We have three components to our Educate Indiana School Improvement grant proposal for the 2000-2002 grant period. Teachers ask for additional reading materials, tell student success stories, and share comments about novels they are reading. These changes occurred because of the professional in-service conducted by Dr. Penny Gaither, school visitations, student selected materials, the placement of student reading materials in the classroom, time being scheduled for free reading, and teacher participation. Curriculum alignment is an on-going process for us. This exercise has been guided by Dr. Penny Gaither and Dr. Kevin Sue Bailey.
Subject areas are in various stages of completion now.
By the end of the grant period, all of the curriculum will be aligned to state standards and the revision process undertaken. Teachers have benefitted from the curriculum alignment process. They were able to see that lesson plans directed toward state proficiencies improved student learning and reduced teacher frustration from poor student achievement. On component to our grant was suggested by Dr. Penny Gaither. We will gladly share our experiences with other educators.