Grant Public
Schools
District Profile
The Grant Public School District Newaygo County Western Michigan , thirty miles north of Grand Rapids Lake Michigan . It is
part of a rural community known for its agriculture. The K-12 student
population is about 2,500. The alternative, migrant, and adult education
programs service an additional 500 students. The Grant Public School District
Our schools are very fortunate to have a wide variety of class offerings,
progressive technology, and many extra-curricular activities to offer our
students and staff. Our school buildings are all within walking distance
of each other which is a luxury in any community.
School Buildings
Grant Elementary
District Mission Statement
The mission of the
is to provide a school system
that is committed to excellence in teaching and learning for all students.
Vision and
Goals
DISTRICT GOAL
Student Achievement will be
improved over that of the previous year.
Measurement: MEAP
tests, Student mastery of Core Curriculum
Strategies:
1.
All schools will continue to use innovative teaching
practices including teaming, co-teaching, modified class periods and best
practices.
2.
Emphasis will be on planning, using the district core
curriculum and stressing the mastery of essential objectives for all students.
3.
Innovative strategies and programs will be utilized for
highly capable students.
4.
Instruction and practice will be provided students in the
area of test preparation.
5.
Expanded opportunities for students to achieve mastery of
core objectives (i.e. summer school, extended school day programs) will be
provided.
6.
Using multiple text materials, all students will improve
reading for understanding across the curriculum
7.
All students will improve their use of data in the problem
solving process.
8.
All students will demonstrate the use of the scientific
process when making scientific decisions.
9.
All students will show improvement in their understanding of
basic economic principles.
These strategies will be the
responsibility of all appropriate district personnel. Additional strategies may be developed at
individual school buildings to meet the educational needs individual
students.
DISTRICT GOAL
Professional Development activities will be conducted to insure that staff will be adequately trained in targeted areas.
Measurement: An annual staff
development plan will be on file for the school year.
Strategies:
1. A staff development calendar will be
developed each year.
2. Staff development will be focused on
those activities directly relating to district and building goals.
3. Schools will develop staff development
plans in cooperation with Building Improvement Teams.
4. Staff development funds and travel and
conference budgets will be used to support the improvement of instruction and
student achievement as related to district and building goals.
5. The district will look at cooperative
efforts within the Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Area.
6. Beginning and probationary teachers
will receive the staff development support including mentoring, necessary to
help them be effective and successful staff members.
7. New teachers to the district will receive
a New Teacher Handbook to assist in their
orientation to the
DISTRICT GOAL
Communication
will continue to be improved.
Strategies:
1.
Continue
district newsletter, events calendar, board briefs, building and classroom
newsletters, report cards/progress reports, telephone contacts and other forms
of communication with parents and public.
2.
Continue
to encourage positive media exposure.
3.
Encourage
positive parent involvement and two-way communication by participation in
parent meetings and fall and spring conferences.
4.
Continue
to develop and maintain district and school web pages providing useful
information to the community.
5.
Explore
new initiatives to keep parents informed of their children’s progress.
6.
Encourage the use of technology to promoted efficient and
effective communication.
7.
Parent involvement will be targeted for continued
improvement
The above will be assigned to
appropriate district and school personnel.
Individual schools may develop additional strategies to meet this goal.
DISTRICT GOAL
Our curriculum will continue
to be developed, refined and implemented.
Measurement: Curriculum
documents will be available to all appropriate school staff.
Strategies:
1.
Communicate
the curriculum analysis and development process to staff.
2.
Complete
annual update of core curriculum changes prior to teacher report date.
3.
Provide
support for all teachers in the use of the curriculum management software.
4.
Emphasize
long and short term planning by staff using our curriculum documents.
5.
Emphasize
reading and writing across the curriculum, curriculum integration and the
meeting of individual student needs.
6.
Review
special and none-core programs for their continued effectiveness and develop
plans for organized abandonment when necessary.
7.
Continue
the implementation of our technology plan and the use of technology in
instruction.
8.
Continue
a school board review and formal adoption of the core curriculum and textbooks.
9.
Continue
to test and monitor student progress using our district approved software.
The above will be assigned to
appropriate district personnel.
Individual schools may have additional strategies to meet this goal.
Background of our technology
planning initiative:
The roots of our technology planning is in the 1995
US Challenge grant received by our Newaygo County Regional Educational Service
Area (NCRESA) to build a county wide infrastructure and put technology in
schools. We have revised our plan in
2001 and 2003. We continue our
collaborative work with the NCRESA.
Grant Public Schools
The vision of the technology plan is to improve learning and
teaching through interpersonal communications, student and staff access to
information, teacher training, collaboration and dissemination of successful
educational practices, methods and materials, and the use of technology in
teaching and assessment.
How the technology plan ties in with
the district mission and school improvement plan:
The technology plan falls under the broader district
school improvement umbrella. Both plans
as well as the mission of our district include the equitable distribution of
resources, the focus on effective student learning and achievement,
accountability, and fiscal management.
Major goals of the
technology plan:
·
Contribute to increased student achievement through
technology applications in instruction, management, and communication.
·
Provide students and staff equal access to technology and
software.
·
Provide staff professional development for the use and
application of technology.
·
Provide processes for software, hardware, and technology
resource use, review, acquisition, inventory, disposition, and security.
Goals for district teachers and students:
·
All teachers and students will have basic computer skills
and opportunities to expand those skills.
·
All teachers and students will have access to technologies
and applications that will meet academic needs, data management needs, communication
needs, and that will reflect individual student achievement.
·
All students and teachers will have access to computers and
the Internet at school. Other
technologies will be available to assist in communications with parents,
students, and teachers.
I.
CURRICULUM
A.
Curriculum Integration
Goals and strategies, aligned with
challenging state and national standards, for using telecommunications and
technology to improve teaching and learning.
·
Technology
is also considered in our building and renovation projects as well as local
foundation grant requests. Presentation hardware and software is used to
enhance instruction and extracurricular activities.
·
As
a result of the 1995 US Challenge Grant, there are 2-4 student computers in
each classroom as well as a teacher station.
These computers are often used for research, remediation, assessment,
special applications, and exploration.
·
Individualized
reading instruction software is also in use in remedial and extension
activities in classrooms. Multimedia
projects are done at most grade levels in language arts or in cross curricular
projects. Computer labs are available
for student use in all buildings. There seven labs in the district with several
other classrooms housing mini-labs of 10 -12 computers each. 100% of the computers in the district are
connected to the internet via broadband access. The internet is used
extensively for research at most grades levels.
·
Technology
curricula have been changed to reflect recent changes in
B.
Student Achievement
Strategies that are based on research
and that integrate technology into curricula and instruction for the purposes
of improving student academic achievement and a timeline for that integration.
·
One
strategy is to use a curriculum management system to house curriculum
objectives, track individual student progress in selected essential objectives,
and generate data for parent reports and for professional study regarding
student progress in the curriculum. This is being done to increase a student’s success
on the MEAP.
·
Part
of our plan is to develop common assessments as each content area is reviewed.
These assessments will be available through hard copy and CD’s. The vision is to have them available on the
web with links from objectives (retest items are currently available). The district plan is to complete assessments
for each core content by the end of the 2007-2008 school year in each core
content area.
·
Building
Principals periodically use this data and
other similar data to review student achievement, instructional practices, and
resources.
C.
Technology
Delivery
Strategies
for the delivery of specialized or rigorous courses and curricula through the
use of technology, including distance learning technologies.
·
Distance
learning classes are available for high school students for specialized courses
and dual enrollment courses.
·
Classroom
teachers use the distance learning lab to communicate with other professionals
and other classrooms. It is also used
for special projects and distance ‘field trips’. Our strategy is to continue participation in
distance learning courses within the NCRESA, and to continue to investigate
further opportunities. Classes from
other county schools are offered to us as we in turn also provide classes via
distance learning labs.
·
Through
collaboration with NCRESA we often interact with other classrooms and learning
institutions via the use of a portable ITV (Interactive Television) unit. The
unit has been used at all grade levels for programs such as Read Across
America, interactive visits to the
D.
Parental Communication and Community
Relations
Strategies
to promote parental involvement and to increase communication with parents and
community, including a description of how parents will be informed of the
technology to be used with students.
·
Each
building has a parent communication component
of their Parent Involvement Plan that includes resources and delivery systems.
Included in the plan is the use of phones that are in each classroom, Skyward
web based communication and access to grade information, and student management
system generated progress reports twice each trimester.
·
The
district website, www.Grantps.net has undergone significant
upgrades and is a valuable resource for both parent and student information. The
goal is to keep the website updated with information about curriculum, events,
and items of community and parent interest.
·
Teachers
use phones, email and print materials to communicate with parents. Parents who are unable to attend
parent-teacher conferences or Individual Education Plan meetings are able to make
teleconference calls, and fax any needed signatures.
·
Parents
are informed about the technology Acceptable Use Policy annually (appendix 1),
and are periodically informed about technology uses in the classroom through
print media – letters home, news articles in our district newsletter– and through
parent-teacher conferences and student expositions. Our technology plan is available on our
district website www.Grantps.net.
E.
Collaboration
Strategies
for developing the program, where applicable, in collaboration with adult
literacy providers.
·
Our
adult education program continues to offer technology classes to adults in the
area as well as offer software courses and on line assessment that can be used
by adults for college preparation, reading and math remediation, and high
school graduation or GED.
·
Federal,
state, and local grant resources are sought to support these and other outreach
and collaboration activities.
II. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
F.
Professional
Development
Strategies for providing ongoing, sustained professional development
for teachers, principals,
administrators and school and library media personnel to ensure that staff know
how to use the new technologies to improve education or library services.
·
Professional
development is offered through web based applications as well as video and
distance learning. In addition, several
hands on technology and curriculum integration workshops are offered on an
annual basis through the NCRESA. Mentors
are also available for one on one tutoring at point of need. This allows us to tailor professional
development to the needs of the staff and the district.
·
District school improvement strategies include written
professional development plans for new and revised curriculum, for new or
underutilized programs or resources (including technology), and for under or
over achievement of content standards.
These professional development plans are completed annually by building
principals.
·
All staff have been trained in or demonstrated knowledge in
basic computer and telecommunications functions: word processing, spreadsheet, email, data
management, internet search, voicemail, and electronic communication through
after school and professional development activities. Our focus now is on technology integration.
-
These have been demonstrated by the technology survey
completed in the development of this plan as well as day to day use.
-
New staff are trained in August each year by one of the
district technology supervisors (district software, telecommunications, and
equipment) as well as mentors (building software) and are offered on line, continous training
if needed (technology expertise is addressed during the interview process).