ENews
October, 2009
Congratulations to South Heights Elementary!
Project CHILD site reaches another milestone.
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| Angie Hawkins, South Heights Media Center Director, with students at one of the library’s learning stations. | Two South Heights’ students enjoy working at a library learning station. |
Ten years ago South Heights Elementary School in Henderson, Kentucky ranked near the bottom of all elementary schools in the state – 705th out of 720. Today they are in the top 23%. How did they accomplish this remarkable turn around? Through hard work, teamwork, strong leadership, and innovative thinking.
In 1999, Principal Rob Carroll discovered Project CHILD at the Florida Educational Technology Conference. He was attending with several teachers who decided that the CHILD model could be an effective tool to turn their school around. After a successful pilot year, they adopted Project CHILD school wide, and have subsequently become a CHILD National Demonstration Site. In 2004 the school received the prestigious National School Change Award, and in 2009 they reached another milestone by receiving an Academic Index rating of 101, beating the state’s goal to have every Kentucky school reach 100 by 2014. Only 216 of the state’s 743 elementary schools have met the goal based upon last spring’s state assessment test, and South Heights is one of them! Congratulations on this wonderful achievement.
South Heights combines many good programs within the Project CHILD framework. “We find that Project CHILD fits perfectly with our other initiatives such as RTI (Response to Intervention), the CHAMPS discipline program, and our intervention teams,” said Mr. Carroll. Another dynamic feature used effectively at South Heights is an open media center which serves as an additional learning station throughout the day. Students visit the library not only to check out books, but to work on computers, learning activities, and projects.
To learn more, visit the school’s website at http://www.southheights.henderson.k12.ky.us/
Project TEAMS is Up and Running
Middle school model makes debut at several charter schools.
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Sixth grade students at five Imagine charter schools in Florida are learning in a new way this year. Their schools have implemented ISI’s Project TEAMS program that integrates technology and active learning into the school’s curriculum. Students work at learning stations to collaborate, explore, and learn in a variety of ways.
“Our students are actively learning 21st century skills,” states Kathy Helean, Principal at Imagine School at Palmer Ranch in Sarasota, FL. “We are intentionally teaching important lifelong skills such as critical thinking, time management, goal setting, teamwork, and problem solving.”
To learn more about Project TEAMS, visit www.ifsi.org/TEAMS.
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| Sixth graders at Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton, Florida at a TEAMS Technology Station. | Kim DeMichieli, TEAMS Math Teacher at Imagine School at Palmer Ranch prepares the Station Assignment Board. |
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| A.J. Brown, TEAMS Social Studies Teacher at Imagine School at Palmer Ranch guides students at one of the learning stations. |
Students use a TEAMS Work Log to set goals and monitor station work. |
Project CHILD Gets Rave Reviews in Bowling Green
Two turn-around schools make AYP for all subgroups.
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| Michael Wix, Principal at Dishman-McGinnis, has implemented Project CHILD school wide this year with 3 primary and 2 intermediate clusters. | Cheri Smith, Principal at Parker-Bennett-Curry, with student guides ready to host visitors at a recent Project CHILD awareness seminar. The school has 3 primary clusters. |
Everyone is rejoicing at Dishman-McGinnis Elementary and Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Both schools began Project CHILD implementation in 2008, and made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) for all sub groups in 2009 for the first time. Because of the diversity at these schools, Dishman-McGinnis had 12 AYP goals, and Parker-Bennett-Curry had 14. Congratulations to the hard working staff at these two innovative schools!
“Never in my 29 years in public education, have I experienced a model which has had such an immediate and profound impact on teacher efficacy and student engagement,” said Vicki Writsel, Associate Superintendent for Instruction, in a letter inviting educators to visit the schools. “Research clearly shows that an effective teacher can mitigate the impact of poverty and language barriers. CHILD supports this research by maximizing student engagement through effective use of teacher talent and instructional time.”
To learn more, visit http://www.b-g.k12.ky.us/
To learn more about the CHILD instructional system, order Dr. Sally Butzin’s book at www.ifsi.org.
Institute for School Innovation
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