TVSC Parents – Important Survey Information! We need your input!

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Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation is in the process of reviewing and revising the strategic plan for our district’s collective future and ask for your input for our focus for the next five (5) years.

In the fall of 2018, TVSC received an IDOE Innovation Planning Grant which gives us the foundation to explore further what our staff and students need to thrive (academically and social-emotionally or mental health, work-life balance) and how transforming their experiences at Valley can be a catalyst in this endeavor.

Please take a few minutes to complete the brief survey.

Fast Facts:
1. Survey only takes a few minutes.
2. It will gather valuable data for the district as we plan for the future.
3. Survey window is March 18 through March 29, 2019.
4. Survey is conducted by Bright Minds Marketing, Indianapolis.
5. Survey results will be presented and shared.

Copy and paste the English or Spanish survey link below:

English – (Parents and Staff) Survey Access Link
https://tvsc2019english.sawtoothsoftware.com/login.html

Spanish Survey Access Link
https://TVSC2019spanish.sawtoothsoftware.com/login.html

Thank you again for your time and commitment to Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

Valley Insight for January 2019 – Author Scott Backus, TVMS Principal

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Peter Drucker, an author on organizational leadership, stated this about leadership, “The ultimate task is unmistakable: to lift all of those in the organization to higher heights. How do you influence people, not push people around because you have power?”

True leaders lift others up. For me, there are no more poignant examples of this than Scott Bibler and Brian Hooker. As I stood in a long line in the Rochester High School gymnasium waiting to pay my respects to Coach Hooker, I overheard a group of RHS alumni telling stories about their time with Coach Hooker. Some spoke of time in class, some spoke of time on the athletic field, and some even spoke of a side conversation or two he had had with them about decision making. A couple of years ago, I was the alum standing in a viewing line with my classmates talking about how Coach Bibler did all of these same things for us. Brian and Scott both made it a point to say hello, shake your hand, and talk to you. It was hard to walk away from a conversation with either of them without feeling uplifted.

The challenge in education is to develop these same skills in our students. The mission at TVSC is that we are committed to student success through the development of character, leadership, and literacy. How can we grow servant leaders who will go out into the world and impact others?

At Tippecanoe Valley, we have many great examples of groups who work as servant leaders. A few examples include the TVMS student council working the Thanksgiving and Christmas food pantry at Mary and Jerry’s Helping Hands, TVHS PEERS providing mentor support to middle school students, and elementary students ringing the bell to raise money for the Salvation Army. This list could go on for pages, given the time.

How can we grow leadership skills in all of our students, even if they are not in these leadership groups mentioned above? I believe that we have to provide great role models for kids. When adults – whether it be coaches, teachers, cooks, custodians, etc. – model servant leadership, others see it and learn from the example. We have to take every opportunity to teach students to serve others and lift others up, especially in a world where this is not always the norm.

At TVMS, we make a daily effort to display positive leadership traits for students. We start each day with a reading on good character and leadership from Project Wisdom. We model our Viking Way in all areas of school: be respectful, responsible, and ready. We teach a character and leadership education curriculum called Life Skills through health class. While these examples are of specific programs, we adults look to model this attitude daily, too.

I also believe strongly that sports develop leaders. Learning the skills to work with a team, showing sportsmanship, working hard to improve, knowing your role, and dealing with adversity are all critical to developing good character and becoming a leader. These skills are drastically more critical to a student’s future success than winning and losing an event. Do you lift people up on your team? Do you give credit to the team? Is the success of the team more important than your personal success? These are all characteristics of a leader.

We all have examples in our own lives of people like Brian and Scott who modeled great character and leadership. The challenge for all of us is to continue the legacy of those folks who impacted us, to pay it forward, by leading and lifting up others.

 

TVSC Awarded IDOE Innovation Planning Grant

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 Akron – On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation was notified of the award of a $30,000 Innovation Planning Grant through the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE).

The Innovation Planning Grant is available to school corporations to assist in the formulation of a plan for the thoughtful integration of technology into teaching and student personal learning. The scope of this grant supports professional development, technology readiness assessments, among other resources and opportunities.  The Innovation Planning Grant was made available by the IDOE through the David C. Ford Technology Fund.

This award will allow the corporation’s grant leadership team to work with an external vendor(s) for additional support.  The team will start with a self-assessment using the framework of Future Ready Schools. The Future Ready Schools framework will help guide the team to plan and implement personalized, research-based digital learning strategies so all students can achieve their highest potential. Areas of the district’s self-assessment will include Personalized Student Learning, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Use of Space and Time and Personalized Professional Learning.

Areas that the external assessment could include in the technology audit are infrastructure and tech readiness indicators. Instructional observations will give an overview of the schools’ learning culture and areas of opportunity for enrichment in professional development. Multiple data points will be used such as class visits, student and staff focus groups, and surveys.

The grant leadership team will visit at least two Indiana school corporations identified by the Office of eLearning as having already successfully launched/implemented 1:1 initiatives and will participate in professional development learning opportunities offered by the Office of eLearning and other organizations.

Other grant recipients of the 2018-2019 Innovation Planning Grant are Blackford Schools, Herron Charter and Riverside Charter, Indianapolis Public Schools, Merrillville Community School Corporation, North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation, Pike County School Corporation, and Southeast Neighborhood School of Excellence (SENSE).

More information can be found at:  https://www.doe.in.gov/elearning/future-ready-indiana.

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For more information on Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, contact:

Lori Tilden-Geiger

Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Grants

Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation

8343 S SR 19

Akron, Indiana  46910

574-598-2146

 

 

 

Valley Insight by Guest Author Deb Miller – October 2018

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VALLEY OCTOBER INSIGHT
By Deb Miller
Akron Elementary School, Counselor
Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation
Family Groups

Akron, IN – Akron and Mentone Elementary Schools are helping students build positive relationships with other students in different grades and with staff members through family groups. The purpose of family groups is for students to interact with others in different classes and grades, to help promote the sense of belonging and community in our school, and to help fifth graders become better leaders. At Akron, each family group is made up of students in grades K-5. Each family has at least two fifth graders who will act as the leaders of the family and they will lead the activity. Staff members are also assigned and paired with a family group. The adult’s role is to assist when there are issues.

Family groups meet about one time a month to learn a character education topic that is discussed throughout the month in the classroom, daily announcements, and weekly and bi-weekly guidance lessons. The topics come from the Core Essential Values/Core Essentials curriculum. Core Essentials is used in many schools across the county. This year the monthly themes (Big Ideas) are: Wisdom, Initiative, Contentment, Cooperation, Compassion, Self-Control, Service, Individuality, Hope, and Perseverance.

Each month family groups meet to learn what the Big Idea is, how students and adults apply this big idea, and participate in a craft activity. Each theme also has an animal to identify with therefore students watch a video to learn more about this animal. For example, in September the theme was Initiative – seeing what needs to be done and doing it. Students talked in their family groups about things they can do at home and at school. They wrote these things on Popsicle sticks and created a dam with paper beavers. The beaver was the animal of the month. Before the monthly family group activities, the counselors meet with the fifth grade students to talk about leadership and what their role will be for the activities.

Fifth graders state they like leading their family and helping them learn about a topic. Family groups go along with TVSC’s mission of Student Success through the development of Character, Leadership, and Literacy. Students are learning to get along with others and become better leaders.

Valley Insight for September 2018 – Guest Author Adam Heckaman

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TIPPECANOE VALLEY INSIGHT
By Adam Heckaman, TVSC School Board President

Akron, IN –In 1975, the Tippecanoe Valley community began a transformation that led us to where we are today. We have faced many challenges, experienced much success, but most importantly, we have consistently risen to each occasion presented and grown as a school corporation and community.

Most would agree that at the center of every community is its public school. When schools and community work together, both move towards a positive future. So, what makes our community and school system different? From my perspective, it is clearly the amazing support shared by all our corporation’s stakeholders. If not for our school system, what future would our community hold? If not for our community, what would our school corporation look like?

Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation and the surrounding community have the common goal and commitment to foster student success through development of character, leadership and literacy. We accomplish this through the support of our many extracurricular programs, such as but not limited to our athletic programs, the arts, and vocational programs, as well as the outpouring of public assistance for special events such as the Miracle Tree, a locally sponsored event designed to provide a special Christmas holiday to those needing a little extra help in our community. By building a sense of community within each of our schools, we strengthen our bond with the greater community. The more positive the effect students feel from this bond, the stronger their ties become to the community. Both the community and the school benefit when working together. I believe TVSC’s future is bright and is truly blessed to have such a supportive community for our children to be a part of.

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” At TVSC, we consistently bring together a small group of people to help change the world. This small group of people is the amazing teachers, counselors, administrators and various support staff who create a safe and encouraging space for all our children to grow and learn. Classroom educators are on the front line every day; not only do they instruct, but they mentor, tutor, nurture and counsel. They believe in their students and treat them as family. They work together to achieve goals and encourage students to dream bigger, search harder and reach farther.

As an Alumnus of Tippecanoe Valley High School, I have often asked myself where my sense of pride for my school and community comes from, and why is it so strong? What is it about the school and the community we grew up in that holds such a special place in the hearts of Valley Alumni? I believe the answer is in the bonding of life-long friends, memories made, dreams created, knowledge gained, and the educators who cared and encouraged us to succeed. Those of us who have graduated from TVHS understand the sense of Valley Family – Valley Pride which resurfaces when we take time to reflect and appreciate our past and present as Vikings! This pride overflows us as we walk the halls of our old stomping grounds and reflect on the choices and paths our time at Tippecanoe Valley led us down. The experiences and memories from TVSC have shaped us into who we are as individuals. This is our community; this is our school; this is our family. Valley Family – Valley Pride

 

 

Tippecanoe Valley 9th Annual Distinguished Alumni Dinner

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The Tippecanoe Valley Distinguished Alumni Committee would like to invite you to honor the Distinguished Alumni Class of 2018 at a dinner on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at 6:30pm. The dinner will be held at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School and is open to the public.  Tickets are on sale at all TVSC Schools and Administration Building.  Please join us as we reminisce about the great times at the Valley!  Any questions, please call Lori Tilden-Geiger at 574-598-2146 or 574-527-3000.