The staff at Waters School has shown what true Best Practice believers can achieve. Over ten years of steady commitment, they have turned the school into an extraordinary environment for children, filled with art, books, nature, ideas, writing, music, achievements, and delight. They have energized the parent community, enlisted local artists, planted a beautiful community garden, stewarded eight nearby nature areas, and raised the test scores. Students within the Waters boundaries can enroll in the school at any time during the school year. Students outside the boundaries may still be able to gain admission to the school after the CPS deadline, as long as the class sizes remain with the CPS limits. Waters expects about 40 students from its general population in 2006. This makes up two classes of approximately 20 students...nice small sizes. Integrated Curriculum The Fine Arts Program, technology and environmental studies are used to weave concepts and themes across all subjects for more engaging and holistic instruction. Experiential Learning Children learn through hands-on activities and interaction. One unique example of this is through the Ecology Program. Each classroom has their own garden bed, where they experiment in the environment. These experiments are followed through in math, science, and art classes. Differentiated Learning Full-time reading specialists assess the students three times a year. Specialists then work with the teachers to form reading groups so the children are learning at their appropriate levels. This type oflearning is designed to meet the needs of every child. Reading and Literature A partnership with National Louis University, which is known for innovation in education content and methods, provides ongoing training and consultation to Waters' teachers to help them maximize their techniques for teaching reading. Moreover, the reading research coming out of the University of Oregon is state of the art. They have developed a pre-literacy screening called DIBELS (dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills). DIBELS allows for individual assessment of EACH student, the idea being every student is challenged at his/her own level and no one gets left behind or held back. Waters is doing this. It has helped increase their test scores 30% in the last 3 years. Dual Language (Spanish) Dual language kindergarten is available for next year. The teacher speaks 50% Spanish, 50% English. Parents can request their child be enrolled in this class, but class size will dictate how many students can participate. Waters is working on a before-school Spanish Class for Fall 2006. This would be a tuition-based class. Tours are held at 10:15 after Tot Storytime or by appointment. Call Asst. Principal, Ms. Kipp at 773-534-5090 for more information and a school packet, or see information online at waterstoday.com.