Outside the Education Box

It's not state wide, but smaller - it's an effort by a school corporation, and it will work because they are talking about children and teachers first and money second. For those of you who know us at the Garden School, I highlighted the part that sounds just like us.

Thinking Outside the Box
N. Montgomery Introduces New Learning Initiatives

By Erin Smithesmith@journalandcourier.com

LINDEN -- Bob Brower wants his students to have more opportunities and to excel in school.
In his five years as superintendent of the North Montgomery Community School Corp., Brower has sought input from board members, teachers, parents and other administrators about how to make the district stand apart from others.

Last week, he introduced 15 initiatives he says will revolutionize current school practices at all grade levels.

Dubbed the Bratton Initiatives, the programs emphasize more reading, more parental involvement and additional help for at-risk students. The district also plans to reach students at a younger age, with designs on getting to children long before they reach kindergarten.

"I'm very proud of North Mont for taking the initiative to do it," parent Debbie Biddle said. "It's not everyone who wants the innovative or takes the big step to get it done."

Explaining the breadth of the research-based initiatives takes school officials at least an hour. The ideas, most of which will begin in the fall, include offering weekly summer "adventures," or field trips; creating a districtwide nutrition, fitness and wellness plan; requiring all elementary students to learn how to play the piano; and using bus time as learning time.

Under the plan, students will be immersed in literature -- whether it's during the Bratton Academy summer school program for at-risk students in grades one through three, or through required and recommended reading lists for the middle- and high-school students.

During the 30- to 35-day summer academy, students will read for about three hours. Each day a teacher will talk with the students to help them understand what they're reading.

"The bottom line is the ability to read opens doors to the world," said Teresa Rush, a language arts teacher at Northridge Middle School. "If you can't read, you can't do much in the world."
Administrators and teachers also hope the older students will have fun learning.

At the beginning of the year, Northridge language arts teacher Kelly Robinson asks her middle school students to bring in their favorite childhood book and has them read to their classmates. Nearly every student has a favorite, she said, but many are no longer interested in reading.

"And I ask them, 'OK, guys, what happened?' " Robinson said, explaining she hopes her students will rediscover their love of reading. "More reading should give them more of an even start, an even keel."

Biddle, whose daughters attend high school, teaches second grade at Fountain Central Elementary School. She's excited about the reading initiatives taking place with younger students.

"I'm anxious to see if their scores go up," she said. "That's what you're graded on in the community -- not what caliber of education they have, but you've got to keep the scores up."
Also through the initiatives, education will begin earlier. North Mont will start centers for 3- and 4-year-olds, especially targeting those who do not qualify for Head Start or who cannot afford private preschools.

"We're taking advantage of that window of kids between ages 2 and 10 when you can really build on that foundation and target learning," assistant superintendent Colleen Moran said.
Adds Brower, who says the plan is to pay for the Bratton Initiatives with existing tax revenues and grants: "That's what the research says: You must get them younger because that's when their brains are developing."

About 30 spots will be available for 4-year-olds in the fall. Brower expects the center for 3-year-olds will begin in fall 2007. He hopes to eventually have space for additional students.
"What we're finding is that if you don't expose kids to learning at an early age, many times they can never catch up," he said, citing statistics that as many as one in five kindergartners are a year behind before they even start school because of their family's financial status.

"Our hope is those kids who used to be behind will not only catch up but possibly reach goals they've never imagined."

Mary Tiede Wilhelmus, spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Education, said North Mont is targeting areas that need reform -- especially literacy, early childhood education and the importance of the arts.

"So often schools and their achievement levels are a reflection of the community," she said. "Having the local support and the community involved in these initiatives -- that's a real home run. ... They're to be applauded for stepping out of the box."