1. Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs Board Goals Maintain a quality education program for all students Operate in the most efficient manner possible. Maintain a school in every community.

2. Welcome to 2008 Innovation Labs Develop a sustainable administrative model to manage our districts. Create equal opportunities for students in our four school districts Create a communication model that supports collaboration.

3. Characteristics of a complex system Learning is a typically a "complex" activity. Most learning systems contain a number of separate parts that must work together for learning to occur.

4. Characteristics of a complex system A complex system is emergent. In an emergent system, smaller parts comprise a larger system. This larger system has properties the smaller units lack. Therefore, together they become more than they could be in isolation.

5. Administration of a complex system A complex system is unpredictable. Decision-making is decentralized. Innovation flourishes in complex learning environments.

6. Characteristics of a complex system A complex learning environment contains many iterations and feedback/feedforward loops. People learn by trial and error--in other words, they learn from their mistakes.

7. Characteristics of a complex system It's quite possible that learning occurs BEST on the "edge of chaos," where order and chaos meet.

8. Recommended Changes School Organization Structure Elementary: Preschool through 4 th Grade Middle School: 5 th through 8 th Grade High School: 9 th through 12 th Grade

9. Pre-School Programs Establish a cooperative pre-school program for Laurel-Concord and Coleridge Students. Newcastle pre-school already in existence.

10. Pre-School Programs Combine the Kindergarten through 2 nd grade students in Coleridge and Laurel for the 2007-08 school year.

11. Junior High Programs Combine junior high athletic programs at Coleridge and Laurel-Concord (Coordinated practices in volleyball, football, and track to accommodate low numbers and combined teams in volleyball and football to accommodate separate 7 th and 8 th grade contests)

12. Special Programs Level III Autism Program at Coleridge (Currently serving students from Laurel and Wynot) Level III Vocational Program at Laurel (Currently serving students from Coleridge, Laurel, and Newcastle)

13. Special Programs Credit Recovery Program (Currently serving students from Allen, Laurel-Concord, and Newcastle)

14. Special Programs Coordinate a transportation program to accommodate travel for special or combined programs. (Currently serving students from all four schools involved in the above programs or junior high athletics)

15. Special Programs Provide vehicles or share transportation services between school districts at cost (Coordinate school activities and field trips to allow for shared transportation when possible)

16. Distance Education Expand distance education/online classes (21 distance education rooms) (Currently offering 57 distance education courses to over 890 students in Allen, Coleridge, Laurel, Newcastle, Prague, Wausa, Winside, Wynot)

17. College Credit Classes Expand college credit options for high school students (In the first semester, 53 students completed 268 college credit classes, 2 students enrolled in college full-time)

18. Administration Reduce administration and staff (Reduced ½ time administrator and 4 teaching positions, while expanding offerings to students)

19. Elementary Programs Expand elementary programs in art, guidance, health, and Spanish (Reassigned present staff to expand elementary programs)

20. Tax Reduction Rescinded overrides in Coleridge and Newcastle to protect against possible free-holding options. 06-07 07-08 Levy Tax School Levy Levy Decrease Decrease Coleridge1.171223 1.102294.067706 $79,128.38 Laurel1.174556 1.096038.078518 $178,842.14 Newcastle1.298252 1.085068.213184 $178,940.00 Wynot1.200000 1.060436.139564 $84,908.38 Total Decrease.498972 $521,818.90

21. Extra-Curricular Programs and Clubs Expand extra-curricular programs and clubs to students in Coleridge, Newcastle, and Wynot (Students from Coleridge, Newcastle, and Wynot involved in FFA. Laurel and Coleridge students have been involved in cooperative programs in Cross Country, Wrestling, and Golf)

22. Redefining the three “R’s” Rigor Relevance Relationships

23. Overcoming the three “A’s” Abundance Asia Automation

24. Complex System The education system we grew up in is still necessary, just not adequate to guarantee our children the same opportunities we have enjoyed. Daniel Pink

25. 2007-08 Successes