Next Generation School Improvement Grant

What learning looks and feels like.

Marion Community Schools is using the Next Generation School Improvement Grant to strengthen the student experience at Justice Intermediate and McCulloch Junior High, the two schools that make up the Marion Transformation Zone.

One Community. One Vision. Giant Impact.

See what's been delivered The numbers

The expectation

The work rests on a clear expectation

Marion's Next Gen SIG plan organizes that expectation into three priorities that shape the student experience every day.

Students think deeply

Communicate clearly

Solve problems that matter

Understand themselves as learners

See how learning connects to their future

Next Gen Priorities

How the expectation becomes daily practice

01

Stronger daily instruction

Every student has consistent access to grade-level literacy and mathematics. Classrooms ask students to read closely, write with purpose, discuss ideas, reason through problems, and explain their thinking.

02

Greater student ownership

Students collaborate, reflect on their progress, set goals, contribute ideas, and take an active role in how their learning moves forward.

03

More meaningful application

Students put what they know to work through interdisciplinary projects, career-connected experiences, inquiry, technology, and real-world problem solving.

One coherent experience

Strong Tier I instruction builds the foundation. Student ownership makes learning active and personal. Applied experiences let students transfer what they know into new situations. Each priority strengthens the others.

The result holds together across classrooms and grade levels. Students encounter rigorous learning, carry a real voice in it, and see how their strengths and interests connect to life beyond school.

The three initiatives of Exploration Block

What this looks like in classrooms

Exploration Block is dedicated time in the school day when these initiatives are put into practice.

CREATE2THINK gives Marion students authentic challenges worth solving. Students investigate problems, build knowledge, collaborate, develop ideas, create products, and strengthen their work over time.

Literacy runs through every stage. Students read nonfiction, research across multiple sources, analyze evidence, discuss ideas, and write to explain, inform, or persuade. Those skills do the work of solving the challenge itself.

Students also learn that strong work comes from revision. Feedback, evidence, and new learning give them reasons to rethink an idea, revise a solution, and make the final product stronger. Challenges lead to many kinds of work, from written arguments and models to prototypes and presentations.

What students are building

Readers and researchers Writers and communicators Collaborators Critical thinkers Problem-solvers Creators Independent learners

Students build the ability to take what they know, use it in a new situation, respond to feedback, and improve their thinking over time. That capacity travels with them into every classroom and beyond school.

Watch what CREATE2THINK looks like →

Momentum Monday gives Marion students dedicated time to connect what they are learning in school to the world beyond the classroom. Through hands-on experiences, career exploration, and real-world applications, students discover new possibilities while developing the skills and attributes that will help them succeed wherever their future takes them.

The focus goes beyond preparing students for a specific career. Momentum Monday intentionally builds the ways students think, learn, work, and interact with others, skills students can continue to strengthen over time and carry with them across school, work, and life.

What students are developing

A shared Attribute Bank of twenty attributes across four themes. Attributes are patterns of thinking, behavior, and response that help people succeed. They are not fixed traits; they grow through practice, feedback, and reflection.

Thinking & Reasoning

Analytical Thinking
Creative Thinking
Problem Solving
Decision-Making
Situational Awareness

Learning & Growth

Curiosity
Learning Agility
Adaptability
Perseverance
Resilience

Ownership & Work Habits

Initiative
Dependability
Work Ethic
Attention to Detail
Self-Discipline

Working With Others

Communication
Collaboration
Leadership
Social Awareness
Conflict Resolution

Career exploration provides the context. Building capable, confident, adaptable students is the bigger goal.

Watch what Momentum Monday looks like →

Synergy with AI helps Marion students become more curious, reflective, and independent thinkers. Students use AI as a thought partner to ask stronger questions, refine ideas, and think more deeply about what they are learning.

In Year 1, the focus is curiosity. Students explore ideas, revise prompts, evaluate responses, and reflect on what they are discovering about both the topic and themselves.

What students are learning

Ask better questions Refine and strengthen ideas Evaluate AI responses Make their own decisions Reflect on interests, thinking, and growth

The goal is not simply to teach students how to use AI. It is to prepare them to use emerging technology thoughtfully while keeping their own thinking at the center.

Watch what Synergy with AI looks like →

At a glance

Where we started

2024–25 figures. Proficiency is the share of students at or above proficient on ILEARN.

Justice Intermediate

19%

ELA proficiency

20%

Math proficiency

61%

Attendance

Share of students who attended at least 94% of school days.

McCulloch Junior High

18%

ELA proficiency

14%

Math proficiency

51%

Attendance

Share of students who attended at least 94% of school days.

A Look Inside

What changed for students each month, and what made it possible.

September 2026

September is when the routines took hold. Support moved into classrooms at Justice, students finished their first full CREATE2THINK unit, and the Transformation Zone’s work became public.

Big Win

The new routines moved off the page and into students’ daily classroom experience.

What Students Experienced

Students completed their first full CREATE2THINK unit, moving from unpacking a problem and gathering information to developing, testing, refining, and explaining their solutions.
Math and ELA classrooms took up collaborative inquiry routines, giving students more chances to explain their reasoning, discuss ideas with peers, and build deeper conceptual understanding.
The Transformation Zone’s work went public at mariontz.com, so families can see what students are doing and talk about it at home.

What Made This Possible

Instructional leadership teams at Justice and McCulloch began using a non-evaluative walk-through system to visit math and ELA classrooms and give teachers useful feedback on collaborative inquiry, while teachers built and shared new strategies together in PLC meetings.

View Stacked Wins for September 2026 (opens a reader on this page)

August 2026

In August, Next Gen moved from preparation into the student experience. Students began encountering new opportunities designed to strengthen curiosity, application, collaboration, and connections between school and their future.

Big Win

The Next Gen vision began showing up in students’ actual school day.

What Students Experienced

Students began Synergy with AI by completing their “About Me” experience and preparing to explore curiosity through AI-supported thinking.
The next CREATE2THINK experiences were developed to extend inquiry, problem-solving, collaboration, and application.
Momentum Monday resources were finalized to connect learning, durable skills, and future exploration.

What Made This Possible

Teachers and leaders entered the year with updated instructional tools, stronger math supports, and systems designed to keep implementation moving across Justice and McCulloch.

View Stacked Wins for August 2026 (opens a reader on this page)

July 2026

Marion spent July preparing the systems, resources, and learning experiences students would encounter when they returned to school. The work focused on ensuring students would have greater access to rigorous literacy, math, applied learning, and future-ready experiences from the start of the year.

Big Win

Students would return to a more intentionally designed learning experience.

What Students Experienced

Literacy resources were aligned to support consistent, grade-level learning.
CREATE2THINK Unit 1 was developed for students to begin tackling authentic, interdisciplinary challenges.
Synergy with AI and Momentum Monday were prepared for student launch.

What Made This Possible

Marion and EES used the summer to align curriculum, build instructional resources, strengthen math planning, and prepare the tools teachers would need for implementation.

View Stacked Wins for July 2026 (opens a reader on this page)