At St. Stanislaus/St. Stephen School, we realize that there are not enough resources in schools to provide meaningful, individualized education that is also cutting edge. To make this happen, the school has changed many things since being selected a National Blue Ribbon School in 2008, especially forming partnerships in the community. In mathematics, we rewrote the curriculum, using Singapore Math as a guide. This rapidly accelerates students and allows for more advanced study. Numerous new partnerships have been formed, most notably with the local hospital to create a fitness lab at one of the buildings; and we now have several partnerships with the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Through a university grant, a Literacy Lab has been created where pre-service teachers are taught in the k-2 Building, and those college students work one-on-one with our children. This provides more than 600 hours of individual instruction for our students. Additionally, as a spin-off, a Fluency Clinic was created at the 3-5 Building to work with all students who fail to meet the 50 percent nationally in fluency and comprehension. The school also adopted Singapore Math, the most challenging math program we could find. This has allowed us to accelerate student learning. Through a grant with a local insurance company, the schools have added a large amount of technology, including SMART Boards and mini-computer labs in each room, and iPads in many grades (all grades will have them in 2016). Teacher training has helped the school infuse technology into all areas of learning, creating excitement and assisting students who struggle with learning.
Technology is a vital component in our school’s success
This article was posted on: December 1, 2015