Executive Summary. Rio Grande Elementary School

Transcription

1 Vigo County School Corporation Mrs. Susan Shackelford, Principal 5555 E. Rio Grande Avenue Terre Haute, IN Document Generated On January 22, 2014

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 6

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? opened its doors to students in Rio Grande is organized into wings of classrooms in a self-contained arrangement. At Rio Grande we believe in "quality education with active engagement while accommodating differences in learning." This is not only our vision statement but a practice we follow daily. Situated in northern, rural Vigo County, Rio Grande is home to 547 students, 27 teachers, and 51 staff members. Rio Grande serves students in grades kindergarten through fifth. Of the 547 students, 230 qualify for free and reduced lunch. Our special education population has increased to 19% in the last two years and includes two Covered Bridge Preschool classes and two moderately mentally handicapped classrooms. Not only has our special education population grown, Rio Grande has enrolled 79 new students just in the school year, not including kindergartners. Within the 18 elementary schools in Vigo County, Rio Grande is one of the few with a low mobility rate. Given the diversity of socioeconomic and academic standards, the Rio Grande staff and students easily come together to show our Bobcat pride with purple and white. Rio Grande boasts the Rudy Jacobson Nature Center, a ½ mile paved fitness track, and various playground equipment which are located on the over 32 acres of property. The school is proud of its strong Parent-Teacher Organization and Business Partner (Novelis) which support numerous academic programs and extracurricular activities. This is evident through various convocations, a Veterans' Day program, Career Day, Battle of the Books, Student Council, and Field Day. It also includes Fall and Spring Carnivals, discos, a talent show, a fine arts night, and literacy fair. Support of students at Rio Grande is ongoing by staff with a Student Assistance Team and Autism Support Team. The students and staff at Rio Grande are provided with opportunities to give back to our community. Children participate in activities such as a Christmas food drive, a mitten tree, Riley Read-A-Thon, Walk America, collections for the animal shelter, donations to the Ronald McDonald House, United Way contributions, and Back Pack Program. Page 2

5 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Rio Grande's mission is to provide all students with equal opportunities to attain their greatest potential to become lifelong learners and productive citizens. Students will be provided a quality education through a variety of learning strategies to actively engage all students while accommodating for differences in student learning. Our vision is to provide quality education with active engagement while accommodating differences in learning. Our third, fourth, and fifth grade classes provide differentiated instruction by providing enrichment as well as interventions through ability grouping for math class. In all three grade levels our Resource Teacher provides a Co-Lab environment for our students who have been identified as those with the most need based on ISTEP results, as well as, pretests, quarterly. Our second grade students are afforded the opportunity to participate in differentiated reading instruction according to DIBELS scores, Terra Nova results, as well as teacher observations in the classroom. Struggling kindergarten and first grade students work with our Resource Teacher both in and out of the classroom to gain the necessary basic reading skills. These students are identified using both formative and summative assessments. During our school's Intervention and Enrichment Block (I/E) all grade levels participated in differentiated reading and math instruction based on identified needs of the students at any given time. Our Speech and Language Pathologist provides Response to Intervention services to students who are showing speech and language deficiencies, but who have not yet qualified for speech and language services. Page 3

6 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. Rio Grande is proud of its rich and diverse curriculum that meets the needs of all students. The school's Macmillan/McGraw-Hill reading program utilizes scientific research from the National Reading Panel and includes the five components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Literature includes big books for shared reading, decodable readers for developing readers, leveled readers for differentiated instruction, trade books for extended reading, and a read aloud anthology for listening experiences. Another aspect of the school's reading curriculum is the Scholastic Reading Counts Program that motivates students to read engaging fiction and nonfiction books. The program includes the Scholastic Reading Inventory which utilizes authentic text passages to test reading and vocabulary skills and provide students with a Lexile reading level. A comprehensive reporting system helps parents understand the reading progress of their children. First grade students who need additional reading instruction have opportunities for one-to-one tutoring with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher. Also, the school offers READ LIVE software to help students improve reading fluency and comprehension. Kindergarten, grade one, and grade two students take DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments to diagnose early reading strengths and weaknesses. DIBELS subtests include: Initial Sound Fluency, Letter Naming Fluency, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Word Fluency. The school administers Acuity in English/Language Arts at grades three, four, and five to further identify reading deficiencies. Also, students take IREAD-K, IREAD-1, IREAD-2, and IREAD-3 as part of state testing. Students strengthen writing instruction from the assistance of writing co-teachers at grades two and five who work alongside Rio Grande teachers to model effective writing processes and conventions skills. Students benefit from an Everyday Mathematics curriculum in which each grade builds on and extends mathematics conceptual understanding. Students have opportunities to play Everyday Math games, both online and hands-on, to improve their knowledge of basic skills and problem solving. Students are provided with a password so that they can access Everyday Math games online at home as well. Students take Everyday Math quarterlies in grades kindergarten, one, and two and then take Acuity math assessments, aligned to pacing guides, in grades three, four, and five. Our students have multiple opportunities to engage in academic competitions like the Battle of the Books, Honey Creek Grades 5 and 6 Math Contest, IASP Math Bowl, and Spell Bowl. Students are recognized through the Bringing Up Grades (BUG) Club and Honor Roll to promote hard work, perseverance, and responsibility. The Student Council promotes student leadership. Students are recognized monthly, quarterly, and at the end of the year, for perfect attendance. Differentiated student learning needs are met through the Covered Bridge Special Education Programs, and the English Language Learner Program. Also, the school offers differentiated programming through the daily intervention/enrichment period, flexible groupings, and leveled reading materials throughout multiple content areas. Rio Grande is accredited by AdvancED through the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). Currently, the school is working toward the following goals: All students will improve in reading comprehension skills in all curricular areas; and all students will improve the accuracy and speed of grade level appropriate math facts. Rio Grande was in the "A" PL 221 Page 4

7 Accountability Category for 2012 and Currently, 99% of students are passing ISTEP+ in English/Language Arts in grade three, up from 93% in Currently, 95% of students are passing ISTEP+ in math in grade three, up from 81% in At grade four, 94% of students are passing ISTEP+ in English/Language Arts up from 84% in In 2013, 89% of students are passing ISTEP+ in math, up from 88% in In science, 88% of students are passing ISTEP+, down from 90% in At grade five, 94% of students are passing ISTEP+ in English/Language Arts, up from 83% in Currently, 97% of 5th grade students are passing ISTEP+ in math, up from 92% in In social studies 92% of students are passing ISTEP+, up from 78% in Within the Indiana Academic Standards of English/Language Arts, at grade three, nonfiction/informational text and writing process have the lowest percent mastery; however, these scores still average 90%. Within the Indiana Academic Standards of Mathematics at grade three, geometry and algebra functions have the lowest percent mastery with an average of 89%. Within the Indiana Academic Standards of English/Language Arts, at grade four, literary text has the lowest percent mastery. Within the Indiana Academic Standards of Mathematics at grade four, geometry has the lowest percent mastery. Within the Indiana Academic Standards of English/Language Arts, at grade five, writing process has the lowest percent mastery. Within the Indiana Academic Standards of Mathematics, at grade five, measurement has the lowest percent mastery at 90%. In 2013, 95% of grade three students passed IREAD-3; 100% passed when including the Good Cause Exemption. In 2012, 90.9% of grade three students passed IREAD-3; 97.7% passed if including Good Cause Exemption. Page 5

8 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. We have attached our School Improvement Plan and Safety/Crisis Plan. Page 6