellos.“Ni hao, Mr. Chen.”There are the three boys who can’t keep still; the two girls who whisper answers to his questions; and one girl from China, who, like Chen at her age, is trying to learn how to survive as a Chinese-speaking student in an American school.After teaching them to say fried green onion pancake and reviewing “I want,” Chen begins.“OK, so how do you say ‘I want eat fried green pancake’?” he asks.Chen translates Chinese in broken English. Words like “a” and “is” don’t exist in Chinese, he says, omitting them makes translation easier.Several students attempt the phrase and stumble. A few offer no response at all.Chen takes control. He goes to each student, offering the plate of pancakes. They won’t get one until they ask for it in Chinese.They try sounding the syllables, many of which have no English equivalent. Some succeed the first time. Chen helps those who mumbled failed attempts.“How do you say ‘I want eat fried green pancake’?” “Wo xiang chi cong you bing.”Soon, everyone is asking for fried green pancakes in Chinese, and everyone eats some. Chen plays Chinese lesson videos on YouTube until class ends. The day’s goal was met.But it’s only day 12 of 180, and Chen worries whether his methods are working. Are his students committing Chinese to memory? Can they truly learn Chinese and love it, too? He’s confident the answer to those questions is yes. But he doesn’t have proof.There’s no proof his students are actually learning what he’s teaching. No proof the principal who hired him will have his faith rewarded. And no proof the new and fragile Chinese program will continue.“Every day, I ask myself,” he says, “Am I going to be fired?”* * *When Chen first interviewed for the teaching job, Jackson Creek Principal David Pillar didn’t know what to make of him.Pillar had been to China. He saw students there were learning other languages faster and at younger ages than those at Jackson Creek Middle School. He feared whether his students would be able to compete in a globalized world.So he came back to Bloomington, lobbied for and won approval for new Chinese classes, and prepared to hire a teacher. He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, but he said he knew he wanted one thing: experience.Then he interviewed Chen.A 6-foot 27-year-old with a round face and barrel chest, Chen talks with his hands and looks more like a coach than a teacher when he speaks about Chinese. His voice is melodic, rising and falling with his mood.Pillar interviewed this rookie teacher, fresh out of graduate school at IU, and listened to him talk about downplaying grades, giving out candy and playing movies every day. All that was supposed to add up to stronger Chinese classes than he’d get from anyone else. Pillar wasn’t sure it would work. That’s why he’d asked Brian Flaherty to the interview.Flaherty knows the field of Chinese language education. Before joining IU’s Chinese Flagship Center, one of the nation’s premier Chinese learning programs, his experience included teaching English in China for four years and teaching Chinese at IU for about three years. Chen’s methods struck him as unorthodox.Flaherty said Chen’s methodology is fascinating: sticking to daily goals, knowing exactly what he wants students to learn and review each day and taking calculated steps to achieve that goal while also mitigating the stress that comes with being a middle school student. Flaherty was impressed.But what impressed him most, he said, was Chen’s obvious passion for teaching Chinese. Pillar agreed.“You knew it when you saw it,” Pillar said. “His enthusiasm outweighed any lack of experience he had.”Chen was hired. Every day he would drive between three middle schools — Batchelor, Tri-North and Jackson Creek — teaching four classes, about 80 students in all.Pillar’s new fear was whether Chen could keep the new program alive.For any language program, the first year is the most important. It’s when you retain enough students to sustain new classes. MCCSC required 80 percent of the first year’s students register for second-year. If classes are too hard, too few new students sign up, and too many first-year students drop out. If retention rates drop below 80 percent, the program might be scrapped.Pillar said he’d be heartbroken if the program died in its first year. It was his baby. But securing the retention rates falls to Chen, and there were no guarantees.“Classes die all the time,” he said.* * *It’s Oct. 2, week nine, and Chen is at Jackson Creek.He doesn’t share this classroom; it’s all his. His cabinets are pantries, filled with potato chips, candy and cooking ware. Next to the door, there’s a photo of him holding the textbook. But inside, the textbooks are on the shelf. Few have their spines broken.He teaches two classes here, with about 15 students each. Right now 12 of his 15 students are jumping around in a circle, playing Chinese hacky sack.Screaming and flailing, they kick the feathered ball to one another, trying to keep it aloft, and count each successful kick in Chinese.Yi ge! One.Liang ge! Two.San ge! Three.Today’s goal is learning to count to 15 — shi-wu. The students sigh and frantically recall more numbers in Chinese with each missed kick and dropped pass. If they reach 15 in a row, they earn a reward more satisfying than any grade: five gummy bears each.Chen worries less now about whether he’ll be fired. A practice test showed signs his students are retaining much of what they’d learned. Rather, he worries aloud about the projector hanging from the ceiling as wild kicks send the ball in all directions.“If this gets violent,” he says, “no candy for a week.”Then, shi-wu. Victory.Cheering, the students collect their five gummy bears. After about 10 minutes of review, they’ve grasped counting by playing the game. All Chen does is reward them with candy.Another day, another goal met. Everyone gets candy and everyone gets an A. But everyone almost always gets an A. Aside from tests, there are no grades in Chen’s classes. He thinks students’ only motivation should be to learn Chinese.“As soon as you focus on grades, their motivation lies no longer in Chinese but in, ‘how do I get an A?’” he says. “Then you lost that student.”For similar reasons, Chen rarely assigns homework. He says only about one-fifth of students benefit from it. The other four-fifths have hectic lives, unsupportive parents or just no motivation to do homework. Those are things he can’t change.“I try to make school as much not like school as possible.”Yet school is still school, a place where not every student will grow at the rate Chen wants, and Pillar still needs test results to know Chen’s classes are meeting standards.The first real test is two weeks away. His highest achieving students are ready, he says, but the struggling students have more work to do.He says that’s his most important job: to help the average student excel. Too often, he says, Chinese teachers play favorites with star students, leaving others feeling dejected. Chen has seen it himself and experienced it.For his average students to succeed, he says, it’s simple.“They need to become Chinese.”* * *Chen’s first students were his mom and dad.He was born in Munster, Ind., to Taiwanese immigrants who spoke little English. Neighbors were “unforgiving.”For as long as he can remember, Chen was his parents’ translator, English teacher and defender. He rebuked strangers who scoffed at their accents, explained their customs and did his best to protect them from racists.Speaking only Chinese at home and trips to Taiwan meant Chen’s English suffered, too.“I’d get ostracized for saying things like ‘the day before today,’” he said.After leaving Munster in 2006, Chen studied business at Purdue, later transferring to IU’s Kelley School of Business. But the longer he studied business, the less it interested him, and the more Chinese language education attracted him.Through studying Chinese at IU, Chen discovered a lifetime of serving as a bridge between the U.S. and China distinctly prepared him to be a teacher. Now he combines what he learned coaching his parents with his favorite teachers’ best techniques.“My whole life, I’ve accumulated knowledge on being Chinese, being American and everything in between,” he said. “So now, I’m the fastest avenue to these kids becoming proficient at the language.”* * *On test day, Oct. 18., it’s still dark when Chen arrives at Batchelor for his first class.When he flips the switch, only half the lights come on. He frowns.The bell rings.“They’re coming up,” he says.One by one, the students file in silently. Usually his students are raucous and lively, but not today.Chen’s not worried, but he is nervous. He has spent time every class working one-on-one with the most struggling students. Despite that, they’re all behind when it comes to writing. Today’s test is all about writing.His students don’t all agree about what’s the best part of his class. As for the worst, though, it’s unanimous: tones.Each Chinese character can represent different words, defined by the pitch with which it’s spoken. Ma might mean horse or mother, depending on its pitch, or tone.That’s why the students are so quiet. Writing Chinese means remembering tones.Chen passed out the test: full sentences of Chinese characters comprising almost all the words they’d learned so far. They needed to translate the sentences to English on one line, and on another spell its pronunciation, complete with tones.The first student finishes after about 10 minutes. The other students take their time, some handing in half completed tests just as class ends.Chen has already finished grading. Mostly A’s and B’s, a few C’s and D’s. But there are 18 students, and he had only 16 pieces of paper.Two students had walked out without turning in their tests.Of all his students from three schools, they were the two who struggled the most. What if he didn’t get them back? Would this show he’s not the teacher to keep the program alive? He doesn’t know. Right now he wants only to know why they kept the tests.Trotting past lockers, full classrooms and the front office, Chen searches in a huff. Some teachers might let it go, he says, especially considering he lets his students retake tests as many times as they need to get an A.He found the first student in another class. When he sees Chen standing in the doorway, he immediately stands to hand over the mostly unfinished test.Chen asks him why he didn’t turn it in.“I don’t know,” the student says, shrugging.Chen learned as a student teacher not to weigh too heavily on your students, but also not to be too doting, lest you make the student think you’re pretending to be a parent.“Well, don’t do it again,” Chen says.Continuing his search for the second student, Chen finds him at his locker.Like the other, the student gives up the test without argument.“Why didn’t you turn it in?” Chen asks.“I didn’t know the answers,” the student replies. Only half of one sentence was translated.“That’s OK,” Chen says. “You know you can retake it again, anyway.”“Thanks, Mr. Chen.”* * * It’s Thanksgiving, and most students have retaken their tests four or five times. Eventually, they all scored A’s, including the students who walked out.A week goes by, and they’re already preparing for the semester’s final exam: translating and reciting about 200 Chinese characters. For the students, it’s just another test. For Chen, it’s another opportunity to prove how quickly his students are learning.He no longer worries about whether his methods are working. He said he stopped when one of his students came to him and asked, What can I do at home so I don’t need you anymore?Days before the final, snow fall prompted a two-hour delay. Chen took the extra time to tidy his room at Jackson Creek.“I almost had a student drop out,” he said while bundling calligraphy brushes.When he asked the student to participate in an activity, the student refused. Chen said he asked the student if he wanted to drop out of Chinese.Yes, the student replied.He walked the student to the office, prepared to help the student drop his class. But the student changed his mind, admitting he didn’t want to leave.“He cried. I cried. We hugged,” he said. “And he’s still learning Chinese.”With only one week remaining in the first semester, not a single student has dropped from Chen’s classes.Soon after next semester begins, students sign up for classes. Chen doesn’t know whether they’ll achieve the retention rate needed, but he’s confident they will.He dreams of what the second year will look like. Maybe classes at both high schools, another Chinese teacher to work with. In time, Chen says he could grow MCCSC’s Chinese program to the largest in the nation.Maybe then, he says, Chinese teachers around the nation will look at his program and see every student can successfully learn the language. But it all starts with the classes relying on him now.“After 10 years of this, I’ll probably be jaded and forget students’ names,” Chen says. “But not this first year, I’ll remember them forever.”* * *For Chinese New Year, Chen gets to teach Chinese to all of about 550 of Jackson Creek’s students.It’s Feb. 4, five days after the start of the Chinese New Year, and Pillar has called the entire school to the auditorium for a celebration. Chen’s the star of the show. He’s in front of the stage, at a table topped with cooking ware from his classroom and ingredients from Kroger. This time it’s dumplings.As students take their seats, some who he doesn’t recognize walk by and say, Hi, Mr. Chen.The school’s band — some of Chen’s students are performers — is here to play China-inspired songs that sound like what you’d hear at a Chinese restaurant. Brian Flaherty’s here, too, dressed in traditional Chinese clothing to demonstrate Tai Chi. Pillar takes the mic and starts the show.He introduces Chen.“Mr. Chen is a very accomplished and good cook,” Pillar says.Most know the Chinese teacher. But they don’t know Chen and Pillar heard the program was a success. They don’t know the three classes at Batchelor, Tri-North and Jackson Creek will continue, and two more will start at Bloomington North and South high schools.Chen’s not worried about all that now, though. He’s worried whether his dumplings are too salty.“Not too much soy sauce,” he says as he mixes the dumpling filling. A camera broadcasts his cooking to a white screen on the stage.Pillar’s controlling the camera with a laptop. While Chen was setting up, Pillar said his classes at Batchelor and Tri-North retained all but two students, and his classes at Jackson Creek retained every one. He said such a high retention rate in a first-year program is rare.“It’s a testament to him,” Pillar said. “That just doesn’t happen.”Chen finishes making filling, satisfied with the saltiness, and the band takes the stage. By the time it finishes playing songs with names like “Chinese Folk Fantasy,” Chen is ready to show his 550 students how to wrap dumplings.When Chen was young, Chinese New Year meant making dumplings with his mother, grandma and family. The number of folds is up to you, he says, while he wets the dough and presses.Though his program will continue, Chen has learned he can’t make every student learn Chinese, let alone love it. There were the two students who didn’t sign up for year two, and others who, despite one-on-one coaching, never seemed able to catch up.Scooping more filling to another doughy sheet, he tells the crowd the portion is the most important part. Not too much, not too little.“If you try to overpack it,” he says, “you will never close this dumpling.”After Brian Flaherty’s demonstration and a performance of traditional Korean drums, Chen serves his dumplings to his fellow teachers. There’s the math teacher whose classroom is across the hall from Chen’s, and the Spanish teacher.Then the celebration ends. All the students and teachers leave the auditorium, until only Pillar and Chen are left. Pillar will go on to facilitate the growth of the Chinese program, and Chen will continue doing what he does best: cook and teach Chinese.But there’s one dumpling left. Pillar eats it. It’s good, he says.“Thanks, Chen.”
(03/25/14 3:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Monroe County Community School Corporation was one of 53 organizations in Indiana to be awarded a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant this year, according to a press release from the Indiana Department of Education.Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz announced the grants, which total to about $11.1 million. Awards ranged between $50,000 and $300,000. The Monroe County Community School Corporation received $300,000 from the IDE.The grants are intended to aid communities with high instances of poverty and low-performing schools, according to the release. They are targeted specifically at after-school programs.“These groups work throughout the state to support student learning and development in communities affected by poverty,” said Ritz in the release. “I am honored to award these organizations which are working every day to strengthen our communities.”Almost 80 organizations applied for grants from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The organizations awarded grants serve 184 after-school sites, according to the release.The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and is federally funded.M.K. Wildeman
(03/25/14 2:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The U.S. Department of Education has announced the opening of applications for the Investing in Innovation Grant Competition.Grants totalling $134 million will go to schools to help their students achieve more and be ready for college and careers. There are three categories for the grants — development, validation and scale-up. The development category can be pre-applied for now, and the validation and scale-up category applications will be released later this spring. This is the grant competition’s fifth year. The development grants help schools implement new ideas to help their students succeed. “We’re excited to begin this year’s i3 Development competition to support promising efforts in the field,” said Nadya Dabby, acting assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, in a USDOE press release. The USDOE aims to accomplish specific goals with these grants, including effective use of technology, improved academic outcomes for English learners and improved academic outcomes for students with disabilities, among others. During the 2013 competition, the USDOE received 576 pre-applications. It has consistently been the most popular category during the past four years. All grantees that receive awards must also find private-sector matching funds that comprise 15 percent of their budget. The deadline for pre-applications is April 14. Those chosen from the pre-application process will be encouraged to complete a full application for the development grants. “The initiatives supported by i3 are not only designed to boost students’ success. They also improve our understanding of what works for students and educators,” Dabby said in the release. “We look forward to supporting new ideas to help all students — especially our highest need students — achieve.”Sydney Murray
(03/12/14 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Coalition for Public Education and members of the community met Tuesday at the Northwest YMCA to discuss ISTEP and other standardized testing.Phillip and Joan Harris, authors of “The Myths of Standardized Tests: Why They Don’t Tell You What You Think They Do,” led the meeting, which began with a question: “What do you think test scores tell us about students, teachers and schools?”Attendees divided into groups, and many of the groups said testing can reveal the social-economic status of a student, but not much else. One group said the test does not reveal anything about what students need to be taught next.“What’s interesting to me is what’s not there,” Phillip Harris said. Phillip Harris said many standardized tests are group-based and group norms establish a passing score. He said the standardized tests are designed so half of students will score below average. Phillip said test items are not objective because someone decides what item should be used to measure a certain skill. He said if a question is asked to a sample group and half the group answers incorrectly, it will be kept. But, if the whole group answers incorrectly or the whole group answers correctly, the question will be thrown out. He said this method makes it seem like the test is objective, but he said the test is still made up by someone, created by trying to use science. The Harrises then presented the group with a standardized test of their own. Each person was given a short paragraph and told to pick out the F’s on the page. Out of 18 people who took the test, only four counted the correct number of F’s. Phillip said children’s test scores are compared to a group that no one knows anything about and that might be different from a student taking the test. Phillip also mentioned that teachers don’t receive the results of what problems their students answered correctly and incorrectly, so teachers don’t know what their students aren’t learning properly. “You don’t learn much from what you got right,” Phillip said. As the meeting went on, those in attendance participated in another task. The Harrises passed out a cardboard square with a handmade ruler and participants were told to measure the square. Each ruler had a different unit of measurement and therefore everyone received different answers. Phillip made the point that society has agreed upon units of measurement for many different things, but not for education, though he said people seem to think test scores are that unit. He said proponents of testing conclude an indirect measure of knowledge, such as testing, is better than a direct measure of knowledge, such as a student’s actual performance. “We shouldn’t let our children be subject to indirect observation,” Phillip said. “Period.” He said the amount of students opting out of testing is growing. Sofia McDowell attended the meeting with her son and said she is an active supporter of public education. She said it is important to address all aspects of education, including standards and accountability. Gina Weir, a parent of two children in school, said she wanted to attend the meeting to discuss other ways of changing the testing system in place, which she said often discriminates against children of a lower socio-economic status or children whose first language is not English. She said testing starts making children compare themselves to other people. She said a lot of money is being wasted on testing that could be spent on reducing class sizes so teachers can address the needs of all students. She said the current system penalizes schools and teachers based on an inaccurate measure of learning. Phillip Harris said two of the biggest myths in testing are that scores can be used to evaluate schools and teachers. Phillip said teachers shouldn’t be held accountable for other people’s behavior, similar to the way a dentist shouldn’t be held accountable for a patient’s bad teeth. “Only in education do we expect teachers to be responsible for learning, when the learning is done by students,” he said.
(03/12/14 3:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The College Board announced March 5 changes will be made to the SAT. The new SAT will first be administered in spring 2016. Changes will be made to both the math and English/language arts portions of the exam. Vocabulary words will be changed from obscure words to ones that students will use more often in their college and professional careers, according to a College Board press release. The essay portion of the exam will no longer be required. According to the release, while the writing work students complete in the reading and writing portion of the test is predictive of college readiness and success, one essay alone has not contributed greatly to the overall predictive nature of the exam. John Livingston, counselor and SAT coordinator at Bloomington High School South, said the changes to the test are positive. Many school officials and students have been asking for change, and the new test will be more relevant to students, he said. He said the test will relate more to what students are already learning in the classroom, instead of requiring that students study vocabulary outside of school. Livingston said all students will most likely improve, so comparing students against one another would still be relevant. Livingston said although Indiana has always been an “SAT state,” the ACT’s popularity has been growing. “It seems like this is market driven,” he said. Livingston said the SAT is changing because students have a choice in tests, and the SAT seems to be aligning more with the ACT. The exam will also contain passages from important documents in American history, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers. Students will no longer be penalized for an incorrect answer. The math section will focus on three topics — algebra, problem solving and data analysis, and advanced math. Adam Terwilliger, math department chair at Bloomington High School North, said the math section of the SAT will now focus more on applied knowledge instead of procedural problems. Terwilliger said the procedural components are important to learn, but it is also important for students to be able to apply knowledge to outside world situations. He said the math curriculum won’t change much, but changes will be made in how the questions are asked. College Board President David Coleman said the Board will expand the organization’s reach to college-ready, low-income students to also help them in the college application process. Every income-eligible student who takes the SAT will be given four fee waivers for applying to college. “We can cut through so much red tape and hesitation by giving students the admission fee waivers they need, information they understand and the encouragement they need to apply more broadly,” Coleman said in the press release. The Board will also partner with Khan Academy to provide all students with free SAT preparation. This free preparation is expected to be released in spring 2015. For students who are currently taking the SAT, they can access hundreds of previously unreleased practice problems on the Khan Academy website, as well as video tutorials for the problems. “For too long, there’s been a well-known imbalance between students who could afford test-prep courses and those who couldn’t,” Sal Khan, founder and executive director of Khan Academy, said in the press release.“We’re thrilled to collaborate closely with the College Board to level the playing field by making truly world-class test-prep materials freely available to all students.”
(03/11/14 3:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Obama Administration included $69 billion in discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Department of Education in its budget for the 2015 Fiscal Year, a 2-percent increase from the 2014 budget. About 90 percent of the appropriations are earmarked to provide resources to disadvantaged, poor and minority students, students with disabilities and students learning English.“President Obama’s budget request reflects his strong belief that education is a vital investment in the nation’s economic competitiveness, in its people and in its communities,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a U.S. DOE press release. “Despite the encouraging progress we’ve seen, wide opportunity and achievement gaps continue to hurt many families, which puts our nation’s economy and future at risk.”Obama has also proposed a new “Race to the Top — Equity and Opportunity” initiative. This plan would create incentives for states and school districts to take steps to close achievement gaps, including the opportunity to apply for grants. Additionally, Obama proposed the ConnectEDucators initiative, which would provide schools with funding to help them give their students access to the best technology to make them college- and career-ready, according to the press release. The administration is requesting $1.3 billion to help expand high-quality preschool education to all 4-years-olds in the nation, as well as pushing to make college more affordable and help all students who begin college to complete college. “We must continue to invest in the reforms taking hold in classrooms across the country, led by the hard work of our educators,” Duncan said in the release. “America’s public schools are the path to the middle class for children from hard-working families in every community, but too many students lack access to the quality education and supports that make the journey to college and the middle class possible.”Sydney Murray
(03/06/14 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana is the first state in the country to officially join an initiative launched by the National Council for State Reciprocity Agreements that will help connect Hoosier students with online education in other states.Ken Sauer, senior associate commissioner for Academic Affairs with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, said the initiative was created to remove complexities surrounding online education.In order for a higher education institution to deliver distance learning to students in other states, the institution has to receive approval from each of those states. But Sauer said each state has its own regulations for approval, which makes the process complicated. While some states have a lot of paperwork, others barely have any.Institutions must also pay fees to enroll students from another state, and Sauer said some rates would be so high institutions would avoid enrolling students from that state. Under the new initiative, an institution the size of IU would only pay $6,000 to enroll students from other states in online programs, instead of possibly hundreds of thousands.The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement launched this new initiative to create more consistency across states. The initiative will be an agreement between states in which an institution can easily enroll students from another state also involved with SARA. Jennifer Parks, director of the Midwestern district of SARA, said there are multiple phases for states to become involved with SARA. The state must set up a portal agency that applies for membership in SARA. The agency will then accept applications from institutions to become members.In order for institutions to become members, they must be nationally or regionally accredited and have an adequate federal financial responsibility score.Each state that becomes a member of SARA must implement an adequate system for students to file complaints about institutions in that state. States must also create a catastrophic response process in case an institution in their state shuts down, so affected students can be helped in completing their degrees.Parks said this new legislation is important because it acknowledges the direction that technology, society and education are heading. She said students are no longer limited to their location in gaining an education and also have the convenience to complete an online degree during their own time.According to the Sloan Consortium, 7.1 million higher education students were enrolled in at least one online course in 2013. Sauer said the new initiative can help gather more information about online education.“I think there’s a real opportunity to get better data on the number of students enrolled in distance education programs,” Sauer said.Indiana is the only official member of SARA from the Midwest, but Parks received an application from North Dakota on Wednesday. Parks said this is an integral issue for those involved with higher education to embrace.Parks said SARA hopes to have 26 states become members by the end of 2014 and 45 members by the end of 2015. “It’s good for students because it allows more opportunity for students to take online courses and programs if they want to,” Sauer said.
(03/05/14 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Monroe County Community School Corporation will celebrate Disability Awareness Month with events planned throughout March. First organized by the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities in 1989, there is a different theme each year.This March’s theme, “Dream to Dare,” aims to challenge people to consider and support disability awareness in their communities, according to the Awareness website. There are currently six Bloomington events registered on the Awareness website, including a film festival at the IU Cinema. Janise McCollough, assistant director of special education, said each school in MCCSC organizes its own events to recognize the month. The Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility, a volunteer group that advocates for people with disabilities, will visit some schools. Clear Creek Elementary School is organizing a book share. The students will read books about Americans with disabilities, as well as study technology such as bionic arms and how it can help people with disabilities.LIFEDesigns, Inc., an Indiana group that provides people with disabilities and their families with resources, is organizing an essay contest for older students and a coloring contest for younger students in MCCSC. Director of Special Education Kathleen Hugo said the schools don’t necessarily celebrate the month, but they make the students more aware of disabilities. Hugo said there are about 11,000 total students in MCCSC, and 1,700 have identified disabilities. She said there are some students who are medically fragile who might not have been in a school building 20 years ago. Adults and children with disabilities represent more than 19 percent of the Hoosier population, according to the Awareness website. Hugo said MCCSC has strengthened its programs for students with autism because more students with autism are enrolled in the schools.“We have pushed the envelope even more,” Hugo said. Even though March is devoted to disability awareness, McCollough said MCCSC tries to teach its students about disabilities all year. Hugo said students with disabilities are just a part of MCCSC’s everyday operations. It is important for the students to understand disabilities because they may grow up to have children of their own with disabilities, she said. She said it is important for students to value all students as people with worth and not just as a disability. “It’s just part of a basic civil right,” Hugo said. More information about Disability Awareness Month and events happening in Bloomington is available at indianadisabilityawareness.org.
(03/04/14 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Public Schools system and the U.S. Department of Education have reached an agreement after IPS failed to give girls an equal opportunity in athletics. The USDOE’s Office for Civil Rights found IPS was in violation of Title IX of 1972, which states “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”According to an USDOE press release, IPS failed to provide athletic opportunities for girls as well as equal opportunity and access to facilities, locker rooms, equipment, supplies and scheduling of games and practice times. According to the release, there were 5,538 students enrolled in high schools for the 2010-2011 school year, with the students close to evenly divided between boys and girls. However, 65 percent of the 1,466 athletes were boys, and 35 percent girls.Victor Bush, IPS district director of athletics, said the investigation began in fall 2010 as a general inquiry into IPS. He said no complaints were filed against IPS before the investigation began.District-wide, there were questions surrounding the number of boys’ athletic games played during “prime-time,” Fridays and Saturdays, versus the number of girls’ games played during prime-time. He said there were questions surrounding the facilities at Arsenal Technical High School. At the time of the inquiry, the school was under construction and using only one gym. The school was also not able to use four of their locker rooms because of construction.There was concern about the number of times girls were practicing against boys late at night, but Bush said the girls’ basketball coach at the time at Arsenal Tech preferred to schedule practices later in the day.The agreement requires IPS to increase athletic opportunities for girls and improve facilities, equipment and primetime scheduling of games and practice times for girls.If there are unmet interests in sporting opportunities for girls, IPS might need to add more sports teams or increase sizes of existing teams. IPS must also implement a procedure for students, parents and coaches to request the addition of new sports or sports levels at high schools. Bush said there were also inquiries about whether girls’ sporting equipment was adequate at John Marshall Community High School and George Washington Community High School. Bush said the construction has now been completed at Arsenal Tech and the school is able to use two gyms. “So a lot of things have been repaired or improved over time,” he said. Bush said he thinks athletics can be like a second curriculum for students and can reinforce concepts learned in the classroom, but said athletics can also be more than that. “More importantly, sports teaches you about life,” Bush said. Bush said he usually thinks if the gear or facilities would not be good enough for his own child, they are not good enough for the students of IPS. He said since 2010, a lot of improvements have been made and IPS is working in compliance with the report to provide their students with the best athletic experience possible. “I don’t want any of our kids playing in mediocre gear or mediocre facilities,” he said. The OCR will monitor IPS to make sure they are following the guidelines of the agreement. “This resolution agreement embodies the fundamental Title IX principles that school districts must provide girls and boys with both equal opportunity to participate and equal benefits and opportunities as participants in interscholastic athletics programs,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon in the release. “Girls in schools across the country deserve to expect that their schools will support their desire to compete at a high level in a fair and competitive environment.”
(02/27/14 3:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three elementary schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation are pursuing the idea of becoming International Baccalaureate schools. Childs, University and Templeton Elementary schools are gathering information about the IB program.A total of 3,720 IB schools are located in 147 countries across the world, with 33 IB schools currently in Indiana. “Our curriculum represents the best from many different countries rather than the exported national system of any one,” according to the IB website. “Our challenging Diploma Programme assessment is recognized by the world’s leading universities. We maintain our high standards by actively training and supporting teachers, and by authorizing and evaluating IB World Schools.”The IB program is divided into four smaller programs for students ages 3-19. Templeton Principal Donald Carver said the school is still in the investigative process right now, but he said becoming an IB school would be an honor. “It comes with great recognition,” he said. Carver said the IB process could take up to four years to implement and for the school to become accredited. He said if the staff and parents of Templeton are invested in becoming an IB school, then they would apply for candidacy.To apply for candidacy, a school must complete an application and gather supporting documents. Through the application, the school must show they have taken measures and developed a plan for becoming an IB school. The school would also eventually undergo a Verification Visit to ensure it is meeting the requirements to become an IB school. School heads and coordinators reported about an eight out of ten for curriculum satisfaction 2009 through 2012, according to the IB website.Carver said there are a limited number of IB schools in the United States that are public. Carver said if Templeton became an IB school, the curriculum would incorporate a world language component. The curriculum would still follow Indiana Academic Standards and the students will still be tested. Carver said he likes that a new curriculum would add global and diversity aspects. “All schools are constantly looking for ways to grow and evolve,” Carver said. Sydney Murray
(02/26/14 9:42pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three elementary schools in the Monroe County Community School Corporation are pursuing the idea of becoming International Baccalaureate schools. Childs, University and Templeton Elementary schools are gathering information about the IB program. A total of 3,720 IB schools are located in 147 countries across the world, with 33 IB schools currently in Indiana. “Our curriculum represents the best from many different countries rather than the exported national system of any one,” according to the IB website. “Our challenging Diploma Programme assessment is recognized by the world’s leading universities. We maintain our high standards by actively training and supporting teachers, and by authorizing and evaluating IB World Schools.”The IB program is divided into four smaller programs for students ages 3-19. Templeton Principal Donald Carver said the school is still in the investigative process right now, but he said becoming an IB school would be an honor. “It comes with great recognition,” he said. Carver said the IB process could take up to four years to implement and for the school to become accredited. He said if the staff and parents of Templeton are invested in becoming an IB school, then they would apply for candidacy.To apply for candidacy, a school must complete an application and gather supporting documents. Through the application, the school must show they have taken measures and developed a plan for becoming an IB school. The school would also eventually undergo a Verification Visit to ensure it is meeting the requirements to become an IB school. Carver said there are a limited number of IB schools in the United States that are public. Carver said if Templeton became an IB school, the curriculum would incorporate a world language component. The curriculum would still follow Indiana Academic Standards and the students will still be tested. Carver said he likes that a new curriculum would add global and diversity aspects. “All schools are constantly looking for ways to grow and evolve,” Carver said. Sydney Murray
(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.