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Events & Announcements
Indiana Charter Schools Demonstrate Performance, Progress
PL 221 Categories Have Some Charter Schools Cheering
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Lindsey Brown
Indiana PL 221 Categories for 2007 were released on April 2nd, yielding mixed results for the state as a whole. Although nearly 429 public schools throughout the state had a “worse” rating than the previous year (2006), the number of schools in the top three categories actually increased a percentage point, from 56% to 57%. [READ MORE]
2008 Indiana Charter School Spelling Bee May 16th
Thank you to all 14 schools participating in this year’s Spelling Bee. The event will be held the afternoon of May 16th at Butler University’s Jordan Hall. Reminder to coordinators to visit www.csscweb.com/bee for word lists and area information and remember to turn in your students registration forms ASAP!
2008
Teacher
Recruitment
Fairs-
Last
Chance!
[CLICK
HERE] for a list of Spring 2008 teacher recruitment fairs. You may need to contact the universities to find out if slots remain and if you can still register.
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2008 Indiana Charter School
Conference Photos Available |
Thanks to everyone who attended the 2008 Conference. Visit the conference web site at www.geofoundation.org/cssc/conference to view photos from February’s event.
Also, a congratulations goes to Marilyn Behney from Rural Community Academy who was the recipient of an
iPod Nano as winner of the Service Center’s vendor drawing at the Conference.
Congrats!
Finally, stay tuned for a save the date for next year’s conference.
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GREG AND WINNIE BALLARD ATTEND AN INDIANA
CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE LUNCHEON |
| We need your feedback!
We are looking at dates for next year's conference and need to hear from you. What month is best to hold the conference? Please click below and take just a couple of minutes to complete the
Conference Survey. |
CSSC Announces Website Enhancement
The Service Center
is pleased to announce an update to it’s map component of the web site. Now, you can view satellite images and easily get directions to all Indiana Charter Schools. Check it out at http://www.geofoundation.org/CSSC/charterschools.html! Let Lindsey know if you have any updates for your schools. Parents are already accessing this feature to find schools in their area.
Indiana Charter Schools Today and Other News
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Look for the next copy of ICST in your mailboxes in early May. It's not too late to contribute your news - contact
Lindsey today. |
Marketing Sense with Jeff Schafer
BE! AGGRESSIVE! BE, BE AGGRESSIVE!
EVERYONE NEEDS A CHEERLEADER IN HIS LIFE. SO DOES YOUR SCHOOL. REMEMBER, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH PUSHING A PRODUCT YOU BELIEVE IN.
I can still see my wife cheering at our high school basketball games. Back then, I was a geeky brainiac with thick glasses and way too much curly hair. She was a cute, brown-eyed brunette whom everyone wanted to be around. But hearing her chant “Be! Aggressive! Be, be aggressive!” gave me the impetus to join the school choir (like her) and arrange my schedule to be like hers. (Today, we call that “stalking,” but that is entirely beside the point.) [READ MORE]
Board Development
Overcoming Three Fatal Board Errors: Part 3 of 3
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Brian Carpenter
In the previous two months, I explained how boards can use two well-known business ideas to improve governance. In this month's column, I will propose a third, harnessing human physiology. But first, let's recap.
A board can eliminate superfluous meetings by recognizing Parkinson's Law—the truism that work expands to fill the time allocated for it. The board can, nonetheless, be more effective in less time by using the 80/20 principle to limit its agenda to what Joseph Juran called the vital few v. the trivial many.
A charter school board that meets only as often as is really necessary (Parkinson's Law) by disciplining itself to limit discussion only to those things that are really necessary (the 80/20 principle), is performing at a level that few achieve. Such a board could be said to be at the top of its game. But just as one excels in athletics, peak performance takes practice, discipline, commitment, and desire. It also takes something else—energy.
You might be thinking, "Huh? How'd he go from discussing business principles to human physiology?" Stay with me and I'll explain. [READ MORE]
Professional Development
Opportunities/Teacher and Leader Resources
Think you are ready to be a school leader? This month we are pleased to feature two great leadership development opportunities as well as a great student recruitment opportunity for Indianapolis schools.
Principal Prep Program
School leaders in today’s global economy must be agents of change and committed to instructional excellence, cultural diversity, and collaboration. The iLEAD School Leaders Preparation Program at the University of Indianapolis engages small cohorts of candidates in a variety of experiences that prepare them to confront the complex realities of educating students in a rapidly changing world. Learn more about this dynamic program at upcoming information sessions or at http://education.uindy.edu/teacherprep/leadership.
Peabody Professional Institutes
Peadbody Professional Institute at Vanderbilt University in Nashville is now offering a Summer Institute for Charter School Leadership. Learn effective strategies of leading an excellent school, specific to charter schools. July 13-17, 2008. Call 615.343.6222 or email PPI@vanderbilt.edu for more information and pricing information.
National Charter Schools Week 2008: YouTube and Other
Strategies to Get Attention
The National
Alliance for Public Charter Schools has announced
National Charter Schools Week as May 5th through
the 9th. The theme for this year is Charter
Schools: Growing Excellence. The primary purpose of the
week is to connect charter school teachers, students,
leaders and parents to policymakers so that they can
experience the schools and the people that support them.
This year, the NAPCS suggests using the internet to
amplify the presence of charters.Each school is
encouraged to create a short video demonstrating what
makes their schools great. Schools can post these videos
on YouTube and email the videos to their federal, state,
and local policymakers throughout the week using the
Alliance's Legislative and Advocacy Portal. To access
the Portal, examples of YouTube charter school videos,
and other information about National Charter Schools
Week visit
www.publiccharters.org.
WFYI Let’s Meet Kids in the Park
Let’s Meet brings children and parents face to face with the cuddly, colorful characters that we have all come to love and admire most on PBS. An anticipated crowd of more than 40,000 festival attendees will be treated to continuous live entertainment on two distinct stages, an exciting mix of educational activities hosted by Central Indiana’s leading arts and service organizations and a mouth-watering selection of festival foods. Contact Karen Mullins for more information or to register your school for a booth at kmullins@wfyi.org.
Vendor Spotlight
 Do your students need intensive intervention, assistance meeting state standards, or help preparing for the SAT?
Kaplan K12 Learning Services partners with schools to provide high quality instructional programs that improve results and help all students achieve. Our solutions are designed to meet your students’ specific needs. Our intensive intervention programs meet the needs of students who are two or more years below grade level. Our supplemental programs provide review and practice lessons for the skills and concepts most commonly tested on state assessments, and our test prep programs will help more of your students to get into college by helping students to prep smarter and score higher. Kaplan inc. is a global education company that has been partnering with schools like yours for nearly 70 years. Please let me know how I can help you to assist your students by contacting Louise.Ragsdale@kaplan.com or calling me at 317-842-6930.
 SRA McGraw Hill:
The most trusted name in educational supplements
For decades, millions of students nationwide have benefited from supplemental materials from SRA/McGraw Hill. From tried-and-true SRA Reading Laboratories® to brand new and exciting SRA Snapshots Video Science™ to effective supplemental math intervention with Number Worlds®, you’re sure to find materials to fit your particular classroom needs.
- Increase student confidence with independent work
- Differentiate instruction with materials designed to focus on improvement of specific skills
- Provide extra practice and enrichment
- Motivate them with fun and engaging technology
Explore all your options at
www.SRAonline.com
 Student Opportunities
ICST Student Column
What was your favorite school project and why? Teachers- please submit responses via email to lindsey.brown@geofoundation.org no later than April 21st. Please include the name and grade of the students.
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