Teacher Chris Wilmes has helped his fourth graders achieve high test scores and good behavior at Donald D. Stalker Elementary School in Blackfoot. Eighty to 90 percent of his students have scored proficient on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), and many who previously had discipline problems have improved significantly under Mr. Wilmes's tutelage. Among his strategies is the effective integration of technology, which he uses to post daily learning objectives and help students practice test concepts. An expert on state curriculum standards, Mr. Wilmes has not only incorporated them into his instruction but has helped fellow teachers throughout the district improve their alignment to standards. As a curriculum leader, he implemented a process that helped all teachers reach consensus on the objectives to be taught at each grade level. Each year Mr. Wilmes involves all of the school's fourth graders in a research project about Idaho history. With such strong academic achievement, some of Mr. Wilmes's students are likely to make some Idaho history of their own.
