| February 25, 2008 Ms. Paula Kennedy The IHSTW team believes that Indian Creek Middle School is a great place for young adolescents. It is clear that the staff, community, and administration fully understands the needs ofthe students and are implementing a number of programs and strategies to meet those needs. In addition, Indian Creek appears to be a central component of the Waterman community and the students who attend ICMS are seen as engaged members ofthe community. Parents indicated that their voices matter and that their input is taken seriously by the administration and the teachers. Any visitor to Indian Creek Middle School would observe its commitment to guide all students to personal and academic success. It envelops its young adolescents with a uniquely nurturing and developmentally-appropriate learning environment and has much to share with other middle-grades educators. As you recall, the National Forum stresses that selected School to Watch demonstrate excellence in all four of its criteria: academic excellence, social equity, developmental responsiveness, and organizational structures and procedures. Although Indian Creek is truly a great school, the Illinois Horizon School team feels that several overarching concerns merit consideration .
In conclusion, we believe that Indian Creek is doing many great things
for its students and surrounding community. We also believe that,
like any school, there are some things that could be improved. Ultimately, we would like to schedule another visit around the same time next year, in order to see the kind of changes that have taken place; we will do a full re-designation for the remaining two years. If you have any questions regarding this letter please feel free to contact me at 309-438-3920. Because of Indian Creek's many achievements, it is deserving of reward and recognition. We are excited to celebrate your success with a special award package. This includes:
In order to hold a celebration before the school year closes, we would like to have a conversation with you sometime during the next month in order to establish plans. Please contact the AIMS office at 217-333-7104 at your nearest convenience so that we can set up a date and time. We do thank you and your colleagues, on behalf of the Illinois Horizon School team, for the effort you expended hosting our site visit. You have not only our thanks but our high regard.
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