2.+Narrative

Read and review at least one article in each of the three categories provided in Appendix F or locate research of your own and utilize the research and resources to develop: A brief overview of the applicant’s initial hopes for the impact of this 21st century grant on teaching and learning including: o Potential successes and challenges at the teacher and the student levels; o Potential organizational changes ; o Anticipated changes in student learning ; and o A narrative which includes how your school might prepare for, implement and support these 21st century skills and the use of technology to support teaching and learning and student achievement. If awarded the grant, teachers will apply new strategies, knowledge of integrating technology and 21st century skills, and develop action plans and a budget for Phase Two.

Write below

TO JANET WILLIAMS FROM TIM BAKOS

Eighth grade students entering the ninth grade will complete a summer bridge. This program will focus on soft skills such as, organization, time management, study skills, test taking techniques, research, and build an electronic portfolio which they will continue to develop throughout their four years of high school. Students will face of limited access to computers in the classroom, with a 1:5 ratio and limited lab time. Many students are unable to afford computers with internet and graphing calculators in their homes. The social emotional issues faced by our socioeconomically deprived students are a major barrier. Students believe that it is not necessary to achieve until they reach high school, so many arrive in 9th grade lacking fundamental skills. Our hope is that this grant will provide the building blocks for transition from junior high to high school, from high school to post secondary and the 21st century job market. To further insure the success of our students, systemic changes will be made. By utilizing a technology coach, we create a liaison between district, school, and community as well as our feeder schools. The coach will also establish collaborative efforts between our school and the non-public partner, Cardinal Mooney High School. The coach will act as facilitator and guide by modeling and providing support to staff and students by way of linking school and student needs and district reform initiatives with overriding goal of building a professional learning community that supports collaborative leadership, continuous improvement of teaching practices and ultimately student achievement. The coach will achieve this by examining our instructional practices in a reflective way, to focus on and improve student learning. Changing in student learning would reflect an increase in cooperative learning and cross curriculum projects that utilize 21st century technology. These changes will lend to an increase in attendance, a decrease in disciplinary referrals, improved study habits, increased information retention, increased group interaction, improved presentation skills, and real world applications. **
 * The impact of the 21st century grant will enable our school to achieve its OIP goals and provide an education that effectively prepares our students for learning in this complex, digital society. Our initial hope is to provide the 21st century technology training that our veteran staff needs in order to meet the needs and bridge the gap of our students, that gap being where they live verses how they learn in school. As stated by the American Diplomacy Project, “ The ability to think, speak, and write logically, to solve problems, and to synthesize information are also priority competencies cited by postsecondary faculty members from all disciplines.” We can also design assessment to include digital portfolios in which students assemble work on real world projects to give a more complete and holistic picture of learning and achievement. The potential successes that we see from this grant for teachers are improved and diversified teaching techniques, increased knowledge base and use of technology in the classroom to meet 21st century needs, academic effectiveness, improved ability to meet student education outcomes, improved professionalism, improved instructional practices, increased communication and collaboration, improved efficiency and more constructive time spent on administrative tasks. If we align the curriculum both vertically and horizontally, from pre-k through 12, increase time to work with the students, implement critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, innovation, implementation and collaboration in our teaching methods, we will see results. Our greatest challenges include providing our veteran staff the time, tools, examples, and strategies for action in implementation of the necessary 21st century technology skills. Through this grant, we will provide intensive, high-quality, focused, and sustainable professional development for our teaching staff. Potential success for all students would be evidenced by significantly higher passing rate of 9th grade classes, which will lead to well-prepared students in the 10th-12th grades who will pass the Ohio Graduation Test and graduate in 4 years. It is imperative that our students know how to use 21st century tools and take full advantage of the vast array of research and multimedia resources, digital content, and the communications options available to them.

Revision on Thurdsay evening: Still need to cut 300+ characters. Need to cut some more and add more from vocab list where it makes sense. I think it could be better organized...see what you think...
 * This 21st century grant will enable our school to achieve its OIP goals and provide an education that effectively prepares our students for learning in this complex, digital society. Our initial hope is to provide the 21st century technology training that our veteran staff needs in order to bridge the gap of our students, that gap being where they live verses how they learn in school. As stated by the American Diplomacy Project, “ The ability to think, speak, and write logically, to solve problems, and to synthesize information are also priority competencies cited by postsecondary faculty members from all disciplines.” We will design assessment to include digital portfolios in which students assemble work on real world projects to give a more complete and holistic picture of learning and achievement. Potential successes that we see from this grant for teachers are diversified teaching techniques; increased knowledge base and use of technology in the classroom; academic effectiveness as facilitator and co-learner; improved ability to meet student education outcomes; increased communication and collaboration, and improved efficiency. If we align the curriculum both vertically and horizontally, from pre-k through 12, increase time to work with the students, implement critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, innovation, and collaboration in our teaching methods, we will see results. Our greatest challenges include providing our veteran staff the time, tools, examples, and strategies for implementation of 21st century technology skills. Through this grant, we will provide intensive, high-quality, focused, and sustainable professional development for our staff. Potential success for all students would be evidenced by significantly higher passing rate of 9th grade classes, which will lead to well-prepared students in the 10th-12th grades who will pass the Ohio Graduation Test and graduate in 4 years. It is imperative that our students know how to use 21st century tools and take full advantage of the vast array of research and multimedia resources, digital content, and the communications options available to them. ****
 * Eighth grade students entering the ninth grade will complete a summer bridge program. This program will focus on soft skills such as, organization, time management, study skills, test taking techniques, research, and build an electronic portfolio which they will continue to develop throughout their four years of high school. Students will face limited access to computers in the classroom, with a 1:5 ratio and limited lab time. Many students are unable to afford computers with internet and graphing calculators in their homes. The social emotional issues faced by our socioeconomically deprived students are a major barrier. Students believe that it is not necessary to achieve until they reach high school, so many arrive in 9th grade lacking fundamental skills. Our hope is that this grant will provide the building blocks for transition from junior high to high school, from high school to post secondary and the 21st century job market. To further insure the success of our students, systemic changes will be made. Our technology coach will become a liaison between district, school, and community as well as our feeder schools. The coach will also establish collaborative efforts between our school and the non-public partner, Cardinal Mooney High School. The coach will facilitate and guide by modeling and providing support to staff and students, linking school and student needs and district reform initiatives. The coach will help achieve the goal of building a professional learning community that supports collaborative leadership, continuous improvement of teaching practices and ultimately improves student achievement. The coach will achieve this by examining our instructional practices in a reflective way, focusing on improving student learning via engaging, authentic work. We will see an increase in cooperative learning and cross-curriculum projects that utilize 21st century technology. These changes will lead to an increase in attendance, a decrease in disciplinary referrals, improved study habits, increased information retention, increased positive group interaction, improved presentation skills, and real world applications. ** **