1.  Matt Schmitt                                                  $418.00 Holy Redeemer School                                  Unlimited number of students

“Flipped Classroom” is a project whereby students watch a lesson at night and work on homework during the day in class.  This allows teachers to provide immediate and individualized feedback to ensure students completion of assignments.

2.  Jamie Broeker                                                $1,440.0   Holy Spirit School                                          35 students

 “Escalating the Potential of Power Reading” is a multi-sensory program designed to improve students’ reading fluency, word recognition and comprehension in a short period of time.  The project is geared for students with diverse levels of academic abilities.

3. Maria Key                                                        $750.00    Good Shepherd School                                       80 students

“Technology Meets Tradition: Charging Novel Studies” is a collaborative project with St. Benedict school whereby eighth grade students will participate in blogging challenges based on literary skills and guided by the Indiana standards. Students will create videos, skits, movie trailers, etc. to demonstrate their skills using the Skype program.  

4. Amanda Cox                                                   $750.00     St. Benedict School                                          80 students

“Technology Meets Tradition: Charging Novel Studies” is a collaborative project with Good Shepherd school whereby eighth grade students will participate in blogging challenges based on literary skills and guided by the Indiana standards. Students will create videos, skits, movie trailers, etc. to demonstrate their skills using the Skype program.  

5. Donna Scheller                                                      $750.00    Resurrection School                                              130 students

 “A-MAZE-ing Minds in Motion” involves fifteen simple exercises that each child performs in a Maze area.  This movement is designed to increase academic scores by laying proper neural pathways for children to acquire sensory motor skills.

6. Linda Jacobs                                                         $130.00   St. Theresa School                                                 75 students

 “Literature: A Source of Values” is a project to provide novels with good role models to junior high students. The novels will demonstrate a viewpoint on family values through good literature.

7. Danielle Davis                                                        $1,011.00   Holy Rosary School                                               44 students

 “Reading Station Projects” will provide first grade classes at Holy Rosary Catholic School with new books on CD and a Readers’ Theater script set to use during Reading Stations. Children will use these motivating materials to help develop fluency, build comprehension and provide writing experiences connected to literacy.                                                                                   

 8. Angela Conner                                                      $780.00   Mater Dei High School                                         275 students

“VERBO game to increase verb knowledge” is a teacher created resource available from Teacher’s Discovery.  The instructional strategy uses various conjugations, tenses and meaning of commonly used verbs in the Spanish language. Verbs are one of the most difficult concepts for students to master.

 Public School Grant Recipients  2012-2013

High School Grants

Missy Feller                                                     Bosse High School

$700.00                                               Imagery: Fine Arts Magazine of Bosse High School

Funds will allow for the 2013 publication of Imagery, a fine arts magazine of student and faculty work rated “excellent” by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Beth Funk                                                       Harrison High School

$317.00                                                           Flip and Move

Traditional lesson plans will be augmented by films created by the instructor with a tablet and software purchased through this grant.  The instructor will also be able to interact with the Promethean Board while interacting with her students throughout the classroom.

Erinn Jankowski                                              Harrison High School

$1,400.00                                                        CFCO “Going Green”

Grant money will be used to create a “green screen” area for the Center for Family and Community Outreach, enabling students to offer high quality production skills to local non-profits.

Andrew Odom                                                            Harrison High School

$1,000.00                                                         Harrison High School Literacy Initiative

Teachers will continue to improve the “Reading Labs” offered to struggling readers at the high school level by purchasing interactive, engaging materials.

Leah Simon                                                    Harrison High School

$1,720.00                    Mathematics for Relevance, Experiences, and Practice Using CCSS

Teachers will prepare kits containing relevant and engaging supplies, games, and materials to be used in teaching CCSS the Harrison Mathematics department.

Marie Damron                                                 North High School

$750.00                                                           The Husky Nature Observer

Funds will be used to purchase native flower and tree seedlings, as well as gardening tools and supplies in order to create an outdoor classroom setting by the North High School lake.

Alyson McIntyre-Reiger                                 North High School

$1,500.00                                                        Husky Headquarters

Students will purchase spirit apparel and products, along with promotional materials and a cash register to open a North High School Spirit Shop.  The project will become self-sustaining through future sales.

Heather Swader                                              North High School

$300.00                                                           Starting Strong

A.P. Studio Arts students will be provided access to digital training and art resources, purchased with funds from this grant.

 Middle School Grants

Elizabeth Schmidt                                           McGary Middle School

$535.00                                                           Project iLearn

At risk, special education students will be given access to iPad technology and applications focused on English, language arts, and positive classroom behaviors.

Polly Grudzinski                                             Plaza Park Middle School

$2,000.00                                                        Plaza Park Pacer Student Newsletter

Funds will furnish computer, software, and publishing needs for the creation of a student newsletter by 8^th grade honors students.

Andrea Kneubuhler                                        Plaza Park Middle School

$2,290.00                                                        Learning the Way You Like!

This grant will provide 6^th and 8^th grade math students graphing calculators and ActivTablets in order to improve retention and understanding of math concepts by creating an engaging classroom environment.

Sara Batliner                                                   Thompkins Middle School

$1,150.00                                                        Flipping Classroom Engagement

Middle school mathematics standards-based videos will be created with the hardware and software purchased with this grant.  Students’ will have the opportunity to experience a “flipped classroom,” with an emphasis on taking responsibility for their own learning.

 K-8 Schools/Elementary School Grants

Jeremy Buente                                                            Caze Elementary School

$735.00                                                           Caze Cougars Publishing

The grant will provide funds for 90 first graders to create and publish books to share with friends, family, and the community.

Samantha Potts                                               Caze Elementary School

$743.00                                                           Why Try Elementary Cirriculum

Character-education software will be purchased that is designed to assist at-risk K-5 graders in navigating day-to-day social, emotional, and developmental stressors.

Emma Couture                                                Culver Family Learning Center

$810.00                                               More Starfall in the Early Childhood Classroom

A subscription to the award-winning “Starfall” educational website will be purchased for early childhood education classrooms at Culver Family Learning Center, Daniel Wertz, and Evans School.

Elizabeth Fleenor                                            Dexter Elementary School

$500.00                                                           Bringing Reading to Life

Funds will purchase books for use in four Kindergarten classrooms to enhance daily instruction and meet Common Core Standards.

Maleah Jackson                                               Dexter Elementary School

$500.00                                                           You Books

Funds will purchase books to be used in 2^nd grade classroom implementation of the Daily 5 program.

Stephanie Stewart                                           Dexter Elementary School

$1,460.00                    Stop, Think, and Chill: Exerting Mind Skills Before Physical Skills

Two Dexter “cool-off” rooms will be remodeled with tools and supplies that will help decrease physical and verbal aggression in K-5 grade emotionally handicapped students.

September Lant                                               Evans School

$750.00                                                           Second Grade Super Readers

Books will be purchased to create a “Second Grade Chapter Book Club” in hopes of continuing to engage more advanced readers and inspiring other students to explore reading.

Patty Ebert                                                      Hebron Elementary School

$750.00                                                           Science is My Favorite Subject

Grant money will be used to create a science corner that combines books, kits, and supplies on specific topics.

Makalia Blackburn                                          Highland Elementary School

$1,000.00                                                        Fun in the Rain Forest and

                                                           Enjoying our Natural Treasure: The Bonny Brae

Money will be divided between two projects encouraging science and outdoor exploration in elementary students.

Deborah Feagley                                             Lincoln School

$1,500.00                                                        iCan, iWill, iPad

iPads will be purchased for a new cross-categorical classroom at Lincoln with a high percentage of students with Autism.

 Jamie Haller                                                    Lodge Community School

$2,300.00                                                        Daily 5 Reading Program

Books and audio supplies will be purchased to allow for the implementation of the Daily 5 reading program in order to comply with new state laws concerning 3^rd grade reading.

 Amy Michel                                                    Lodge Community School

$1,135.00                                                        Learning Large with Lego

Legos will be purchased and used to inspire and engage students in math and language arts lessons built around the Common Core Standards for their grade levels.

 Laura Clark                                                     Oak Hill School

$375.00                                                           Focusing Readers on Comprehension

Funds will be used to purchase books to supplement 1^st grade language arts curriculum with the intent of focusing the students on comprehension.

 Kristie Grider                                                  Oak Hill School

$750.00                                                           iPod, iPod, iPod!

iPods will be used for small group and independent work with the intent of inspiring students with technology while at the same time reinforcing concepts being practiced in traditional ways in the classroom.

“We must continue to build upon this firm foundation.  Working together with our community partners, we have been able to provide outstanding additional opportunities for our students.  We look forward to our students’ bright futures promised by these collaborative efforts of our entire Evansville community.” David B. Smith, Ed.D.

Rotary Civic Award for 2011

Presented to Vicki Snyder

By the Rotary Club of Evansville

April 17, 2012

Our community is fortunate to have had a model teacher and administrator,Vicki Snyder, guiding Evansville’s and the State of Indiana’s first charter school.

In 2001 it appeared as if the Signature School was approaching the end of its life.  At that time, Signature School was a half-day school program.  Students would come downtown to take challenging, stimulating classes in subjects that were not offered at their home schools. Signature School had just received a rejection to its application to participate in the International Baccalaureate Program because it was not a full time high school.  This news was not viewed favorably in our community.  Moreover, the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation was under financial strain, and some school board members were considering the elimination of Signature School.  The initial principal of Signature School announced that he was leaving in order to become principal of a high school in Northern Indiana, and Signature School had a new principal,Vicki Snyder, who had spent 26 years in the classroom at Reitz High School prior to coming to Signature School.

However, there were those who wanted to bring this school back to life, not the least of which was Vicki Snyder.  The teachers who taught at Signature loved teaching there.  The students who attended Signature loved being there.  The parents of those students were also aware that their children were in a unique learning environment.

That very year the State of Indiana had passed new charter school legislation.  Signature students and their parents started attending school board meetings with regularity in amazingly large numbers.  The school board, by the narrowest of margins, 4-3, voted to explore the possibility of the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation becoming the sponsoring organization for a Signature charter school.

When the new school board convened in January of 2002, it voted to become a sponsoring organization and authorized the creation of Indiana’s first charter high school, Signature School. Vicki Snyder worked with a dedicated team of teachers to develop a common vision of what Signature could and should become.  Vicki Snyder and those core teachers wrote the school’s charter, applied for admission to the International Baccalaureate Program, developed curriculum, applied for grants, worked on budgets, and developed forms, policies, and procedures for the new charter school.  The teachers and the new board of Signature School developed the following mission statement:

The mission of the Signature School is to meet the needs of self-motivated learners in a progressive environment driven by global concerns.  We emphasize rigor and excellence in academics, the arts, integrated technologies, and community service.

Ten years have now passed for Signature School under Vicki Snyder’s leadership.  While Indiana is working to improve its Advanced Placement exam pass rate from 14% to the state goal of 25%, the Signature School had an Advanced Placement exam pass rate for the school year ending in 2011 of 90%.  In Indiana, Signature has been ranked as a four-star school and categorized as exemplary under Indiana Public Law 221.

In 2011, the Washington Post ranked Signature School as the number eight high school in the nation and the number one high school in theMidwest.  In that same year, Signature School was ranked the number seven high school in the nation by Newsweek Magazine.

In 2012 it is anticipated that 67% of Signature’s graduates will receive International Baccalaureate diplomas.  The average SAT score of Signature seniors last year was 1212, which is nearly 200 points above the national average.  During that same year, Signature had five National Merit finalists.  Last year’s sixty one graduating seniors received almost forty eight million dollars in scholarships offered.  These achievements were all the more remarkable because Signature is a public school which must, subject to space requirements, admit all applicants.

By any academic standard you choose, one of the very best high schools in the nation is located in Evansville,Indiana.  This is a fact that is of great potential benefit to our community as we seek to attract vibrant people and new businesses to Evansville.  Signature is a beacon light that shows what is possible in public education.

Vicki Snyder is retiring at the end of the school year, after serving as executive director and principal of Signature School for its first ten years.  Vicki Snyder has been extraordinary in her ability to attract and lead a team of remarkably dedicated and capable teachers, her ability to earn the respect of students, her ability to work with parents, her ability to work with school board members and members of the Signature School Foundation, and her ability to work with the members of the broader community.

Vicki, with limited secretarial support, has had to do nearly everything.  She leads the teachers in their cooperative effort, she does difficult class scheduling, she fills out countless reports for the government, she completes information for national recognition, she keeps track of charter school legislation, she works closely with the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, she hires teachers, she evaluates teachers, she is the human resources department, she enforces school discipline, and she even handles some matters of a legal nature.  She is always available for students, parents, and teachers.  She listens thoughtfully.  She is articulate and professional.  Vicki Snyder has worked tirelessly for the success of Signature School.  Her work, and the work of the other administrators and teachers at Signature, and their sacrifices, cannot be adequately enshrined in a citation, but rather, are best enshrined in the lives of all the Signature students.

Vicki, leading a small group of teachers took great risks, leaving the comforts of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and starting the first Charter High School in Indiana with few guidelines and no models to follow.  With true American entrepreneurism, based on their vision of what could be, they took the risks and turned their dreams into reality.

Today, in recognition of her civic service as an exemplary educator in our community, for the state and national recognition she has bestowed upon her school and our community, the Rotary Club of Evansville honors Vicki Snyder for her tireless dedication to the success of the Signature School, and more importantly, to the success of its students.

The Rotary club has been meeting at the historic Vanderburgh County Veteran’s Coliseum for the past 17 years.  Tom Austerman, Evansville Rotary Club President, stated that “the board wishes to express its sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the parties that have been associated with and assisted the Rotary during our 17 years at the Coliseum.”