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Curriculum Goals
To better address learning differences for all students
While we have made improvements in meeting the diverse learning styles of our students, additional classroom space is needed. This will allow us to expand our Learning Differences staff to include a Renzuli program. Additional space would provide an area for training and planning where the Learning Differences staff can discuss strategies and materials with regular classroom teachers.
To set benchmarks within our curriculum that will enable smooth transition to other schools
To establish benchmarks within our curriculum that will promote a smooth transition to new schools for our students, particularly those transitioning from eighth grade to high school. Our desire is that benchmarks will keep our curriculum current, challenging, and comparable.
Technology Goals
To expand the use of technology across the curriculum
Purchasing laptop carts will make possible the expansion of technology use in the classroom. It will also make hardware and software consistent from classroom to computer lab.
To continue to provide teacher training
As teachers identify and express their desires to enhance a skill level and/or as technology advances, training will be made available through a variety of methods.
To equip the Spanish classroom with Listening Stations
The administration will explore various ways to fund the equipment necessary for listening stations.
Building Goals - These goals are dependent upon financial resources.
To implement Phase 2 of the building program as soon as possible
This will make it possible to:
- Expand the Library/Media Center and add a resource room for media and computer use
- Establish a Conference Room for professional meetings
- Establish three Learning Differences classrooms
- Establish a Resource room
- Establish an Art classroom
- Establish a Music classroom
- Establish a gymnasium for Physical Education
- Design and install new playground facilities
- Provide additional rooms to allow for more flexible math instruction
- Provide a designated room for student counseling
- Move all classes and the faculty room, now in temporary facilities, into the main school building
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OUR GOALS: PAST
By the year 2001…
To improve the use of computers within the classroom by in servicing and training each teacher through individualized instruction and self-selected workshops.
A technology consultant has been hired to provide each teacher on staff with ongoing individual instruction and self-selected workshops. Teachers have become more confident when using technology for themselves and for classroom applications.
A laptop computer has been purchased for each teacher to use in the classroom and at home to facilitate and encourage use of technology. LCD projectors have been purchased to enable teachers to share presentations created, web sites located, and programs to be demonstrated.
Student computer use in grades K-8 has been enhanced through weekly classes with a qualified computer instructor in our state of the art computer lab. Classroom teachers schedule additional lab time for their students to work on teacher created projects, Internet activities, and research.
To expand our Learning Differences Program to:
- Challenge the exceptionally talented
- Incorporate instructing to student interest and enrichment in the area of multiple intelligences
- In-service teachers in strategies to challenge students
Our Learning Differences Team increased by one teacher. The program has been restructured to meet students’ needs. Each teacher of our four-member team focuses uniquely. One focuses on primary reading remediation; a second specializes in reading instruction for grades five through eight. A third focuses on math in grades three through five. This member team-teaches with the classroom teacher or pulls out high-ability students for enrichment. The fourth and newest team member provides a challenging math class for advanced sixth graders and team-teaches in the seventh grade pre-algebra and the eighth grade algebra classes.
Our faculty has attended in-service training and coursework in Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles. Individual teachers have developed lessons that incorporate varied activities to address individual learning differences.
School Year 2000-2001 opened with a new science lab and a new computer lab that are used regularly for classes and special projects. Spanish instruction as been expanded to include grades one through eight. A room has been designated for teaching Spanish, however, the technology required to make this a true language lab is dependent on additional financial resources.
Weekly visits by United States Navel Academy midshipmen offer an additional resource for students at various grade levels.
To automate our Library/Media Center
Although not yet complete, much progress has been made toward the goal to automate the Library/Media Center. Beginning in 1999 through the 2002 school years the print collection was assessed. Over 1,200 old and out of date books have been removed. An automation system, Athena, has been installed on the Library/Media Center server and on six other computers. A book fair was held to assist in funding the initial costs. The head Library/Media Specialist has attended a day training session on the Athena program. More than 4,000 print records were sent for retrospective conversion to MARC records (Machine-Readable Cataloging records). In addition the two Library/Media Specialists have been cataloging other titles in-house manually, or by using Precision One, a CD-ROM database of catalog records. Currently, almost 6,000 titles are catalogued in the Athena system. It is expected that the remainder of the assessment and removal of out-of-date books and a second retrospective conversion of approximately 1,500 titles will be completed in the summer of 2002. In the fall of 2002 the Library/Media Center should open as an automated Library/Media Center to students, faculty, and staff.
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