South Colonie CSD

							                 THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY
                 12234

                 OFFICE OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
                 Anne Schiano - Assistant Director
                 Curriculum, Instruction, and Instructional Technology Team
                 Room 320 EB, Albany, New York 12234 (518) 474-5922; FAX: (518) 473-4884


                         2007-2008 Project SAVE Grant Program

                                                       Abstract

    Abstracts are posted as submitted by the Project SAVE award winners
     (type in the first shaded area, then hit TAB and it will bring you to the next box)

School District Name South Colonie CSD

Address 102 Loralee Drive

City Albany                                State NY                                            Zip 12205

Contact Person Timothy Backus                                    Telephone with area code (518) 458-6052

E-mail Address Tim.Backus@nycap.rr.com                           Fax with area code (518) 449-6052



                           Place an ‘X’ in the appropriate focus area(s)

                                                               Pre-K-4

                                                                Grades 5-8

                                                               Grades 9-12


                   Place an ‘X’ in the appropriate curriculum area(s)

                       Arts                                                                    Mathematics

    Career Development & Occupational                                                       Physical Education
               Studies

              English Language Arts                                                              Science

        Family & Consumer Sciences                                                            Social Studies

                Health Education                                                           Technology Education

                                          Languages Other Than English
Project SAVE Grant 2007-08 Abstract: (type in the shaded area, and please note that ‘spell check’
will not work in this format – you may want to write the text in a word document first, then spell check and
and cut and paste the text into this document. Please review your text carefully before submitting)


The South Colonie Central School District would like to develop and maintain an instructional
program that helps to engage the disconnected students in the school community through the
implementation of standards-based educational curriculum component, an anti-bullying campaign, a
mentoring program and by updating our existing character education program. Specifically our plan
would include the following:

       -   Develop a comprehensive Anti-Bullying campaign: The district will build on already
           existing programs to help reduce incidents of bullying, vandalism, fighting, alcohol use and
           truancy. We would attempt to strengthen programs in the district that increase the
           students’ positive character traits. The anti-bullying campaign will meet the needs of the
           targeted population by providing them with strategies that will help to reduce incidents of
           bullying and improve the overall school and classroom climate. By improving the school
           climate, we will make the school a more inviting environment and increase the possibility
           that we are creating a more welcoming environment.
       -   Develop a mentoring program for students in grades K-8: Research shows that those who
           lack a sense of belonging in a school environment are at a greater risk for dropping out or
           acting out. Research also shows that by developing a mentoring program schools are able
           to promote a variety of positive outcomes including: education and cognitive attainment,
           health and safety, social and emotional well-being and self sufficiency (Jekielek, 2002).
           Studies have also shown that students indicate that their participation in a mentoring
           program increased their self-esteem, had a positive effect on their relationships, and parents
           reported that the students gained skills in the area of conflict resolution (Welkowitz, 2000).
       -   Update our existing character education curriculum: The district would look at the
           existing character education curriculum to see if we are adequately addressing the needs of
           the disaffected learner. By revaluating the existing curriculum we will be better able to
           provide opportunities to work with the entire school community to ensure all students feel
           connected to the school.
       -   Identify and pilot a standard-based educational program: We would look at existing
           curricula, such as the Flippen group, for a program that is backed up by rigorous
           longitudinal studies and case studies. We would strive to find a program that addresses the
           words of the month that the district already uses.




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