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Horace Mann's Dual Language Magnet Program offers kindergarten through eighth grade students an opportunity to get a quality education in a caring environment while learning both Spanish and English. Students start in kindergarten, first, and second grade using a language immersion model where 50% of the classroom instruction is in English and 50% is in Spanish. As teachers incorporate the district and state reading and math standards into the English and Spanish instruction, students are taught early on to think, talk, read, and write in both English and Spanish. Students quickly learn how to switch between languages and apply their learning in their academics and friendships.
Intermediate students in the third through fifth grades expand their knowledge in Spanish and English as they rotate between their English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts (including social studies), and Spanish Mathematics (including science). In addition, all elementary students continue receiving enrichment through music, physical education, art, library, technology, and Spanish classes that meet the district's standards.
Middle school students continue the academic excellence tradition with English Language Arts, English Mathematics, Spanish Science, and Spanish Social Studies. Electives include art, music, band, strings, physical education, Spanish technology, and Spanish which are nine week rotations for sixth graders and semester classes for seventh and eighth graders. In addition, middle school students have the opportunity to participate in district middle school activities including sports, National Academic League, STUCO, After School Program (enrichment classes and intramurals), dances, and other events.
In addition to the classroom academics and support students receive, Horace Mann is known for the many extra programs it provides for students to ensure a caring and connected community. Parents are encouraged to get involved with students with school wide activities including: Parent/Teacher Conferences, Fairs, Field Trips, Cinco de Mayo, the Parent Involvement Room, Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Site Council, and classroom events. Horace Mann's gifted program provides enrichment in the classroom for academic enriched students. A warm and caring atmosphere in all classrooms is evident as teachers interact with students and parents on a daily basis helping to meet school wide needs.
To learn more about our Horace Mann program, please visit our school web page at http://horacemann.usd259.org/ or call us at 973-3100 to visit.
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Achievement Highlights
Horace Mann's nationally acclaimed Dual Language Immersion Program provides students the opportunity to become bilingual and bi-literate in Spanish and English. Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet's program was recognized in Hispanic Magazine for this exemplary program. Many visitors across the United States visit Horace Mann yearly to view the unique and successful K-8 program.
The Dual Language Program unites English speakers and Spanish speakers in the bilingual classroom. Students receive 50% of their instruction in Spanish and 50% in English with the goal that all students become bilingual and bi-literate by the end of 8th grade. All students learn to read and write in their first language before formal reading instruction begins in their second language. Research has shown that students who learn in a second language increase their cognitive skills, academic abilities, and test scores in their first language. In 1997, the US Department of Education named the Dual Language Program as an exemplary program in the United States with the Blue Ribbon National School of Excellence Award.
Academically, Horace Mann has made the Kansas State Department of Education's Adequate Yearly Progress four years in a row! 89% of Horace Mann K-8 students successfully passed the state's math assessments and 84% passed the reading as required by the Federal No Child Left Behind Act this past year. Horace Mann received the KSDE Challenge Award for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade reading and math for the last two years, was a KSDE 'School of Excellence' in Math for 8th grade, as well as, a KSDE 'School of Excellence' in Reading for All School. Horace Mann was named the KS Title I 'School of the Year' for "Closing the Achievement Gap" in 2008 followed by the National Title I 'School of Excellence' Award.
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Directions
Horace Mann is located at 1243 N. Market (one block southeast of 13th and Main Street). To visit Horace Mann, exit Kellogg at Central Business District. Go North on Market for twelve blocks. Horace Mann Campus is on the west side of the street. If driving in from I-135, take the 13th Street exit and go west to Main Street. Turn left and go one block. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.
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Mission
The mission of Horace Mann is to establish a strong, standards-based curriculum, which promotes high academic achievement in both English and Spanish, in an environment that embraces diversity and strives for excellence.
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Campus Improvement Program
Horace Mann's School Improvement Plan focuses on reading, writing, and math but also supports social studies, health and the fine arts! We have found that students need a firm foundation in all of the curricular areas to be successful. Specific reading and math strategies are chosen that support our learning need areas to ensure student success on grade level expectations!
- Reading comprehension
- Math problem solving
- Writing
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Site Council Information
Horace Mann's Site Council is made up of parents, community members, business representatives, teachers and other school staff who want to help identify, consider and discuss educational problems and issues at Horace Mann. The Site Council provides advice and counsel for evaluating state, school district and school site performance goals and objectives.
The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a parent and teacher organization that works on projects that support students in the classroom and school. Projects have included: Landscaping Project, Room Parents, Field Trip support, classroom sponsorships, fundraisers, and finding ways to support students connecting to the school. PTO meets in the library the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome!
Horace Mann's Site Council meets the second Monday every other month (September, November, January, March and May) at 6:30, in the Teacher's Lounge, immediately following the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).
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Programs
- Dual Language Immersion (English/Spanish)
- Before and After School Tutoring
- Parental Involvement Worker/Parent Resource Center
- Latchkey program before and after school for elementary students
- After School Program for middle school students
- Community library and technology lab
- English and Spanish classes for Parents/Community members
- All day kindergarten
- College partnerships promoting future college participation
- English as a Second Language (ESOL) program
- AmeriCorps partnership for paras in the classrooms helping tutor students
- PTO sponsored library reading program promoting family reading at home
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Student Activities
In addition to the Dual Language Immersion (English/Spanish) focus which guides and directs the overall focus of Horace Mann, many classroom and school activities are available including:
- Classroom teachers have many grade level activities for students to help students broaden their community awareness. Field trips are offered to connect classroom learning while enriching student learning.
- All day kindergarten (half in English and half in Spanish) provides a solid foundation for students to learn reading, writing, and math.
- YMCA Splash! and Swim are both offered. YMCA Splash! is a Tuesday after school swim activity whereas YMCA Swim is a six week lunch swimming program for second graders.
- Honor Roll Assemblies help provide recognition of students achievement and honors.
- Latchkey is available before and after school for parents needing to drop their children off early or pick them up after school hours.
- A school-wide standardized dress (khaki pants and polo shirts) helps students experience how everyone is working together to meet school objectives and goals.
- The After School Program for sixth through eighth graders provides enrichment activities in math, reading, social studies, and science for the first 45 minutes followed by intramurals that support middle school athletics.
- Middle school sports are available including: cross-country, girl's volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, and boys' and girls' track. Horace Mann also offers a special soccer intramural program unique to just a couple of the area middle schools.
- Horace Mann competed in the National Academic League for the first time in 2005-06 and finished with a winning 7-4 record. Since then, Horace Mann has taken first place in the Third Round competition and tied for third all district.
- Horace Mann would like to congratulate our Wichita Public School's Distinguished Classroom Teachers: Rebecca Palacio (1st grade), Theresa Holderbach (3rd grade), Christie Klein (MS math), and Rachel Aponso (MS math) along with Vanessa Martinez, the 2009 KS Milken Award Winner.
- Many Horace Mann fifth through eighth grade students play either a string or band instrument. Horace Mann students competed at the 7th and 8th grade Orchestra Festival and received high ratings. For the 2009-2010 school year, Horace Mann has 100% of our sixth graders playing either a band or string instrument!
- Hispanic cultural events are encouraged including student participation in the Folkloric Dancers who frequently perform at many school and Wichita events.
- Students are encouraged to consider going to college. To encourage college prep thinking, middle school students visit local colleges where they have opportunities to see classes in session, meet college counselors, learn about college grant and loan programs and find out that they can be successful in a college setting upon high school graduation.
- Horace Mann's Parent Involvement Worker (PIW) supports the Parent Resource Center where parents come together to help support classrooms. The Foster Grandparent Program is also coordinated through the PIW to help mentor students, work in classrooms, and support the school's focus. The PIW also helps provide parenting and Spanish/English classes for parents and community members.
- Fun activities for students and families to get involved include the Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Red Ribbon Week, and Family Activity Nights.
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School History
Horace Mann opened for school in the fall of 1918 as Horace Mann Intermediate School, one of the first junior high schools west of the Mississippi River. The school was named for Horace Mann, outstanding New England educator and inventor who lived during the first half of the nineteenth century.
The initial building was completed in 1917 and was added to in 1918. In 1950, an addition was constructed consisting of a gymnasium-auditorium combination, two art rooms and a small theater used for instrumental music. Portables were added in 1960, 1961 and 1968. Remodeling of the library, offices and corridors was completed in 1976.
The first room for the educable mentally handicapped was added in 1961. Later three more rooms were provided to serve pupils in the area north of Douglas and west of Broadway.
Originally the school was located in the affluent section of town where some of the finest large homes were situated. As families moved to suburbs and other areas of the city, this inner city area changed, and many large homes were converted to apartments. Consequently, the school population became one with a high rate of mobility.
In the first 40 years, school enrollment fluctuated from 650 to a high of more than 800 pupils. After 1970, the enrollment gradually decreased to less than 500. The school was well integrated with just over 30 percent black, about 14 percent Hispanic, and the remainder white in those days.
On May 16, 1977, the Board of Education voted to initiate a middle school program during 1977-78 at Horace Mann school on an experimental basis and approved changing the name of the school to Horace Mann Middle School. The school opened in September 1977 with an enrollment of 386 pupils, including grades six, seven and eight. The ninth graders in the Horace Mann attendance area attended Wichita High School North.
In 1989, Horace Mann was combined with Irving and Park Elementary Schools to become a foreign language magnet elementary school with grades 3-5 housed at Irving and Park. Enrollment remained about 450 students with 56 percent Hispanic, 16 percent black and 23 percent white.
In 1997, the Irving/Horace Mann program received a grant to begin a Two-Way Bilingual Program. Goals included: (1) to promote high achievement of oral language proficiency, literacy and writing in both English and Spanish, (2) to establish a strong academic based curriculum in two languages, and (3) to embrace the diversity of our multicultural world. On October 28, 2002, the Board unanimously approved designating Horace Mann as a dual-language magnet program beginning with K-7 in 2003-2004, and K-8 in 2004-2005. The name was changed to Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet. lrving became a K-5 neighborhood elementary school.
The Horace Mann program offers a two-way dual language program where all students learn a second language through content-based instruction, while enhancing the first language. The dual language program provides a unique opportunity for students to learn English and Spanish simultaneously by providing standards-based instruction in both languages. English and Spanish speakers are united in the dual language class, which is ideally made up of 50% English speakers and 50% Spanish speakers. This allows both groups to benefit from exposure to native speakers. Students are then taught a highly academic curriculum in both languages, with a strong emphasis placed on students learning to read in their native language first.
In April 2000, the voters of the Wichita School District approved a $284.5 million bond issue. The projects began in the fall of 2000 and were completed over the next five years. The plan built 19 multipurpose rooms, upgraded science labs, replaced portable classrooms with permanent construction, improved handicap accessibility to all buildings, rebuilt five existing elementary schools, added a new elementary and middle school, expanded seven other elementary schools and provided nine new libraries as well as the expansion of nine others. Building infrastructure in 82 buildings was also upgraded, including the replacement of antiquated plumbing, updates and expansion of electrical systems, replacement of inefficient or broken windows and doors, upgrades of heating and cooling systems, and asbestos abatement when required.
The district entered into an agreement with architectural firm Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, Frey for a four-section prototype to be built at Washington and Horace Mann Elementaries. Key Construction, Inc. completed these Bond projects.
To complete Horace Mann's construction, the district purchased properties at 1212 and 1210 N. Main, and also 1309 North Market. The original Horace Mann building was demolished. The new building dedication was held September 16, 2003.
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