School Reform and School Improvement

Can anyone give some insight as to either the success or lack of success in implementing more stringent athletic/extracurricular academic eligibility policies? (fyi--we recently went from a policy where students had to pass at least 5 (out of 6) classes where at least 3 of the grades had to be a "C".....and now it is stated that you have to pass all 6 classes, with the same requirement for "C"s) Feel free to comment on any aspect of this.

Has anyone with a trimester schedule done any study of student achievement before vs. after the change?

Do you assess an activity fee for participation in school clubs? If so, what is the fee? Is it assessed per club or annually?

Do you assess an activity fee for participation in school clubs? If so, what is the fee? Is it assessed per club or annually?

We have students that turn 18 that want to sign themselves out for the afternoon. What is our obligation to notify parents if the student signs out?

We currently have a handful of students who do not have a successful change in behavior when placed in in-schoo suspension. I am looking for alternative ideas. I am also open to ways on restructuring what ISS should look like.

I am currently working with a company to develop and pilot a new program for teachers that would allow them to utilize student cell phones to aid in instruction. Our program would primarily use the phone's text messaging feature. Some functions of the program would include student surveys, quizzes and tests, real-time brainstorming, and picture and video galleries. It would be web-based so schools would simply pay a subscription fee and get a log-in. We are thinking about purchasing some pay-as-you-go cell phones for students to use who do not have text messaging service on their phones.

What do you see as the pros and cons of a program like this? I'm curious to get your feedback.

We would like to target at-risk students with a low commitment mentor program intending to reduce drop-out, failure and attendance rates. I am thinking that phone calls home when a student misses school, the normal good morning greetings, and such. I am looking for any suggestions.

Does anyone have handbook language that you would be willing to share that prohibits energy drinks at the middle level? Any other advice on the topic?

We are looking for a tool to use with students to assess the effectiveness of our counseling/guidance department. We are planning on completing a 360 evaluation with students, parents, and teachers.

Researching other high schools that are currently using or are thinking about moving to an ABC-I type of grading scale. Would like information and any data you would be willing to share.

THANKS!

We are doing some preliminary investigating and I could use some information from any of you who have the experience in implementing trimesters. Questions:
How long have you had it in place?
Do you see a positive correlation to academic achievement?
Has it cost you ($$-wise)and if yes, when (what year) did the cost increase become most apparent?
Have any of you who have gone to trimesters then gone back to semesters?
How has the community "bought in"?
Your overall experience in implementing: positive or negative AND how long did it take you to implement?

THANK YOU!!!!!!
Brooke Ballee
bballee@vanburenschools.net

We are looking at online options for high school courses and credit recovery options. We are looking at Aventa and Michigan Virtual University. MVU has had some issues in the past. Does anyone have a recommendation or insight (positive or negative) on these or other online options?

MIDDLE SCHOOLS: Do you have an innovative intervention program that helps struggling students get ready for the high school level?

HIGH SCHOOLS, CTE PROGRAMS, ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Do you have unique scheduling options, programs or classes that restore credit and keep students on track for graduation?

If so, please consider signing up to be a presenter at the MASSP Credit Recovery Summit, January 28, 2009 by completing this short survey!

Survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2b7D4FqN6krmk7KdN_2b8mL4w_3d_3d

Do any schools have a district curriculum team that helps determine the direction, compliance, changes, etc. to curriculum? Please send details to rbelous@athertonschools.org, thanks.

I am looking for a tutoring or remedial program for students who are classified as homeless.  I found out today that Title 1 funds are available for this program and need to have something in place soon.  Any suggestions or resourses would be greatly appreciated.

We are in the works, but there is much debate over what they should look like and when they should be implemented.

For schools that have not moved Earth Science to the 8th Grade: What curriculum is being used for 8th Grade Science in the absence of any grade 8 Science GLCE's? Thanks for your help

Our high school is looking to implement a comprehensive dance program at the high school level starting with freshmen.  Do any of you have a worthwhile program running currently or know of a curriculum that is already out there???  Any information would be appreciated!  Thank you!

Brooke Ballee

bballee@vanburenschools.net

Both Traverse City High Schools are looking for High Schools to consult with and visit. Please provide the name of the high school and contact information in your response. Thanks!

Pyramid of Interventions

I am looking for middle schools successfully implementing a Pyramid of Interventions for their students.

Thanks,
Claire Bunker
Clare-Gladwin RESD

We in Coloma are switching to trimester scheduling for the 08-09 school year, and have found that the software used for scheduling through our ISD is inadaquate.  Does any one know of a stand alone software program available that just does scheduling?  Our hope would be to use this program to schedule our kids and then manually input it into our ISD system.

Thank you!

Dave Ehlers

Asst. Principal

Coloma Jr. High

We need to offer practical PD for teacher about teaching in a trimester format (longer block of instruction). Can anyone recommend a presenter?

No pressure, but I need to come up with these for my eval and my kids need new shoes... HELP please.

if you have made the switch could you please let me know the following:

how many years have you been a trimester school?

what contract issues did you have to deal with?

please post answers or email me at rciesiel@admin.linden.k12.mi.us

Looking for the Job Descriptions AND Evaluation Tool...