##### *Revised 03/09/06*

##### *2005-2006 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program*

*U.S. Department of Education*

**Cover Sheet** Type of School: (Check all that apply) \_\_ Elementary
\_\_ Middle \_\_ High \_**[X]{.underline}**\_ K-12 \_\_Charter

Name of Principal: **[Mr. Harold Seamon]{.underline}**

Official School Name: **[Northwestern High School]{.underline}**

School Mailing Address: **[3431 North 400 West]{.underline}**

**[Kokomo, IN 46901-9108]{.underline}**

County: **[Howard]{.underline}** State School Code Number:
**[2897]{.underline}**

Telephone: **[(765) -- 454 - 2332]{.underline}** Fax: **[(765) -- 454 -
2333]{.underline}**

Website/URL:
[**http://highschool.nwsc.k12.in.us/**](http://highschool.nwsc.k12.in.us/)
E-mail:
[**harold.seamon@nwsc.k12.in.us**](mailto:harold.seamon@nwsc.k12.in.us)

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my
knowledge all information is accurate.

Date: **[February 7, 2006]{.underline}**

(Principal's Signature)

Name of Superintendent: **[Mr. Ryan Snoddy]{.underline}**

District Name: **[Northwestern School Corporation]{.underline}** Tel.:
**[(765) -- 457 - 8101]{.underline}**

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my
knowledge it is accurate.

Date: **[February 7, 2006]{.underline}**

(Superintendent's Signature)

Name of School Board

President/Chairperson: **[Mr. Ted Merrell]{.underline}**

I have reviewed the information in this package, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my
knowledge it is accurate.

Date: **[February 7, 2006]{.underline}**

(School Board President's/Chairperson's Signature)

**PART I ‑ ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION**

**\[Include this page in the school's application as page 2.\]**

The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each
of the statements below concerning the school\'s eligibility and
compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) requirements is true and correct.

1.  The school has some configuration that includes grades K-12.
    (Schools with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an
    entire school.)

2.  The school has not been in school improvement status or been
    identified by the state as \"persistently dangerous\" within the
    last two years. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the
    state's adequate yearly progress requirement in the 2005-2006 school
    year.

3.  If the school includes grades 7 or higher, it has foreign language
    as a part of its core curriculum.

4.  The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from
    at least September 2000 and has not received the 2003, 2004, or 2005
    *No Child Left Behind -- Blue Ribbon Schools Award.*

5.  The nominated school or district is not refusing the OCR access to
    information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to
    conduct a district‑wide compliance review.

6.  The OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school
    district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a
    whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A
    violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if
    the OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to
    remedy the violation.

7.  The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging
    that the nominated school, or the school district as a whole, has
    violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the
    Constitution\'s equal protection clause.

8.  There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with
    Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education
    monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in
    question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has
    corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.

**PART II ‑ DEMOGRAPHIC DATA**

**All data are the most recent year available.**

**DISTRICT** (Questions 1‑2 not applicable to private schools)

1\. Number of schools in the district: \_\_[2]{.underline}\_ Elementary
schools

\_\_[1]{.underline}\_\_ Middle schools

\_\_[0]{.underline}\_\_ Junior high schools

\_\_[1]{.underline}\_\_ High schools

\_\_[0]{.underline}\_\_ Other

\_\_[4]{.underline}\_\_ TOTAL

2\. District Per Pupil Expenditure: \_\_\_ [\$6,035]{.underline}\_\_

Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: \_\_\_\_[\$5,978]{.underline}\_\_\_

**SCHOOL** (To be completed by all schools)

3\. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:

> \[ \] Urban or large central city
>
> \[ \] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
>
> \[ \] Suburban
>
> \[ \] Small city or town in a rural area
>
> \[ X\] Rural

4\. \_\_\_[8\_\_]{.underline} Number of years the principal has been in
her/his position at this school.

If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this
school?

5\. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or
its equivalent in applying school only:

  ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- -- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------
  **Grade**   **\# of   **\# of                **Grade      **Grade**   **\# of   **\# of     **Grade
              Males**   Females**              Total**                  Males**   Females**   Total**

  **PreK**                                                  **7**                             

  **K**                                                     **8**                             

  **1**                                                     **9**       75        80          155

  **2**                                                     **10**      82        54          136

  **3**                                                     **11**      74        75          149

  **4**                                                     **12**      60        61          121

  **5**                                                     **Other**                         

  **6**                                                                                       

                                    **TOTAL                                                   561
                                    STUDENTS                                                  
                                    IN THE                                                    
                                    APPLYING                                                  
                                    SCHOOL**                                                  
  ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- -- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------

***\[Throughout the document, round numbers to avoid decimals.\]***

6\. Racial/ethnic composition of \_\_[96\_\_\_%]{.underline} White

the students in the school: [1\_\_\_]{.underline}% Black or African
American

[\_\_\_2\_\_\_]{.underline}% Hispanic or Latino

[\_\_\_1\_\_\_]{.underline}% Asian/Pacific Islander

\_\_\_[0\_\_\_]{.underline}% American Indian/Alaskan Native

**100 % Total**

Use only the five standard categories in reporting the racial/ethnic
composition of the school.

7\. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year:
\_\_\_[6]{.underline}\_\_\_%

> \[This rate should be calculated using the grid below. The answer to
> (6) is the mobility rate.\]

  ------------------------- --------------------------- ------------------
  **(1)**                   Number of students who      11
                            transferred ***to*** the    
                            school after October 1      
                            until the end of the year.  

  **(2)**                   Number of students who      25
                            transferred ***from*** the  
                            school after October 1      
                            until the end of the year.  

  **(3)**                   Total of all transferred    36
                            students \[sum of rows (1)  
                            and (2)\]                   

  **(4)**                   Total number of students in 561
                            the school as of October 1  

  **(5)**                   Total transferred students  .064
                            in row (3) divided by total 
                            students in row (4)         

  **(6)**                   Amount in row (5)           6%
                            multiplied by 100           
  ------------------------- --------------------------- ------------------

8\. Limited English Proficient students in the school: \_\_\_
[0]{.underline}\_\_%

\_\_\_\_[0]{.underline}\_\_Total Number Limited English Proficient

Number of languages represented: \_\_\_\_[1]{.underline}\_\_\_

Specify languages: English

9\. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals:
\_\_\_\_[7\_]{.underline}\_\_%

Total number students who qualify: \_\_\_[37]{.underline}\_\_\_

> If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage
> of students from low‑income families or the school does not
> participate in the federally‑supported lunch program, specify a more
> accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it
> arrived at this estimate.

10\. Students receiving special education services:
\_\_\_\_[13]{.underline}\_\_%

\_\_\_\_[71]{.underline}\_\_Total Number of Students Served

> Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to
> conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education
> Act. Do not add additional categories.

\_\_[1]{.underline}\_Autism \_\_[1]{.underline}\_Orthopedic Impairment

\_\_[0]{.underline}\_Deafness \_\_[6]{.underline}\_Other Health Impaired

\_\_[0]{.underline}\_Deaf-Blindness \_[54]{.underline}\_Specific
Learning Disability

\_\_[3]{.underline}\_Emotional Disturbance \_\_[8]{.underline}\_Speech
or Language Impairment

\_\_[2]{.underline}\_Hearing Impairment \_\_[1]{.underline}\_Traumatic
Brain Injury

> \_\_[4]{.underline}\_Mental Retardation \_\_[2]{.underline}\_Visual
> Impairment Including Blindness
>
> \_\_[0]{.underline}\_Multiple Disabilities

11. Indicate number of full‑time and part‑time staff members in each of
    the categories below:

    **Number of Staff**

**[Full-time]{.underline}** **[Part-Time]{.underline}**

Administrator(s) \_\_\_[2]{.underline}\_\_\_
\_\_\_[0\_]{.underline}\_\_\_

Classroom teachers \_\_[28]{.underline}\_\_\_
\_\_[10]{.underline}\_\_\_\_

Special resource teachers/specialists \_\_\_[4]{.underline}\_\_\_
\_\_\_[0]{.underline}\_\_\_\_

Paraprofessionals \_\_\_[2\_]{.underline}\_\_
\_\_\_[2\_]{.underline}\_\_\_

> Support staff \_\_\_[3\_]{.underline}\_\_
> \_\_\_[2\_]{.underline}\_\_\_
>
> Total number \_\_[39]{.underline}\_\_\_ \_\_[14\_]{.underline}\_\_\_

12. Average school student-"classroom teacher" ratio, that is, the
    number of

students in the school divided by the FTE of classroom teachers:
\_\_[17:1]{.underline}\_\_\_

13\. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a
percentage. The student dropout rate is defined by the state. The
student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering
students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From
the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number
of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering
students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly
explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout
rate and the drop-off rate. Only middle and high schools need to supply
dropout rates and only high schools need to supply drop-off rates.

  ------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                            2004-2005   2003-2004   2002-2003   2001-2002   2000-2001

  Daily student attendance  96 %        96 %        95 %        96 %        96 %

  Daily teacher attendance  95 %        95 %        95%         96 %        95 %

  Teacher turnover rate     5 %         11 %        3 %         5 %         3 %

  Student dropout rate      1 %         1 %         1 %         2 %         1 %
  (middle/high)                                                             

  Student drop-off rate     1 %         5 %         3 %         1 %         2 %
  (high school)                                                             
  ------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

14\. **(*High Schools Only*)** Show what the students who graduated in
Spring 2004 are doing as of September 2004.

+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Graduating class size                                   | > \        |
|                                                         | _[133\_]{. |
|                                                         | underline} |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Enrolled in a 4-year college or university              | > \_\      |
|                                                         | _[74\_]{.u |
|                                                         | nderline}% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Enrolled in a community college                         | > \_\      |
|                                                         | _[10]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Enrolled in vocational training                         | > \_\_     |
|                                                         | \_[3]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Found employment                                        | > \_\_     |
|                                                         | \_[9]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Military service                                        | > \_\_     |
|                                                         | \_[4]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Other (travel, staying home, etc.)                      | > \_\_     |
|                                                         | \_[0]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Unknown                                                 | > \_\_     |
|                                                         | \_[0]{.und |
|                                                         | erline}\_% |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| **Total**                                               | > 100 %    |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+

**[Part III -- Summary]{.underline}**

Northwestern High School is near Kokomo, Indiana in Howard County,
approximately fifty miles north of Indianapolis. The school serves Clay,
Ervin, and Howard Townships, which are in the western and northern part
of the county. It has a rural agricultural setting with the advantages
of a metropolitan area nearby. The school is accredited by the North
Central Association Commission on Accreditation and the Indiana
Department of Education.

The staff, which includes a principal, an assistant principal, two
guidance counselors, a media specialist, thirty-eight teachers, and an
athletic director, serves approximately 560 students. All staff members
are committed to the mission of the school, which is to provide a
positive and supportive environment that challenges each student to
strive for excellence in developing skills in life-long learning,
communication, problem solving, critical thinking, individual and social
responsibility, and respect for others and self. The pursuit of this
mission and the academic strength of the school are clearly demonstrated
by course offerings, student course selection, quality of instruction,
and student performance. Success is exemplified by the fact that for the
past three years over eighty percent of the graduating seniors have
pursued a college education.

NHS student performance on state and national standardized tests has
been excellent. On the 2005 Indiana Graduation Qualifying Exam (GQE),
88% of the sophomore class passed the language arts portion of the test,
which placed the students in the top 10% in the state. On the
mathematics portion of the test 92% of the students passed which placed
NHS above the 95^th^ percentile. On the SAT test for college bound
seniors, the NHS average composite score for the class of 2005 was 1092,
eighty points higher than the state average and sixty-four points higher
than the national average.

Over 40% of NHS graduates consistently earn an Indiana Academic Honors
Diploma (AHD), and over 70% of graduates consistently earn a Core 40
college preparation diploma. While all students are encouraged to pursue
a college preparation course of study, great effort is placed on serving
the needs of every child, and pride is taken in academic planning and
programs for all students.

NHS has curricular offerings in honors, academic, average,
vocational-technical, remedial, and special education programs. The
Kokomo Area Career Center provides additional opportunities for students
to train in specific skill areas. Indiana University-Kokomo and Ivy Tech
also provide further educational opportunities. Summer school
opportunities at NHS are also available.

Numerous co-curricular activities are offered to help students develop
their interests and abilities. Activities include honor society,
academic competitions, science fairs and symposiums, student government,
drama, student publications, music, service clubs, intramural teams, and
interscholastic athletics. NHS is one of the smallest, if not the
smallest, high school in Indiana to offer all twenty of the varsity boys
and girls sports sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic
Association. Over 80% of NHS students participate in the co-curricular
program.

The student population has remained stable for the last ten years and is
projected to remain stable for at least the next five years. Recently
physical facilities placed limitations on expanding programs and student
needs. The community demonstrated a commitment to education by being
involved in strategic planning that resulted in current projects to
renovate spaces and add classrooms. An auditorium and physical education
facility are also being built to serve the needs of students and the
community.

Since 1997 the Chrysler Corporation has built two manufacturing plants
in the school district. This is the only large industry base in the
corporation. Traditionally, the properties within the district have been
family farms.

**[Part IV -- Indicators of Academic Success]{.underline}**

**[Assessment Results in Language Arts and Mathematics]{.underline}**

In Indiana, the primary indicators of school improvement and performance
are the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+)
tests. At the high school level, the ISTEP+ tests are administered in
English/language arts and mathematics in grades 9 and 10. The tests
consist of two parts, a basic skills section to measure student
performance on the Indiana Academic Standards and an applied skills
section that includes open-ended questions. The grade 10 test is the
Graduation Qualifying Exam (GQE). A student must pass the GQE to earn a
diploma from schools accredited by the Indiana Department of Education.

In recent years, Northwestern High School students have consistently
scored significantly above the state average in both language arts and
mathematics on the ISTEP+ tests. On the fall 2005 test, 88% of
Northwestern students passed the language arts portion of the test
compared to an Indiana average of 69%. The respective five-year averages
in language arts are 86.6% passed at Northwestern and 69.4 % passed in
Indiana. On the fall test, 92% of Northwestern students passed the
mathematics portion of the GQE while the state average passing level was
65%. The respective five-year averages were 87% passed at Northwestern
High School and 66% passed in Indiana.

Although proud of our overall performance on the ISTEP+ assessments, we
realize that examining the percent of students meeting or exceeding the
passing score does not focus on individual student needs. Consequently,
we delve much deeper into the test data by disaggregating data by
various student groups and various academic standards. The language arts
standards include reading vocabulary, reading composition, the writing
process, writing applications, and language conventions. When data is
disaggregated into groups of all students, males, females, students
qualifying for free/reduced lunch, and special education students, the
percent of students mastering each language arts standard exceeds the
percent of students mastering the standard for the respective group
across the state. The same is true for the mastery of all mathematics
standards, which include number sense, computation, algebra and
functions, geometry, measurement, data analysis, and problem solving.
ISTEP test data for Northwestern High School can be found at:
//mustang.doe.state.in.us/SEARCH/snapshot.cfm?schl=2897. It is
noteworthy that in the past five years, there have only been four
general education and special education students who were not able to
pass the GQE prior to graduation.

In addition to ISTEP+ test results, we closely examine SAT score data.
The average composite score for Northwestern consistently exceeds the
state and national average. In 2005, the average score for college bound
Northwestern seniors was 1092 compared to the national average of 1028
and the state average was 1012. Northwestern's average composite score
has increased each year for the past three years gaining over 30 points
while the percent of students taking the test has also increased each
year. On average, approximately 10% more Northwestern students take the
SAT than the state average.

On Advanced Placement tests, we have seen a small decline in test scores
over the past two years coupled with an increase of students taking the
tests. Trying to put the scores and number of students taking the tests
in perspective, we are closely monitoring the results of these
assessments.

Other assessments, we are using to measure student achievement include
the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessments and several
locally designed assessments, which are primarily used to measure growth
in our school improvement goals for reading comprehension, problem
solving, and critical thinking skills. The results have been very
positive on these assessments and affirm our school improvement efforts.

**[How Northwestern High School Uses Assessment Data]{.underline}**

Student performance on the academic standards is measured in language
arts and mathematics by the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational
Progress-Plus (ISTEP+) tests. Results of the ISTEP+ tests are closely
analyzed for each academic standard category and applied skill area. An
overview of the data analysis is shared with the entire faculty. The
principal then works with the language arts, mathematics, and special
education teachers to delve deeper into the data. The whole data set is
used to evaluate the curriculum and to look for explanations concerning
the differences in performance of student groups on academic standard
areas or applied skills areas. In the past, areas of lower performance
on standards were successfully addressed by modifying curriculum and/or
instruction. In most cases, discrepancies in performance were corrected
by additions to the curriculum or more emphasis on specific topics in
the curriculum. On the fall 2005 Graduation Qualifying Exam (GQE), six
language arts standards were assessed, and the percent of students who
mastered each standard ranged from 88% to 90%. In mathematics, the GQE
assessed seven academic standards, and the percent of students who
mastered each standard ranged from 88% to 93%. These scores are a
testament to our efforts to analyze data and modify our curriculum and
instruction to allow students to achieve at high levels on the ISTEP+
assessments.

Test data is also disaggregated by gender, socio-economic status,
students receiving special education services, and ethnic categories.
The analysis of the disaggregated data are used to drive our efforts to
continuous modify curriculum, instruction, and services in order to
close any achievement gaps. Data from the ISTEP+ tests, as well as other
standardized and local assessments, is also examined by counselors and
teachers to create remediation plans for individual students, especially
students who are predicted to fall below or who have fallen below the
state determined cut off score on the GQE.

**[How Northwestern Communicates Student Performance]{.underline}**

Standardized test data is very important to our constituents. Each year
we mail home individual student reports on the Indiana Statewide Testing
for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+) tests. Other individual test
reports for the NWEA, PSAT, SAT, and ASVAB are also sent home. Test
reports are discussed with students and parents at individual counseling
appointments. Test data is reviewed with students and parents to aid
with their many decisions on course selection, four-year plans, and
post-secondary education decisions.

Each year, an annual performance report is posted on the state
department of education website at http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/.
Links to the report are available through our school website, and the
report is published in our local newspaper. The performance report
includes information on ISTEP+ test results, the Graduation Qualifying
Exam (GQE), advanced placement tests, SAT scores, the percent of
students receiving Core 40 and Academic Honors Diplomas, and other
performance information.

Information on student performance is also included in the school
newsletter, daily announcements that are on-line and automatically
mailed to our listserv subscribers, and our student newspaper. The
school has a cooperative relationship with the education staff at the
local newspaper, [The Kokomo Tribune]{.underline}, which prints numerous
articles each year on the performance of Northwestern students.

Student performance is also addressed at several meetings with parents
and students each year which includes planning meetings with the parents
of incoming freshmen, freshmen orientation, financial aide meetings, and
awards programs that are open to the public. Students and parents have
the ability to receive updated performance information on a daily basis
through our online parent access program. All faculty members use the
same electronic gradebook program, and through our administrative
software program, parents and students can access up-to-date assessment
data posted by teachers in every class. Mid-term progress reports and
report cards are also mailed to parents.

**[How Northwestern High School Shares Success With Other
Schools]{.underline}**

The principal is a member of an area principals' group that meets
monthly to discuss ideas, and share successful practices and programs.
Topics of common interest at recent meetings include policy and
procedures, implementation of changing graduation requirements,
assessment, curriculum development, student services, and dual-credit
opportunities for students.

The Indiana Department of Education facilitates collaboration and
sharing among schools by posting detailed school performance data for
all public schools on their website. Due to this website, news articles,
and networking, Northwestern staff members are frequently contacted with
requests for information about programs and instructional practices. In
response to these inquiries, the school has hosted teacher visits to
observe curriculum and instruction, sent written material to other
schools, and answered questions about programs and practices. The school
corporation is also involved in monthly meetings with Howard County
schools and businesses to provided "Partnerships in Education". The
school corporation is in a study council with seventeen other school
corporations in north central Indiana to provide professional
development for area educators.

Many members of the staff are involved in state and local organizations
or groups that allow them to network with colleagues and share success
stories. Our counselors attend an area counselors group to share
information and have hosted counselors from other schools to share
information about our successful counseling program. English teachers
are involved in an area "Tech Prep" group, which share ideas and
review/revise curriculum. Our science department facilitator is the
chairperson of Youth Activities for the Indiana Academy of Science, and
two of our science teachers write for the Hoosier Association of Science
Teachers magazine. Our business teachers have both presented at state
conferences. In 2003, a science teacher and language arts teacher
collaborated to write Fastback #514 [Combating Plagiarism]{.underline},
published by Phi Delta Kappa.

**[Part V -- Curriculum and Instruction]{.underline}**

**[Describing the Northwestern High School Curriculum]{.underline}**

Northwestern High School's (NHS) mission statement is to provide "a
positive and supportive environment that challenges each student to
strive for excellence in developing skills in life-long learning,
communication, problem solving, critical thinking, individual and social
responsibility, and respect for others and self." Although over 80% of
NHS students matriculate to two or four year colleges, the school's
strong core curriculum and electives meet the needs of students of all
abilities to prepare them for their particular postsecondary goals. All
academic core courses exceed state standards.

The heart of the curriculum is college preparatory courses. All subjects
emphasize critical thinking, improved reading comprehension, and problem
solving skills. Strong honors programs in English and mathematics
culminate in AP English and AP Calculus. College preparatory levels of
English and mathematics allow college-bound students to complete a
rigorous four-year study in these disciplines. All students are required
to be in college preparatory or Honors English classes during grades 9
and 10. Most continue in college preparatory or Honors/AP; however,
non-college bound English is available juniors and seniors. The English
department includes two college preparatory electives, Speech and
Etymology. All English students participate in a reading comprehension
program with computer generated testing. NHS offers extensive college
preparation in mathematics. A student who begins Algebra I in grade 8
can opt for up to ten more semesters of college preparatory mathematics.
Both English and mathematics departments have remediation services
during the school day for students who need extra help to meet state
standards. All curricular areas participate in a daily sustained silent
reading time designed to build vocabulary as well as to enhance
life-long reading and comprehension skills.

Science is a particular strength of Northwestern's curriculum. In
addition to all the sciences required to meet the general, Core 40, and
Academic Honors diplomas, the curriculum includes an Honors level of
Biology I and AP Chemistry as well as Physics and two Advanced Science
Topics courses. NHS students have earned many local, state, and national
awards with their high quality science projects. Three courses include
individual research and the writing of a comprehensive, documented
science paper. Students may also opt for a one-credit Science Research
course offered during or after school.

Students may choose from four foreign languages including Latin, French,
German and Spanish. Three years of Latin and four years of the other
three languages are offered.

Social studies incorporates reading, writing and critical thinking
skills in to the traditional World History, U.S.History and geography
courses as well as in to the elective areas of current issues,
economics, sociology, and psychology. AP U.S. History provides extra
challenges in critical thinking and writing.

NHS offers a broad range of electives in the arts and career areas. Four
courses in two --dimensional art and five in three --dimensional art,
along with Concert band, Jazz Ensemble, two choruses, music theory, and
art and music history are choices. Our area's tradition as a farming
community has sustained an interest in an Agri-business curriculum.
Business and industrial technology electives emphasize computer skills,
and the application of critical thinking and problem solving to real
world problems. Consumer and family science courses and health and
physical education courses allow students to explore a variety of topics
and to develop positive habits for healthy lifestyles.

Affiliation with Kokomo Area Career Center allows Northwestern students
access to twenty-five different career, vocational, and cooperative
programs ranging from Culinary Arts to Integrated Computer Technology.
Internships and on-the-job training are included in some of these
programs. Students also have the option as juniors or seniors to attend
dual credit courses at Indiana University Kokomo or IVY Tech Kokomo.

**[Northwestern High School English/Language Arts
Curriculum]{.underline}**

Northwestern High School upholds the importance of a comprehensive
English language curriculum aligned with the state of Indiana's academic
content standards. Northwestern's English curriculum emphasizes the
building of strong reading, writing, and speaking skills as well as the
higher-level thinking skills associated with the interpretation of text.
In fact, the entire faculty of NHS has made it a priority that students
become highly developed in their reading, comprehension, interpretation,
and vocabulary development skills.

As part of NHS's school improvement plan, two reading intervention
strategies have recently been implemented: sustained silent reading and
the development of a cross-curricular vocabulary approach. Both
strategies target the entire student body and affect students who read
below grade level as well as their more successful peers. Ultimately,
the assessment of all student progress will be reviewed and evaluated.
We are confident that documentable growth will be apparent.

In order to facilitate in a student's desire to read, all students are
highly encouraged to read novels of their

choice outside of the set English curriculum. The STAR Reading and
Accelerated Reader computer

software along with data gathered from the Indiana State ISTEP+
standardized test identify students who

are struggling with literacy skills. These students are placed in a
special English remediation class in

order to benefit from extra attention and assistance.

**Northwestern High School Mathematics Curriculum**

The mathematics curriculum at Northwestern High School consists of a
basic course sequence, a course sequence for college prep students, and
an honors course sequence culminating in AP Calculus for outstanding and
gifted students. The course offerings above the Algebra II level include
a full semester of Trigonometry, a semester of individualized study in
Advanced Mathematics Concepts, a semester of Probability and Statistics,
a semester of Pre-Calculus, and a full year AP Calculus course. In all
courses and at all levels, the department places added emphasis on
critical thinking skills, real life application, and the modeling of
mathematics skills. Special emphasis is placed on problem solving skills
that involve several forms of analysis and multiple tasks relating to
the final solution. Each semester, all students are individually
assessed in every course with an appropriate critical thinking exercise
graded on a standardized sixteen point rubric. Students' progress is
tracked throughout their entire four year career, and the data is used
to help design and adjust curriculum to help students continue to
progress in problem solving, critical thinking, and application related
skills.

Special attention is paid to the remediation of "at risk" students and
those students who have been unsuccessful in state mandated standardized
testing. When students enter the high school mathematics curriculum,
those students who have performed poorly in the past or who possess
critical "at risk" factors are placed in specialized mathematics
remediation sections where this pro-active approach can provide the help
needed. Study of each student's individualized answers on previous
standardized tests helps instructors tailor the curriculum to meet the
needs of these "at risk" students. This program has proved highly
successful in ultimately enabling over 99% of our students in the past
five years to meet the state mandatory minimum skill level prior to
graduation. The department stresses the integration of a graphical,
theoretical, and analytical interpretation of all problems. Emphasis is
placed on writing skills that enable the student to express concisely
the ideas explored in all curricular areas.

**[Northwestern High School Instructional Methods]{.underline}**

The faculty at Northwestern High School utilizes a wide variety of
instructional strategies to meet the academic and developmental needs of
students. All disciplines utilize direct instruction, modeling, guided
practice, high level questioning prompts, active participation,
independent practice, and homework as strategies to help students
achieve. A consistent emphasis on high academic expectations is also
employed as a strategy to promote learning.

For the past several years at Northwestern, more emphasis has been
placed on developing students' reading comprehension. To improve
comprehension, teachers across the curriculum are employing a variety of
strategies including summarizing, modeling, practice activities on
interpretation of text, identifying similarities and differences, and
daily sustained silent reading. Faculty members also model and
demonstrate critical reading skills as the first step in a problem
solving process that is taught across the curriculum.

Northwestern has made the use of technology as a teaching tool a
priority. General use computer labs, portable labs based on carts, and
dedicated use labs for Business and Technology Education are available
and widely used. Technology tools are used for presentations,
experimentation, analysis of data, simulations, research, and a variety
of other activities to enhance teaching and learning.

For students who struggle in mathematics and/or language arts,
Northwestern High School uses intense small group and one-on-one
instruction to remediate skills. Special education students are
supported in two resource classrooms where an emphasis is placed on
study skills, learning strategies geared to the individual student, and
reinforcement of high academic expectations.

**[Professional Development at Northwestern High School]{.underline}**

Professional development at Northwestern High School is coordinated by a
building level Staff Development Committee. The committee, currently
comprised of the building principal, media specialist, and four
classroom teachers, plans and schedules monthly staff development
activities.

For several years, the school's improvement initiatives have centered on
improving reading comprehension and problem solving skills.
Consequently, local professional development activities have centered on
providing opportunities for faculty members to learn about research,
instructional strategies, and assessment tools related to improving
student achievement in these areas.

Dividing the faculty into smaller learning communities to study a
variety of topics and/or learn specific skills has been an effective
professional development strategy at Northwestern. The emphasis of our
current professional development groups is on collaboration. Faculty
members are working on thematic units, sharing strategies, peer
observations, constructing rubrics, increasing parent involvement, and
using test generator software.

Corporation wide needs assessments are also used to drive professional
development for all teachers. This year, our time and monetary resources
were used to provide a full day of staff development for secondary
teachers on research based teaching strategies for increasing student
achievement. The process started with a full day of workshops. The book
[Classroom Instruction that Works]{.underline} by Robert Marzano was
purchased for all teachers. Follow up sessions will reinforce learning.

Teachers' attendance at outside professional development conferences and
workshops is encouraged and supported.

**[PART VII -- Assessment Results]{.underline}**

**STATE CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS**

**Test:** Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress- Plus
(ISTEP+)

**Grades Tested:** 9 and 10, the grade 10 test is the Graduation
Qualifying Exam (GQE)

**Edition/publication year:** 1997 for 10^th^ grade test results
reported in the following tables from

2001-2002 through 2003-2004 (This is the "First Edition" of the

Graduation Qualifying Exam.)

2003 for 9^th^ grade test results reported in the following tables from

2004-2005 and 2005-2006

2004 for 10^th^ grade test results reported in the following tables from

2004-2005 and 2005-2006 (This is the "new edition" of the

Graduation Qualifying Exam that tests students over the new

Indiana Academic Standards.)

**Publisher:** CTB/McGraw-Hill

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