The total educational climate at Howard is one of closeness and respect for one another, within the staff as well as the students. The expectations for the children are high and evolve from a balance of activities, which promote their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Each child is recognized for his or her unique talents, with the educational services geared toward the enhancement of those special needs and attributes. The instructional methodology used by all staff members can best be described as eclectic, in that traditional methods are the core around which revolves a multitude of creative methods of instruction. Any method is used if it "works" with the individual child and is geared to meeting the individual needs of that child. Staff members work as teams with constant collaboration on student achievement and learning needs. Small group and individual one-on-one instruction are integrated within the large group instructional process.

The professional staff is highly qualified with specialized degrees. It numbers approximately twenty-five, which is conducive to providing an optimum learning environment. Teachers have masters degrees, with the exception of four teachers. The support staff of twenty individuals is equally dedicated and qualified in providing special assistance to students and staff in areas such as custodial, kitchen, secretarial, transportation, library, technology, Title 1, BOOST (At-Risk), Special Education, Primetime, and Migrant education. The Howard team works together toward the ultimate mission of serving each and every student.

A hot breakfast and lunch are served daily. Nursing services are provided every day for the entire day by a registered nurse. Guidance services are provided two days a week, with on-call emergency services as needed. The media specialist is available one and one-half days per week. Speech and language needs are provided by a speech pathologist every day of the week for the entire day. In addition, preschool language services are also provided for children who qualify.

Parent and community support for Howard Elementary is exceptional. Parents are a vital part in "making a difference" at Howard, through volunteer work and a very active PTO. Most parents are employed by Delco Electronics, Chrysler, or other businesses/ industries in Kokomo. A small minority of parents are either self-employed or work in the service industry. (Recently the new Chrysler Indiana Transmission Plant was completed. This complex is located within the Howard Elementary and Northwestern School Corporation district. Positive growth and financial impacts are anticipated in future years.) The support and enthusiasm of all of our parents enable our school to provide many activities for the patrons and pupils. Some of the PTO sponsored events are Grandparents' Day, Christmas programs, Fall Open House, Wacky Olympics, Young Authors, Spring Festival, a fish fry, Teacher Appreciation Day, Kindergarten Round-up, 6th grade and Kindergarten graduation, and many others. In addition, field trips (two per class), class parties, technology supplies, books for the library's parenting shelf, money for each classroom for instructional materials, assemblies, refreshments, playground equipment, bleachers, sound and lighting equipment, large screen video projector and screen, and other activities and projects are funded.

Technology is a growing part of education and an important aspect of the curriculum at Howard Elementary. Each individual classroom at Howard has five student computers and one teacher computer for educational use. At Howard Elementary there is a computer lab that consists of twenty-eight Gateway computers. The students visit the lab once a week for thirty minutes in first and second grade, forty-five minutes in third grade, and sixty minutes in grades four through six. The primary and intermediate Technology Resource Teachers are each certified with an elementary license and the equivalent of a computer endorsement. The Technology Resource Teachers work with the classroom teachers to integrate the classroom instruction into the computer lab curriculum.

The educational testing and monitoring of student achievement and learning occurs at all levels K-6 through a comprehensive standardized and criterion-referenced testing program. During the 1996-1997 school year we were recognized as a Four Star school through the performance of our third and sixth grade students. Each school year we have improved in one or more of the four main areas of monitored by the Department of Education.

The instructional program is specifically designed to meet the needs of all ability levels and interest areas of the students. The focus is on the development of the whole child, through inclusion in the regular classroom, with special needs being met in a variety of ways. Beyond the core academic subjects which are offered exist many specialized programs

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