Executive Summary. Royston Elementary School

Transcription

1 Franklin County School System Dr. David Gailer, Principal 660 College Street Royston, GA Document Generated On February 12, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 8

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. 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? (RES) is located in the small rural town of Royston, Georgia. Royston is an interesting town because there are three counties (Franklin, Hart, and Madison) that intersect within the city limits of Royston. The town of Royston is located on the border of Franklin County so students at RES are not only from the town of Royston, but also from Canon, Franklin Springs, Sandy Cross, and other small communities around the county. Many are bused twenty miles or more to school. The area surrounding Royston is rural and largely agricultural. Royston has a small population of approximately 2500 people, and there has been a minimal growth rate of 3.57% since the 2000 census. The population of Royston has a median age of 40.5 years, with 56.97% female and 43.03% males. Thirty-six percent of the population of Royston did not graduate from high school while 49 percent did. Only ten percent of Royston's population has graduated from college and six percent of those have advanced degrees. The median household income for the citizens of Royston is $28,500 compared to the state median income of $49,604. is a kindergarten through fifth grade school and is a part of the Franklin County School System. Royston Elementary is one of three elementary schools in Franklin County. Royston Elementary along with the other three elementary schools feed one middle school, which in turn feeds the single high school in the county. Royston Elementary has 541 students. Of these students, 256 (47%) are boys and 285 (53 %) are girls. The school has four kindergartens and first grade classrooms, five second and third grade classrooms, and four fourth and fifth grade classrooms. The average student teacher ratio is 21:1 in homeroom classes; if you factor in the support staff, our student teacher ratio is reduced to 15:1. Royston Elementary has a large percentage (67.7%) of students who receive free and reduced lunch. This data is based on information from the school year, due to the fact that the state of Georgia has not finalized the numbers for free and reduced lunch for the school year. The ethnic make up of Royston Elementary is 74% white, 12 % black, 8% Hispanic, 4% two or more races, and 1% Asian. The number of gifted students at RES is 14, which is 3% of the population. The school serves third, fourth, and fifth grade students in the gifted program. There are 54 special needs students. Many of these students (25) are served for speech. Fifty-nine students are served in the Early Intervention Program (EIP). There are 107 students who have active Response to Intervention (RTI) Folders, and ten students with 504 plans. Twenty-six students at RES receive English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services. Royston Elementary has forty-two certified and eight classified staff members. Of the certified staff members, 2% have a Doctorate degree, 52% have Specialist's degrees, 26% have Master's degrees, and 19% have Bachelor's degrees. The staff is made up of experienced teachers; 88% of the certified staff has been teaching for more than ten years. Royston Elementary has recently experienced a change in the dynamics of the school. Because of district realignment of personnel, the principal, assistant principal, academic coach, counselor, as well as nine teachers are new to our school. This is only the second year of the new alignment. This has had both positive and negative impacts on the school and the community. The school's student population increased due to redistricting. Some students had to change schools after being at the same school for their entire school career. Some teachers and administrative positions changed after long tenures at one school as well. The past year was definitely a transition year as the old and new blended together and the new observed the way things functioned at RES before any major changes took place. Therefore, this Page 2

5 is really the first year the new staff at RES has become a cohesive group. Due to the transitions that have taken place, it was difficult for some parents, teachers, and students to respond to the survey questions with an accurate understanding of the school. Page 3

6 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. 's Mission and Belief statements were revised during the fall of A team was developed from the faculty and staff. This team felt revisions were necessary due to the change in the culture of education and the change in the staff and leadership at (RES). There have been changes in the way instruction is presented in public education, and the expectations of educators and students have also changed. This impacted the changes that were made to the purpose. Therefore the Mission and Belief statements no longer met the needs of. During the first meeting, the team looked at the old vision and mission statements. Changes, revisions, and deletions were made to the previous mission statement. After this, the team individually looked at the statements and made more minor changes. The team then presented the revised vision to the faculty and staff. After allowing some time for the staff to review the Mission and Beliefs, the team put together an online survey to gather the faculty and staff's input. Once this was completed, the team met again to evaluate the results of the survey. Minor changes were made and the Mission and Beliefs were presented to the faculty again. This document was then taken to the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) board and shared with parents to receive feedback. After this feedback, the committee finalized the new Mission and Belief statements for RES. At this time, the statements were sent home in newsletters, and placed on the school website and Facebook page. It was determined that the Mission and Beliefs for RES were in line with Franklin County's Mission: The Mission of Franklin County School System is to educate and prepare all of our students to meet the highest state and national standards and to live and work successfully in a dynamic and challenging world. The Mission Statement for Royston Elementary is: The mission of the faculty, staff, and administration of is to provide all students with the foundation to function effectively, successfully, and productively in our dynamic and challenging world. The Belief Statements of Royston Elementary is embodied with daily practices during the school day. The belief statements are as follows: 1. All students have the potential for learning in an appropriate and safe learning environment. 2. A positive climate is necessary to encourage positive character traits and civic responsibility. 3. Learning and behavioral expectations should be communicated to all stakeholders. 4. Learning is promoted through a curriculum that provides relevant, rigorous, and differentiated instruction that nurtures the needs of the whole child. 5. Successful learning experiences motivate students to become lifelong learners and creative problem solvers by giving them the skills, tools, and resources to reach their full potential. 6. A commitment to continuous growth through professional learning communities is necessary to carry students into the 21st Century and beyond. Teachers and staff, students, and stakeholders at RES will review these annually and then make needed additions or revisions. They will also become a part of our student agendas, faculty handbook, and Internet sites. The Mission and Belief statements are exemplified in many ways at RES. First, teachers and administration meet on a regular basis to Page 4

7 discuss the Pyramid of Intervention (POI) and progress monitoring of struggling learners. Each week teachers participate in collaborative planning and there are weekly professional learning opportunities that focus on different academic areas in need of improvement. Technology continues to grow and develop in each of the classrooms at RES. At the current time, each classroom has a projector, a Smartboard, a set of speakers, an IPad mini, a document camera, and several student computers as well as a teacher laptop computer. Recently, the Franklin County School Board of Education approved the purchase of 170 Chromebooks to be used by the students at Royston Elementary. Along with this purchase, WiFi boosters will be added to the technological infrastructure. There is also a completely furnished Mac Lab which students use on a regular basis. The media center has recently purchased four sets of IPad listening stations to be used in classrooms. Royston Elementary 's emphasis on technology will encourage our students to be lifelong learners as well as to function as productive citizens in our dynamic and ever changing world. Royston Elementary has a very active PTO and Mentor Program. Both organizations work to promote positive traits and build character. Our PTO not only provides opportunities to raise money for our school and grounds, it also sponsors community events like a "Tailgate Party" in September and a "Fall Festival" in October. They also sponsor a "Spring Fling" at the end of the school year. Around Christmas, PTO sponsors a "Care and Share" project to collect canned goods for our local food pantry. The mentor program provides students an adult who will spend one-on-one time with socially and emotionally needy students. This program matches students and adults with similar interests. The Mentors not only provide opportunities for students to share what is going on in their lives, but also opportunities for students and adults to play games, work on school work, and many other activities these students might benefit from. also strives to accomplish its Goal and Missions by hosting a variety of other activities such as: Fun Runs ("Turkey Trot", "December Dash"), Santa's Workshop, Book Fairs, Art Night, Millionaire's Club Party (for students who read one million words during the school year), and musical productions performed by students. The faculty and staff at RES work tirelessly to enhance student learning by participating in many activities throughout the school year, while continually focusing on the students and their achievements. Page 5

8 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. Over the past several years, Royston Elementary and Franklin County have been focused on several areas of school improvement. Each summer the leadership team from each school in the district meets and analyzes data to determine areas for improvement. Once the district focus has been established and a district-wide improvement plan has been adopted, each individual school then determines their target area/s for the year. Constant analysis of data has indicated a steady and/or upward trend in reading in the three grades assessed yearly by the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Royston Elementary has also begun to focus on improving the Lexile scores of our students. During the past three years, there has also been a steady increase in the Lexile levels as measured on the Georgia CRCT. There has also been an increase in the number of students reaching the target Lexile level for the CRCT; however the teachers and school leaders are preparing for a significant drop in Lexile scores and percentages, as students will be exposed to more rigorous text through Georgia Milestones Assessments. The data which supports this improvement is as follows: During the 2012 and 2013 school years, 97 percent of the third grade students met or exceeded on the reading portion of the CRCT. In 2014, all third grade students or 100% of the third graders met or exceeded in reading on the CRCT. In 2012, fourth grade had 92% of the students meeting or exceeding in reading. This percentage increased four percent the next year, and in 2014, 95% of the fourth graders at Royston Elementary met or exceeded reading expectations according to the CRCT. Fifth grade also showed an increase during the past three years. In 2012, 93% of the students in fifth grade met or exceeded on the reading portion of the CRCT. This percentage dropped two percent the following year, but then rebounded with a dramatic increase to 98% meeting or exceeding in the 2014 school year. Analyzing the Lexile growth according to the CRCT shows a steady increase. Third graders at Royston Elementary have increased from 740 Lexile level in 2012 to 777 in the year Fourth graders increased twenty-seven points in their Lexile levels over the past three years, increasing from 816 in 2012 to 843 in The fifth graders showed the largest increase in Lexile growth from 896 in 2012 to 949 in 2014, which is a 53-point increase. recognized the increase in student achievement in regards to Lexile levels. The faculty and staff however also realize the need to continue to progress in rigorous reading and writing instruction, so that the students will be better prepared for college and careers readiness. Further analysis of student reading data from the CRCT identified that all three grades showed significantly lower scores in Information and Media Literacy compared to Literary Comprehension and Reading Skills and Vocabulary Acquisition. Information and Media scores were about ten points less than the other two domains. Literary Comprehension and Reading Skills and Vocabulary Acquisition averaged in the mid-eighties, but the averages for Information and Media were in the mid-seventies. According to Common Core in order for students to be college and career ready teachers must provide more opportunities for students to read informational argumentative text and respond in writing. There was also a slight decline in math meets and exceeds percentages for fourth and fifth grade math scores on the CRCT. Third grade however has had an increase in their 2014 math meets and exceeds scores. Third grade scored 91% in 2012, dropped to 85% the following year and rebounded in 2014 with 96 percent of the students meeting and exceeding. Fourth grade scores were 91% and 93% in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However in 2014, fourth grade meet and/or exceed scores dropped to 86%. Ninety-three percent of fifth grader met or exceeded in 2012 and but this group dropped to 86% in Page 6

9 Writing has also been identified as an area of weakness for Royston Elementary. The scores over the past three years have shown a decrease in the number of students who were meeting or exceeding the Georgia standards on the Fifth Grade Writing Assessment. Ten percent fewer students passed the writing test in 2014 compared to In 2012, ninety percent of Royston Elementary Fifth Graders exceeded or met the writing expectations for fifth grade where as in 2014; only eighty percent of the students exceeded or met the same expectations. Another area that is of grave concern is attendance at Royston Elementary. The absentee rate has continued to increase over the past three years. Students missing six to ten days each year has increased from twenty-six percent to twenty-nine percent of the student population. The greatest increase has been the number of students who were absent between ten and fifteen days. This absentee rate has increased from nine percent in 2012 to fourteen percent in The number of students with greater than fifteen absences has increased from six percent to ten percent. Based on the data form and a culmination of district-wide data, RES set the following SMART Goals and targets for the school year. Royston Elementary Strategic Smart Goals - Design rigorous, relevant, and engaging learning environments that advance the learning and independence of all students. - Develop school and district cultures that invite the loyalty and engagement of parents and community stakeholders. - Design and support the growth of the school system as a professional learning community and staff it with high performing personnel. The Smart Goals align with the Mission and Beliefs held by the staff at Royston Elementary. The goals also focus on all stakeholders: students, staff (school and district), as well as our community. It is believed that to have notable achievement, all stakeholders must participate in the education of the students at. As the staff moves forward at RES, it is the desire and mission of the school for all students to thrive in the 21st century and be college and career ready. Students at RES are the workers and learners for tomorrow in an ever-changing, technological world. The better equipped for this huge responsibility, the better our world will function as a global, interdependent society. Page 7

10 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. For several years, Franklin County has diligently worked to become a Professional Learning Community. This goal for the district and school has been increasingly perfected over the past six years. In creating a professional learning community, the distinct focus is on learning rather than teaching; working collaboratively, and holding oneself and others accountable for the results are also vital in a professional learning community. Royston Elementary provides dedicated collaborative planning for all teachers, in the form of daily common planning times in addition there is weekly professional learning sessions with the leadership in the school. Collaborative sessions for teams of teachers, as well as school initiatives, are moving teacher conversations quickly from teaching expectations to assessment and intervention of learning outcomes. Along with the weekly professional learning collaborations, there are monthly Pyramid of Intervention (POI) meetings. During these meetings, data is analyzed and progress monitoring is reviewed. POI decisions are then made about students in each grade. Recently, Franklin County purchased a computer-based program called "Mastery Connect", which is a standards-based assessment program. This program allows teachers to align assessments to the standards and set mastery levels for the assessments. "Mastery Connect" gives immediate feedback to the teachers and students. Each teacher is then able to intervene quickly when there are deficits. Another school-wide focus this year is writing. As previously stated, Franklin County purchased the Lucy Calkins Unit of Study Writing Program for all teachers at each grade level and teachers are in the process of being trained. A full implementation of the writing program is set for the school year. 's committees meet once a month to address any issues relevant to that committee. The committees generate ideas for improvements in the school and make plans for the future. These committees consist of Media and Technology, Facilities, School Climate, Parent Involvement, Student Recognition, and Leadership. Royston Elementary is fortunate to have a very active Parent Teacher Organization that works closely with the Parent Involvement committee to bring positive community involvement to the school. In addition to these committees, Royston Elementary also includes a "Sunshine Committee". This committee is an outreach committee for staff members who have experienced hardships, like sickness or death of family members. It also organizes staff functions, such as Christmas parties and bowling trips. The Franklin County School System has suffered great financial hardships during the past several years. Beginning five years ago, the number of days attended by students was reduced from 180 days to 160 days with an extended day. All staff members received furlough days as well. Furthermore, full- time employees had extended days with an additional 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon to compensate for the difference between the furlough days and reduced calendar days. This has not appeared to impact the assessment data for Royston Elementary, but it has seemed to impact school moral and the levels of stress for employees. There are also some concerns about long-term effects of student achievement gaps since reduced calendar days are now continuing into year five. There has been a reduction in staff in all the schools in Franklin County as a result of the amount of revenue from state and local funds. For RES, the number of students has increased recently, but support staff members have decreased. There is no longer a media clerk, and for one year, the media specialist had to travel between two schools. The fine arts staff has also been reduced. Prior to the cut backs, Royston Elementary had full-time art and music teachers, but now there are only part- time music and art teachers. This has had a negative influence on the students as well as the teachers in these programs. This change has also impacted our physical education program due to a different organizational structure for P.E. classes in all of the elementary schools in the district. One twelve weeks, there are two full time P.E. Page 8

11 teachers sharing the gym with two classes each period, the second portion of the year there is one P.E. teacher instructing one class each period, and the final segment of the year there is a full time P.E. paraprofessional with a full-time teacher working with two classes each period. The Franklin County School District and has many positive initiatives in place to help teachers and students be successful even with the limited time in school. The opportunities for teachers to be a part of a professional learning community has enhanced the teaching and learning at. Page 9