The Integrated Day Charter School provides a safe, flexible and academically challenging learning environment that meets the unique social, emotional, academic, and physical needs of each child.

The Integrated Day program was initially established within the existing public school system in 1989.  When the charter school legislation passed in 1997, veteran teachers sought to create an alternative school that provided a free public school choice for all members of the Norwich area. Along with parents and community members supporting the idea of school choice, they were granted a charter to establish IDCS.   IDCS is truly a community school.  The school has been at full enrollment since its inception, currently with 330 children in grades Pre K through 8th grade.

The goal at IDCS is to facilitate the development of creative and thoughtful students.  With a strong sense of self-awareness and respect, IDCS students are involved in individual research projects enhanced by arts integration and opportunities to independently seek knowledge.  Through strong arts, arts integration and democratic practice, graduates will be able to adapt to an ever-changing world by becoming confident, critical thinkers, socially responsible citizens and lifelong learners who apply their knowledge to improve themselves and the world around them.

Three pervasive features animate the IDCS program: integration of the arts throughout the curriculum, Critical Pedagogy and use of research based aspects of Montessori education.  The curriculum is project based, with children independently exploring themes of their own choosing.  There is a strong emphasis on content integration and critical thinking as exemplified by student research projects presented three times a year.  In 2012, IDCS was named a HOT School.  This is a significant recognition and a tribute to the hard work of the board and staff.  Artistic residencies are held two to three times a year, a great example of strong arts at IDCS.

COME TOUR OUR SCHOOL

November 16, 2017  

March 23, 2018

We at JJIS pride ourselves in servicing the academic and social curriculum needs of third, fourth and fifth graders in our town. JJIS offers rich curricula which includes a literature-based reading and process writing program. Students regularly participate in hands-on math, science and social studies activities. This ensures that learning is both interesting and relevant. Weekly art, music, media, technology, health and physical education classes are an important part of our students' comprehensive education program. Students may also elect to participate in the popular instrumental and choral music programs.

We are proud that JJIS is a state Spotlight HOT (Higher Order Thinking) School, an honor bestowed on schools embracing the connection between learning and arts integration by the Connecticut Office of the Arts. As a HOT school, we are committed to developing students' multiple intelligences by providing them with high-quality arts-infused instruction. Students have multiple opportunities to share their artistic and academic talents with others in our school community. Artists-in-Residence work extensively with our teachers and students to make learning come alive through music, art, writing and performances.

The JJIS staff recognizes the importance of strong home-school-community relationships. A very active PTO supports our school by sponsoring cultural assemblies, artists in residence, field trips and our annual Family Math and Literacy Night Programs as well as actively participating in daily opportunities at school.    

February 7, 2018

March 7, 2018

John Lyman School is a child-centered community of learners in Middlefield, Connecticut, that is dedicated to fostering a lifelong love of learning through active exploration of all curricular areas.  Serving the communities of Durham and Middlefield as part of Regional School District 13, John Lyman is home to the district’s K-4 Integrated Day (ID) Program.  The ID program provides a supportive, stimulating environment in which students learn to take responsibility for decision-making as well as for their own learning and behavior.  As a Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Spotlight School, John Lyman fosters an arts-integrated approach to learning in a democratic setting that celebrates the voice of every child.  We strongly believe that the arts can support and enhance all subject areas and help to create more meaningful learning opportunities for our students.

A visitor to John Lyman School can expect to see the  HOT School core components- strong arts, arts integration, and democratic practice - in action throughout the day.  Our teachers work to integrate strong arts into the core curriculum on a regular basis, and we have multiple teaching artist residencies in all grade levels throughout the school year.  We have a variety of student boards that meet regularly: Literary Board, Art Board, Student Senate, Tech Crew, and the Nature Trail Committee, just to name a few.  Special visitors are often greeted by our Hello Chorus, a group of students who sing a welcome song that was written by a student songwriting board.  Every Friday, we either have a school-wide Town Meeting that is student-led or a meeting of ECHOs courses (Enhanced Curricular HOT Opportunities).  You can learn more about Town Meetings and ECHOs on the HOT Schools website. Our  students are empowered to make choices and have a voice in their learning.  We are proud to be a HOT Spotlight School.

December 8, 2017

February 9, 2018

The mission of Kinsella Magnet HOT School of Performing Arts is to provide each student with an enriched educational environment which fosters artistic, independent and critical thinking through performing arts integrated instruction. The Kinsella community acknowledges both student and staff diversity by providing culturally rich and socially minded educational experiences centered around the arts.  As a Prekindergarten to grade 12 school, Kinsella cultivate students who are prepared to pursue college level studies as creative and innovative thinkers. The vision centers itself on creating meaningful and rigorous curriculum accessible to all students through arts-based instruction.  By providing education in this manner, Kinsella students are able to personalize their learning experiences, understand abstract concepts, develop higher order thinking skills, and use collaborative approaches to problem solving. The Kinsella community believes that each student should be empowered with a voice and sense of ownership in their education, which launches them into any career pathway that they choose.

The magnet theme is integrated daily through arts integration, cultural exposure and comprehensive training programs. The foundation of the school theme emphasizes arts integration and enrichment by utilizing the arts in the delivery of academic content.  In addition to the HOT Summer Institute and HOT professional development sessions throughout the year, arts integration is supported through a system of collaborative planning sessions that involve classroom teachers, arts faculty, and community teaching artists. These sessions effectively allow our staff to identify appropriate opportunities for integration throughout the school year.  This is a concept that can be reinforced in both the arts and academic classes, demonstrating the simultaneous alignment of both National Core Arts Standards and the Common Core State Standards.  

January 12, 2018

April 20, 2018

Lincoln Middle School is the HOT School, Program’s only stand alone middle school serving grades six through eight. We have been a part of the HOT Schools Program since 1996. We support the mission of the Meriden Public Schools: Success for All Students.

The Lincoln Middle School community places a special focus and emphasis upon the arts and media curriculum. We are a diverse and bilingual school community that believes each child should have a well-rounded educational experience allowing him or her to explore learning through the arts and media. The arts and media curriculum offers special opportunities to fulfill the human need for self-expression. Students will have a motivating and challenging academic program that engages their imagination in dance, dramatic arts, musical arts, visual arts, broadcasting and video, and writing. Incorporating the arts in education promotes the learning of life skills and develops critical thinking. The arts generate the excitement that motivates student involvement in the school community. Participation in the arts, with its multicultural foundation, offers a wide range of human experience fostering respect for others, building self-confidence, nurturing self-esteem, and developing self-discipline.

The Lincoln Middle School community values its partnerships with parents, resident and community artists, theater and musical groups, local and regional media services, and business and community outreach organizations.

October 20, 2017

February 2, 2018

A unique and inventive school, Nathan Hale Arts Magnet is proud to be a HOTS Spotlight School.  NHAMS draws students from over 20 different sending districts because of our creative programming and differentiated approach to teaching and learning.  Through a systems approach, NHAMS works to embed the components of HOTS into our school day, including Strong Arts, Democratic Practice, and Arts Integration.  When you enter the doors of NHAMS you might see fifth grade students learning a pas-de-deux in ballet class or the third grade hip-hop class learning tutting.  You might see students using iPads to film plays they wrote in their writer's' workshop and produced in both theatre and media-arts.  Built into our school day are opportunities for teachers to engage in professional learning through their Professional Learning Communities.  Additionally we have built in time for Echoes and Enrichment, all while maintaining a strong focus on core instruction.  Another key element of our schedule is the release of one of our eight essentialists from their regularly scheduled classes for 4 weeks at a time to facilitate integrated instructional units through a co-teaching model.  When you visit NHAMS, we hope you see a dedication to strong arts, creative scheduling that honors our mission, and that our students are central to our decision making process.

December 13, 2017

April 5. 2018

Pleasant Valley School provides learning opportunities for students based on the belief that children learn best through interactive, personally relevant and rigorous learning experiences. We also believe children learn best in a caring, inclusive and respectful environment. We welcome and embrace the diversity within our community. As a Connecticut Spotlight Higher Order Thinking School (HOT School) we use the core component of Democratic Practice to give students voice and choice. Through the component of Arts Integration, students are encouraged to share their talents at our bi monthly Blue and Gold assemblies as well as in their classrooms. Through our Art Selection board and our Writer and Poet of the Week, we encourage Strong Arts within our school family. As you tour our school, you might see an artist interacting with students in a Teacher-Artist Collaboration (TAC) or you might see teachers using activities they have learned from visiting artists or at the HOT Schools Summer Institute.  We are proud that 90% of our teachers have been trained in HOT strategies. Many PV lessons and activities integrate the arts into curriculum in many, varied and unusual ways. Parents are also encouraged to participate as partners in growing and encouraging higher order thinking in  our school. Parents can be seen in classrooms as volunteers during a TAC, as docents in the Visual Viewing activities of Art Goes To School where they share major works of art with students or as photographers, painters, dancers, builders, and writers. Please join us Pleasant Valley as we strive to prepare students for the world of the future.  

January 17, 2018

April 6, 2018