Mr. Kevin Pickner, Superintendent 500 S 8th St Onida, SD 57564-2169 Document Generated On October 29, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5
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
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? ABO School District is a rural, public, co-ed school. We are located in central South Dakota. We have an enrollment of 290 students in grades K-12, that includes both Blunt (K-6) and Onida (K-12) Schools. We service 3 communities; Agar, Blunt, and Onida. Our staff consists of 30 highly qualified teachers, 2 Onida secretaries and 1 Blunt secretary, 1 superintendent who is also our elementary principal, 1 JH/HS principal, business manager, and 5 full time aides. We also have a head cook with 2 kitchen aides and 4 janitorial staff. Our Onida School shares the community library which consists of 1.5 staff. Our school district is financially stable, and our enrollment has been stable over the last few years. Our academic performance has been proficient based on Dakota Step results. We are the largest school district (area-wise) east of the Missouri River. This will be the second year our district has offered CTE courses to our high school students. We are excited about a potential new secondary building. Onida has a population of 750. Local businesses include 2 banks, 1 grocery store, 3 restaurants, 2 hardware stores, 2 car dealerships, 1 hotel, 2 gas stations, and many others. Blunt has a population of 350. There are a few businesses including a bank, a gas station, a restaurant, and a service repair shop. Agar has a population of 80. There are a few businesses including a restaurant and a service repair shop. All of our communities are agricultural-based communities. We all have organizations such as chamber of commerce, economic development boards, city councils, churches, private businesses, and county commissioners. All of these organizations and businesses mentioned above have played a big part in our school district and making the communities a great place to live and raise families. Page 2
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. ABO's mission statement is "Learning for Life". As a staff we have had many discussions and professional development about what our students need to learn and what "tools" they need to prepare them, get them to believe in themselves, and to be successful in the working world. Technology has become a very important factor. Our district wants to give our students as much opportunity as we can to use technology. We have 1 to 1 ipads in our high school, a floating cart of 25 ipads for use in junior high and elementary, a computer lab, active expressions, and classrooms have promethean boards. Each classroom teacher has an ipad so all grade levels always have access to one at all times. As a staff, we have discussed students building perseverance and confidence in problem solving, whether it's with math or life in general. Our certified staff attended Common Core trainings over the past 2 summers, some of these trainings included an introduction to "hands-off" teaching, meaning the teachers are there for guidance while the students problem solve more independently. Grades K-6 will be using a new math series this year, Investigations. This series is also a "hands-off" teaching tool. Page 3
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. In the last three years our district has performed well on the Dakota Step testing. Our Jr High (grades 6-8) were recognized as exemplary, and were ranked second in the state. We have added numerous technology opportunities for our staff and students. We are offering FACS and CTE courses that many schools our size do not have. Our certified staff has been trained in Common Core the past two summers, and with that we have adopted a new math curriculum (Investigations). We have changed our school calendar to allow two Wednesdays a month for staff inservice. Something our students/athletes love is that we have 5 basketball courts within our district. In the next 3 years we are planning to build a new secondary school. Options are currently being discussed at our board meetings. We also have areas of improvement. We are starting a student mentoring program this year, which should help with students that tend to "fall through the cracks". We do not have a mentoring program in place for new staff members. This is something that has been discussed and will hopefully happen soon. Page 4
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Our mission statement is "Learning for Life" and I believe the ABO School District has a staff that is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure this for all students. From our secretaries, to kitchen staff, to our janitors, and all the way to a supportive administration, we all want what's best for our students. Page 5