Then, students opened laptop computers to begin work on teacher Ed Steitz's "Reading Response No. 10": "What was found in Mr. Bass' cellar?"
Eleven-year-old Chris Howard's fingers began tapping out his thoughts: "I think when David was sleeping, Mr. Bass took a flight to Basudim and brought back a Basudimite."
The laptops -- each student's to use at home and school -- offer "a lot of really cool shortcuts," Chris said.
Laptops on every desk -- a 60-student program for fourth-graders in its second year at the academy -- allow Mr. Steitz to teach technology skills as part of regular class work.
A new classroom rule, "Lids down," means "Pay attention to the teacher."
SYMMES TOWNSHIP -- Parents spend a lot of time sitting on child-sized chairs in the hallways of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's elementary school.
They're helping out, as tutors in reading and math, giving piano lessons, working with youngsters on an art project.
Parent involvement is a hallmark of Cincinnati Hills, where they are club sponsors, school trustees, office support and fund raisers.
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Edyth B. Lindner Elementary
Principal: R. Mark Beadle
Enrollment: 410 students in grades K-4
History: Built in 1992; two classrooms and art - music room added
1995 Judge's comments: "It is such a positive environment one actually experiences the spirit, the practice of core values, the mission statement being lived by the entire school community. . . . The community that is housed in this building is worthy of imitation and praise. . . . They are creating critical thinkers." |
"We tell parents, "You're welcome all the time -- don't even call first,' " said Principal Mark Beadle.
The family atmosphere helped earn Cincinnati Hills a national Blue Ribbon on its first try, and in the first year the school was eligible for the prestigious award. (A school must exist five years before applying.)
The private, nondenominational Christian school is one of the nation's fastest-growing schools. It draws students from 35 public school districts in the Greater Cincinnati area, mostly from homes with college-educated parents and above-average incomes. Tuition is more than $4,300 per year at the elementary level; 21 percent of the academy's students receive scholarship assistance. A classroom addition soon will add room for 60 elementary students.
Keeping class sizes small -- 16-19 students per teacher -- is a goal while handling the growing enrollment, Mr. Beadle said. An average of four students per computer is maintained.
"We have kids learning here," Mr. Beadle said. "You see a lot of kids "on task' in our classrooms. Teachers can really teach -- there's not a lot of discipline problems."
