The Allen County Intermediate
Center (ACIC) will welcome fourth, fifth, and six graders back-to-school on
Thursday, August 9. Overall, students at ACIC will see a few changes as the
school continues to tweaks their established programs and procedures.
“With our day to day activities, our curriculum, and things of that nature, we feel like we are into refining,” noted principal Shawn Holland. “Last year, we reworked our math program and we went completely through our Language Arts curriculum and rewrote our maps, scoop and sequences, our pacing guides, and added new material. We tried to increase the rigor. This year, with both the ELA (English and Language Arts) and the math, it’s going to be about refining---how are we going to tweak that, how do we make that better, how do we include instructional strategies in both those areas to reach all of our students. This year we will be able to focus more on strategies and engagement associated with the curriculum.”
The daily ACIC schedule will
see a minor change designed to help students start the day strong.
“We are moving intervention and extension time from the morning to the end of the day,” Holland pointed out. “For the past three years, students who might need a little extra help in reading and math could get some extra help while other students went to their extensions. We will switch that to the end of the day. So, at 7:50, students’ first class will start. Morning is a prime time for instruction. We want to get students while they are fresh and ready to go.”
The weekly schedule for the
students will see a slight modification designed to help teachers work together
to better prepare.
“We are also going to be doing an alternative Friday schedule,” Holland noted. “Hypothetically, a student in a class might have a Related Arts class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, at 9 o’clock. On Friday, their schedule might mean that the Related Arts class would be at 10 or at 11. It’s an alternative schedule and we will get that out to parents. This way, all of my content teachers will have a common planning time in which they can work together on reading, math, science, and social studies. As it has been, you have grade-level plan times but they may not be the four math teachers or the four reading teachers. By doing this alternative schedule, for example, all four fourth grade math teachers or all fifth grade reading teachers will have a common time to work on curriculum. I am excited about the common planning.”
In addition, sixth grade teachers
will see a shift from a departmentalized method to team teaching. Holland sees
the change as beneficial to teachers and students.
“Our sixth grade teachers will be team teaching like fourth and fifth grade,” Holland said and explained one of the reasons for the move. “The sixth grade class is a very large class. The numbers mandated we add a ninth teacher into sixth grade. When we did that we looked at certifications and found we were able to team teachers with old middle school certifications with elementary certified people. This year, we will have three teams of two teachers and one team of three teachers. So if a student is on a team of two teachers, all the core content will be taught by the two teachers. A student will not have four different teachers, just two, plus their Related Arts teachers. We feel this allows our teachers to really know kids and build relationships with the students and parents. I think this will be a good thing.”
Holland will start his fifth
his fifth year as principal. This will also be the fourth year for the highly
acclaimed Leader in Me program for ACIC---a program that has been deemed a
success at the school. This school year will see Leader in Me at ACIC explore a
next step.
“In October or November, our Leader in Me consultant Liz Brewer will come and look at our Lighthouse Readiness,” Holland said. “Lighthouse is the pinnacle for Leader in Me schools. That is saying that a school is doing are the requirements and you are achieving all you can achieve. We know we still have areas for growth and we are working on those. But, Liz will do a pre Lighthouse check to see what the things we are doing really well and help us see what we need to improve upon to bump to that next level. We may be able to go for Lighthouse status by the end of the year.”
Students at ACIC, along with
each school in the District, will continue to have a School Resource Officer (SRO)
in the building each day. Holland notes that the addition last spring of a full-time
SRO was well received, especially through the eyes of the community.
“Having a SRO here went over really well,” Holland said. “From the kids’ standpoint here at ACIC, they probably didn’t see much change. We were already housing an SRO that split time with the middle school. We just got a different officer. But, I believe that it provided the community a greater sense of safety and security knowing that we had a dedicated officer here all the time.”
An area of focus remains
attendance. Students are expected to be at school each day and prepared to
learn from the opening of the day.
“Getting our kids here will be a focal point,” Holland noted. “If your kid is not here, we are going to be calling to check on them. Parents also need to get their child here on time. With that first class now starting at 7:50, it’s important they are here. That first class is a content class. Getting here on time means being in class and in your seat ready to start at 7:50. Attendance is also now a part of accountability.”
Parents are reminded that ACIC will again be part of the Community Eligibly Provision program. All students can eat breakfast and lunch at no cost through the United States Department of Agriculture’s designation. Students will also start and end the school day at the same time as last year and drop-off and pick-up procedures will remain the same as last spring.
Students at ACIC will also have the opportunity to engage in several activities as in your past. Leader in Me will continue to have parent and community activities, qualifying students can participate in Junior Beta, and the school’s afterschool archery program continues to grow.
“I credit Tracy Butler for the success of the archery program,” Holland said. “Her ability to recruit parents and volunteers to help with the program enabled the team to go to more shoots. We qualified
for the state, nationals, and the worlds and that has served to generate more interest. Now, they are looking to expand archery to the middle school. The future of our archery program looks really strong.”
ACIC will welcome a pair of
new, but experienced, teachers. Michelle Robbins will be a new MSD teacher and
Victoria Wilson will also join the school staff.
Open House for all ACIC students will be from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31.
“Our teachers will be mailing letters to their students on Friday, July 20,” Holland added. “Everybody can be looking for a letter by July 23 or July 24. Our rosters and classroom lists have been posted for a while. If there is anything that the parents need to know, it should be in that letter.”
Parents are encouraged to
attend Open House with their child as well as be involved at each activity over
the nine-month school year.
“I think it is extremely important for the parents to be involved,” Holland said. “As a Leader-In-Me school, one of our indicatives’ is to increase parental support. We will have 12 or 13 events throughout the year that we try and get parents in for. Open House is extremely important for the kids. If the kids have any reservations, it’s an opportunity to see their teacher, see where their classroom is, and see who is in there. It helps calm those kids who are anxious.”
Holland does remind anyone who
has moved into the county but has yet to register their child for school at
ACIC to do so as soon as possible.