CCSD ACADEMIES FINE ARTS CURRICULUM:

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1 CCSD ACADEMIES FINE ARTS CURRICULUM: Hasty ES and Oak Grove ES Fine Arts Academies are providing kindergarten through the highest grade level at each academy (sixth grade at Hasty ES and fifth grade at Oak Grove ES) a climate of high expectation, discipline and academic rigor. An integrated approach to education through the arts creates a personal connection to learning and adds depth in the classroom through a creative, inquiry-based process of teaching and learning. Based on the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS), the comprehensive Fine Arts program provides opportunities for students to develop a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance and goal-setting skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond. It also provides another opportunity for parental, community, and business involvement with each of the schools, including arts and humanities organizations. Every classroom teacher is involved by providing integrated arts (music, dance, drama, visual arts, etc.) through academic lessons a minimum one time each week. Teachers at both schools participate in ArtsNOW: Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum. STEM CURRICULUM: Ball Ground ES, Canton ES, Clark Creek ES & Holly Springs ES STEM Discovery (Grades K 2) : All students in grades kindergarten through second grade are being provided opportunities to become familiar with STEM vocabulary and are using project-based learning and the engineering design process. To provide more consistency throughout the STEM Academies in, two units with accompanying lessons in science content for second grade will be developed during STEM Cherokee S = SCIENCE T = TECHNOLOGY E = ENGINEERING M = MATH STEM Explorations (Grades 3 5 and expand to Grade 6 at Ball Ground ES, Canton ES and Holly Springs ES in ): All students in grades three through five participated in STEM project-based learning and the engineering design process. Two units with lesson plans were developed for each of the grade levels. STEM Cherokee 2013 provided time to make necessary revisions to the first two units for grades 3 5, create the last two units for grades 3 5 and created two semester-long units for sixth grade. The sixth grade unit is based on science standards and all sixth grade science classes throughout the District will have access to the unit and lesson plans for the school year. As units are developed, materials purchased and professional learning provided, careful attention is being placed on the need to replicate. Units with accompanying lesson plans are available on the District Intranet for use throughout the District.

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3 STEM Units for Grades 3-6, GRADE 1ST QTR 2ND QTR 3RD QTR 4TH QTR 3 4 Engineering Design and Robotics Engineering Design and Robotics Ecosystems Magnetism Energy Water Simple Machines Light and Sound 5 Engineering Design and Robotics Classification (Plants and Animals) Electricity Land Forms 6 Geology/Plate Tectonics Weather/Hydrology Middle School STEM During the school year, one Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) eighth grade STEM course offering will be available at each of the middle schools. This course was developed in collaboration with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC) through Georgia Institute of Technology. The course consists of four thematic nine-week Robotic and Engineering courses. In addition, sixth- and seventh-grade students will be offered the opportunity to participate in a Foundations of STEM course through the Technology connections classes. Family and Consumer Science (FACS) connections classes will provide additional opportunities for STEM education by way of 16 newly implemented web-based learning modules. These modules will support and enhance the current FACS standards by allowing students to explore and apply STEM standards in this area of study. Each middle school will continue to plan with its feeder schools to provide timely and thorough information in regards to the opportunities available in STEM courses. High School STEM Each of the District s six high schools is working towards the STEM status application process. Five of the six high schools have received an Advanced Placement (AP) STEM grant in order to offer more course work at the AP level. Eighty percent of CCSD students who took an AP exam in 2012 scored a 3, 4 or 5, as compared to the National average of 59 percent. The State Department of Education awarded all five eligible CCSD high schools AP honors based on the results of AP exams taken in Cherokee HS, Creekview HS, Etowah HS, Sequoyah HS and Woodstock HS were named AP Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Schools, as well as being named AP STEM Achievement Schools. River Ridge HS will be eligible for the designation next year.

4 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CCSD STEM AND FINE ARTS ACADEMY TEACHERS STEM Cherokee In a collaborative effort between the Departments of Educational Programs and Technology, STEM Cherokee 2013 was implemented during the summer. Two teachers in each grade level (three through five) from each STEM school worked together to revise the first and second unit and subsequent lesson plans, including assessments. Additionally, the third and fourth STEM units and subsequent lesson plans and assessments were developed. Sixth-grade Science teachers from each STEM school, as well as from middle schools which serve sixth grade, worked collaboratively during the STEM Cherokee 2013 to develop two semester-long Science units based on current Science standards. The unit was aligned with the Common Core Science Standards to be implemented in Second-grade Science teachers from each STEM school collaborated during the STEM Cherokee 2013 to develop a semester-long Science unit based on current Science standards. Materials were purchased and are available at the STEM and middle schools which will support the implementation for these units. Units and lesson plans will be available on the District intranet. STEM 21 STEM 21 is a training model, developed collaboratively by the Educational Programs and Technology Departments and delivered to teachers working in the STEM Academies at Canton ES, Ball Ground ES, Holly Springs ES and Clark Creek ES during the school year. This model supports the STEM focus and project-based learning through provision of both foundational and unique skill development and knowledge for teachers, as well as an enhanced learning environment for students. The plan represents a total of 21 technology training sessions for a total of 10.5 hours of training per teacher. Training included strategies on implementation of the Engineering Design Process (EDP) and for creating a project-based learning environment that supports a STEM curriculum while utilizing Depth of Knowledge and higher-level thinking and reasoning skills. Teachers were being provided time to explore the Eight Mathematical Practices and corresponding instructional strategies. Additional technology training and support provide for successful implementation of the National Education Technology Standards (NETS), making connections outside the classroom with video conferencing equipment, implementing a robotics unit and showcasing student work with a variety of technology and presentation tools. Fine Arts Training During the summer of 2012 and during the school year, staff members and administrators from each of the two fine arts academies participated in training provided by ArtsNOW: Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum, a professional learning initiative that builds the capacity of educators to implement and disseminate arts integrated instructional strategies to meet the needs of all students. ArtsNOW materials were developed with five primary collaborators: Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, Emory University Department of Theater Studies, Georgia State University School of Music, the Savannah College of Art & Design/ Atlanta and The National Consortium for Music in Education. The goal is to equip teachers with the knowledge and strategies to bring creativity and the arts into daily classroom instruction so students succeed academically, socially and artistically. During the school year, the schools will continue working with ArtsNOW to provide the same level of professional development for those teachers who did not receive the initial arts integration training and for those teachers new to the Fine Arts Academy. In the winter of 2014, staff will begin developing Cherokee County School District art integration lessons in each content area which will be shared on the District Intranet.

5 ACADEMIES ENROLLMENT During the school year, approximately 2750 students received the STEM or Fine Arts curriculum offered through the six Cherokee Academies. This enrollment figure consists mostly of students designated to attend one of the Academies as a resident student, but does include approximately 225 students who transferred from other elementary schools in order to attend one of the new Academies. From April 22-May , the School District extended an application period for students who would like to enroll in one of the six Cherokee Academies during the school year. Enrollment for those applicants was granted where space was available and all applicants were approved. Note: Students enrolled at the schools designated as Academies for the school year will not be required to apply for continued placement. NEXT STEPS Moving forward, the CCSD STEM initiative will continue to expand to include additional grade level units of learning and enhanced teacher training and professional development. Specifically, teachers in grades one and seven will have the opportunity to create units for science in the summer Training for teachers new to a STEM Academy will also receive training, summer Opportunities to expand partnerships, continue collaboration of both STEM and Fine Arts teachers and administrators and seek relevant resources to continue to support and sustain student achievement in these areas will be ongoing throughout. As the application period ended, the Office of School Operations worked with the Office of Personnel Management regarding the potential movement of teacher allotments from non-academy schools to the Academies so as to maximize the opportunity to grant enrollments to each Academy applicant. This same process was utilized during the school year, and every applicant was ultimately offered an opportunity for enrollment. Transportation is available for most transferring students through a hub system utilizing a shuttle service in each hub school s geographic area. If a student attends an elementary school not currently serving as a hub location, parents can drop-off/pick-up the student at a hub and that student will have transportation the rest of the way to the Academy by riding the shuttle service. Parents in this situation will be responsible for timely drop-off/pick-up of any student in this situation.

6 CCSD STEM AND FINE ARTS ACADEMY DIRECTORY BALL GROUND ES STEM ACADEMY 321 Valley Street Ball Ground, GA (770) Mr. Doug Knott, Principal HOLLY SPRINGS ES STEM ACADEMY 1965 Hickory Road Canton, GA (770) Dr. Dianne Steinbeck, Principal CANTON ES STEM ACADEMY 712 Marietta Highway Canton, GA (770) Ms. Beth Long, Principal Elementary-School-PTA/ CLARK CREEK ES STEM ACADEMY 3219 Hunt Road Acworth, GA (770) Dr. Jennifer Scrivner, Principal Elementary/ HASTY ES FINE ARTS ACADEMY 205 Brown Industrial Pkwy. Canton, GA (770) Mr. Izell McGruder, Principal OAK GROVE ES FINE ARTS ACADEMY 6118 Woodstock Road Acworth, GA (770) Mr. Les Conley, Principal Beginning in the school year, Canton ES and Hasty ES will serve grades K-5, as sixth grade will move to the new Teasley Middle School. Clark Creek ES and Oak Grove ES will remain at K-5; Holly Springs ES will continue to serve K-6 until the opening of the new Dean Rusk Middle School in 2016.