A new K-5 school will open in the old Malta High School building this fall as part of NIU’s P-20 education initiative.

The P-20 initiative works with educators from the elementary, middle and high school levels to integrate parts of the education system. The three main goals of the initiative are producing better teachers, improving student achievement and creating seamless transitions.

“Our partnership school is a big step,” said Anne Kaplan, vice president of Division of Administration and University Outreach. “It has long-term ramifications.”

An NIU classroom for students taking teacher preparation classes will be included in the newly remodeled school. Some NIU students will be sent to the partnership schools, including Malta and Rockford, to fulfill their student teaching requirements.

“A big concern to us is transition from high school to NIU,” Vice Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver said. “The programs should line up to the university.”

Curriculum development for the school is ongoing, and consultations are provided by NIU department chairs and individual teachers.

The program will integrate art and technology across the curriculum. An all-day kindergarten program and an expanded day program, available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., also will be available.

“There certainly has been a lot of people working on this,” Kaplan said. “It’s a large process getting larger.”

Seaver said the P-20 initiative uses the Prairie State Achievement Exam to predict how well students will transition from high school to college. The PSAE combines the Illinois state test for high school students and the SAT.

The Interactive Illinois Report Card also is being integrated into the program to make test results easier to obtain. The IIRC is an online collaboration created by NIU and the Illinois State Board of Education to make it easier to assess grades.

The Web site breaks down elementary, middle and high school students’ grades and indicates whether they exceed, meet or fall below academic standards. It also informs students if they have an academic warning. The site is password protected and available at http://iirc.niu.edu.

P-20 administrators have looked into expanding the initiative to other areas of the state.

“We’ve had meetings with other public universities,” Seaver said. “But our big interest is in this region. It’s where our students come from.”