Grades K-2

• Text Reading Comprehension (TRC)
• Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)
• Bracken (Grade K)
• CogAT Test (Grade K) - High Ability Student Screener
• STAR Reading
• IREADY Math Assessment
• LAS Link

Grade 3

• IREAD3 STAR Reading
• Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)
• IREADY Math Assessment
• DIBELS VPORT
• LAS Links

Grades 4-5

• Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)
• IREADY Math Assessment
• DIBELS VPORT
• LAS Links
• STAR Reading

TSC Offerings

• Title I
• High Ability
• English as a second language (ESL)

The Indiana Academic State Standards guide daily instruction at James Cole Elementary School. Individual buildings oversee the implementation of the state standards through effective classroom practices with support from reports and feedback provided by the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Instruction.

Exhaustive curricular reviews and modifications are made every six years prior to textbook adoption. This process is led by the Tippecanoe School Corporation Student Service Coordinator and the Department Chairs. Members from each school building comprise the the science, social studies, language arts, and mathematics corporation committees. These corporation committees assist in the textbook adoption process.

Beliefs:

Effectively integrating technology into the instructional process has the potential to positively impact the educational experiences for students at the Tippecanoe School Corporation. The availability of technology and quality digital resources allows for students to demonstrate creativity and innovation, to communicate and collaborate, to research and evaluate information, and to think critically. Digital tools, resources, and practices are embedded into the curriculum to support the corporation’s instructional goals and enhance student achievement.

Current Initiatives:

The TSC is continually enhancing its network to support school-based technology initiatives. This year, wireless switches and access points were replaced at each of the middle schools. Next year, as part of an E-Rate Category 2 project, wireless switches and access points will be replaced at each of the eleven elementary schools and at both high schools. Additionally, new uninterrupted power supply units will be installed in each of the networking closets corporation-wide.

Professional Development Focus:

Providing relevant professional development that is both timely and of high quality is an ongoing goal for the TSC Technology Department. We are in the process of implementing Canvas as the LMS at our secondary schools and have been delivering a variety of professional development experiences on this topic. Other areas of focus include Google Apps for Education (K-12), integrating iPads into the classroom (K-2), and leveraging the power of Chromebooks (3-12).

Budgeting & Sustainability:

When implementing technology initiatives, plans for sustainability must always be taken into consideration. Historically, the TSC has been dependent upon Common School Loans and STAA Loans to sustain its 1:1 initiative. Because we view the device as an integral part of curriculum delivery, we have transitioned to a model that will ultimately enable the initiative to be self-sustaining as a result of a technology rental fee paid by students.

Future Initiatives:

The TSC will be expanding its 1:1 initiative for the 16-17 school year to include each of its six middle schools. Plans are currently underway to identify the most suitable technology option for intermediate students at the elementary level. Once this determination has been made, the goal is to deploy classroom sets of devices at these grade levels.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

A great deal of collaboration takes place between curriculum leaders, technology staff, principals, and teachers at each stage of technology deployment. Both instructional and tangible goals (e.g. what do we want the students to do with the technology?) are taken into consideration, as well as a host of other factors. Before a large-scale implementation, we typically utilize a pilot group to gather input, identify professional development needs, and assess the overall scalability of the project.

Professional development occurs in several fashions within James Cole Elementary School. The primary mode of professional development occurs during our school’s daily 30 minute Instructional Improvement Block (IIB). The principal is charged with the responsibility for maintaining a professional development calendar that is shared throughout the building and corporation. This calendar guides daily IIB sessions. The daily 30 minutes allows for both quick-hit professional development opportunities over a topic, or larger blocks of time when a topic is discussed for multiple days in a row. Within this IIB session, there are opportunities for grade levels to collaborate and also to meet to disseminate data. The professional development opportunities that will allow our school improvement plan to move forward will be driven by each committee and will include large group, small group, and single settings. The professional development plan also is written with the intent to further utilize webinars and resources provided free of charge from the Indiana Department of Education.

There are also other opportunities for professional development during the school year and in the summer. Technology in-services are always offered during the summer months. There are also department chair meetings that occur throughout the school year that are open to each teacher. The new model of professional development in the Tippecanoe School Corporation will be toward participation in the department level meetings by members of the committee followed shortly thereafter by a whole staff debriefing by those who participated during IIB sessions.

Greater Lafayette Area Special Services (GLASS) provides in-service training as well throughout the school year and during IIB sessions for both resource and general education teachers.

Finally, there are mechanisms in place for individuals to work with the building level principal to gather professional growth points through in-services, book studies, and other ways of developing the craft of teacher.

Goal 1

During the 2016-2017 school year, the percentage of students at James Cole Elementary School passing ISTEP Language Arts in grades 3-5 will improve to 80%.

• During the 2016-2017 school year, students in grades 1-5 will improve from70% to 75% on end of year reading grade level goal based on classroom Accelerated Reading performance or STAR Level.
• During the 2016-2017 school year, the percentage of fifth graders reading at sixth grade level based on classroom Accelerated Reading performance or STAR Level will improve from 70/% to 75%.
• During the 2016-2017 school year, the percentage of students meeting end of year fluency benchmark will improve from 78% to 80% as measured by DIBELS.
• During the 2016-2017 school year, the percentage of students growing at least one year on STAR Reading assessment will improve from 66% to 70%

Goal 2

During the 2016-2017 school year, the percentage of students at James Cole Elementary School passing ISTEP Math in grades 3-5 will improve to 80%.

• During the 2016-2017 school year 80% of students will show at least one year of growth as measured by NWEA Math.
• During the 2016-2017 school year 100% of students will utilize supplemental math resouces such as IXL or IREADY to assist their curricular growth.

Goal 3

During the 2016-2017 school year, specials schedules teachers will enhance their enrichment and remedial offerings through the Multiple Intelligences (MI) Time and through school dashboard focuses.

• Number of students qualifying for the Presidential Ftiness Award will increase from 5 to 7.
• Number of fifth grade students who can read musical notes will increase from 63% to 70%.
• Art teacher will work to identify quantifiable data points that can be added to the Cole Dashboard.