This month, Dr. Cole has handed over the blog to offer an opportunity to highlight the NJROTC (Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) program and its recent activities. If you’ve been to TLA, you’ve likely seen a scholar or two passing in the hallways wearing a military cadet uniform or NJROTC shirt. Maybe you’ve been to a local parade or veteran-related event and seen a young color guard or young people in uniform volunteering? If so, you’ve likely run into the TLA NJROTC cadets. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) John Spiritosanto, this group of scholars has been very active in the community. Preparing to present the Colors at the USS Beloit Commissioning. What is NJROTC? NJRTOC (Navy Jr ROTC) is a program established in 1964 to instill values of citizenship, service to the United States, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment in high school students. The curriculum, which is led by retired Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard officers and enlisted personnel, covers topics like citizenship, leadership, maritime heritage, and naval operations and includes classroom instruction as well as activities such as community services, athletics, drill competitions and field trips. The program encourages students to complete their high school education and pursue additional education. TLA’s NJROTC program is the only NJROTC program in the state of Wisconsin. The USS Beloit TLA’s NJROTC program had a unique opportunity to develop relationships with the recently commissioned USS Beloit, their Commander and the crew which culminated in the platoon being given the honor of presenting the Colors at the official commissioning ceremony in Milwaukee on November 24, 2024. LCDR Spiritosanto, who enlisted in the Navy as an air metal smith and ended his 20 years of active-duty service as a military intelligence officer, will tell you the opportunity scholars have had to make a personal connection with the USS Beloit crew, Captain Le Andra Kissinger and other leaders in the Navy has provided incredibly meaningful experiences for the program and individual cadets. “Talking with real sailors, manning real ships, going into harm’s way provides a very different perspective from the one I can give as a retiree,” he says. From questions like “why did you enlist?” and “what kind of educational opportunities has the military provided you?” to “are you afraid of war?” scholars have gotten real-time insight into the life of a sailor. “It’s down to earth, realistic talk about what it means to be in service,” according to the LCDR, who also says, “It has been incredibly valuable for cadets to make a connection with a female Captain.” Captain Kissinger has shared her story about her path to the military, her husband’s service and how they make military service work for their family, as well as her path and approach to leadership. Other crew members have also been open in sharing the challenges and opportunities they experienced along the way. In the end, “It has been a great example of a diverse pool of role models that are succeeding and achieving in the military,” according to LCDR Spiritosanto. Following the commissioning ceremony in November, the cadets also received a personal tour of the ship and had the unique opportunity to talk with Navy leadership including Beloit native and the Sponsoring Major General (Ret.) Marcia Anderson and the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, likely a once in a lifetime experience for these NJROTC cadets. NJROTC cadets speaking with Major General (Ret.) Marcia Anderson and LCDR Spiritosanto. Making Service Possible It’s been a busy fall for the NJROTC program. In addition to the unique opportunities offered by the USS Beloit commissioning, school day learning and after school and weekend community service, skills competitions, and Military Balls are all providing scholars with opportunities to be involved in service to their community, develop leadership skills, and be exposed to new experiences. As LCDR Spiritosanto notes, “the things we do in service are not possible without the support and loving care of our families and friends.” Thank you, to all the family, friends, and organizations who are backing up our NJROTC program, leadership, and scholars. The Lincoln Academy is a K4-12 independent 2x charter school located in Beloit, Wisconsin.

This week, we received our annual report card as part of the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) release of 2023-2024 report cards statewide. DPI is required by state statute to generate a report card for every publicly funded school and district in the state. The Lincoln Academy received a 3-star rating of Meets Expectations. Report Cards as a Tool As a newer school, this is TLA’s second year participating in the state report card process. Report cards can be a helpful tool for families to better understand school/district performance. They are also part of a school’s self-assessment toolbox in understanding how to best support all scholars. One challenge this year for our families and our team is that DPI made changes to exam cut scores used to determine proficiency and to the report cards themselves. These changes make it difficult to compare this year’s report card to previous years. That said, as we dig into our report card data, there are some key takeaways. Focused on Proficiency & Growth TLA’s focus is on making sure every scholar is proficient and prepared for life after high school. Our report card and Forward Exam data shows we have increased scholar achievement year over year. This is our vision; working to ensure every scholar meets grade level standards.   Wisconsin Student Assessment (WSAS) exams were administered to scholars during the spring of the 2023-2024 school year. The results are a foundational component of DPI school and district report cards. Overall state exam proficiency for TLA scholars, now categorized on report cards as “Meeting” or above performance levels, was 39.2% in ELA and 42.1% in Math. Wisconsin scholars in the same grades scored 51.1% in ELA and 53.1% in Math.   The changes DPI made this year to the cut score required for “Meeting” expectations as compared to prior year tests, makes it more complicated to interpret progress. Year-over-year, TLA moved from 30.7% to 39.2% in ELA and from 24.0% to 42.1% in Math. At the state level, Wisconsin scholars moved from 35.8% to 51.1% in ELA and from 39.5% to 53.1% in Math.   The report card also reveals important work being done to address achievement gaps, with virtually all TLA scholar subgroups exceeding state benchmarks in proficiency.  The same holds true for growth measures. TLA exceeded state growth benchmarks for all scholar subgroups apart from special education.   Target Group Scores A key measure integrated into report card ratings relates to the performance of a DPI defined target group. This group includes the lowest 25% performing scholars in both ELA and Math.   An internal analysis of our data has highlighted for us the complexities associated with the composition of the target group, including significant percentages of scholars with special needs, scholars regularly entering TLA later in their educational career, and scholars who left TLA within a year or two.  Also called to our attention, how target group performance is integrated into report card scoring and the unique impact the target group can have on a report card for a newly launched school. Given this, we do anticipate there will be fluctuations in TLA’s proficiency levels and report card scores associated with the school’s initial ramp-up to full enrollment. Still Work to Do Based upon TLA’s socioeconomic status data, our overall scholar achievement counts for 6.6% of our report card score, effectively limiting the impact of overall increased scholar achievement in driving our report card score. Our scholars who are struggling the most are not making as much progress as other scholars at TLA, which means we need to continue to build out support systems that enhance growth and proficiency for scholars performing in the lowest 25% of the school.   This school year, we have integrated the IXL platform to allow us to drive more significant and meaningful small group support during WIN (What I Need) time. This approach will allow us to seamlessly integrate additional targeted interventions to support these scholars. Additional areas of attention within this scholar group will include chronic absenteeism and scholars with disabilities.   It is easy for us to forget sometimes that we are still a young school. When we opened, we hit the ground running around academics in a way that perhaps made it feel like we had been doing this awhile. In year four, while we are pleased with how we are closing the achievement gaps overall, the data helps us understand where we have more focused work to do. We are committed to ensuring ALL scholars have the skills and experiences necessary to live productive and choice-filled lives, and we appreciate your support in our continuing to do the difficult work of achieving this goal. Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 2x independent charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

A school’s single most important point of impact on scholars are its educators. How they engage scholars, how they introduce a concept, or help a scholar make sense of why something didn’t work out are the keys to unlocking scholar potential in the classroom.  The goal is to always see scholars grow academically and see them achieve their greatest potential.  Given this, one of my most important jobs as a school leader is to hire the staff who believe in Children First and have a strong growth mindset.  Then, we must provide our staff with the data, tools, and coaching that supports them in continuing to build their skills explicitly and precisely in these areas.   A School Culture of Learning & Growth Our school culture is one of continuous learning and growth for both our scholars and our staff. This focus is what we believe allows us as a school community to achieve the greatest outcome possible for scholars – a learning environment that prepares them for a happy choice-filled life and bright future. To this end, we are intentional in providing ongoing teacher coaching and support that is grounded in our desire to build a culture of continuous learning and feedback. It is core to our mission of academic rigor and keeps data and scholar outcomes at the heart of our work.  Skyrocket Coaching The Skyrocket coaching model is based upon the belief that teachers should be coached where they are. It is a structured and focused approach that is about building foundational skills and layering more advanced skills on top of these, and it is the coaching framework we use at TLA. This type of direct coaching is heavy on modeling, practice, design, and feedback, all grounded in data. The goal – supporting our educators in building skills and habits that continue long after the coaching cycle. The Skyrocket framework of coaching is made up of three strands: Strand 1 - Classroom Culture Scholar outcome goal: Scholars are on-task throughout the lesson. Strand 2 – Content Mastery Scholar outcome goal: Scholars make significant progress toward mastering a rigorous daily objective. Strand 3 – Rigor Scholar outcome goal: Scholars deeply engage with content and participate in academic discussions consistently throughout the lesson. Each strand involves multiple foundational teacher actions associated with it. It also has a rubric for teacher observation related to the percentage of scholars meeting the outcome goal as follows: 65-84% of scholars meeting the outcome goal = Developing 85-94% of scholars meeting the outcome goal = Proficient 95-100% of scholars meeting the outcome goal = Advanced A teacher must rate proficient or higher over multiple observations to move on to the next strand.  As a part of the coaching process, TLA staff receive a minimum of 5 touch points per week, which may include a coaching meeting, an observation (both collecting data and real-time coaching), or an additional learning experience (observing another teacher, reading/reflecting on an article, and/or reviewing/reflecting on video of their own class or someone else’s).  Staff have seen first-hand how certain teaching behaviors can assist in improving scholar outcomes (i.e., Scan and Praise).  Many experienced teachers and educational assistants who have come to TLA after teaching elsewhere have learned new strategies for teaching and learning and have expressed appreciation for their own professional growth. What Does This Approach to Coaching and Support Mean for TLA? One of the best ways to see the impact of Skyrocket coaching in action is to observe the differentiated learning that is happening at TLA during WIN (What I Need) Time. This year, we integrated the IXL platform with WIN time, allowing us to use a data dashboard around different lessons scholars have completed related to math, ELA, corrective reading, and social-emotional content. This integration has further enhanced our teachers’ ability to provide highly targeted learning support for individual scholars and small scholar groups that are based upon similar levels of mastery. As a result, we are beginning to see some positive growth in our scholars.  For example, a group of scholars in one of our Character Strong groups has started to develop positive bonds with one another and have been more willing to express themselves and look forward to coming to school.  Others are starting to show growth in ELA and math. Sharing Care Michael Sonbert, a wise man who also happens to be my coach (yes, I continue to push myself to be explicit and precise in building my skills as well), once said to me, “Feedback is a great way to share care for somebody.” This resonated so deeply with me. Our staff at TLA are incredibly talented, passionate, and Children First focused leaders and learners. They truly are our greatest resource and are committed to pushing themselves every day to mastering their craft. As a school community, we will continue to share care for each other, ensuring our scholars achieve their greatest potential. Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent 2x charter school, in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Welcome back to school! It’s hard to believe we’re already several weeks into the new school year, let alone 4 years into the realization of The Lincoln Academy vision. This is a special year. For the first time, we are fully K4-12th grade, with 727 scholars enrolled. The classrooms are all in use, the bleachers are full during assemblies, the teaching staff represents every grade level, and at the end of this schoolyear we will shepherd our first graduating class into a bright, choice-filled future. Another Year of Firsts Each of the last several years we have celebrated new “firsts” as we have grown. From the inaugural first day of school, school assembly, afterschool club, homecoming week, holiday sing, athletic event, parent-teacher conference, and state testing period to Prom, Track & Field Day, 8th grade black shirt ceremony, school carnival, and summer break we have celebrated with joy. These firsts have been met with a mix of excitement and opportunity for growth by our school community, and they aren’t over yet. Already this year, TLA’s first Varsity athletic teams are in action and Seniors contemplating college have already applied early or are beginning that process and learning about financial aid applications, college essays, and scholarship opportunities. Honoring Some Lasts Most of our Senior scholars have been with us since 9th grade. They are an amazing group of scholars who have embraced their role as mentors and scholar leaders since that very first day at TLA. They have rolled with us as we have grown and provided plenty of honest, helpful feedback as we have worked to create a school culture that incorporates the positive impact of cross-grade level collaboration while still maintaining an environment that provides for a true high school experience. Our Seniors haven’t been shy about sharing their feedback and our school and those scholars who are coming up behind them will have a more robust experience as a result. Prior to the start of this schoolyear, the Senior class made the decision to recognize and honor some of their last high school experiences throughout the year. We look forward to sharing and celebrating this special journey with them. A New Kind of Year Like scholars, as staff we still have that sense of excitement and wonder at the start of school about what the new year will bring. Now that the fresh start of the first day has passed, TLA really feels like a school this year. There’s something about being a full house in a year with firsts and lasts and a future filled with so much potential. It brings a new kind of energy and excitement knowing that we are where we are supposed to be and as ready as ever to keep getting after it. Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

We try hard to be intentional about saying “thank you” at TLA.  We say it to our scholars all the time, whether it’s for their hard work and focus, showing great character or simply walking through the hallways quietly. We say it to our staff for their endless hours of preparation and commitment to ensuring scholars are prepared to leave TLA with all the skills and experiences necessary to pursue their dreams. Now, we’d like to say “thank you” to you, our TLA families and parents, both for your trust and partnership in the work of preparing your scholar for the future and for standing up for TLA. We See You at Work Public education is a pretty consistent topic of discussion in our community right now. While TLA is not at the heart of most conversations, there are some from within and outside our community who choose to add or pass along inaccurate information about charter schools in the local dialog. It’s not surprising, but it is frustrating. What has been so gratifying, however, is to see you, our TLA parents and families, actively working to correct these inaccuracies from a place of knowledge and experience. Your advocacy is noticed and appreciated. THANK YOU! We so appreciate your commitment to standing up for charter schools in general and TLA more specifically and wanted to provide you with some additional information around some of the more common inaccuracies that come up. TLA serves only a small slice of the community. It’s true, we are not as big as a traditional public school district. This coming school year, we will be fully enrolled, K4-12, with 730 scholars. In the 2023-2024 school year, we served 624 scholars. While our overall enrollment is smaller than a traditional district, our TLA families and scholars fully reflect the diversity of the Beloit community. Charter schools are not accountable to the public. We believe we are more  accountable to the public than a traditional public school district. We are required to administer the same tests and assessments as all other public schools. We also receive a rating through the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Accountability System, and if we do not perform at a high level, we can be closed by the Office of Educational Opportunity, our charter authorizer. We have a Governance Board , whose members collectively have the skills and diverse perspectives needed to effectively review financial, scholar achievement, and other data and information needed to make independent decisions about how to best serve scholars and families. Additionally, we publish our annual Year in Review, DPI Report Card, and financial audit  on our publicly accessible school website, which provides detailed information about our school community, activities, scholar achievement, and TLA’s revenue sources, resource allocation, and financial health. Charter schools like TLA can “counsel out” challenging and vulnerable students once they receive funding from the state for those students. TLA staff, families, and scholars make an annual commitment to high expectations around school culture as it relates to academic rigor, character development, and career exploration as described in the Family Handbook, the TLA Commitment to Success and the Extra-Curricular Code of Conduct . These expectations can become a challenge for some scholars for a variety of reasons. Rather than “counsel scholars out,” however, we choose to counsel them in. We know how critical education is to a scholar’s future and we want to provide the supports necessary to keep scholars with us. That doesn’t mean, however, that there is no disciplinary process. There is a consistent, straightforward process applied when disciplinary issues arise. Sometimes, families may choose to make a change, deciding a different school environment is a better fit for their family, but we have never counseled a family to go to another school. Since TLA opened in 2021, the pre-expulsion process has been used twice and there have been zero expulsions. Thank You We just can’t say it enough. Thank you for your trust and partnership and thank you for using your knowledge and experience to push back and correct misinformation around TLA and charter schools. Let’s get the 2024-2025 school year started! Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

The week of May 6th–10th is Staff Appreciation Week at The Lincoln Academy.  To be clear, we are thankful every single day for the passion and hard work staff put in to support scholars in learning, exploring, and growing into the amazing and accomplished people they are and will continue to become.  We try hard to create an environment in which staff feel valued and appreciated in big and small ways throughout the year, but this week is a special time when we like to celebrate our staff loudly and joyously as a school community. The Work is Hard Like so many schools across the nation, TLA is navigating a world in which there is a significant teacher shortage.  As if this isn’t challenge enough, at TLA we look for teachers and staff that are mission-aligned, laser-focused on putting scholars first and willing to go the extra mile, whether that’s a longer school day, greater focus on classroom coaching, or working collaboratively at every grade-level to integrate character and career exploration into everyday learning. This work extends beyond the classroom and involves everyone from the teachers/educational assistants to custodians, cafeteria, administrative, operations and security staff. A commitment at this level is not for everyone.  It is incredibly hard work to ensure learning as well as bringing joy, smiles, hugs, and feelings of safety, self-confidence, and accomplishment to every scholar every day.  Passionate teachers and staff make the effort, put in the time (so many hours), and have so much care for how it all gets done.  It is part of the secret sauce of TLA, and none of it is easy. Thank You Sometimes simple and straightforward is the best way to show appreciation.  So while our school community (scholars, families, Parent Leadership Council and leadership teams) will be celebrating and showing appreciation to our staff in a number of ways this week, I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to our staff for the innumerable hours they put in to create a school community we all want to come to each day to learn, grow, celebrate accomplishments, and joyfully support scholars in achieving their potential on the path to a bright future with choice-filled lives.  Thank you for your passion. Thank you for the incredibly hard work.  Thank you for bringing the joy!  And thank you for always, always putting scholars first.  Happy Staff Appreciation Week!  TLA staff - YOU are the secret sauce that makes TLA the premier K-12 charter school in the nation!  Go Lions!  ROAR! Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy in Beloit. Wisconsin.

Last fall we published a blog highlighting Forward Test Score results for TLA 3rd grade scholars.  As noted, the Forward Exam is a required state exam taken each spring; results are reported each fall.  With shared goals of both transparency and learning, we are following up with an additional blog, this time focused on middle school. TLA Ramp Up TLA opened our doors in fall of 2021 at the tail end of covid, still confronting infections and the inevitable disruption of the virus, but open and in the building nonetheless (at least most kids, most of the time). Our ramp up to a full K12 school has been implemented over the course of four academic years within two grade bands – elementary and middle/high school.  Each year we have added a new class in K4 and grade 6 and existing scholars transitioned into the next grade.  Academic Year Elementary Grade Band Middle/HS Grade Band 2021-22 K4 – 2 6-9 2022-23 K4 – 3 6-10 2023-24 K4 - 4 6-11 2024-25 K4 - 5 6-12 In the elementary grades, this strategy allows us to build foundational skills as scholars grow.  Middle school implementation requires something different.  The Middle School Experience For a majority of scholars, middle school as an entry point to TLA is about recovery.  While this may be true in part because of the covid conditions of our opening, it is also possible that it is true given middle school proficiency rates in Beloit which currently sit at approximately 14% in ELA and 4% in Math.  Staff, scholars, and families may face the fact that there is serious and significant catch-up work to be done.    Our initial baseline for the work was established with our first round of MAP testing in fall of 2021. [i]  Across the middle grades projected proficiency rates in our first round of tests were approximately 20% in ELA and 10% in Math.  Rates of growth in year one were significant; more than 200% in math and approximately 115% in ELA.  A new group of scholars joined us in year two.  Excess growth continued in year two though at slightly lower rates in math, leading us to the middle school Forward scores at the end of 2022-23 noted in the chart below. [ii] Academic Year, 2022-23 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 ELA 26% 28.3% 21.7% Math 22% 13% 13% The bottom line, despite significant rates of growth, the path to proficiency is steep.  Interventions Teaching Matters.  TLA along with virtually every district in the country will tell you that finding teachers is a struggle and finding exceptional teachers is even harder.  And if we are honest, the data tells us when there is a struggle to get stable and quality teachers in front of children in every classroom, children’s outcomes suffer.  For TLA, adding grades and thus adding teachers every year increased the challenge.  Finding mission aligned teachers and offering high quality coaching is and will remain a fundamental strategy for supporting scholar growth.  Curriculum Matters. Math has presented some paradoxical challenges.  We have demonstrated that we can help scholars achieve incredibly high rates of growth in middle school, however, the path to achieving proficiency is a serious challenge.  In the last school year, we saw scholars struggling with and frankly complaining about our math tools.  The Forward scores reinforced what we saw and heard, and we pivoted to an alternative curriculum this school year.   Culture Matters. Experts sometimes say that culture eats strategy for lunch and its true.  Acclimating each new group of middle school scholars to the TLA way – from uniforms, cell phone restrictions, homework expectations and behavioral expectations has been bumpy at times.  Honestly, we did not anticipate how hard it would be to bring in a new group of 6th grade scholars each year.  But we are learning, adapting and improving as we go.    Individual Interventions Are Critical. Sounds cliché but it really is true that every scholar is different.  They struggle with different foundational skills and must have intervention supports that target what they need specifically.  Continuing to build these interventions will be critical to our long-term success.    Parent Partnerships. Forming collaborative relationships with our parents/families is important.  It is our responsibility to ensure that parents are given accurate and detailed information about individual scholar strengths, challenges, and progress.  TLA parents must support scholar learning, ensuring scholars are in school, completing their homework and meeting the expectations we have for our school community.  It has been important for parents to understand their role in ensuring the success of their scholar. A Few Closing Thoughts One observation we wish we were able to evaluate is the impact of hands-on learning, particularly for middle school scholars.  Our model of exploratory classes ranging from applied arts to construction to manufacturing and engineering is both engaging and integrates relevant, real-world math and reading applications.  Can it impact outcomes?  Time will perhaps help us answer that question.   Having adequate supports and caring deeply and holistically about the success of every scholar is incredibly important.  Our scholars come through the door each day with their own stories and challenges, and it does appear to be true that mental health challenges are rising.  We must empathize, support, AND teach our scholars so that they build the skills they need for a successful future.    These scores help underscore the often-cited importance of ensuring scholars are proficient by third grade.    This work is hard.  Incredibly hard.  Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy in Beloit, Wisconsin. ____________________________________ [i] MAP signifies Measures of Academic Progress and is designed to project proficiency rates for spring testing. [ii] Forward Score Data for all schools is publicly available on the DPI website  WISEdash Public Portal - Department of Public Instruction

Fall is here and with that comes the annual release of the results of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) exams administered to scholars during the spring of the 2022-2023 school year. Both last year and this year, we shared our combined exam proficiency data with families, staff and the community as is common for most districts. This year, we’re taking a deeper dive into the data to share what we’re learning about our scholars, our approaches to increasing proficiency, our challenges and the questions we’re asking ourselves. This will be the first of a series of blogs covering our results. Third Grade Scholars Exceed State Proficiency Rates in Reading & Math When we opened the doors to The Lincoln Academy (TLA) we made a number of commitments to the community, to our scholars and to our school families. Perhaps the most important was a commitment to academic rigor and to ensuring scholars are proficient in core subjects, particularly English (ELA) and Math. We are pleased to share, after just two years, we are beginning to see the promise of what is possible. Forward Exam proficiency rates for TLA third grade scholars included ELA 37.3% and Math 51.2%. Wisconsin scholars in the same grades scored proficient at a rate of 37.0% in ELA, 47.9% in Math. These results are especially noteworthy when you consider that our third grade scholars weathered covid during much of their kindergarten and 1st grade years, most at home in a remote learning environment. The recovery work being done is critical for scholars. When you compare 2021-2022 MAP projections of proficiency rates of 15% in ELA and 48.7% in Math for second graders to the 2022-2023 Forward exam proficiency rates of 37.3% in ELA and 51.2% in Math for third graders, you see a dramatic jump. Why It Matters Research tells us third grade reading proficiency is a crucial marker in educational development; it is highly correlated with future school success and high school graduation. These early grades are foundational, and we understand it is essential that we help our young scholars build basic skills in order to pave the way for a choice-filled life. There is a relevant and often noted line, “Scholars in primary grades are learning to read and by middle school are reading to learn.” We understood this when we started TLA which was the rationale for launching with the K4-2 grade band and adding a grade each year thereafter. We knew that ‘growing our own’, in other words, growing proficiency among our early learners was essential for the long-term success of our scholars and our school. These scores reinforce those decisions, and we anticipate seeing increasing proficiency rates as our youngest scholars move toward that grade 3 marker. Assessing What Works Test data is an important tool as we evaluate and adjust our own work at TLA, an ongoing and critical component of our work. After all, charter schools have, since inception, been intended to serve as laboratories of innovation. At TLA, we use scholar-level data to drive academic supports - What I Need (WIN) time, small group work, and Reading Corps participation. We combine this with an environment rich in hands-on exploratory learning designed to integrate academic concepts. Our school leaders and educators are coached using the Skyrocket model which provides direct coaching on classroom management, content mastery and rigorous instruction. And we use data for virtually everything. With these practices as the foundation, the TLA team made a number of adjustments in the 2022-23 school years to address the 2nd grade learning gaps identified through our data assessment. The primary adjustment: continuing to work side-by-side with our dedicated and committed teachers and educational assistants through the coaching process to refine specific strategies. TLA used data to ensure we were supporting small group interventions and providing solid educational instruction. While we still have room to grow and significant hard work ahead the results reinforce our unwavering belief in the capabilities of our scholars. To access comprehensive result data, you may visit the DPI website at WISEdash Public Portal - Department of Public Instruction Next Up: Middle School - Opportunities Ahead While it is important to celebrate the promise of our youngest scholars, it is equally important to help our older scholars who often come to TLA well-below their current grade levels. The next blog will share our results, our learning and the strategies we are deploying to help our scholars succeed. Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

The first day of school has come and gone, with the red carpet we roll-out to welcome scholars to their school returned to storage until the next first day of school. The message of the red carpet, “you, scholars, are important and learning should be celebrated!” is a message we strive to keep alive all schoolyear long. How do we do that? By making sure we are putting children first in all decisions that we make. The 2023-2024 school year brings some new and exciting opportunities and as we made decisions about each of these, scholar needs and impact were firmly at the forefront. New Construction As many of you are aware, we embarked on a major construction project last spring that both finished out some of the empty shell space on the south and east sides of the building that was part of our initial construction and added on to the building to support the creation of a stand-alone cafeteria and other new spaces. The new cafeteria has been very well received by scholars. Filled with plenty of light and a few different seating options, this space provides a much-improved environment for lunch break while also allowing for full use of the gymnasium at the same time. Expanded Learning Equally as exciting as the new cafeteria are the other new spaces that have opened up to scholars and staff. These allow for greater learning opportunities for all age groups and for expanded functionality related to learning, after-school activities and designated staff meeting space as our school population continues to grow. The new spaces include: A new Design lab on the lower level. A new weight room off the gym. A middle school Science lab, a large multipurpose room, an additional special education classroom, and designated meeting/workspace for staff on the second floor; and An expanded Medical Services lab, an Advanced Manufacturing lab, an Esports lab and a designated NJROTC classroom on the third floor. The variety of opportunities each of these spaces will provide to scholars to enrich and expand their learning and development are limitless. We can’t wait to see what scholars can accomplish in these new spaces! More Opportunities to Learn and Grow Each of the last two years we have worked hard to offer and grow opportunities for scholars of all ages be involved in extra-curricular activities and have access to expanded learning opportunities in the community. This year, we are excited to be able to offer more Club opportunities for younger and older scholars (First Lego League, Daisies, Esports, Intramurals) as well as Homecoming and Prom. This will also be our first year offering our high school Juniors the opportunity to participate in youth apprenticeships; school and work-based learning designed to provide career-focused hands-on learning and mentoring at an employer workplace. We are thrilled to be able to offer this next step in supporting our scholars in exploring their career interests and in getting a jump-start in preparation for graduation. 2023-2024 promises to be a busy and exciting year. We appreciate your support as we continue to grow and develop; always putting children first. Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Welcome back to school! Year 3 is going to be the best year yet! As we wind down the dog days of summer, we are hard at work preparing for the upcoming school year. While we love the joy and energy our scholars, families and staff bring to the school year, summer gives us an opportunity to take a breathe and reflect on the past year’s activities, accomplishments and challenges. Our experiences in Year 2 truly do continue to inform and guide our work for the coming year. Focused on a vision of excellence, like our scholars, we continue to learn and grow. Basics By the Numbers Let’s start with some basic data regarding our growth in Year 2. It included adding over 100 scholars; expanding our school to grades K4-3 and 6-10; hiring over 20 new staff; and enrolling 524 scholars – all with a healthy waitlist of over 150 scholars. Additional scholar demographics included: Accomplishments & Activities Remaining focused on putting children first, The Lincoln Academy Governance Board and our dedicated, mission-driven staff continued the work of bringing our vision for TLA to life. Our three pillars of academic rigor, character development and career exploration continued to evolve and expand. Scholars demonstrated strong academic growth, maintained high character expectations, built a strong community, and learned about career opportunities available to them to help develop lifelong aspirations. During our second year: Scholars achieved strong academic growth, as reflected by: Spring 2023 MAP Assessments; 71% of K5-3 grade scholars demonstrating proficiency in foundational reading skills and 41% of 9-10 grade scholars on the 4th Quarter Honor Roll. 827 Character Awards were received by scholars. 99% of K5-3 and 6-10 grade scholars completed career curriculum lessons. 98% of scholars in grade 8 presented their Individualized Learning Plan (ILP). Six dual enrollment course offerings resulted in 135 credits earned and $17,932 in scholar savings related to obtaining college credits. 160+ business partnerships supported career exploration. 100% of grade 10 scholars and 94% of grade 8 scholars completed Job Shadows 2,000+ Service Learning hours were logged by scholars. Parent and scholar feedback indicated strong satisfaction related to learning, friendships & safety; opportunities for career exploration received high marks from both parents and middle/high school scholars. We have worked on communication and connectivity of staff, families, and scholars and have continued to build out our website, our communication hub for the community. This year, we added monthly blogs on important and timely topics related to TLA and charter schools. We also engaged parents in conversation, through the Parent Leadership Council and newsletters, around our work during the state budget cycle towards equalized funding for all children attending school in Wisconsin. To learn in more about Year 2 at The Lincoln Academy, we encourage you to take a look at the full 2022-2023 Year-In-Review report. New Growth and Opportunities Our vision of ensuring scholars lead happy choice-filled lives remained at the center of all we did in our second year and that will continue to be true as we move into the next school year. We still have work to do in all three pillars and we remain focused on communication and connectivity. We will continue to push ourselves in these areas and to always be our best in serving the Beloit community and making The Lincoln Academy the premier school in the state for our scholars. We look forward to new growth and expanded learning opportunities this coming year that include: the addition of grade 4 and grade 11 to the school community; the completion of construction on our new cafeteria, multi-purpose room, weight room, Advanced Manufacturing lab, Design lab and third floor build-out; a new middle school science lab; the start of the NJROTC program; an Esports lab; Prom and Youth Apprenticeships among other activities. Thank you , to everyone who has supported The Lincoln Academy and those who will join us in supporting scholars during the 2023-2024 school year. We are excited to see the growth and opportunities Year 3 brings. GO LIONS! Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent, 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

With the end of the school year upon us, it seems like just the right time to say THANK YOU to the staff, parents, non-profit and business partners and community members who have supported TLA throughout our second year of operation. Working together, we are creating a community that supports scholars in preparing to achieve their dreams and live a choice-filled life. What Community Support Looks Like There is no one “right” way to support TLA. One of the most beautiful aspects of the support that we receive from individuals, families and organizations is that it comes from different corners of our community and each contribution is uniquely different. In some cases, support for TLA is the gift of time. The sharing of time, skills and experience is an incredibly valuable gift in its impact on scholars and staff. The gift of volunteering can take many different forms: Chaperoning a fieldtrip. Reading in a primary classroom. Mentoring a scholar who may be struggling or who may have specific interests. Participating in a business panel with scholars interested in your career and career path. Hosting a job shadow opportunity for scholars. Providing support during/for school activities and events. In other cases, support for TLA is the gift of material supplies. Whether extra office or classroom supplies, age-appropriate gift cards and merchandise that can be used as incentive rewards or equipment that can be used in one of our labs, we are incredibly appreciative of the community’s generosity. On occasion, we have a scholar or two in need of a uniform item or shoes in order to maintain compliance with the school dress code. We are blessed to have community members who seamlessly provide support to address some of these needs through TLA’s participation in the Purposity app, available through the Apple store or Google Play. And finally, support for TLA can also come in the form of the gift of a financial contribution. Each and every contribution is meaningful and donations can be designated for a specific item/use or donated at the discretion of TLA leadership. We are blessed to have support from a number of generous donors in our community that help us bridge the operations gap between the per pupil payment provided to TLA by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and our approved annual operating budget. We do, however, still have a need to raise funds to support activities like the purchase of equipment and materials used within the school’s specialty labs. Currently, we are seeking contributions toward equipping our new advanced manufacturing lab . The knowledge, skills and experience scholars will gain utilizing industry-standard equipment in this lab will be immediately transferable to employment within the manufacturing sector upon graduation. Thank You We are incredibly grateful for the support TLA receives from the community. Your valuable contributions of time, materials and funds make it possible for scholars to explore and enrich their learning, development and aspirations through fieldtrips, technology, incentives, equipment and participation in school events and extracurricular activities. Your support for these activities - things beyond the basics – enhances the learning and outcomes for TLA scholars. It is an incredible gift that is so very appreciated! Dr. Kristi Cole is the Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent, 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.

We often speak of our three pillars at The Lincoln Academy: rigorous academics, career exploration and character development. TLA is a school located in the heart of Beloit, a community challenged in the area of academic achievement, yet at the same time experiencing economic development growth that continues to strengthen and diversify the local business community. Given this dynamic, conversations about TLA seem to naturally pivot to academics or career exploration activities. As we head toward our 2nd Annual Service Learning Day on May 4th, it seems like an opportune time to highlight character development - the third, equally important pillar. Creating a Sense of Community Building a school culture with a focus on character and based in joy and a sense of community is central to daily activities at TLA. To be able to feel connected and accountable to expectations, it is critically important scholars both feel trust and respect as individuals as well as build trust and respect with/for others in the school community. Ideally, this allows scholars to be themselves within established expectations and hold themselves accountable to these expectations. Will they make mistakes? Yes. We all do. Our goal, however, is to create a school culture where it is safe to do so while experiencing and working through the repercussions and accountability that can come with making a mistake. Layering in Character Education How do we create this school culture? We layer character education into all aspects of the school. Each school year begins with teachers, parents and scholars reviewing and signing the Commitment to Success , which includes, among other things, fully committing to character virtues like honesty, responsibility, cooperation and respect. We also plan, coordinate and explicitly teach a unique character virtue each month through both direct instruction in the academic curriculum and daily opportunities like the recitation of the TLA Proclamation at morning assembly, homeroom activities, sports team activities and special assemblies. Opportunities and experiences, such as collaborative projects and fundraisers to benefit the community, the service learning hour requirements for both middle and high school graduation (10 hours for middle school and 30 hours for high school) and the school-wide Service Learning Day, allow for further discussion of virtues in context. We consistently focus on citizenship and service. Finally, TLA uses a Restorative Practices approach to building a positive school community. Restorative practices is a philosophy, not a program. Circles are a strategy used by TLA to support a positive environment. Circles are used with respect to character development in the following ways: Community Building Circles – for the purpose of teaching empathy and self-reflection; developing a sense of belonging through sharing stories and active listening. Examples: morning check-in, classroom issue, values and moral dilemma issue circles. Repairing Harm Circles – bring together everyone affected by wrongdoing or conflict to discuss the situation or incident and repair the harm. These interventions can produce meaningful improvement in scholar behavior. When there are regular opportunities for everyone in a school to express emotion and exchange feedback, it builds positive relationships and a strong sense of community. We find this applies even when there are different perspectives, as the activity is still based in many of our core virtues – respect, empathy, responsibility, honesty, cooperation, courage, perseverance, gratitude and sometimes, even creativity. Preparing Scholars for the Future Similar to our academic and career exploration pillars, through character education our goal is to support scholars in learning about and developing key tools that will prepare them for a successful future. A daily focus on making positive choices now firmly establishes the skill set they will need as they grow into adulthood and enter/navigate the workforce. As part of our ongoing work with local partners who engage with TLA scholars through career panels, speaking at special assemblies, job shadows and more, we encourage partners to discuss and share with scholars the importance of character in both their life and career. Interactions where partners share challenges they faced, tough decisions they had to make or some of the most meaningful aspects of their career that relate to character are frequently the ones that resonate with most scholars. We are so grateful for the generosity of our partners in sharing real life examples of character in action, as it provides another layer of opportunity for scholars to learn, grow and integrate their understanding related to the impacts character can have in our lives. Citizenship & Service Our goal is to prepare scholars to lead a happy, choice-filled life by the time they leave TLA. In addition to being well-prepared for meaningful future academic and career success, we believe it is equally important scholars are well-prepared to navigate making daily choices in adulthood and being an engaged member of their community. Our scholars have undertaken a lot of hard work this year related to character. We look forward to our upcoming Service Learning Day and the opportunity it provides scholars of all ages to experience what citizenship and service looks and feels like right here in Beloit. Even now, scholars can and do make a positive difference in their community through the choices they make and the actions they take. Dr. Kristi Cole is Chief Education Officer at The Lincoln Academy, a K4-12 independent, 2x charter school in Beloit, Wisconsin.