SUMMARY

Ball StateUniversity PDS Network Advisory Council
Secondary Schools Representatives
Institute Meeting #20
April 18, 2006
9:00 –12:30
Tanglewood Conference Center
Anderson Community Schools

Ruth Swetnam welcomed the 23 members and guests and explained the agenda for the day. She complimented Broad Ripple High School and Wilson Middle School on their very successful site reviews. During 2006-07 site reviews will be scheduled for Shortridge Middle School and Southside High School. The group was reminded that agreement to the partnership includes participating on these site reviews. Ruth also gave everyone a copy of the Ball State University Teachers College Alumni Board Innovative Education Grant application. She also explained that the yearly report from each PDS is due in her office by June 1. The report template from last year is still appropriate.   Ruth thanked the individuals from Anderson schools for hosting the meeting and Dale Basham and Jim Keating for agreeing to make presentations.

Dale Basham from Southside High School gave a detailed description of a program they have developed for Southside students who have passed ISTEP. "I Passed *I.Pods" is available during the ISTEP testing and allows test-exempt students to participate in nine different modules that center around preparing for the future. The topics include writing college and job essays, strategies for success, completing applications for admission to Ball State, paying for college, college life, job interviews, job shadowing, preparing resumes, and SAT registration and preparation. Karen Dowling, BSU liaison at Southside, and Ball State pre-service teachers participated in this program. Dale gave each participant a booklet that would enable other schools to duplicate the program using the examples from Southside.

Theresa Richardson, chair of the Department of Educational Studies, welcomed everyone to the meeting. She thanked administrators, teachers and Ball State faculty for all of the work they are doing and stressed how important collaboration is to improving student achievement.

Jim Keating from Broad Ripple High School presented "Art and Interdisciplinary Applications," in which he demonstrated methods he uses in his high school classes. Everyone participated in the discussion of various landscape paintings by mid-nineteenth-century Hudson River School artists and Margaret Bourke White photographs. This was followed by small groups completing and sharing a culminating activity.  

Cathy Siebert facilitated the celebration of the partnerships by asking the PDSs to share highlights from 2005-06. Each school contributed to the discussion.

The meeting concluded with each roundtable completing an evaluation and making recommendations for 2006-07. The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 p.m.