school reviewinside:From the Superindendent Our Common Goal 2 The New 3 R’s 3 Relationships: E-portfolios 3

CGHS Sports 2008 Spring Overview 4 2008 Fall Highlights 4 “Moore” than Blocking & Tackling 4

Student News Local Scholarships 5 CGHS to host 2010 NASC 5

Around the District Overheard 6 NationalMeritSemifinalists6 Four Star Schools 6 Annual Day of Caring 6

New School Board Members 7

Coming Soon! November 17 School Board Meeting 7 pm, ESC November 17 Johnson County Choral Festival 7 pm, CGHS PAC

Fall/Winter 2008-09

The New 3 R’s:RelationshipsRelevanceRigor

“Reading Adventures”2nd Annual Community Literacy Night5:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 18, 2008Pleasant Grove Elementary School

the official publication of theCenter Grove Community School Corporation

Page 2School Review

new and revovated facilities

investing in the futureI became a

teacher 38 years ago. Oh, sure. More money and perhaps a more secure financial future could likely be found in the private sector. But I did not become a teacher for the money. At the age of 22, with a passion for

education, I and the rest of the class of 1970 believed we could make a difference in the lives of young people.

Today, I am so pleased with my choice to follow that passion. Perhaps you’ve heard me say many times that it is an exciting time to be at Center Grove. It’s also an exciting time to be in education. We are experiencing a paradigm shift in this country that is likely unrivaled at any time in the history of public education. Technology has changed and continues to shape our world, and we are challenged to educate the next generation of Americans to succeed in jobs that don’t yet exist, and to compete globally in a world whose face changes almost daily.

That’s why it’s so exciting to be at Center Grove. This is a community that believes in and supports education. Our teachers, administrators, parents, and school board members recognize that we must not only keep pace in a rapidly shifting environment but, as a premier school corporation, we can set the pace. We must provide facilities to serve a growing student population, develop programs which enable our students to achieve their tremendous potential, and equip graduates with 21st century skills.

The proposed elementary project will provide equity in facilities and programs across the district, and will meet the Center Grove expectation of excellence through expansion of academic programs and offerings while increasing efficiency of operations.

Center Grove High School is literally bursting at the seams. Several years ago, it was obvious that we needed to improve and expand the building to serve a growing student population. When the 7:30 a.m. bell rings for students to make their ways to their classes, one teacher describes it as a “mass of humanity” when traffic from the overcrowded cafeteria and several hallways begins to move toward cramped stairwells and undersized corridors throughout the building. Other teachers give a mock warning that “you take your life in your hands” to be in those areas before school or

during lunch and passing periods.Rather than just call in the construction

crew shouting, “make it bigger, quickly,” an insightful school and community group took a step back and said, “Wait, if we must make it bigger, let’s also make it better.” The proposed High School Redesign is the result of roughly four years of hard work by this dedicated group of teachers, administrators, professional groups, parents, students, the school board, and architects. The proposed design makes the high school better in many ways, with improved traffic flow and natural light in halls and stairways, a larger and more efficient cafeteria, increased and improved instruction space equipped with the latest technology capabilities, more efficient use through multi-purpose spaces, and expanded and updated athletic facilities.

My passion for education is now paired with my confidence in the large group of dedicated Center Grove educators and individuals who thoughtfully and diligently crafted the current proposal in the very best interests of Center Grove students and our entire community. Because I have so much confidence in them and their motives, talents, and abilities, it is my responsibility to present their plan accurately to other educators, the school board and the community, as well as through the media.

Center Grove Community, we are not at odds. You as parents, taxpayers, and concerned and involved citizens are on the same side as your educators, administration, school board, and superintendent. We are all on the side of acting in the best interests of current and future Center Grove students. The high school administration is not at odds with the district administration, and neither is at odds with the school board. Instead, we are all working together toward a common goal.

None of us has anything to gain personally by completing this project. Corporately, we gain continuing excellence in our school corporation and we protect our property values by doing so. We also create a learning

environment and facilities of which all of us can continue to be proud. The resources required to accomplish this do not simply represent how much it will cost. Center Grove students, their families and the township will realize a valuable return on investment. This return will be evident as our students and graduates achieve success, property values increase, and quality citizens are drawn to a community that takes pride in and is willing to invest in the future of its school district.

Often, I hear stories from people who moved to White River Township because of the excellence of Center Grove schools, including several of our current school employees. Some of our new teachers and administrators have taken pay cuts to serve here, because these educators look forward to being a part of the progress and development that is taking place.

Educators have passion. With parents, they likely have more passion than anyone to see our students succeed.

I encourage you to move forward with the same conviction that led us to where we are today – on the cusp of creating a high school that will serve our students and this community well for decades. Approving and building a better school based on the research, study, and vision of the High School Redesign Team will provide well-rounded Center Grove graduates with the competitive edge they need to compete in the changing world they will face.Together, we can provide excellent

programs and facilities for our students and preserve our home values, with a minimal impact on property taxes. With vision and purpose, the future is very bright indeed for our students and the entire community. As your superintendent, I am privileged to work side by side with you as together we continually raise the bar of expectation in our district. It IS an exciting time to be at Center Grove!

We want to hear from you. To make it convenient for you to provide feedback or ask questions, we have added a new

section to the website at www.centergrove.k12.in.us. This section consolidates all the information from the construction projects on the district home page. Just

click on “Center Grove Construction Projects.” There you’ll find everything

you ever wanted to know and more about the facilities plan! Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the project, review the drawings for the high school expansion and redesign, and be sure to send us your questions or comments.

CGHS during morning passing period.

Dr. Steven Stephanoff, Superintendent

Page 3 Fall/Winter 2008-09

long-range facilities plan

the new 3 r’sWe adopted the “New 3 R’s” terminology

from the 2005 Bill Gates speech to the National Governors’ Association entitled, “America’s High Schools are Obsolete.”

“High Tech High’s scores on statewide academic tests are 15 percent higher than the rest of the district; their SAT scores are an average of 139 points higher.

These are the kind of results you can get when you design a high school to prepare every student for college.

These are not isolated examples. These are schools built on principles that can be applied anywhere – the new three R’s, the basic building blocks of better high schools:

The first R is Rigor – making sure all students are given a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work;

The second R is Relevance – making sure kids have courses and projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals;

The third R is Relationships – making sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.”

We work with those definitions, but after additional contemplation, research, and applying the concepts to Center Grove, we changed the order to relationships, relevance, and rigor.

Willard Daggett, Ph.D., founder and President of the International Center for

Leadership in Education, said that the point about relationships is that learning is personal. When students have strong, trusting relationships with their teachers, they work harder and achieve more. It’s so common and so easy to get excited about the rigor (this could be technology, new classroom pedagogy, etc.) that we forget to build strong foundational relationships before setting off on our journey.

Once the relationships are established, we can move to relevance. The more students understand how what they are learning is relevant to them, to their community, or to the world at large; the more motivated they will be to learn.

As leaders it is important to create change narratives that address relevance. The most powerful narratives address relevance in two ways: 1) How is this new action or way of doing things going to affect YOU, as an individual? and 2) How is this new action or way of doing things going to affect the world outside yourself?

Leaders who can create narratives that express the ways change will take care of the stakeholder’s personal concerns, and at the same time explain how the change will be making the classroom, school, or world a better place; have set the scene for great things to happen.

Relationships and relevance make rigor possible.

When the decision was made by the community to maintain one high school for the district, it came with a mandate to keep the school personal, and as enrollment continues to grow to make it “feel” smaller. In the next issue, we’ll address the role smaller learning communities will play. They affect this element of the equation, however, in creating an environment for student-teacher and peer relationships to develop and thrive. Another excerpt from the Bill Gates speech:

“The three R’s are almost always easier to promote in smaller high schools. The smaller size gives teachers and staff the chance to

Keystone is a class that all freshmen take during their first semester. The class is an orientation to high school, and develops study skills, career interests, and college readiness. Career interests are identified through career inventories, career clusters, and job shadowing. The students also learn about college requirements for their potential career choices.

The final exam for Keystone has been to create a portfolio which included their high school career major (one of eight), essay, a Power Point presentation of their job shadowing experience, and other information. The portfolio was placed in a binder and later provided to their STaR teachers.

This semester, the class is utilizing the Epsilen Environment, the on-line professional networking environment which each CG middle and high school student may access through a personal account. The final exams will now be to create an electronic portfolio which can follow the students throughout their high school careers and beyond.

The e-portfolios will include a resume, showcase (work they’ve done, presentations, essays, art work, video projects, audio files, and more), interest inventories (value survey, learning style, personality traits correlated to types of jobs), post secondary education plan, and career and college resources. The menu is customizable, so students

may also include additional information such as transcripts and test scores. They may also apply access codes for information that is private.

When these students are assigned to their STaR or future advisory classes, their teachers can simply access their e-portfolios on-line, and learn all about the aptitude and interests of the students. This allows the relationship piece to begin before the students ever arrive in the classroom!

“Everything they do here is preparation for the college classroom,” said Mrs. Buck. “And the kids love it! They come in and ask every day, ‘Are we going to the computer lab?’”

When they begin to apply for college, scholarships, or the job market, they can simply include a link or URL in their applications and their e-portfolios will be available for viewing.

Relationships: Electronic PortfoliosTracy Buck, CGHS Lead Teacher for Keystone: Orientation to Life and Careers, talks about the new electronic portfolios

being created by freshmen in the class of 2012.

next issue:smaller learning communities

Paul Buck, Assistant Principal at Center Grove High School and leader of the High School Redesign Team, talks about the New Three R’s, and how they will be incorporated into the proposed High School Redesign.

“The New 3 R’s” continued on page 7

spring and fall

sports overview2008 Spring Sports Awards and AccomplishmentsJohnson County Team Champions

Baseball SoftballBoys Golf Girls TennisBoys Track Girls Track

IHSAA Sectional ChampionsBoys Track, Boys Golf, Girls Tennis

State Runners-UpBoys Volleyball (IBVCA)

IHSAA Sectional Individual ChampionsShelbi Burnett (1600 Meter Run), Sarah Higgens (3200 Meter Run),

Katy Watson (Shotput and Discus), Adrienne Cristofoli (Pole Vault), Kyle Jones (100 & 200 Meter Run), Luke Swift (110 Hurdles), Tanner Riley (Pole Vault), Kyle Jones (100 & 200 Meter Run), and Drew Barnard (Golf)

IHSAA Regional Individual ChampionTanner Riley (Pole Vault)

MIC Individual ChampionsShelbi Burnett (800 and 1600 Meter Run)Tanner Riley (Pole Vault)

2008 Fall Sports Awards and Accomplishments*Johnson County Team Champions

Girls Golf Boys Tennis VolleyballBoys Cross Country Girls Cross Country

MIC ChampionsBoys Soccer, Volleyball, Football

IHSAA Sectional ChampionsBoys Tennis, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Volleyball

IHSAA Regional ChampionsBoys Tennis, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Girls Cross Country

IHSAA Team Semi-State & State ChampionsBoys Tennis

MIC, IIHSAA Sectional, Regional, & State Individual Champion

Sarah Higgens - Cross Country

All-Conference Athletes - FemaleKylie Fennig, Golf; Sarah Higgens, Cross Country; Shelbi Burnett,

Corss Country

*Note: At press time, the football team is preparing to meet Bloomington North in the Sectional Final. Go Trojans!

Center Grove Football: “Moore” than Blocking and TacklingIf you ever take the opportunity to join the Center High School football team on the field after a home game, you’ll soon realize this football

program is more than just blocking and tackling. Yes, you’ll hear Coach Eric Moore take a few minutes to discuss the game highlights, but the majority of the talk is encouraging and reminding the young men what he expects out of them. You’ll hear him emphasize the importance of taking care of their bodies by eating the right foods, hydrating properly and getting plenty of rest. You’ll hear him remind the players the importance of dong homework and keeping up on their grades; you’ll hear him talk about setting a good example in and out of school and the importance of being a positive role model. And you’ll hear him remind the kids to surround themselves with those friends and family who love and care for them…and as the Trojans lift their helmets for a “Trojan Pride,” you’ll hear the voice in the middle tell the kids that he loves them…

As do many of the wonderful Center Grove athletic teams, this football program develops young, sometimes skinny, immature and naïve boys into strong mature young gentlemen. Here are just a few of the many “off-field” initiatives coach has his team involved in:

• Duringpre-season,thereweregroupsthatvolunteeredtogodowntowntoserveand“experience”thehomelesssheltersinIndianapolis.• AcoupleofyearsagothefootballprograminvestedinaCharacterBuildingprogram.CoachMooreassignstwotothreecoachespergrade

(freshmenthroughseniors)andtheymeetonaregularbasistodiscusslifelessonsandtemptationsthatyoungmenface.Thepurposeoftheprogramistohelppreparetheseyoungmentodealwithsomeoflife’schallengesbeforetheyarefacedwiththem.

• CoachMoorehasalsoencouragedhisseniorplayerstovisittheBantamFieldsandtohelpinspiretheyoungerfootballplayerswhosolookuptoandadmirethehighschoolguys.Thishelpsnotonlytheyoungerkids,butalsohelpsandchallengestheseniorplayersontheircommunicationskillsandhowtospeakinfrontofgroups.

• Aftertheterriblefloodsthispastspring,someofthefootballteamvolunteeredonoftheirSaturdaystohelpsomeofthefloodvictimsdownintheColumbusarea.

• Theteamvolunteersonanannualbasistobailhayforanelderlywidowinthearea.

So when you look at the Sports section on Saturday morning and see the scores, stats and articles remember it’s more than that…it’s about the Center Grove school system, through its Athletic Department and through its football program, providing an opportunity to help educate and develop more than 100 young men to be productive members in our society. It’s about a leader/coach using a fun game to teach young men about discipline, accountability and building positive and lifelong friendships.

Brad RileyCenter Grove Football Parents Club/President

Page 4School Review

class of 2008

scholarshipscghs to host 2010 convention

pay it forwardStart the Engines of

LeadershipNational Association of Student

Councils Convention

June 26th-29th, 2010

Join Old National Bank in becoming a financial sponsor for this amazing event!

Contact Anne Elsner elsnera@centergrove.k12.in.us or Heidi Sichting sichtingh@centergrove.k12.in.us

for more information.

NASC Community Service Mission Statement

We, the NASC Community Service Committee for the 2010 National Student Council Convention, make every effort to plan an unforgettable day of community service that will show a high level of compassion. We hope that the Boys and Girls Club youth will be positively influenced by the delegate-mentors and the powerful messages they hear both from motivational speakers and the Power of Children exhibit. Our dream in the end is to create a pay-it-forward mentality for both the Boys and Girls Club youth and the delegates, so that the delegates will continue helping their communities upon returning home.

At our convention, a Boys/ Girls Club child will be paired with 2 high school delegates for a one-day trip to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. They will see the Power of Children Exhibit, see reenactments by Museum staff, and hear a motivational speaker who was a Boys Club member as a child in inner-city Los Angeles. Sponsorships of this event are available.

Contact Anne Elsner elsnera@centergrove.k12.in.us or Heidi Sichting sichtingh@centergrove.k12.in.us for more information.

Local Scholarships AwardedJustin Alexander ROTC ScholarshipChelsea Andersen Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica Senior ScholarshipLindsey Bailey Knights of Columbus ScholarshipKatelyn Bird National Merit Macy’s Foundation Scholarship Indiana Heart Physicians Scholarship Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Scholarship Indiana Academic All-Star NomineeAngela Bonagura Johnson Memorial Guild ScholarshipColleen Coley Prudential Spirit of Community AwardEvan Danner Perfect Attendance 13 yearsDillon Etter Hoosier Hero, Lilly Endowment, Hoosier Scholar Prudential Spirit of Community AwardEmily Fergason Psi Iota Xi Zeta Epsilon Chapter ScholarshipKatie Foltz Perfect Attendance 4 yearsRenee Hart White River Rotary ScholarshipAnne Kaylor Johnson County 4-H Foundation Scholarship JCCF Lilly EndowmentKate Kim Sertoma Club of Greenwood Memorial ScholarshipKeaton Kramer Coca-Cola Classic Logo Design Award Cecil Head Art ScholarshipKimberly Kreuzman Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Scholarship Cecil Head Art Scholarship Psi Iota Xi Zeta Epsilon Chapter ScholarshipJoshua Lofgren CG Tri KappaEmily Mennel CG Choir Parents OrganizationJared Norman CG Alumni AwardJulia Nussbaum CG Tri KappaHaleigh Pitcock Mike Watkins Real Estate Scholarship St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers AuxilliaryMichelle Price Clarence “Buck” Boyce Jr. Memorial ScholarshipBarton Robison Project eXcel State Runner-Up in MusicAngela Robley Otterbein College Dean’s Award and Endowed ScholarSean Sall Hoosier ScholarLibby Sisson It’s Our Community Health Network ScholarKelsey Smith Irv Stringer Memorial ScholarshipLindsay Smith Project eXcel State Runner-Up in Music CG Tri KappaBrendan Sullivan Cecil Head Art ScholarshipBrooke Van Paris White River Rotary ScholarshipChristina Vidal Johnson Memorial Guild ScholarshipJacob Walker Hoosier ScholarJenny Wang Principal’s Leadership Award Indiana Bank and Trust Leadership AwardAli Warner Johnson County 4-H Foundation ScholarshipHeather Washburn Johnson County Community Scholar Indiana Bank and Trust Leadership Award Vectren Energy ScholarshipKristen West Greenwood Kiwanis Club Service ScholarshipDanny Zarro Perfect Attendance 4 years

Page 5 Fall/Winter 2008-09

Page 6School Review

happenings

around the districtComing Soon!Center Grove High School to Host Johnson County Choral Festival

The 2008 Johnson County Choral Festival will feature choirs from Whiteland, Edinburgh, and Center Grove. Rhythm Masters and Expressions will be performing from Whiteland High School. Edinburgh’s Lancer Singers Show Choir will also be featured.

Host Center Grove will present performances by CG Singers, CG Sound System and the Debtones. The Festival will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 17, 2008 at the Center Grove High School Performing

Arts Center. The public is invited to attend. Tickets are available at the door for $3.00 each.

2nd Annual Community Literacy Night with Safari Steve

“Reading Adventures,” the second annual Community Literacy Night will be held from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18 at Pleasant Grove Elementary School. Come for a pizza dinner (proceeds to benefit Riley Hospital for Children), and stay for the fun! Don’t miss special guest Safari Steve and his animal friend (Silly Safari Show at 6:00 pm), along with guest readers Superintendent Dr. Steven Stephanoff, Colts Cheerleaders, State Representative Woody Burton, and others. You may even win a fabulous door prize from the Colts, Pacers, Fever, Indians, Ice, Cheesecake Factory, or Connor Prairie. It’s an adventure for the whole family! Each student who donates five children’s books will eat dinner for free!

Overheard“I can’t believe my senior year is almost

half over. I wish CG had a college, so I could just keep going to school here!”

- CGHS Senior

Four Center Grove Seniors National Merit Semifinalists

Four Center Grove Seniors were named as Semifinalists in the 54th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Semifinalists, (left to right) McKenzie Weeks, daughter of Tim and Kim Weeks; Zachary Stallard,

son of Linda Stallard and Donald Stallard; Aaron Cox, son of Patricia Giever and Thomas Cox; and Brian

Devault, son of Ron and Marcia Devault.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for a National Merit®

Scholarship. Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. Approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2009 will be announced beginning in April and ending in July.

Six CG Seniors also received National Merit commendation.

Commended: (left to right) Alexander Kuka, son of Joe and Anne Kuka; Chase Coy, son of David and Kim Coy; Garrett Knutson, son of Mark and Juli Knutson;

James Kramer, son of Tim and Christine Kramer; Dan Kindervater, son of John and Vicki Kindervater;

and Sam Karozos, son of Jim and Amy Karozos.

Center Grove 4-Star SchoolsThe Indiana Four Star Awards program

was established to recognize schools that have demonstrated academic excellence during the past year. Schools that place in the state upper 25% in student attendance rates, mathematics proficiency scores, language arts proficiency scores, and the Percent of Students passing both Language Arts and Mathematics are eligible to receive a Four Star Award. Schools must meet all legal standards and also make Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind for the appropriate year.

Five Center Grove Schools have been named four-star schools: Center Grove High School, Center Grove Elementary, Pleasant Grove Elementary, Sugar Grove Elementary, and West Grove Elementary. Congratulations to all the students, faculty, and staff of our four-star schools!

CGHS Day of CaringCenter Grove juniors held their annual Day

of Caring on September 16. The students were busy cleaning, painting, and sprucing up our community!

Justin Spicer, CGHS junior was working hard, but enjoying the time off from classes. Smiling, he explained, “It’s great! It gets us out of school, and it’s helping out the community.” The students were readying Pleasant Grove Elementary to host a fundraiser for the “A Little Wiggle Room” fund, benefitting students with autism. Thanks to all the juniors and staff who participated!

Safari Steve & Friend

The Debtones Perform

Drew Calvert, Justin Spicer, Chase Brown, and Shawn Bui work on landscaping at PGES

Katie Sparks (pictured) and Liz Brown stained the wooden bridge in front of Pleasant Grove.

Page 7 Fall/Winter 2008-09

election 2008

welcome new board members

create an environment where students achieve at a higher level and rarely fall through the cracks. Students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.”

Our goal at CGHS is for at least one adult to know each student well. We want student contact with adults to be positive and encouraging. We don’t want our kids to only hear, “Don’t do that,” from teachers and administrators at school. To accomplish this goal, our extensive research and observation has led us to the recommendation of creating smaller learning communities.

Our efforts to meet the “personal” mandate began with the implementation of a 90-minute Instructional Resource Period, or IRP. This worked exceptionally well for some departments, but not for others.

To improve these efforts, mandatory study hall for each student was implemented, and IRP was replaced with a 30-minute STaR (Students, Teachers and Relationships) period. STaR classes are designed to be small, with about 15-16 in this year’s freshman classes.

Three days a week, students have open STaR periods, during which they can meet with teachers to get help if they need it. Thursdays are closed STaRs, allowing teachers and students to work on relationships.

With the implementation of smaller learning communities, students will likely have a mixed grade level and/or interest based advisory period. “This is where we believe relationships will be nurtured, as adults learn the aptitude, interests, and personalities of the students in their communities,” said Mr. Buck. Built in tutoring and mentoring opportunities are also expected to result.

Upon this relational foundation, relevance will then help to engage students in their education by making real-world connections like community service, service learning projects, internships, and mentoring. We will involve our community members and businesses in the shift toward project and problem based learning.

This will start with New Tech High and Early College, then the other SLC’s will follow suit. This will allow students the opportunity to collaborate, produce, and present to the

community and parents, thereby externalizing the enemy, or placing the teacher on the same side with the student.

Relationships and relevance will bring us to the rigor piece; these engaged students will be equipped to meet academic standards and state requirements. We are also making sure that students take the right test, the ACT or the SAT. This will make our students college eligible. By shifting from teaching to learning, with teachers accountable to ensure the students master the instruction, they will also be college ready.

At Indiana University, about 33,000 applications are made for 7,000 freshman slots. According to Dr. Connelly in his book, College Knowledge, “High schools do a good job of making students college eligible, but a poor job of making them college knowledgeable, or ready.”

We want CGHS graduates to be as versatile as possible, explains Mr. Buck. “We are gearing our curriculum to make college an option for every student, even those who don’t go immediately following high school graduation. By equipping kids with 21st Century Skills, whenever the light bulb comes on, they will be ready to go back to school,” he said.

“The point about relation-ships is that learning is

personal. When students have strong, trusting

relationships with their teachers, they work harder

and achieve more.”– Willard Daggett

“The more students understand how what they are learning is relevant to them, to their community,

or to the world at large; the more motivated they

will be to learn.”– Willard Daggett

“We are gearing ourcurriculum to make college

an option for every student…by equipping kids with 21st

Century Skills.”– Paul Buck

The New 3 R’s, continued from page 3

November 4, 2008 was a truly historical election day. In the shadow of all the national excitement, Center Grove is fortunate to have elected two dedicated community members to our Board of School Trustees. Welcome to Carole Tumey and John Steed, who will take office on January 1, 2009. Both have long standing connections to Center Grove, as Tumey spent 40 years employed by the district as a teacher, coach, and assistant athletics director. She retired in 2003. Steed is a former school board member, having served from 1993 until 2003.

Tumey and Steed will replace current board member Jackie Ponder and President Matt

Shepherd who did not run for reelection. We want to thank both Mrs. Ponder and Mr. Shepherd for their tireless dedication and

service to the Center Grove school board throughout their terms, and we are confident that we can count on their continued support and interest in our school district after their official service is completed. Their many contributions and valuable insight are such an asset to our community, and we very much appreciate the significant time and effort they have provided as school board members.

According to school board policy, the annual Board Organization Meeting will be held on or before January 15, 2009 to select officers.

Carol S. Tumey(Photo of Steed not available)

Fall 2008 Page 8

ADMINISTRATIONDr. Steven StephanoffSuperintendent

Dr. Janet BoyleAssistant Superintendent

Dr. Bill LongAssistant Superintendent

Dr. Paul GabrielChief Financial Officer

BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEESMr. Matt Shepherd, PresidentDr. Scott Gudeman, Vice PresidentDr. Jim Copp, SecretaryMr. Mark Dietel, MemberMrs. Jackie Ponder, Member

school reviewCenter Grove Community School Corporation4800 W. Stones Crossing RoadGreenwood, IN 46143-9100(317) 881-9326www.centergrove.k12.in.us

Non-ProfitOrganizationUS Postage

PAIDGreenwood, INPermit No. 32

On the Cover: Students enjoyed reading with Clifford the Big Red Dog during 2007 Literacy NightClifford will join us again for the 2nd Annual Literacy Night on November 18, 2008!

The Center Grove Community School Corporation Mission:To develop knowlegdeable, confident and responsible citizens by providing an extensive

learning experience relevant to the interests and capabilities of every student,in partnership with the home and community.

Be sure to check out the CGCSC Website!www.centergrove.k12.in.us

Don’t miss the “Center Grove Construction Projects” link on the home page! You’ll find news items, a fact check, the high school redesign page, budget &

finance information, and community feedback. Let us know what you think!

Good is the enemy of great.

And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.

We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good – and that is their main problem.

– Jim Collins, Good to Great

Soon after he became superintendent, Dr. Stephanoff challenged our district to move from good to great. As the coordinator of our high school redesign project, my main responsibility is to help Center Grove High School become great.

- Paul Buck, CGHS Assistant Principal

Why Change?

“Change does not come easily. The problem with

today’s schools is not that they are no longer as good as they once were but

rather that they are precisely as they always were, while the needs of our students and society have changed

significantly.”

– Adam Urbanski, Revolution of Rising Expectations,

1995.