EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
"In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."
Decision of United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education
Both general and specialized educations have assumed greater importance in the civic, social, and economic strength of Howard County, Maryland and the nation; the personal development of individuals; and the search for global solutions facing humankind. Our county's future depends on the priority given to the development of new knowledge and investments in human capital in the knowledge-based 21st century.
The founders believe students of all racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds can achieve in competitive standards in the words of Tucker and Codding "standard is not a cut point on a curve but rather a clear target for everyone to shoot at, a target that all students can achieve if they work hard enough."
Racing to the Top with an early start, Kisepel International Scholars – Gerty Montessori (KIS) seeks to establish early college preparation with a highly personalized student-centered approach to education using the acclaimed International Baccalaureate (IB) framework. The content and performance standards are aligned with the Maryland State Curriculum. Beyond academic rigor, the trans-disciplinary IB curricula address the development of the "whole student" - the intellectual, social, physical, aesthetic and cultural.
KIS will use the Montessori and Inquiry as the principal pedagogical approaches, which allow for multiple teaching methods. Both approaches are personally connected with the development of the student's comprehension of the world. The explicit expectation is that adept Montessori and Inquiry instructions will lead to responsible action, initiated by the student as result of the learning process. The action may extend a student's learning or may have broader social and community impact. Teachers will receive ongoing professional training with opportunities to interact with other IB teachers around the world, which is another element that makes the IB experience unique.
In the fourth and fifth grades, students will study rhetoric as part of our Character and Leadership courses, which will include foreign student exchange. The lessons and activities are designed to inspire, harness, and channel the natural instincts and intellectual curiosities of our young scholars and welcome their instincts to wonder, explore, and take positive action as a fundamental part of their adolescence development and early foundation for intellectual freedom, honesty, and integrity – traits that drive idealists and visionaries who have shaped our world.
Today's global economy, interdependence, instant communication and information technology are major determinants in contemporary life that extends beyond national boundaries. Global markets are increasingly open with goods, ideas, and investments moving freely around the world. To remain competitive, with vigorous institutions reinforcing adaptation to new knowledge, our students must acquire the competencies and values to participate in the world economy and world affairs. However, the abilities to understand and apply knowledge cannot be attained only through world history, foreign language classes, multicultural events, or cultural sensitivity workshops. These knowledge, skills and values are incorporated in all aspects of the curricula and extracurricular activities.
Therefore, KIS' educational program and scope are international in conception, in content, and in execution. They focus learning by reflecting it in the mirror of global understanding and economy sustained by global information technology. The significance of international education often resides in the opportunity to partake in an intensive language program coupled with the prospect of developing skills that result from complete immersion in a foreign culture.[1] KIS offers two dual language immersion programs. Students will have the option to enroll in either the English-French or English-Spanish Language Immersion. From kindergarten, a student can take the regular or an advance course in each subject based on abilities. Information technology is infused in all subjects.
Each student will have an I-GOAL (Individual Gateway On Acquiring Lessons.) It consists of academic benchmarks and desired social and personal attributes in the student's profile. Respect and acknowledgement for each student's individuality, background, and learning styles will establish the basis for trusting relationships because trust is essential for collaboration, learning, and growth to flourish.
KIS will operate the IB Primary Years Program from kindergarten to fifth grades. The School will open with kindergarten through second grades in August 2013 and add one grade in each academic year. In our Small Learning Community, the estimated number of students in the first year is 120 and 300 at full capacity in the fourth year.
Un addressed social and health care needs, inconsistent housing, unsafe environment, lack of educational amenities in the neighborhood and home interfere with learning and cause low attendance.[2] Designed as a community school, students will receive anti-poverty and wrap-around services to improve their academic, personal and social development.
Founded by teachers in Maryland and parents in Howard County, KIS proposes a parent-teacher majority Board of Directors, which reduces conflict, improves cooperation, and fosters the commitments and aspirations of parents and teachers as vested partners in educational outcomes. KIS will use site-based management and performance-based accountability to evaluate employees and educational programs.
Ultimately, the most effective accountability strategy will focus on the role of those closest to students: staff and parents having the authority, information, and training to assume the responsibility of directing teaching and learning. The school, home, and community are seen as interdependent and essential components of institutional development that KIS will implement in order to demonstrate improvements and contributions that educational reforms make to the welfare of students, the county, state and society as a whole.
Planning
"The Promise of Student Potential"
The discussions below provide insights on why we decided to submit a charter school application after following educational trends in Howard County, Maryland. Performance differences across different groups of students are important indicators of whether all students are achieving equitable outcomes. We agree with the HCPSS Superintendent, Dr. Renee Foose, who highlighted the need to close the achievement gap during her interview.
HCPSS is a top performing School District in the Maryland Public Schools System based on standardized test scores. However, further analyses of the disaggregated test scores show that while most students across demographic groups are making Adequate Yearly Progress, there is achievement gap with low-income, African American, Latino, and students with limited English proficiency performing lower than their higher performing peers. The achievement gap begins from preschool, is experienced through elementary and middle school, and it does close by the time students graduate from high school.
Sometimes, lowered expectations from the traditionally lower performing groups are unconsciously institutionalized in school cultures when it becomes normal to expect the disparities in student outcomes.
Percentage of Grade 2 Students Achieving Proficient in Reading and Mathematics by
Student Group, 2011 Administration of the SAT 10
| | Number Tested | Reading Number | Percentage | Mathematics Number | Percentage |
| Student Group | | | | | |
| American Indian /Alaskan Native | * | * | * | * | * |
| Asian | 645 | 578 | 89.6 | 593 | 91.9 |
| Black/African American | 739 | 508 | 68.7 | 502 | 67.9 |
| Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | * | * | * | * | * |
| Hispanic/Latino of any race | 331 | 220 | 66.4 | 226 | 68.2 |
| White | 1,683 | 1,503 | 89.3 | 1,478 | 87.8 |
| Two or more races | 299 | 258 | 86.2 | 248 | 82.9 |
| English Language Learner | 288 | 167 | 57.9 | 179 | 62.1 |
| **FARMS | 653 | 392 | 60.0 | 370 | 56.6 |
| Special Education | 309 | 159 | 52.4 | 144 | 46.6 |
*To protect student confidentiality, data are not reported for groups of fewer than 10 students.
**Free and Reduced-Price Meals System for low-income students.
Other research[3] indicates at least half of the achievement gap between low-income students and their economically advantaged peers existed prior to kindergarten entry. Children from low-income families are more likely to start school with limited language skills, health, social and emotional problems that interfere with learning. In the words of Lee and Burkham (2002), these students are behind at the starting gate; that is, they are even behind when they enter school. The task, then, is not simply to prevent students from falling behind; they are already behind! David et al. (2004). The larger the gap at school entry, the harder it is to close.
Mind the (other) Gap
Beyond addressing differences in average performance or the percentage of students in each group meeting minimum proficiency standards, there is a need to redress the "excellence gap" of high achievers. This gap sheds light on who is receiving (or relatively under-represented in) gifted education services.
Data from HPCSS mirrors reports from the National Assessment of Educational Progress[4] that reveals performance gap among top performing students – again with low-income, African American and Hispanic students under-represented and performing lower in Gifted and Talented programs and Advanced Placement Tests.
Output of the Planning
Based on the findings from the CBPR, the Planning Coordinators developed the flagship features of the School, which are aligned with the mission, vision, educational philosophy of KIS.
"It is empowering to know that teachers and parents can be directly be involved in designing a school and take ultimate responsibility for outcomes." Ben Bamba, a community organizer.
KIS educational model and program, with a comprehensive support for learning, address barriers to equitable outcomes for all students and offer competitive standards and curricula in a Small Learning Community.
[1] The Value of International Education to U.S. Business and Industry Leaders: Key Findings from a Survey of CEOs. IIE Briefing. Paper.Published in October 2009.
[2] Look at Community Schools. Center of American Progress
[3] Closing the Achievement Gap: Lagging Achievement of Disadvantaged Pupils Remains a Critical Problem The Progress of Education Reform 2003, v 4 n 1 March 2003. p 1-4. Published by the Education Commission of the States.
[4] Excellence Gap State Profile (Maryland) by Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.
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