COMMENDATIONS

1. Advanced Placement Program: The District is commended for providing funds for AP teacher training, publicly recognizing student success on AP exams, selecting teachers based on preparation and desire to teach at the AP level, requiring summer readiness activities for some AP courses, and making a commitment not to cancel any AP course due to low enrollment.

2. ACT/SAT performance: Student performance on the two national college entrance examinations is exemplary, meeting and exceeding the effectiveness level in both cases.

3. Project Arrow: This program for gifted and talented provides specialized instruction for challenging identified students and demonstrates the District’s commitment and consistency in providing enrichment for additional students.

4. Integrating the community into the schools: The site visit team was impressed by the number of adults, including community volunteers and parents, working directly with students throughout the District.

5. Condition of physical plant: Impressive to the site visit team was the overall physical condition, cleanliness, maintenance and cheerful atmosphere of the District’s buildings.

6. Specialized facilities: The District is to be commended for the number of specialized facilities and accommodations—the planetarium, TV studios, dual gymnasiums and spacious media centers—which add to the educational opportunities for students and enhance scheduling.

7. Community/administration positive interaction: The site visit to the District and its community supported information in the perception surveys indicating a positive attitude in the community toward the school system and its administration’s willingness to listen and accept constructive suggestions.

8. Celebration of student successes: Celebrating successes of students in varied and visible ways, from formal awards to posting work and honors throughout the school, to posting student work on school web sites is a strong component of the culture at Indian Prairie School District #204.

9. Indian Plains Alternative School: The District is to be commended for initiating an alternative school that has resulted in a successful first year. The genuine caring and focus on the students by the staff at Indian Plains is exemplary.

10. Effective administrative practices: The site team observed a number of administrative practices that should be commended for ensuring successful site-based management, sufficient planning time for opening new schools, a fair balance of outside hiring and internal promotion, and a range of staff development programs.

11. Well-integrated technology: It is readily apparent that there is extensive integration of technology into the curricula. Students and teachers appear to be comfortable in using technology as a tool to promote student learning, develop and reinforce skills and foster creativity.

12. Emphasis on data collection and the use of data to drive decisions in the district: It is evident Indian Prairie School District #204 has made a commitment to assembling and utilizing data as a basis of instructional and management decisions.

13. Working with multiple municipal governments: The Board and Administration is to be commended for building and maintaining a positive working relationship with the various municipal governments active within the District.

14. Providing opportunities for children to develop life-long skills: The site visit team was impressed with the District’s implementation of programs to provide youngsters with important life-long skills including personal safety and household management.

15. Providing pre-school opportunities for students: Indian Prairie 204 is to be commended for providing pre-school services and for positioning these services at the Central Office. The pre-school is definitely at the forefront of early childhood programming.

16. Positive perceptions of effectiveness among teachers and administrators. With very few exceptions, the teachers and administrators surveyed in the SchoolMatch Survey of Perceptions agreed that the district practices most of the behaviors associated with effective schools.