Executive Summary. Baker County Pre-K/Kindergarten Center

Transcription

1 Baker County School District Mrs. Bonnie L. Jones, Principal 362 South Blvd E Macclenny, FL Document Generated On September 6, 2013

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 5 Additional Information 7

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 the school's 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 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? The (PKK Center) began construction in the spring of Our school opened in the Fall of 2005 and we are in our eighth year as a school site. The school consists of five buildings with 36 classrooms for Pre-K and Kindergarten students. In Building One, we have administration offices, a nurse's station, and a guidance suite. We also have two computer labs, one for Pre-K and one for Kindergarten students. Each classroom is equipped with state of the art technology including laptops, projectors, document cameras, and Smartboards for student and teacher use. All students have access to our wonderful media center. Our facility serves the needs of all Pre-K and Kindergarten students for the entire district. It is unique, in that, it is the only Pre-K/Kindergarten Center in northeast Florida. We offer a well-balanced curriculum that embraces an integrated, activity based approach to education. Currently, the is undergoing the AdvancED school accreditation process. AdvancED has the following standards of quality: Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, Resources and Support Systems. The used results of our AdvancED Early Learning Self Assessment to address continuous improvement. These standards were examined by faculty, staff, parents and community stakeholders at each school in the Baker County School District, so we all may continue to grow, improve and meet the high expectations and levels of performance in each standard. The PKK Center's feeder pattern flows into both of our primary schools, based on geographic boundaries. After kindergarten, the students attend Macclenny Elementary or Westside Elementary for grades 1-3, Keller Intermediate for grades 4-5, Baker County Middle School for grades 6-8 and Baker County High School for grades Parents participate at a high level, making many programs and activities possible. Celebrations and programs such as the annual Fall Carnival, Curriculum Nights, Track and Field Day, Class Plays and Productions on stage, Reading in the Park, and Graduation Celebrations are made possible by active community support. The schools in the community of Baker enjoy tremendous support from the local merchants. Several of the businesses are Partners in Education with not just one but all of the schools. Winn Dixie, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Wendy's, Gerdau Steele and Exxon Gas, are just a few that can be depended upon to support the schools. 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 young children. The vision of the Baker County School District is to prepare individuals to be lifelong learners, self-sufficient, and responsible citizens of good character. The mission of the is currently "to prepare a garden of children where growing and learning begin." However, through the accreditation process, faculty and staff feel strongly that we need to collaborate and prepare a new mission statement that better reflects our current school purpose and direction. The teachers at the devote many hours each year to professional development through the Northeast Florida Education Consortium (NEFEC), on site workshops utilizing teacher leaders best practices, and Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource System (FDLRS). All of our teachers have participated in the Florida Reading Initiative (FRI) training that focuses on effective instruction of vocabulary, fluency, phonics, phonemic awareness, and comprehension. We continue to focus on the "Essential Six" strategies that have been identified as being imperative to successful reading instruction. Many of our teachers have also participated in three years of the Students Using Math and Science (SUMS) training. Two of our teachers are program facilitators for SUMS. SUMS is a mathematics and science initiative developed by NEFEC that empowers teachers to use inquiry-based instruction through math and science. The approach taken to teaching math allows the teacher to use a variety of strategies and manipulatives in an effort to help the students develop a strong understanding of the concepts. We have nine technologically advanced, spacious, print-rich, Pre-K Classrooms with abundant resources for children. Our 22 state of the art Kindergarten Classrooms and one E.S.E. classroom provide students with a safe environment conducive to learning. Pre-K students utilize the computer lab twice a week and attend the Media Center for instruction by our certified Media Specialist weekly. Kindergarten students attend computer lab, physical education and the media center weekly. The educators at the devote many hours each year to professional development facilitated by the Northeast Florida Education Consortium, Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resource System, and highly trained, qualified colleagues and fellow educators. Highly qualified Pre-Kindergarten teachers at the are well trained in making the transition from Pre- K to Kindergarten seamless. A Comprehensive Scientifically research based curriculum which includes student interactive technology, is being taught in each Pre-K classroom. Kindergarten teachers are fully implementing Common Core Standards ( A new reading and math series has been adopted, called Journeys. This well rounded, research-based curriculum includes the Common Core Standards, preparing our Kindergartners for the first grade and beyond. Technology All kindergarten classrooms have 3-6 student computers available to students daily. In addition, all kindergarten classes visit the computer lab for 25 minutes of instruction each week, with a Resource Instructor, to ensure that basic technology skills are achieved. Kindergarten students will become proficient in: Page 3

6 Powering and shutting down the computer Finding his or her name and logging in to the AR program Using a mouse Starting and quitting programs Using dropdown menus Using basic computer vocabulary Exploring the keyboard, letter/number locations, and command keys Typing his/her name and some meaningful words (color words, WOW words, etc.) Selecting and using tools from the paint program palette All pre-kindergarten classes participate in the FastForward program in the pre-k computer lab. Page 4

7 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. Last three years: -Developed a Curriculum and Assessment Team (CAT Team) to help teachers fully implement Common Core Standards in Kindergarten school -Became a Positive Behavior Support Model School in Based on teacher need, many teacher lead professional learning communities and book studies are conducted -Technology in every classroom-kindergarten has laptops, projectors, document cameras, Smartboards; Pre-K has ENO boards, laptops, and projectors -Stuggling students attend Fast ForWord Lab -Online Accelerated Reader program -One hour uninterrupted reading block -New curriculum implemented in Pre-K and Kindergarten, including Common Core Standards -Baker County Extension Office based out of University of Florida (chicken hatching using incubators,nutrition unit and butterfly unit) -Attended Common Core Institutes -SUMS Trainers on site -Community Outreach projects-employees and students participated in "Blankets for Ben" and "Collecting Canned Goods for Needy Families". Those collecting the most items rode on the PKK Christmas float. -Teacher based inquiry projects such as "Handwriting without Tears" and "Writing in Kindergarten"presented district wide -"Kinderventionists" go to each classroom and work with teachers and students daily for an hour -Pre-K classes will go to the Media Center as a resource for the school year. Kindergarten classes will continue to go to computer lab, P.E., and the media center daily as a resource. -The school handbook and a nurse's log is included in our planner -School wide book study on "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon -Added a new instructional coach to the staff. -Professional development, data analysis, curriculum planning and implementation, and modeling best practices, assessments, and multitiered systems of support will be done by the leadership team which includes the instructional coach, guidance counselor, lead teacher on assignment, media specialist and the principal. -Increase instructional time by 60 minutes serving breakfast in the classrooms as opposed to going to the cafeteria, implementing a continuous feed for lunch and dismissing students at 2:50, instead of 2:40. This gives teachers an addtional 10,800 minutes per school year for instruction. -Kinderchorus club consists of Pre-K and Kindergarten students that perform for residents of Macclenny Nursing and Rehab, local businesses, school board meetings and special school district wide events. Each 9 weeks, new participants are invited to join Kinderchorus. -Restructured Inclusion Model in Pre-K and Kindergarten-Increased "Push In" program instead of pull out by E.S.E. Support/Facilitators Next three years areas of improvement: -Data analysis in order to drive instruction -A collaborative effort to write a new vision and mission statement -Continue to implement the Common Core Standards and derive rubrics for Pre-K Page 5

8 and Kindergarten to help them develop skill in self assessing their own learning - We were selected to be a pilot school to work with DAPPS Early Learning Component Team Page 6

9 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. The Baker County Pre-K Kindergarten Center (PKK Center) enhances student services by collaborating with business partners and agencies in the community. For example, employees of Walmart Distribution Center volunteer in classrooms at our school. For each 25 hours of volunteer time, the is awarded a $250 grant. With the $250, we purchase school supplies, technology, and other instructional materials. Gerdau Steele has partnered with the PKK Center to provide $1,500 to our school specifically for our students with special needs. Three ipads were puchased for these students and will include computer applications that will support their individual needs. The Baker County Sheriff's Office takes several PKK Center families Christmas shopping annually. Page 7