Make the grade @ your library: Study Island

1. Make the grade @ your library:Study Island Presented by the school media center: Jessica Andrews, Ayasha Faroque, Emily Mulls, Kirby Powers, Rebecca Strickland.

2. Advocacy: • The school library media program has extended hours from 7:15-4:30. • The media center is available for information literacy skills, study time, reference skills, homework help, quiet time, reading help/time, book checkout, teacher support, student support, technology training, testing services, and generally anything between a and z. • The desire of the media center is to bring as much help to the school community as possible. That is why we want to purchase the license for a new program.

3. Objective: • The school library media program wants to find ways to improve test taking strategies, test scores, and overall learning, in addition to providing information literacy skills. While there are several programs throughout the school committed to these goals, we have discovered a diamond among learning programs and would love to bring the richness of this program to our students. The program is called Study Island.

4. It is an interactive, web-based program that will guide the students through interesting levels of achievement. The students can be monitored at home or school when using the program because it has a built in tracking system which allows results to be immediately analyzed and modified depending on student need. Investing in this program will provide another tool in the box of resources we have to give students access to the technology we have available.

5. Target Audience: • The school library media program would like to include the administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the community in providing our students with the best we can offer. For this reason we have decided to ask for help in purchasing this program to add to our overall arsenal of learning tools. The students will show the PTSA the program at the next meeting using the LCD projectors so they can see the program. The 6th grade science teachers will then go through and show the PTSA the managerial applications available to monitor and evaluate the students’ progress!

6. The parents and teachers will be asked to fill out a short survey to indicate their opinion of the program. Once we have included the school community to further our “Make the grade @ your library” campaign using Study Island, we will branch out and pursue the community at large. By including everyone involved in creating life- long learners, we feel we can generate all the support necessary to provide students with this wonderful program!

7. What is Study Island? • Study Island is a web based practice program based on the Georgia GPS. We would like to purchase this for the entire school, which enables students and teachers to access the program at school, home, or anywhere there is an internet connection. The benefits of this program are proven and provide an excellent opportunity for students to generate practice and learning for tests and content areas. Here is a short overview: • http://www.studyisland.com/salessheets/StudyIslandGeorgiaCRCT.pdf

8. What we need: The school library media program would like to provide the whole school with the program Study Island. We need to purchase the license for the program which is around $1620 for the basic package and moves up from there with extras. Here is a breakdown of the costs: http://www.studyisland.com/PriceList.cfm?myState=GA

9. How it will be used? • The following strategies attest to the use in providing top notch resources for the students. The students will be able to hone their skills even further to advance their abilities to excel on mandatory testing while still promoting the ultimate goal of developing life long learning techniques.

10. Strategies • Use faculty as subject area specialists. • Offer to assist faculty in the process of curriculum development. • Publish a newsletter for faculty and administration. • Meet with all first-year teachers for a tour of the program and discussion. • Take student, faculty and administrator opinion polls about the program.

11. Research based program: • ://www.studyisland.com/salessheets/SI%20Foundational%20Report%207-25-08.pdf • The link above shows the research based proof that Study Island succeeds in providing students a quality program to insure more success in their test taking and in general learning.

12. How, does it work? • Teachers can customize the amount and frequency of practice that each student receives or assign students to review specific standards or learning objectives as needed. Because students do not have to complete the program lessons in any specific order, teachers can distribute the presentation of the skill practice, especially the more complex material, over multiple days. When teachers use Study Island in conjunction with classroom instruction, teachers can present material and assign practice on that material as needed throughout the year, creating an effective and motivating learning environment to practice state standards. • Students can monitor their own progress as they complete lessons and feel successful watching their mastery level rise. When students reach the specified mastery level of an objective, they earn a personalized reward in the form of a blue ribbon icon, which serves as concrete symbol of recognition for their academic achievements and further motivates students to succeed.

13. When, Do students learn? • Study Island uses technology both to provide students with remediation or practice at lower levels and to provide students with a customized and personalized learning experience based on demonstrated need. In many cases throughout the program, if students do not reach the requisite proficiency level on a specific objective, the program cycles students down to lower levels in order to give students practice at levels that are building blocks for higher-level skills. Once students demonstrate proficiency at a lower level, the program cycles students back up to the higher level. • Study Island can be used anywhere internet access is available and can be monitored by both teachers and parents.

14. Why, Provide the program? • Study Island, is a web-based standards mastery program that combines highly specific and dynamic content with real-time reporting to create a customized assessment, diagnostic, and instructional program based on each state’s standards. By creating an interactive and flexible instructional platform, Study Island provides engaging, ongoing practice and remediation to help students meet their state required standards in all major content areas. • Study Island aims to build student confidence and self-efficacy by providing students with sufficient practice and learning opportunities that will help students realize positive gains in achievement.

15. What, Will it bring? • Study Island is a leading provider of affordable, easy-to-use, Web-based standards mastery products. It is Built Using STATE STANDARDS • Web-based instruction, practice, assessment and reporting built from YOUR state‘s standards • Rigorous academic content that is both fun and engaging • Research-based with proven results for all students • Easy to use (in the lab, classroom, library or home) • Incredibly affordable compared to other print or technology learning products

16. Other strategies for fostering communication with faculty and administration include: • Exchange comments, questions, and information via e-mail. • Provide staff development and presentations. • Sponsor contests, competitions and promotions such as Battle of the Books, Computer Learning Month, Children’s Book Week, Multimedia Mania, North Carolina Children’s Book Award, and ThinkQuest. • Coordinate efforts with Career-Technical Education personnel • Offer in-house news programs • Provide current Web sites

17. Communication: • WAYS TO COMMUNICATE PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSES • School Web sites • Newsletters for PTA/PTO • Media and technology articles in local newspapers • Sharing program highlights with central office staff • Presentations for the Board of Education and community groups • Displays/presentations at local events • Personal visits to community leaders • Telephone calls to community leaders • Letters/emails to community leaders • Invitations to local politicians and community leaders to visit the school/ attend school events • Thank you notes/gifts for volunteers • Designated area in the school as a Parent Resource Center with a variety of family resources to support learning • Membership in professional organizations