Greetings ,
The 2015-2016 school year is well underway . In the Iredell-Statesville Schools , we remain focused on student success and holding to our commitment to continuous self-improvement . In our district , this means putting children first and focusing on their individual growth .
We recently completed a community wide study of our mission , vision , and core values . During this six-month review , more than 2,000 participants shared rich feedback with us . In the weeks ahead we look forward to deploying this project . I ’ m very excited about our new vision – “ Together , Ensuring Student Success by Igniting a Passion for Learning ”.
I-SS takes a great deal of pride in being innovative and creating new opportunities for our families . Please let me briefly share some of the exciting things taking place in our district this year .
Blended Learning – I-SS was one of seventeen school districts in the nation to receive a $ 20M Race to the Top grant from the US Department of Education . This initiative is taking place in all of our middle and high schools . This work is focused on changing the way teachers deliver the curriculum and engage their students . Teachers are working with students in small groups , as well as , whole group instruction . Data drives instruction and lessons are individualized and customized to meet students ’ needs . This work is enhanced with our one-to-one MacBook initiative . Students are becoming owners of their own learning and teachers are becoming facilitators of a multi-tiered systems of instruction . The goal is to maximize the teachers ’ time and allow students to take ownership of their own learning .
STEM Academies – This year I-SS launched STEM Academies in all of our middle schools . We are trying to help our students have early exposure to the areas of science , technology , engineering , and mathematics and understand the correlation between these fields and careers of the 21 st century . Hopefully , this will help students be ready to study a career pathway when they enter high school . We are asking businesses and industries across the community to partner with us by participating as teachers on loan in their areas of expertise , hosting field trips to businesses and industries , and creating internships and apprenticeships for our students .
ACT Certified Work Ready Community – I-SS has begun the process of becoming a work ready community . This initiative will make our county more competitive by closing the skills gap that challenges businesses and industries locally . We are seeking 125 business partners to join us as we rate our graduates in the areas of applied mathematics , reading for information , and locating information . Businesses that partner with us will make a commitment to consider the achievement levels of students in making hiring decisions . Nationwide , communities that engage in this certification report a 67 % reduction in employee turnover and a 63 % improvement in on-the-job productivity .
Robotics Competition – Thanks to the generosity of Lowes , I-SS is pleased to announce the formation of robotics teams in all 36 schools throughout our district . This winter , teams from all schools will be working on building robots and becoming skilled in the use of those machines . In April 2016 , the district will be hosting our first district-wide robotics competition . Watch for more information about this soon .
China Partnership – I-SS has long been committed to helping our students be globally competitive and internationally minded . To this end , I-SS has formed a partnership with China , which will result in approximately 200 Chinese students visiting with us for 3 weeks in February 2016 . From this group , approximately 100 students will be invited back for a year of study during the 2016-2017 school year . All of these students will be in high school . We plan to forge partnerships with seven schools in China and create travel abroad experiences for our students in the near future .
School Choice Options – I-SS has several successful choice options in our district , including two early colleges , middle years and diploma IB programs , Spanish dual immersion , and many vocational opportunities at our Career Academy and Technical School . In the next few months , we will be presenting to our Board of Education additional choice options , including Primary Years IB programs , Montessori programs , and STEAM Academies . As a district , we are committed to student and parent choice .
League of Innovative Schools – I-SS was accepted as a full member of the League of Innovative Schools in October 2015 . This is a group of 73 school systems across the nation who are committed to improving student learning by embracing innovative approaches to learning . One of the projects that we will be working on in the months ahead is transforming media centers . In the advent of digital learning , media centers are quickly becoming laboratories of digital learning . I like to think of the media center as the largest classroom in the school . We plan to offer many grants to our media centers to encourage innovation in helping our media centers transform to “ Maker Spaces ” and STEM labs .
Another improvement that we are embarking upon this school year is how we communicate with you . We hope that you will enjoy this first edition of the Iredell-Statesville School & Family Magazine . Thank you for your interest in public education . Like you , we are dedicated to providing the children in our community with a sound education that will be a springboard to a productive and meaningful life .
Sincerely , Brady Johnson Superintendent
Iredell-Statesville School & Family 1