Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation

Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) is a public school district located in Columbus, Indiana. Its boundaries include all but two townships in Bartholomew County, Indiana. BCSC serves 11,000+ students (PreK-12, and Adult Education) on 18 campuses. 11 elementary, 3 high school, 2 middle school, 1 early childhood center, and 1 adult education center. BCSC School Board officers are President Jill Shedd, Vice-President Julie Bilz, and Secretary Pat Bryant. BCSC is led by Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts.

Demographics
*11,250 students in 18 school buildings
*59 Languages
*11.7% of students receive special education services
*85% of special education students spend at least 80% of their day in gen ed setting
*44.2% of students receive Free and Reduced Lunch
*24.9% minority students served
*15% Limited English Proficiency

Schools
Elementary Schools
Secondary Schools
Other

Curriculum

Universal Design for Learning: BCSC uses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as its instructional framework. It optimizes learning by reducing barriers in curricula and supports educators to design appropriately challenging instruction that meets the needs of all learners. The UDL framework also has supported BCSC to align initiatives and resources at the district level, moving from engaging in “random acts of improvement” to a unified vision of school change. All educator professional development must be grounded in UDL principles.

Positive Behavior Instruction and Support: BCSC has established school-based Positive Behavior Instruction and Support (PBIS) teams to ensure that all students have access to the most effective instructional and behavioral practices possible. PBIS supports educators to develop a continuum of scientifically-based behavior and academic supports, use data to make decisions and solve problems, arrange the environment to prevent the development and occurrence of problem behavior, teach and encourage pro-social skills and behaviors, implement evidence-based behavioral practices with fidelity and accountability, and monitor student performance and progress continuously. Researchers have suggested PBIS as an effective strategy for addressing racial and ethnic disproportionality in school discipline and the concomitant achievement gaps across racial and ethnic groups (Eber, Upreti, & Rose, 2010).[1]

Educational Pathways: Educational pathways allow students to explore college and career opportunities that align with their interests, strengths, and competencies. Examples include:

  • Senior Project: A graduation requirement that calls on students to select a topic, pursue relevant community-based experience, and produce a research paper, project or a product, portfolio, and presentation. Every senior project must demonstrate clear alignment with Indiana’s Common Core Standards and demonstrate application of problem solving and authentic, real-world learning.
  • Columbus Area Career Connection (C-4): Provides high school students with career and technical education organized into clusters, including: Agricultural Science/Business, Business Management and Finance, Communications, Computer Technology, Construction Engineering Technology, Engineering Manufacturing Technology, Health Careers, Human Services (including Early Childhood Education, Cosmetology, and Culinary Arts), Protective Services, and Transportation.
  • Seamless High School Post-Secondary Education: An engineering and advanced manufacturing immersion program featuring aligned courses that feed into Mechanical Engineering degree programs at Indiana University/Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) and the Purdue University School of Technology, and/or the Advanced Manufacturing program Ivy Tech State College.
  • Columbus Signature Academy (CSA): In the first K-12 Project- and Problem-based Learning magnet school in the nation, students work collaboratively using technology to solve authentic problems and create real-world projects.

References
  1. Eber, Upreti, and Rose (2010). Addressing Ethnic Disproportionality in School Discipline through Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Building Leadership, 17(8).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.