Superintendents share plans for the 2022-23 school year

Jul. 23—As we enter into the 2022-23 school year, superintendents and administrators at districts and schools throughout Madison County and nearby communities reflect on the new initiatives they have put in place to improve student achievement.

Melissa Brisco

Alexandria Community Schools continues to develop its secondary pathways. We've worked with several business partners and universities to expand our Advanced Manufacturing and Tomorrow's Teachers pathways. We've received a grant from the state to further build out those programs. We've also opened an additional preschool class at the elementary. We'll be able to serve more children and families. Lastly, we continue to work to build out our community partnerships to better serve the community through the Hub and community outreach. We are excited to see how our programming impacts the community we serve.

Joe Cronk

ACS will begin its strategic plan process in August. This will be a robust process, allowing several sessions for public input into the important business of Anderson's public schools. We are also participating in a literacy pilot, focusing on the science of reading, through a grant from the Indiana Department of Education. That focus has promise for increasing our literacy and fluency. We are also beginning the process to get STEM certification at Anderson High School. The classes and programs at AHS are often overlooked, but this certification will codify AHS as a leader in the area.

Jill Barker

At the elementary level, we applied to be an early opt-in of the Indiana Department of Education's Early Literacy Initiative, and we were selected to be part of the Indiana Literacy Cadre. We will be working with CELL at University of Indianapolis and the IDOE to really hone in on the science of reading to help better equip our students to be successful in all aspects of their academic careers while providing our teachers with the coaching support needed. This will help fund and train a literacy coach as well as provide curricular resources to supplement the materials we already are using and have found to be impactful on our students. We are excited for this opportunity and look forward to using these techniques to help address the academic gaps created by COVID in our older grade level as well. At the Pre-Academy (middle school), we will be adding additional exploratory classes including neuroscience and will also be extending our Leader in Me programming from the elementary into the Pre-Academy. This is aligned with our Civil Air Patrol curriculum and will help continue to build empowered leaders and provide a continuity of our leadership programming K-8 moving to a K-12 initiative in the next few years. Our Pre-Academy will also be expanding project-based learning opportunities for students and increase opportunities for STEM and MakerSpace course work. At the Academy level (high school), we have added dual credit opportunities and have been awarded a grant to allow our students access to ICAP programming which includes even more dual credit and AP opportunities as well as more electives that we are not currently able to host on campus. We will be eligible for up to $131,000 for this programming. Additionally, we qualified for the PRIME grant, which will be adding a new math class to help bridge the gap between high school math and college level math. This will help students better transition to the higher education coursework and provide them an integrated approach to applied mathematics. We also have added a new course focused on empowering our students in their leadership and service opportunities. This class will be responsible for a variety of aspects of student life and include event planning for several of our student events as well as the coordination of community service opportunities and community outreach.

Greg Roach

We will have a Project Lead The Way class at Daleville Elementary School this year. We will implement an internship program at Daleville High School using our current community partners and new partners as locations to place our students.

Troy Friedersdorf

We will be participating in the Indiana Department of Education's K-2 Early Literacy Opt-IN program this upcoming school year. Amanda Brophy, Elwood Elementary principal, and Cindy Ahonen, Elwood Elementary instructional coach, recently attended a two-day training with the IDOE. We are partnering with Indiana University-Kokomo this upcoming school year to develop a program for our instructional assistants with associate's degrees to return to college to complete their bachelor's and obtain their teaching licenses. We are creating new behavior support classrooms in the elementary and intermediate schools as well as expanding our alternative programming to include a middle school alternative classroom.

Sterling Boles

Frankton-Lapel Community Schools will continue to build positive relationships to promote healthy mental well-being among students and staff. We will also continue to address student learning loss through targeted, strategic interventions to close achievement gaps. Additionally, FLCS will continue working on implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in partnership with the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality at Indiana University. UDL is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for everyone based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Scott Deetz

We're excited to expand our focus on early childhood education programming with our first 3-year-old Pre-K class this school year. We have a great setup for our littlest Argylls at Summitville Elementary. Our principal, Jackie Samuels, has worked tirelessly to be able to make this addition and our physical setup at Summitville Elementary allows us to keep all of our Pre-K classrooms together so we can share resources to best serve our students. Our counseling team at Madison-Grant Jr./Sr. High School is fantastic at leveraging all of our opportunities for our students to set them on the best path possible for graduation with their specific goal in mind. We have added a career specialist to help round out our expertise and ensure our students are college and career ready when they leave our school system. We've created partnerships allowing our students to graduate with certificates, dual credits and all of the things they need to help meet their goals. We saw a need in our community for more local health care and worked together with ASPIRE to house an onsite walk-in clinic in a building on our Madison-Grant Jr./Sr. High School campus. Our students and community members are able to access the clinic for all types of needs. Getting a sports physical or a sick visit taken care of just got a little closer to home.

Kyle Barrentine

With this being my first year, we are really taking time to observe and assess everything. When I think of priorities, I always think of these three things:

1. Leading/teaching: How can we better support our school leaders in their work with supporting teachers as they work to best support our students?

2. Learning: What's our current reality as it relates to student learning and student outcomes?

3. School environment: What's our school's culture and how can we create a sense of belonging for all students and staff?

Mark Hall

At the elementary level, we are implementing a new math program for grades K-6. Everyday Math is a hands-on math program that focuses on mathematical reasoning. The elementary teachers have been participating in professional development activities this summer as they prepare their math instruction for the upcoming school year. In addition to the new math program, the elementary schools will be using the science of reading to guide their literacy instruction. At Pendleton Heights High School we are taking strides to ensure our students have the opportunity to earn the Indiana College Core upon graduation. The ICC consists of a block of 30 semester hours of general education college-level course work. The completion of the ICC allows those credits to transfer between Indiana public colleges and universities. While PHHS has offered several dual-credit courses for many years, the ICC should allow students to complete at least one year of college before leaving high school. The credits a student earns at PHHS will come at a reduced cost from what they would be at the post-secondary institution. Several PHHS teachers are working to earn the extra credentials that are required to teach a dual credit course.

Robert W. Frey

I am honored and excited to be the new principal at Holy Cross School. Our school has a tremendous history in the Anderson community, and we're excited about our future. This year, we'll be introducing a new program called Virtues in Practice. This school-wide initiative will focus on virtues such as Faith, Hope, and Charity. Our staff will be leading regular lessons on these virtues, and we'll recognize students who display virtuous behavior. Additionally, we're making an investment in our people by implementing a significant pay increase for all school staff. Also, we're more fully embracing technology as a learning tool by purchasing iPads and Chromebooks to be used by every student. Be on the lookout for our new school logo, which will be released soon.

Kevin Plew

We have added three new teachers for this school year and are looking to add more classes to some grades. We are also looking to add more classes in our KinderKids Christian Preschool serving K3 and K4.

Adam Freeman

Liberty Christian School is excited to start the 2022-23 school year on August 4. All Liberty teachers and students will receive increased Biblical worldview training to prepare individuals to engage with the world in an excellent manner. In addition, we have added several student support positions designed to help students grow emotionally and socially in order to receive a well-rounded Christian education. LCS will offer additional extracurricular activities that include academic enrichment and community service.

Follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at

@RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.