Simpsonville Elementary • 200 Morton Avenue • Simpsonville, SC 29681 • (864)355-8300	Saturday, May 26, 2012

Student Achievement

Simpsonville Elementary staff created a vision that was truly shared by all current staff members. The staff questionnaire results also indicated that what we thought was a shared vision was not shared. We worked through a visioning process to clarify our values and beliefs, purpose, mission, vision, and goals.  We continue to revisit them and work for what is in the best interest of all students.

Values and Beliefs

Values and beliefs are the core of who we are, what we do, and how we think and feel. Values and beliefs reflect what is important to us; they describe what we think about work and how we think it should operate. Staff was asked to brainstorm independently before we produced our core beliefs about instruction, curriculum, and assessment that will increase our students’ learning.

We believe…

·        Each student has an equal and fundamental right to an education.

·        All children have significant worth and should be provided the best educational opportunities for reaching their greatest potential.

·        The educational process is a partnership among students, parents, educators, and the community.

·        Each child, through his/her cultural diversity, contributes to an enriched society.

·        A nurturing environment encourages success in learning.

·        Early school success fosters continued positive learning/achievement.

·        The primary focus of education is to provide the building blocks that facilitate growth and life-long learning.

 Purpose

Purpose is the aim of the organization; the reason for existence. The purpose is very important for creating the mission and the vision.  Simpsonville Elementary’s purpose is to implement The Education Plan of the School District of Greenville County.  There are five goals in this plan and we have developed objectives and strategies for implementing all goals.  Our school Portfolio speaks to goals 1, 3 and 5.  These goals are listed below, along with the objectives and strategies developed for implementation of those goals.  The District Education Plan provides clear and concise direction to help us achieve our district vision and supports our school vision and mission of preparing students to be productive, respectful and responsible citizens.

n      The purpose of Simpsonville Elementary is to inspire students to become successful life-long learners and productive members of society.

School Goals

2008-2009

Simpsonville Elementary School at Morton Place

(Aligned with the Education Plan of The School District of Greenville County)

Goal Area 1:  Raise the academic challenge and performance of each student.

·        By 2012-2013, 65.8%  percent of students will meet their MAP Growth Target Goal in Reading.

·        By 2012-2013, 61.7%  percent of students will meet their MAP Growth Target Goal in Math.

·         Objectives:

§         The percentage of students who meet or exceed their MAP Target Goal in Reading will increase by 2% annually from 2008-09 to 2012-13.

§         The percentage of students who meet or exceed their MAP Target Goal in Math will increase by 2% annually from 2008-09 to 2012-13

·        Strategies:

§         Use test scores to determine strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum.

§         Provide additional support to students identified as having weaknesses in math and/or language arts with Leveled Readers, Lexia and Compass Odyssey.

§         Use state math and language arts standards and district curriculum guides.

§         Continue Larson’s Morning Math Achievers for students who scored Basic but are within 4-8 points of scoring Proficient on PACT Math in 2008 and in the 30^th to 50^th percentile on MAP in Math.

Goal Area 2:  Teacher / Administrator Quality.

·         By 2012-2013, core content teachers will be provided Professional Development Activities

·         Objectives:

§         100% of core content teachers will be provided Professional Development Activities so that our ELA and Mathematics goals for student achievement will be reached 2008-2009 to 2012-13.

·         Strategies:

§         Faculty and staff will participate in classes, workshops, and site visits to observe quality instruction

§         Learning focused Cycle I training will be provided to all teachers.

§         Authentic Assessment Workshop will be provided to our teachers

§         Compass Odyssey software training

§         Learning Focused Cycle II training will be provided to all teachers.

Goal  Area 3:  School Climate (Parent Involvement, Safe and Healthy Schools)

·        Increase parental involvement of our ESOL families, especially our Hispanic parents, through better communication and planned activities.  The participation in family nights will increase from 14 in 2007-08 to 27 in 2012-13. 

·         Objectives:

§         Increase number of ESOL parents involved in our school from 7 in 2007-08 to 27 in 2012-2013.

·         Strategies:

§         Encourage greater parent participation in classroom enrichment programs and P.T.A. activities such as Build-a-book, ESOL P.T.A. Parent Group and Tutoring.

§         Conduct monthly SIC meetings

§         Schedule teacher-parent conferences

§         Involve Hispanic parents in our school activities and provide translators

Mission

The mission is a brief, clear and compelling statement that serves to unify an organization’s efforts. An effective mission must stretch and challenge the organization, yet be achievable. It is tangible, value-driven, energizing, highly focused, and moves the organization forward. It is a crisp, clear, engaging statement that reaches out and gets peoples’ attention. A mission has a finish line for its achievement and is proactive. A mission should walk the boundary between the possible and impossible.

 The mission of Simpsonville Elementary is—

n     To prepare students to be productive, respectful and responsible.

 By participating in cooperative learning experiences with peers our students learn that it is better to give than to receive.

Shared Vision

A vision is a specific description of what it will be like when the mission is achieved. A vision is a mental image. It must be written in practical, concrete terms that everyone can understand and see in the same way.

Simpsonville Elementary School’s vision stems from a child-centered focus on improving the curriculum, instruction, assessment, and environmental factors that support effective learning for our students:

Curriculum

·        Addresses cultural diversity, is culturally cognizant

·        Applicable to real life

·        Challenging

·        Comprehensive

·        Engaging

·        Integrated among subjects

·        Motivating

·        Supportive of state and district standards

·        Vertical alignment from grade to grade

An integrated curriculum based on state standards, educational research and real-life applications is presented in a logical scope and sequence.  The interrelated instruction and assessment are developmentally appropriate, engaging and challenging with smooth transitions from grade to grade.

Instruction

·        Accommodates different learning styles

·        Computer assisted

·        Concept learning through hands-on experiences

·        Consistent

·        Developmentally appropriate

·        Engaging, challenging, comprehensive

·        Enthusiastic

·        Goal-oriented

·        Inquiry based

·        Integrated

·        Supportive

·        Scaffold learning

·        Sequential

·        Spiral

·        Structured

·        Team Teaching

 A balance of whole group, small group and individual instruction involves innovative methodologies and multilevel strategies relating to students’ interests and identified needs.  Interactive applications, experimental inquiry and higher order thinking skills taught with respect to learning styles increases students’ active participation in their learning.

Assessment

·        Guides instruction

·        Authentic

·        Computer generated

·        Group

·        Individual

·        Multiple choice

·        Ongoing, embedded in daily activities

·        Open-ended/written response

·        Oral

·        Paper/pencil

·        Portfolio

·        Pre-test and post-test

·        Project based

·        Standardized testing

·        Teacher Observation

·        Teacher-made

Continuous performance-driven student assessment informs and reflects instruction in an effort to promote student responsibility.  Individual grades and class progress are recorded in a variety of formats, including portfolios, rubrics, benchmarks, anecdotal records, observations and self-assessment.

Environment

·        Conducive to learning

·        Environmental awareness

·        Atmosphere fosters a good rapport with students

·        Parents & community actively involved

·        Nurturing

·        Positive

·        Physically & aesthetically pleasing

·        Respectful

·        Safe

·        Student work displayed

·        Technologically equipped

Simpsonville Elementary offers a welcoming, safe and nurturing environment with activities and services that support students, parents, volunteers, faculty and staff.  A focus on improvement, pride in accomplishments and recognition of students’ academic and behavioral achievements encourages a positive learning environment.

Current Conditions

Second through fifth graders are assessed in our district using MAP (Measures of Academic Progress).  Greenville County Schools first administered MAP in the fall of 2005 to second through fifth grade at the elementary level.  Below are the graphs to reflect the Student Growth Summary results from Fall 2007 to Spring 2008 and Fall 2007 to Fall 2008.

MAP READING

Of our 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th grade students (tested as 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th graders) shown above, 55.7% or 172 of 309 tested, met their Growth Target on MAP Reading from Fall 07 to Spring 08.   However, the students who were tested in Fall 07 to Fall 08, only 51.3% met their Growth Target on MAP Reading as shown in the chart on the next page.   This is consistent with the expected loss of knowledge over the summer.

MAP MATHEMATICS

Of our current 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th grade students (tested as 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th graders) above, 56.03% or 172 of 307 tested, met their Growth Target on MAP Mathematics from Fall 07 to Spring 08.   However, the students who were tested in Fall 07 to Fall 08, only 46.2% met their Growth Target on MAP Mathematics as shown in the chart below.

This could be due to the loss of knowledge over the summer and the big push we made in the spring 2008 with our GREAT MATH RACE.   We are continuing the emphasis on math achievement and will begin the Great Math Race again in January 2009.

Despite the hard work of the Simpsonville Elementary staff, we realize our students could be more academically successful. When we looked at our students’ standardized PACT test scores, we determined we could improve performance across grade levels and gender in all the tests. Over time, our  2007-08 5^th graders showed an increase in students not meeting the standard, an increase in students scoring Advanced and a slight drop in students scoring Proficient on the 2006 PACT ELA.  Our current 5^th graders had a decrease in the number of students scoring Proficient on PACT Mathematics, but a slight increase in students scoring Advanced.  With an increased enrollment last year we had a larger number of students who did not meet the standard.   On the ITBS that was given in November 2007  to our 2nd graders, 13% of our students scored a 1-3 National Stanine.  Of those, three were new to our country with little command of our language and are receiving ESOL services, two are in Resource, and three have been referred to the Assistance Team. Five of those with a 1-3 NS are receiving daily assistance from our Reading Intervention Specialist.  22.7% of our 2nd graders earned a 4 National Stanine with the remainder at a 5 or above. Thus, all but five of the 11 who did not score 4 or above National Stanine are being served by Special Ed or have been referred to our Assistance Team.  Many of our minority students continue to score Below Basic or Basic on PACT ELA and Math, although the gap between our minority and non-minority students is decreasing.  Our gifted population had no students scoring below basic.   From our parent surveys, we recognize that our parents need to be more involved in the education process.

Our Staff believes that improved achievement can result from several new approaches, including:

·        Continue implementation of mathematics curriculum while teaching to the standards.

·        Continue implementation of  Building Blocks in K-5 for Language Arts instruction.

·        Continue implementation of Four Blocks in 1^st through 3^rd for Language Arts instruction.

·        Continue implementation of Big Blocks in 4^th and 5^th for Language Arts instruction.

·        Full implementation of Every Day Counts Math program in all classrooms.

·        Vertical Team meetings:  K-1^st, 1^st-2^nd, 2^nd-3^rd, 3^rd-4^th, 4^th-5^th, 5^th-6^th.

Strategies to Increase Student Learning

Teachers at Simpsonville Elementary keep abreast of the latest methods of delivering instruction. Teachers have taken advantage of staff development opportunities that are offered in the district, especially the Four-Blocks and Focused Learning classes, in addition to attending conferences. We recognize that students learn in different ways. Teachers are encouraged to try a variety of instructional strategies to address the different learning styles of students. To the degree that time and budget allow, we encourage all staff to be involved in staff development opportunities that will increase student learning. Of course, our highest priority is implementing the strategies related to our vision.

At each grade level, teachers are encouraged to work together as a team. The grade levels meet weekly or bi-monthly for planning and sharing.  We are implementing work across grade levels to ensure a continuum of learning that makes sense for the students. The Instructional Coach and Administration are working to ensure every teacher is teaching to the standards and that everyone understands what we want our students to know and be able to do.

Vertical Teaming

At each grade level, teachers are encouraged to work together as a team. We are beginning to work across grade levels to ensure a continuum of learning that makes sense for the students. These teams are set up to make sure every teacher is teaching to the standards and that each is clear on what we want our students to know and be able to do.  The vertical teaming encourages teachers to work together for the benefit of the students.  Education has a history of individual teachers closing their doors and “doing their own thing” in their classrooms.  We believe that “opening our doors” and sharing our expertise and knowledge is extremely important for the education of our students.  Our vertical teams meet quarterly as follows:  K-1^st, 1^st-2^nd, 2^nd-3^rd, 3^rd-4^th, 4^th-5^th, 5^th-6^th.  

Sixth grade teachers from our middle schools meet with our fifth grade teachers to share ideas that will enable our students to be more successful in middle school.  Our teachers benefit from the exchange of ideas and are working to put more responsibility on our 5^th graders in the second semester.  Our day is structured in a way that does not permit teachers from different grade levels to plan or discuss curriculum, so we are making our vertical teaming meetings a part of our staff development calendar.  (Dimensions of Learning, Marzano, 1997)  

Four Blocks Model

Primary teachers (grades 1-2) use a fully implemented model of Four Blocks.  Our third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers use the Big Blocks model according to the needs of their individual classes.  Our Kindergarten teachers are using the Building Blocks model.

Hands-on Science

Simpsonville Elementary teachers use hands-on science to teach the state science standards.  Teachers use the school district’s science kits to enhance the learning of key science concepts.  According to the Einstein Project “…students learn through the process of ‘doing science.’ They master concepts from experience rather than from just reading.  Einstein students actually ‘use’ scientific terms to communicate, terms are not merely read and memorized.”   http://www.einsteinproject.org/studies/cornerstone

We offered “Mad Science”, a voluntary 8-week after-school supplemental program that provides hands-on science experiences.  This program created much enthusiasm for science at our school.

We believe that all students must be provided instruction to compliment their own learning style.  Many of our students need visual and kinesthetic experiences.  Using the science kits and science experiments to teach the standards provides these modalities for our students.  Our teachers look forward to using Simpsonville’s state-of-the-art science lab to give students a real feel of how scientists work.  The lab is equipped with an Internet connected computer and a presentation television. 

The Village Green Team purchased 10 microscopes that can be connected to the television for projection to the class.  This equipment enhances our science instruction by allowing teachers to project magnified images to the class.  For example, a teacher can demonstrate correct usage of the microscope and allow the whole class to view a slide of pond water or organisms during their student of the world around them.

 The Writing Process

     We believe that our emphasis on writing is of central importance to our curriculum vision and goals.  Research shows us that exemplary writing instruction is critical in improving student achievement. (Classrooms That Work:  They can all Read and Write, Cunningham and Allington, 2003))  At the kindergarten level, students use inventive spelling to begin the development of the writing process.  First graders move to conventional spelling as they are introduced to proper sentence structure and mechanics.  They learn to choose a topic and generate ideas, write about the topic, learn to review and edit for spelling, capitalization and punctuation.  Journal writing, language experience books, classroom published books, and book adaptations are all strategies used to reinforce steps of the writing process.  Computers are also introduced to primary students as a classroom publishing tool.  Our students learn to write for different audiences and different purposes.  In second grade, students extend and practice previously explored skills of the writing process.  Teachers use a variety of writing techniques:  class stories, riddles, “A Day in the Life of...,” writing in curricular areas, poems, narratives, steps in a process (expository), personal experience stories and word processing.  As students move to third grade, they develop the purpose of writing as they create paragraphs to inform, persuade, or describe details to a reader.  Dialogue writing is introduced through interviews, listening to tapes of authentic dialogue, and skits as students explore point of view. All of our classroom teachers model, then ask the students to write.  Our third graders wrote a mini-research paper on famous South Carolinians and created Christmas pop-up books.  Fourth graders elaborate their paragraph writing to become longer, more detailed pieces of work.  Formal writing is introduced and practiced through letter writing, poems, skits, and informative, narrative, comparative and descriptive paragraphs using graphic organizers as a guide.  Time is also spent in helping students to self-edit and revise their work. Another focus is developing clear beginning, middle and ending and maintaining a topic.  This helps in writing longer works.  Expository writing is used in math and science in order to teach concise, factual writing in fourth grade.  Math may require students to explain their thought process in solving problems, and students complete research reports in science class.   In fifth grade, proper format for reports, essays, and letters is introduced.  These skills are practiced with activities such as newspaper stories, book reports and reviews, idiom books, poetry books, contest essays, and letters to grandparents.  Our students’ writing is often published in the Computer Lab. Children’s literature is used as a basis for much instruction.  From there, teachers develop lessons involving reading, speaking, and writing.  Specific skills are taught within the context of this material.  In primary grades, the emphasis is on sentence structure and paragraph development, where as in the intermediate grades, assignments in the curriculum areas are designed to demonstrate understanding of content material through activities such as comparing, contrasting, webbing, note-taking, and researching information.  Writing in the content areas serves as a powerful reinforcement of the concepts to be mastered in the various subjects.  Students are encouraged in many ways to be authors.  Many classrooms use the “author’s chair” for students to share and respond to other’s writings.  Students quickly realize that their words have meaning and will be heard by others. 

 Teaching Mathematics

We believe that students must understand the mathematics principles behind the algorithms.  Teachers use manipulatives to allow students to explore mathematical concepts on a concrete level.  We know that Best Practices in Mathematics (Best Practice:  Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools, Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde, 1998) encourages the use of manipulative materials, cooperative group work, and justification of thinking.  Simpsonville teachers are open to the changing philosophy of teaching Mathematics.  All grade levels at Simpsonville are using the district mathematics textbook adoption, Houghton Mifflin Mathematics, which allows for more problem solving and justification of thinking. 

 Our 2nd grade students created amusement parks as a culminating activity for a Geometry unit.

The Every Day Counts Math Program was purchased for all classroom teachers.  District training was offered to all teachers and as of January, 2008 all teachers at Simpsonville Elementary have been trained.   All new teachers have also been trained in district-sponsored workshops.

Special Education Model 

Our resource teachers work very closely with the regular classroom teachers.  They help the regular classroom teachers with accommodations and strategies to help the resource student be successful in the least restrictive educational environment.  For example, if a resource student is struggling with place value, the resource teacher will find a strategy that would help the resource student and share it with the regular education teacher.  Students from our self-contained Learning Disabilities class are mainstreamed into the regular classroom for subjects that are appropriate for their learning abilities.  These students are included in grade level appropriate field trips.  When appropriate, our resource teachers use the Inclusion Model.  The Indirect Model (Consultative) is also used at Simpsonville.  This model allows the resource student to remain in the regular classroom with support given to the regular classroom teacher in the form of strategies, support materials, and current research on how best to teach the student.  We feel that students should always be in the least restrictive environment and these special placements and accommodations allow our students to reach to their academic potential.  (PL94-142, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—IDEA)    One of our self-contained teachers team-teaches with one of our 5^th grade teachers and blends the two classes.
Curriculum Integration and Social Studies

With the long list of required state standards to teach, curriculum integration is extremely important in our classrooms.  Tom Roe, our district ELA consultant, has encouraged fourth and fifth grade teachers to integrate ELA and Social Studies.  He is presenting staff development opportunities so teachers can receive the training they need to use historical novels to teach ELA and Social Studies standards.  Several of our teachers have attended these sessions and are working toward more integration.  Many of our teachers are integrating their curriculum as evidenced by examples of writing and research in the content areas.   For example, teachers are helping the students to make connections between math and science during Measurement units, Force and Motion units, and Sun, Moon, and Stars units.    Our Seal-A-Brate Diversity exhibited work from curriculum integration.  Last summer, Dr. Lindi Metcalf presented a three-day workshop at Simpsonville Elementary on curriculum integration.

Technology Integration

Technology is an integral part of the educational process at Simpsonville Elementary.  To facilitate this integration into the curriculum, Simpsonville has at least four computers in each classroom, and one computer in Art, Music, and Physical Education.  Many classrooms also have large presentation televisions attached to one  computer.  Simpsonville also has a 32-Computer Technology Lab with a Lab Manager and a large screen presentation television.  Classes go to the lab once a week to teach the district’s technology standards and reinforce state curriculum standards.  Students use the Internet for research and multimedia presentations.  The lab is also used for reinforcing state standards through curriculum based software.  Our district has developed a Technology Survey that was administered to all staff members in Fall, 2007.  The survey indicated areas of strengths and weaknesses.  Teachers are actively taking technology integration classes to improve and enhance their technical skills.  All district personnel will be required to demonstrate technology knowledge and application by the by year 2008.  Simpsonville is supporting this state-wide mandate by providing technology courses on site.  We also have a software library for teachers to use in the Technology Lab and in their classrooms.  The software is directly linked to the South Carolina State Standards.
Parent Involvement

At Simpsonville, parent involvement is crucial to our students’ success.  Parents are invited to be active members of our P.T.A., work in their child’s classroom, attend special programs, chaperone field trips, provide SEEDS in Kindergarten through 2^nd grade and assist teachers as needed in the classroom.  Research has shown that children whose parents are involved in their child’s education will be more successful in school.  Herbert Walberg and colleagues did a study of 846 elementary school children and noted that “… classes whose parents were intensively involved in the program gained an estimated 1.1 grade equivalents; classes whose parents were less intensively involved gained only.5 grade equivalents.” (Thorkildsen & Stein, 1998)

Using Student Achievement Data

2002-03 was the first year that we have systemically used data to make informed decisions about the instructional program.  Our district hired TetraData to build a digital warehouse so data can be disaggregated for easier use.  This data management system was used by our faculty to examine our test scores. Our first attempts have led us to the realization that while we have a lot of data, in the past it had not been organized in a way that allows us to use it well.

For this exercise, the staff was divided into vertical teams.  Each team was to study test data by focusing on a particular demographic.  The teams looked at gifted, gender, ethnicity, lunch status and disability models.  Although we were able to disaggregate the data and examine root causes, we still encountered some problems.
For example, in the past:

·         Most of our data was on paper records and not in a database, not allowing us to disaggregate by program, ethnicity, and/or gender.

·         Teachers receive their test data in the fall for the previous year.

·          We could not organize historical data in the new class assignments and, therefore, the data was not very helpful in improving instruction.

·         Our PACT scores are not disaggregated by strands so we cannot use the scores to improve instruction.

·         Due to the way in which we kept student records in the past, we could not go back and look at historical data for the same students unless we went through student files, one-by-one.

·         We believe that norm-referenced tests do not tell the full story, but we have no standardized alternative assessments that can be reported school wide.

·         Some of the special education numbers in EASE-e are incorrect so we could not use that data in our disaggregating.

·         PACT tests are criterion-referenced tests that do not give information on which standards are tested or where weaknesses occur.  PACT tests only give a score that lies within one of five categories.

Student Support Systems

Recognizing that some students need support beyond that available in the classroom, Simpsonville Elementary has worked with the district to provide a variety of special services.

·         We have two full-time resource teachers to work with students with learning disabilities. These teachers work primarily in collaboration with classroom teachers, and pull out students to work on skills.

·         We also have two self-contained classes: Learning Disabled and Emotionally Disabled.

·         We have a full-time Speech Therapist and three part-time Speech Therapists.  All K-5 students, as well as students referred by teachers, are screened for speech/language problems that include voice, fluency, language, articulation and phonology.  Screening results, observations, teacher input, parent input, and recommendations from an Individual Education Plan (IEP) Team determine the need for a complete speech/language evaluation which is conducted after parental permission is obtained.  When the evaluation is complete, a team comprised of parents, teachers, speech/language pathologist and a district representative meet to determine the student’s eligibility for enrollment in the speech/language program.  With parental consent, the student is then served according to the goals and objectives set forth in the IEP.  This program involves small group or individual instruction in the speech room or in a variety of school settings.  The student’s IEP is reviewed yearly and continued until the team agrees that the student has met his/her goals and objectives.  At that time the student is dismissed from the program.

·         When a teacher believes that a student has needs that require special attention, the student is referred to the Assistance Team. The purpose of the team is to try to match student needs with resources that are available through the school, district, or community. The Assistance Team is a multidisciplinary group of teachers and an administrator that meet on a regular basis.  The student’s parents are invited to attend and participate as a team member for their child.  The team identifies the student’s strengths and weaknesses.  If needed, further screenings and tests are administered to determine the student’s needs.  The team recommends strategies and accommodations to assist the student’s improvement in academic and/or behavioral skills.  The school district provides the services of a trained school psychologist to give the student a full psychological evaluation if needed.  The psychologist can determine if the student qualifies for special education services.

·         We are committed to make every effort to help students with limited English proficiency to make a smooth transition into an English speaking school.  Other ESOL students are introduced to the new ESOL student to make them feel welcome and more comfortable. 

·         Currently we have four teachers trained in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) at Furman University.  We also have a .5 TESOL trained teacher that works with our 5^th grade and kindergarten students and other students as needed.  They have classes of 20 students each as defined in the school district TESOL directives.  Up to half of the students can be experiencing language difficulty and the other half are a regular heterogeneous group.

Summary of Progress

2007-08 was a highly productive year. We developed a clear plan for increasing student achievement.  We are still learning more about how to implement content and performance standards in our classrooms. We have added partnerships with local agencies to support student and family needs. We have also learned to study our student achievement results along with our school processes.  MAP tests were administered for the first time in October 2005.  The MAP test is now administered twice a year to all students in 2^nd through 5^th grade and in March to 1^st grade.  Through professional development days, teachers learned how to analyze the data and apply that information to differentiate instruction in their classrooms.

Our school purchased Every Day Counts math kits for all classroom teachers and training was offered each year for the past 5 years.  All teachers are utilizing the training to strengthen our math instruction.  A large percentage, 23 teachers, attended the District Every Day Counts Keep It Going training in February, 2005.  As teachers have changed grade levels, they have repeated the Every Day Counts training at their new grade level with the new kits.   We had 8 teachers attend the district sponsored Partner Games workshop.  They received kits for the games to use in their classroom.  Donor’s Choose Grants have been written to provide more kits for our students’ use.

Forty-two teachers, Media Specialist and Instructional Coach have been trained in Intel Teach to the Future.  All teachers will be required to complete this 3-hour graduate course within their next recertification period or by 2008.  The course requires completion of a portfolio with documents that will be used to teach a unit of their choice.  They must create documents in WORD, Publisher and PowerPoint.  Through this advanced training our teachers will be better equipped to integrate technology into their instruction.

Next Steps

We are at the point where our work is goal oriented to implement our vision throughout the school and in every classroom. To accomplish this, next year we plan to—

·         examine student assessment data regularly, as a faculty, in grade-level teams, and across grade levels

·         share our work so that every child in the school can benefit from each teacher’s talents

·         develop a non-threatening process for peer coaching

·         collect authentic assessment data for action research

·         continue to provide staff development in technology integration.

The following are being implemented in 2008-09:

·         Stephanie Meek presented test score data for entire faculty.

·         Academic component at all faculty meetings

·         AIMSweb early intervention program daily  to target kindergarten students for extra help.  25 students received extra assistance during the day from  K-5 classroom assistants.

·         ELA afternoon computer program of instruction for BB basic 4th and 5th graders if funding is available

·         Compass software and computer cart added. 2nd graders received 90 minutes of computer-assisted instruction per week starting last year.

·         Cohesive scheduling in 4th and 5th to mainstream special ed students appropriately

·         Kindergarten packets with flashcards, a book, crayons, and a pamphlet of learning expectations sent home with each registration…through SIC

·         Partnership with USCU provided 8 practicum students to work with our children 4 hours each week. (Total:  32 hours X 8 people)

·         PTA and local businesses also provided tutors and Big Brothers/Big Sisters for selected students

·         4th grade worked with Olivia Morris to address math--our area for “Closing the Gap.” 

·         Great Math Race in order for all students to learn addition, subtraction, addition, multiplication and division facts.

·         Before school Larson’s Math Program for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders