Fall/Winter 2008-09 Issue - Center Grove Community School ...

school
review
The New 3 R’s:
Relationships
Relevance
Rigor
the official publication of the
Center Grove Community School Corporation
inside:
From the Superindendent
Our Common Goal 2
The New 3 R’s 3
Relationships: E-portfolios 3
CGHS Sports
2008 Spring Overview 4
2008 Fall Highlights 4
“Moore” than Blocking
& Tackling 4
Student News
Local Scholarships 5
CGHS to host 2010 NASC 5
Around the District
Overheard 6
National Merit Semifinalists 6
Four Star Schools 6
Annual Day of Caring 6
New School Board Members 7
Coming Soon!
November 17
School Board Meeting 7 pm, ESC
November 17
Johnson County Choral Festival
7 pm, CGHS PAC
“Reading Adventures”
2nd Annual Community Literacy Night
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Pleasant Grove Elementary School
Fall/Winter 2008-09

new and revovated facilities
investing in the future
Dr. Steven Stephanoff,
Superintendent
School Review
I became a
teacher 38 years
ago. Oh, sure.
More money and
perhaps a more
secure financial
future could likely
be found in the
private sector. But
I did not become
a teacher for the
money. At the
age of 22, with
a passion for
education, I and the rest of the class of 1970
believed we could make a difference in the lives
of young people.
Today, I am so pleased with my choice to
follow that passion. Perhaps you’ve heard me
say many times that it is an exciting time to
be at Center Grove. It’s also an exciting time
to be in education. We are experiencing a
paradigm shift in this country that is likely
unrivaled at any time in the history of public
education. Technology has changed and
continues to shape our world, and we are
challenged to educate the next generation
of Americans to succeed in jobs that don’t
yet exist, and to compete globally in a world
whose face changes almost daily.
That’s why it’s so exciting to be at Center
Grove. This is a community that believes
in and supports education. Our teachers,
administrators, parents, and school board
members recognize that we must not only keep
pace in a rapidly shifting environment but, as
a premier school corporation, we can set the
pace. We must provide facilities to serve a
growing student population, develop programs
which enable our students to achieve their
tremendous potential, and equip graduates
with 21 st century skills.
The proposed elementary project will
provide equity in facilities and programs across
the district, and will meet the Center Grove
expectation of excellence through expansion
of academic programs and offerings while
increasing efficiency of operations.
Center Grove High School is literally
bursting at the seams. Several years ago, it
was obvious that we needed to improve and
expand the building to serve a growing student
population. When the 7:30 a.m. bell rings for
students to make their ways to their classes, one
teacher describes it as a “mass of humanity”
when traffic from the overcrowded cafeteria
and several hallways begins to move toward
cramped stairwells and undersized corridors
throughout the building. Other teachers give a
mock warning that “you take your life in your
hands” to be in those areas before school or
during lunch and passing periods.
Rather than just call in the construction
crew shouting, “make it bigger, quickly,” an
insightful school and community group took
a step back and said, “Wait, if we must make it
bigger, let’s also make it better.” The proposed
High School Redesign is the result of roughly
four years of hard work by this dedicated
group of teachers, administrators, professional
groups, parents, students, the school board,
and architects. The proposed design makes
the high school better in many ways, with
improved traffic flow and natural light in halls
and stairways, a larger and more efficient
cafeteria, increased and improved instruction
space equipped with the latest technology
capabilities, more efficient use through multipurpose
spaces, and expanded and updated
athletic facilities.
CGHS during morning passing period.
My passion for education is now paired with
my confidence in the large group of dedicated
Center Grove educators and individuals who
thoughtfully and diligently crafted the current
proposal in the very best interests of Center
Grove students and our entire community.
Because I have so much confidence in them
and their motives, talents, and abilities, it is my
responsibility to present their plan accurately
to other educators, the school board and the
community, as well as through the media.
Center Grove Community, we are not at
odds. You as parents, taxpayers, and concerned
and involved citizens are on the same side as
your educators, administration, school board,
and superintendent. We are all on the side
of acting in the best interests of current and
future Center Grove students. The high school
administration is not at odds with the district
administration, and neither is at odds with
the school board. Instead, we are all working
together toward a common goal.
None of us has anything to gain personally
by completing this project. Corporately, we
gain continuing excellence in our school
corporation and we protect our property
values by doing so. We also create a learning
environment and facilities of which all of us can
continue to be proud. The resources required
to accomplish this do not simply represent how
much it will cost. Center Grove students, their
families and the township will realize a valuable
return on investment. This return will be
evident as our students and graduates achieve
success, property values increase, and quality
citizens are drawn to a community that takes
pride in and is willing to invest in the future of
its school district.
Often, I hear stories from people who
moved to White River Township because of the
excellence of Center Grove schools, including
several of our current school employees. Some
of our new teachers and administrators have
taken pay cuts to serve here, because these
educators look forward to being a part of the
progress and development that is taking place.
Educators have passion. With parents, they
likely have more passion than anyone to see
our students succeed.
I encourage you to move forward with
the same conviction that led us to where we
are today – on the cusp of creating a high
school that will serve our students and this
community well for decades. Approving
and building a better school based on the
research, study, and vision of the High School
Redesign Team will provide well-rounded
Center Grove graduates with the competitive
edge they need to compete in the changing
world they will face.
Together, we can provide excellent
programs and facilities for our students and
preserve our home values, with a minimal
impact on property taxes. With vision and
purpose, the future is very bright indeed for
our students and the entire community. As
your superintendent, I am privileged to work
side by side with you as together we continually
raise the bar of expectation in our district. It
IS an exciting time to be at Center Grove!
We want to hear from you. To make it
convenient for you to provide feedback
or ask questions, we have added a new
section to the website at www.centergrove.
k12.in.us. This section consolidates all
the information from the construction
projects on the district home page. Just
click on “Center Grove Construction
Projects.” There you’ll find everything
you ever wanted to know and more about
the facilities plan! Please take some time
to familiarize yourself with the project,
review the drawings for the high school
expansion and redesign, and be sure to
send us your questions or comments.
Page 2

long-range facilities plan
the new 3 r’s
We adopted the “New 3 R’s” terminology
from the 2005 Bill Gates speech to the National
Governors’ Association entitled, “America’s
High Schools are Obsolete.”
“High Tech High’s scores on statewide
academic tests are 15 percent higher than the
rest of the district; their SAT scores are an
average of 139 points higher.
These are the kind of results you can get
when you design a high school to prepare every
student for college.
These are not isolated examples. These
are schools built on principles that can be
applied anywhere – the new three R’s, the basic
building blocks of better high schools:
The first R is Rigor – making sure all
students are given a challenging curriculum
that prepares them for college or work;
The second R is Relevance – making sure
kids have courses and projects that clearly
relate to their lives and their goals;
The third R is Relationships – making sure
kids have a number of adults who know them,
look out for them, and push them to achieve.”
We work with those definitions, but after
additional contemplation, research, and
applying the concepts to Center Grove, we
changed the order to relationships, relevance,
and rigor.
Willard Daggett, Ph.D., founder and
President of the International Center for
Keystone is a class that all freshmen take during their first semester.
The class is an orientation to high school, and develops study skills,
career interests, and college readiness. Career interests are identified
through career inventories, career clusters, and job shadowing. The
students also learn about college requirements for their potential career
choices.
The final exam for Keystone has been
to create a portfolio which included their
high school career major (one of eight),
essay, a Power Point presentation of their
job shadowing experience, and other
information. The portfolio was placed in
a binder and later provided to their STaR
teachers.
This semester, the class is utilizing
the Epsilen Environment, the on-line
professional networking environment
which each CG middle and high school
student may access through a personal
account. The final exams will now be to create an electronic portfolio
which can follow the students throughout their high school careers and
beyond.
and how they will be incorporated into the proposed High School Redesign.
Leadership in Education, said that the
point about relationships is that learning is
personal. When students have strong, trusting
relationships with their teachers, they work
harder and achieve more. It’s so common and
so easy to get excited about the rigor (this could
be technology, new classroom pedagogy, etc.)
that we forget to build strong foundational
relationships before setting off on our journey.
Once the relationships are established, we
can move to relevance. The more students
understand how what they are learning is
relevant to them, to their community, or to the
world at large; the more motivated they will be
to learn.
next issue:
smaller learning communities
Paul Buck, Assistant Principal at Center Grove High School and leader of the High School Redesign Team, talks about the New Three R’s,
As leaders it is important to create change
narratives that address relevance. The most
powerful narratives address relevance in two
ways: 1) How is this new action or way of doing
things going to affect YOU, as an individual?
and 2) How is this new action or way of
doing things going to affect the world outside
yourself?
Leaders who can create narratives that
express the ways change will take care of the
stakeholder’s personal concerns, and at the
same time explain how the change will be
making the classroom, school, or world a better
place; have set the scene for great things to
happen.
Relationships and relevance make rigor
possible.
When the decision was made by the
community to maintain one high school for
the district, it came with a mandate to keep the
school personal, and as enrollment continues
to grow to make it “feel” smaller. In the next
issue, we’ll address the role smaller learning
communities will play. They affect this
element of the equation, however, in creating
an environment for student-teacher and peer
relationships to develop and thrive. Another
excerpt from the Bill Gates speech:
“The three R’s are almost always easier to
promote in smaller high schools. The smaller
size gives teachers and staff the chance to
“The New 3 R’s” continued on page 7
Relationships: Electronic Portfolios
Tracy Buck, CGHS Lead Teacher for Keystone: Orientation to Life and Careers, talks about the new electronic portfolios
being created by freshmen in the class of 2012.
The e-portfolios will include a resume, showcase (work they’ve
done, presentations, essays, art work, video projects, audio files, and
more), interest inventories (value survey, learning style, personality
traits correlated to types of jobs), post secondary education plan, and
career and college resources. The menu is customizable, so students
may also include additional information such as
transcripts and test scores. They may also apply
access codes for information that is private.
When these students are assigned to their
STaR or future advisory classes, their teachers
can simply access their e-portfolios on-line,
and learn all about the aptitude and interests of
the students. This allows the relationship piece
to begin before the students ever arrive in the
classroom!
“Everything they do here is preparation for
the college classroom,” said Mrs. Buck. “And the
kids love it! They come in and ask every day, ‘Are
we going to the computer lab?’”
When they begin to apply for college, scholarships, or the job market,
they can simply include a link or URL in their applications and their
e-portfolios will be available for viewing.
Page 3 Fall/Winter 2008-09

spring and fall
sports overview
2008 Spring Sports Awards and
Accomplishments
Johnson County Team Champions
Baseball
Boys Golf
Boys Track
Softball
Girls Tennis
Girls Track
IHSAA Sectional Champions
Boys Track, Boys Golf, Girls Tennis
State Runners-Up
Boys Volleyball (IBVCA)
IHSAA Sectional Individual Champions
Shelbi Burnett (1600 Meter Run), Sarah Higgens (3200 Meter Run),
Katy Watson (Shotput and Discus), Adrienne Cristofoli (Pole Vault),
Kyle Jones (100 & 200 Meter Run), Luke Swift (110 Hurdles), Tanner
Riley (Pole Vault), Kyle Jones (100 & 200 Meter Run), and Drew
Barnard (Golf)
IHSAA Regional Individual Champion
Tanner Riley (Pole Vault)
MIC Individual Champions
Shelbi Burnett (800 and 1600 Meter Run)
Tanner Riley (Pole Vault)
2008 Fall Sports Awards and
Accomplishments*
Johnson County Team Champions
Girls Golf Boys Tennis Volleyball
Boys Cross Country Girls Cross Country
MIC Champions
Boys Soccer, Volleyball, Football
IHSAA Sectional Champions
Boys Tennis, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Volleyball
IHSAA Regional Champions
Boys Tennis, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Girls Cross Country
IHSAA Team Semi-State & State Champions
Boys Tennis
MIC, IIHSAA Sectional, Regional, & State Individual
Champion
Sarah Higgens - Cross Country
All-Conference Athletes - Female
Kylie Fennig, Golf; Sarah Higgens, Cross Country; Shelbi Burnett,
Corss Country
*Note: At press time, the football team is preparing to meet
Bloomington North in the Sectional Final. Go Trojans!
Center Grove Football: “Moore” than Blocking and Tackling
If you ever take the opportunity to join the Center High School football team on the field after a home game, you’ll soon realize this football
program is more than just blocking and tackling. Yes, you’ll hear Coach Eric Moore take a few minutes to discuss the game highlights, but the
majority of the talk is encouraging and reminding the young men what he expects out of them. You’ll hear him emphasize the importance of taking
care of their bodies by eating the right foods, hydrating properly and getting plenty of rest. You’ll hear him remind the players the importance of
dong homework and keeping up on their grades; you’ll hear him talk about setting a good example in and out of school and the importance of being
a positive role model. And you’ll hear him remind the kids to surround themselves with those friends and family who love and care for them…and
as the Trojans lift their helmets for a “Trojan Pride,” you’ll hear the voice in the middle tell the kids that he loves them…
As do many of the wonderful Center Grove athletic teams, this football program develops young, sometimes skinny, immature and naïve boys
into strong mature young gentlemen. Here are just a few of the many “off-field” initiatives coach has his team involved in:
• During pre-season, there were groups that volunteered to go downtown to serve and “experience” the homeless shelters in Indianapolis.
• A couple of years ago the football program invested in a Character Building program. Coach Moore assigns two to three coaches per grade
(freshmen through seniors) and they meet on a regular basis to discuss life lessons and temptations that young men face. The purpose of the
program is to help prepare these young men to deal with some of life’s challenges before they are faced with them.
• Coach Moore has also encouraged his senior players to visit the Bantam Fields and to help inspire the younger football players who so look up to
and admire the high school guys. This helps not only the younger kids, but also helps and challenges the senior players on their communication
skills and how to speak in front of groups.
• After the terrible floods this past spring, some of the football team volunteered on of their Saturdays to help some of the flood victims down in
the Columbus area.
• The team volunteers on an annual basis to bail hay for an elderly widow in the area.
So when you look at the Sports section on Saturday morning and see the scores, stats and articles remember it’s more than that…it’s about the
Center Grove school system, through its Athletic Department and through its football program, providing an opportunity to help educate and
develop more than 100 young men to be productive members in our society. It’s about a leader/coach using a fun game to teach young men about
discipline, accountability and building positive and lifelong friendships.
Brad Riley
Center Grove Football Parents Club/President
School Review
Page 4

class of 2008
scholarships
Local Scholarships Awarded
Justin Alexander ROTC Scholarship
Chelsea Andersen Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica Senior Scholarship
Lindsey Bailey Knights of Columbus Scholarship
Katelyn Bird National Merit Macy’s Foundation Scholarship
Indiana Heart Physicians Scholarship
Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Scholarship
Indiana Academic All-Star Nominee
Angela Bonagura Johnson Memorial Guild Scholarship
Colleen Coley Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Evan Danner Perfect Attendance 13 years
Dillon Etter Hoosier Hero, Lilly Endowment, Hoosier Scholar
Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Emily Fergason Psi Iota Xi Zeta Epsilon Chapter Scholarship
Katie Foltz Perfect Attendance 4 years
Renee Hart White River Rotary Scholarship
Anne Kaylor Johnson County 4-H Foundation Scholarship
JCCF Lilly Endowment
Kate Kim
Sertoma Club of Greenwood Memorial Scholarship
Keaton Kramer Coca-Cola Classic Logo Design Award
Cecil Head Art Scholarship
Kimberly Kreuzman Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Scholarship
Cecil Head Art Scholarship
Psi Iota Xi Zeta Epsilon Chapter Scholarship
Joshua Lofgren CG Tri Kappa
Emily Mennel CG Choir Parents Organization
Jared Norman CG Alumni Award
Julia Nussbaum CG Tri Kappa
Haleigh Pitcock Mike Watkins Real Estate Scholarship
St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers Auxilliary
Michelle Price Clarence “Buck” Boyce Jr. Memorial Scholarship
Barton Robison Project eXcel State Runner-Up in Music
Angela Robley Otterbein College Dean’s Award and Endowed Scholar
Sean Sall
Hoosier Scholar
Libby Sisson It’s Our Community Health Network Scholar
Kelsey Smith Irv Stringer Memorial Scholarship
Lindsay Smith Project eXcel State Runner-Up in Music
CG Tri Kappa
Brendan Sullivan Cecil Head Art Scholarship
Brooke Van Paris White River Rotary Scholarship
Christina Vidal Johnson Memorial Guild Scholarship
Jacob Walker Hoosier Scholar
Jenny Wang Principal’s Leadership Award
Indiana Bank and Trust Leadership Award
Ali Warner Johnson County 4-H Foundation Scholarship
Heather Washburn Johnson County Community Scholar
Indiana Bank and Trust Leadership Award
Vectren Energy Scholarship
Kristen West Greenwood Kiwanis Club Service Scholarship
Danny Zarro Perfect Attendance 4 years
cghs to host 2010 convention
pay it forward
Start the Engines of
Leadership
National Association of Student
Councils Convention
June 26th-29th, 2010
Join Old National Bank in becoming a financial
sponsor for this amazing event!
Contact Anne Elsner elsnera@centergrove.k12.in.us
or Heidi Sichting sichtingh@centergrove.k12.in.us
for more information.
NASC Community Service
Mission Statement
We, the NASC Community Service
Committee for the 2010 National Student
Council Convention, make every effort to plan
an unforgettable day of community service
that will show a high level of compassion. We
hope that the Boys and Girls Club youth will be
positively influenced by the delegate-mentors
and the powerful messages they hear both
from motivational speakers and the Power of
Children exhibit. Our dream in the end is to
create a pay-it-forward mentality for both the
Boys and Girls Club youth and the delegates,
so that the delegates will continue helping their
communities upon returning home.
At our convention, a Boys/ Girls Club child
will be paired with 2 high school delegates for
a one-day trip to the Indianapolis Children’s
Museum. They will see the Power of Children
Exhibit, see reenactments by Museum staff,
and hear a motivational speaker who was a
Boys Club member as a child in inner-city Los
Angeles. Sponsorships of this event are available.
Contact Anne Elsner elsnera@centergrove.
k12.in.us or Heidi Sichting sichtingh@
centergrove.k12.in.us for more information.
Page 5 Fall/Winter 2008-09

happenings
around the district
Coming Soon!
Center Grove High School to Host
Johnson County Choral Festival
The 2008 Johnson County Choral Festival
will feature choirs from Whiteland, Edinburgh,
and Center Grove. Rhythm Masters and
Expressions will be performing from
Whiteland High School. Edinburgh’s Lancer
Singers Show Choir will also be featured.
Host Center Grove
will present
performances by
CG Singers, CG
Sound System and
the Debtones. The
Festival will be held
at 7:00 p.m. on
Monday, November
17, 2008 at the
The Debtones Perform
Center Grove High
School Performing
Arts Center. The public is invited to attend.
Tickets are available at the door for $3.00 each.
2nd Annual Community Literacy
Night with Safari Steve
“Reading Adventures,” the second annual
Community Literacy Night will be held from
5:30 until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18
at Pleasant Grove Elementary School. Come
for a pizza dinner
(proceeds to benefit
Riley Hospital for
Children), and stay
for the fun! Don’t
miss special guest
Safari Steve and
his animal friend
(Silly Safari Show
at 6:00 pm), along
with guest readers
Superintendent Dr.
Steven Stephanoff,
Colts Cheerleaders, Safari Steve & Friend
State Representative Woody Burton, and
others. You may even win a fabulous door
prize from the Colts, Pacers, Fever, Indians, Ice,
Cheesecake Factory, or Connor Prairie. It’s an
adventure for the whole family! Each student
who donates five children’s books will eat
dinner for free!
Overheard
“I can’t believe my senior year is almost
half over. I wish CG had a college, so I
could just keep going to school here!”
- CGHS Senior
Four Center Grove Seniors
National Merit Semifinalists
Four Center Grove Seniors were named as
Semifinalists in the 54th annual National Merit
Scholarship Program.
Semifinalists, (left to right) McKenzie Weeks,
daughter of Tim and Kim Weeks; Zachary Stallard,
son of Linda Stallard and Donald Stallard; Aaron Cox,
son of Patricia Giever and Thomas Cox; and Brian
Devault, son of Ron and Marcia Devault.
These academically talented high school
seniors have an opportunity to continue
in the competition for a National Merit ®
Scholarship. Semifinalists must fulfill several
requirements to advance to the Finalist level
of the competition. Approximately half of the
Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship,
earning the Merit Scholar ® title.
To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist
must have an outstanding academic record
throughout high school, be endorsed and
recommended by the high school principal,
and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s
earlier performance on the qualifying test. The
Semifinalist and a high school official must
submit a detailed scholarship application,
which includes the student’s self-descriptive
essay and information about the Semifinalist’s
participation and leadership in school
and community activities. National Merit
Scholarship winners of 2009 will be announced
beginning in April and ending in July.
Six CG Seniors also received National Merit
commendation.
Commended: (left to right) Alexander Kuka, son of
Joe and Anne Kuka; Chase Coy, son of David and Kim
Coy; Garrett Knutson, son of Mark and Juli Knutson;
James Kramer, son of Tim and Christine Kramer;
Dan Kindervater, son of John and Vicki Kindervater;
and Sam Karozos, son of Jim and Amy Karozos.
Center Grove 4-Star Schools
The Indiana Four Star Awards program
was established to recognize schools that have
demonstrated academic excellence during the
past year. Schools that place in the state upper
25% in student attendance rates, mathematics
proficiency scores, language arts proficiency
scores, and the Percent of Students passing
both Language Arts and Mathematics are
eligible to receive a Four Star Award. Schools
must meet all legal standards and also make
Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left
Behind for the appropriate year.
Five Center Grove Schools have been named
four-star schools: Center Grove High School,
Center Grove Elementary, Pleasant Grove
Elementary, Sugar Grove Elementary, and
West Grove Elementary. Congratulations to all
the students, faculty, and staff of our four-star
schools!
CGHS Day of Caring
Center Grove juniors held their annual Day
of Caring on September 16. The students were
busy cleaning, painting, and sprucing up our
community!
Drew Calvert, Justin Spicer, Chase Brown, and
Shawn Bui work on landscaping at PGES
Justin Spicer, CGHS junior was working
hard, but enjoying the time off from classes.
Smiling, he explained, “It’s great! It gets us out
of school, and it’s helping out the community.”
The students were readying Pleasant Grove
Elementary to host a fundraiser for the “A Little
Wiggle Room” fund, benefitting students with
autism. Thanks to all the juniors and staff who
participated!
Katie Sparks (pictured) and Liz Brown stained the
wooden bridge in front of Pleasant Grove.
School Review
Page 6

election 2008
welcome new board members
November 4, 2008 was a truly historical election day. In the
shadow of all the national excitement, Center Grove is fortunate
to have elected two dedicated community
members to our Board of School Trustees.
Welcome to Carole Tumey and John Steed, who
will take office on January 1, 2009. Both have
long standing connections to Center Grove, as
Tumey spent 40 years employed by the district as
a teacher, coach, and assistant athletics director.
She retired in 2003. Steed is a former school
board member, having served from 1993 until
2003.
Tumey and Steed will replace current board
member Jackie Ponder and President Matt
Carol S. Tumey
(Photo of Steed not available)
Shepherd who did not run for reelection. We want to thank both
Mrs. Ponder and Mr. Shepherd for their tireless dedication and
service to the Center Grove school board throughout
their terms, and we are confident that we can count
on their continued support and interest in our school
district after their official service is completed. Their
many contributions and valuable insight are such an
asset to our community, and we very much appreciate
the significant time and effort they have provided as
school board members.
According to school board policy, the annual Board
Organization Meeting will be held on or before January
15, 2009 to select officers.
The New 3 R’s, continued from page 3
create an environment where students achieve
at a higher level and rarely fall through the
cracks. Students in smaller schools are more
motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel
safer, and graduate and attend college in higher
numbers.”
Our goal at CGHS is for at least one
adult to know each student well. We want
student contact with adults to be positive
and encouraging. We don’t want our kids to
only hear, “Don’t do that,” from teachers and
administrators at school. To accomplish this
goal, our extensive research and observation
has led us to the recommendation of creating
smaller learning communities.
“The point about relationships
is that learning is
personal. When students
have strong, trusting
relationships with their
teachers, they work harder
and achieve more.”
– Willard Daggett
Our efforts to meet the “personal”
mandate began with the implementation of a
90-minute Instructional Resource Period, or
IRP. This worked exceptionally well for some
departments, but not for others.
To improve these efforts, mandatory study
hall for each student was implemented, and
IRP was replaced with a 30-minute STaR
(Students, Teachers and Relationships) period.
STaR classes are designed to be small, with
about 15-16 in this year’s freshman classes.
Three days a week, students have open STaR
periods, during which they can meet with
teachers to get help if they need it. Thursdays
are closed STaRs, allowing teachers and
students to work on relationships.
With the implementation of smaller
learning communities, students will likely
have a mixed grade level and/or interest based
advisory period. “This is where we believe
relationships will be nurtured, as adults learn
the aptitude, interests, and personalities of the
students in their communities,” said Mr. Buck.
Built in tutoring and mentoring opportunities
are also expected to result.
Upon this relational foundation, relevance
will then help to engage students in their
education by making real-world connections
like community service, service learning
projects, internships, and mentoring. We
will involve our community members and
businesses in the shift toward project and
problem based learning.
“The more students
understand how what they
are learning is relevant to
them, to their community,
or to the world at large;
the more motivated they
will be to learn.”
– Willard Daggett
This will start with New Tech High and
Early College, then the other SLC’s will follow
suit. This will allow students the opportunity
to collaborate, produce, and present to the
community and parents, thereby externalizing
the enemy, or placing the teacher on the same
side with the student.
Relationships and relevance will bring us
to the rigor piece; these engaged students will
be equipped to meet academic standards and
state requirements. We are also making sure
that students take the right test, the ACT or
the SAT. This will make our students college
eligible. By shifting from teaching to learning,
with teachers accountable to ensure the
students master the instruction, they will also
be college ready.
“We are gearing our
curriculum to make college
an option for every student…
by equipping kids with 21 st
Century Skills.”
– Paul Buck
At Indiana University, about 33,000
applications are made for 7,000 freshman slots.
According to Dr. Connelly in his book, College
Knowledge, “High schools do a good job of
making students college eligible, but a poor
job of making them college knowledgeable, or
ready.”
We want CGHS graduates to be as versatile
as possible, explains Mr. Buck. “We are gearing
our curriculum to make college an option
for every student, even those who don’t go
immediately following high school graduation.
By equipping kids with 21 st Century Skills,
whenever the light bulb comes on, they will be
ready to go back to school,” he said.
Page 7 Fall/Winter 2008-09

ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Steven Stephanoff
Superintendent
Dr. Janet Boyle
Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Bill Long
Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Paul Gabriel
Chief Financial Officer
BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
Mr. Matt Shepherd, President
Dr. Scott Gudeman, Vice President
Dr. Jim Copp, Secretary
Mr. Mark Dietel, Member
Mrs. Jackie Ponder, Member
school
review
Center Grove Community School Corporation
4800 W. Stones Crossing Road
Greenwood, IN 46143-9100
(317) 881-9326
www.centergrove.k12.in.us
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage
PAID
Greenwood, IN
Permit No. 32
On the Cover: Students enjoyed reading with Clifford the Big Red Dog during 2007 Literacy Night
Clifford will join us again for the 2nd Annual Literacy Night on November 18, 2008!
Be sure to check out the CGCSC Website!
www.centergrove.k12.in.us
Don’t miss the “Center Grove Construction Projects” link on the home page!
You’ll find news items, a fact check, the high school redesign page, budget &
finance information, and community feedback. Let us know what you think!
Why Change?
“Change does not come
easily. The problem with
today’s schools is not
that they are no longer as
good as they once were but
rather that they are precisely
as they always were, while
the needs of our students
and society have changed
significantly.”
– Adam Urbanski,
Revolution of Rising Expectations,
1995.
Good is the enemy of great.
And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.
We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t
have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people
attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The
vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority
become quite good – and that is their main problem.
– Jim Collins, Good to Great
Soon after he became superintendent, Dr. Stephanoff challenged our district to
move from good to great. As the coordinator of our high school redesign project,
my main responsibility is to help Center Grove High School become great.
- Paul Buck, CGHS Assistant Principal
The Center Grove Community School Corporation Mission:
To develop knowlegdeable, confident and responsible citizens by providing an extensive
learning experience relevant to the interests and capabilities of every student,
in partnership with the home and community.
Fall 2008 Page 8