The concept for a new kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school is under intellectual construction by DeKalb School District No. 428 and NIU.

The two entities are working to get the partnership school up and running in time for the 2004-2005 school year.

The school will be located at the old Malta High School building. Renovations are needed to transform the former high school to fit the needs of the new elementary school, and are scheduled to begin this winter, said Scott Kubelka, future principal for the new school and current principal for Tyler Elementary School.

There are 10 committees and subcommittees made up of district, NIU and community representatives planning different aspects of the school. All elements of the new school are in the planning phase, and will need approval from the school board.

The district curriculum is strongly aligned with state standards, and that will not change in the new school, Kubelka said. What will be different is the way in which the curriculum will be taught, with the infusion of fine arts and technology as a teaching tools across subjects.

The new school will incorporate arts and technology on a more centralized level, Kubelka said. If new programs prove successful, the methods will be taught and implemented at other schools in the district, he said.

The new models of the partnership school are not experimental, but rather are based on research that has been implemented at other schools.

Teachers will be district personnel with certification, like any other school in the district. It has not been determined where the teachers will come from. One possibility is teachers in the district will have the opportunity to transfer to the new school if they want, in which case their old schools would hire new teachers to replace them.

Limited involvement by NIU students is expected during the first semester, said Marilyn McConachie, executive assistant to the vice president for Administration and Outreach. As teachers adapt to the new school, increased involvement will be phased in.

NIU has partnerships with seven other school districts, said Christine Sorensen, dean of NIU’s College of Education. The difference with the DeKalb partnership is NIU has the opportunity to be involved in planning the school from the beginning, whereas other partnerships began with existing schools, she said.

Students in the College of Education utilize other partnerships for their clinical experiences. This is when students can see how theories they have learned are applied and practiced.

The partnership with the DeKalb school will give elementary education students the benefit of working more closely with teachers and students at the new school, Sorensen said.

There also may be NIU classrooms in the new school. This would mean students could take methods classes, where they learn education theory, on the site. This would enable students to learn a theory, go to elementary classrooms to observe real-world consequences and discuss the implications all in the same day.