Archdiocese Of Chicago Ms. Karen DeNardo, Principal 2801 S Princeton Ave Chicago, IL 60616-2602 Document Generated On March 13, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 7
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? St. Jerome Catholic School is an elementary school in the Archdiocese of Chicago which is the largest private school system in the United States. The school has been a part of the Bridgeport Neighborhood for over 90 years and continues to be a cornerstone in the South Side of Chicago. Our Mission Statement states that we inspire to educate the whole child and in doing so we hope that each child becomes a lifelong learner with a strong faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ. St. Jerome Catholic School has been blessed with an increase in enrollment during the past ten years. During the 2013-2014 school year, we had 210 students enrolled in preschool through Grade 8. On staff we have 11 certified teachers, one part time learning specialist, six specials teachers (Italian, Spanish, computers, physical education/health, music, and art), four teacher assistants, and six support staff. Our support staff includes an administrative assistant, choir director, counselor, lunch staff, and a custodian. Our principal, Karen DeNardo, who is a full time administrator and our assistant principal, Michael Jewell who teaches full time, leads St. Jerome Catholic School. All of our teachers have earned Illinois State Board Education Licensure for their area of specialty and are involved in on-going professional development sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago and other sources. We have teacher assistants who are dedicated to helping students, teachers and parents. Eight of our teachers have completed at least five years of teaching at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. St. Jerome Catholic School teachers meet weekly for faculty-wide school development. Teachers are given the opportunity to meet in a variety of groups to develop curriculum and continue to fill our mission of educating the whole child. Teachers are encouraged to participate in Professional Development sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago and other sources. Teachers have spent the last three years developing whole classroom assessments to monitor student achievement. St. Jerome Catholic School is blessed to have a diverse and vibrant student population that is comprised of 46 percent of two or more races, 29 percent Hispanic, 20 percent White, 4 percent Asian American and 2 percent African American. 92 percent of our students are Catholic. In addition, 14 percent of our students receive free and reduced lunch assistance. St. Jerome Catholic School is able to provide $29,400 in tuition assistance to families who value a Catholic education. The dedication of our parents and staff ensure our school to have a 97% daily attendance rate. St. Jerome Catholic School prides itself on its religious program that supports our children to become strong in their faith. Students in kindergarten through grade eight attend Mass weekly and on Holy Days. Students participate in the Mass as lectors and altar servers. In addition students participate in worship during the Christmas and Lenten season. Our school benefits from our dedicated Pastor, school board, and other parish leaders. Page 2
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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. St. Jerome Catholic School has a history steeped in student success due to the commitment and pride that students, parents, administration, and staff have in the school and the dedication to uphold our Mission Statement. Our Mission Statement is as follows. The mission of St. Jerome School is to educate the whole child: physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. In doing so we hope that each child follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Gospel and becomes lifelong learners, people of prayer, service, and community building. Our faculty and staff believe that Catholic education is a valuable tool in bringing the world to the child and the child closer to God. The principles, morals, and ideals attained through a Catholic education are for life. At St. Jerome Catholic School our goal is to provide a high quality Catholic education that helps our students meet the challenges of the ever-changing world that awaits them in their future. The goal of St. Jerome School is to teach and create a desire within each child to learn about themselves, classmates, community, and the world in which they live. St. Jerome further desires to instill a greater awareness of faith and Christ's presence in the world through teachings of the Gospel. St. Jerome School is a Catholic School dedicated to the total growth and development of the Christian child. The faculty and staff recognize the individuality of each student. Therefore, our faculty will strive to develop each child within a caring environment. As part of the St. Jerome Catholic School Community and with the cooperation of parents, the primary educators, the faculty strives to provide academic excellence in a safe and comfortable setting with the values and traditions of the Catholic Church. School programs and projects are designed to expand the focus of the students' culture and the world around them. The emphasis must be that each child respects the dignity of every human being. The ultimate objective is to guide the students to strive for the truth, and to live this truth as responsible members of the Church and society. In order to ensure this level of education, we are relentlessly evaluating and evolving our commitment to academic quality. Each year we assess and upgrade curricular areas on an ongoing rotating basis to ensure that our students have access to the most current material that is aligned with national standards. Each summer, our faculty spends time updating curriculum maps to assure aligned curricula across the grade levels. Student achievement is carefully monitored by each classroom teacher. A learning specialist is available to work with students in the classroom, small groups, and one-on-one in order to meet the needs of students who do not meet the benchmark standards. Title 1 programming is also available to our students. Students meet in small groups to work on various skills in order to accommodate different learning styles. Page 4
Students are engaged in learning that is enhanced with the integration of science. Our teachers lead students at every grade level in several projects throughout the year that integrates science learning outside of their classroom. This includes fishing trips and a community garden whereby each class is helping to grow vegetables. These vegetables are will be donated to a local food pantry. Our classroom and specials teachers collaborate to promote opportunities for integrated curriculum. Their lessons help to connect students' learning in foreign language, computers, art, music, and physical education to the learning in their classrooms. St. Jerome School offers a wide variety of opportunities for students to participate in afterschool programs. Athletic opportunities include football, volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and multi-leveled running clubs. In addition there are opportunities for students to enjoy such as Chess Club, Mad Science, and Young Rembrandts. Page 5
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. At St. Jerome School we celebrate our vibrant community of teachers, staff, students and parents and at the same time are always seeking ways to improve our school. Student achievement is our top priority. Students in grades three through seven are assessed using the Terra Nova which is a nationally normed test. Over 90% of students in all grades who tested in 2014 scored at or above grade-level. Students consistently performed at the 77th percentile in math and reading. While we are proud of our achievements, we have identified school improvement goals for the next academic year. St. Jerome Catholic School will assess students who are in kindergarten through grade eight using MAP, TerraNova, and Aspire testing to help identify student achievement and areas in need of improvement. Our intention is to use the data provided by this assessment to improve our overall student achievement in math and reading so that all students would score in the 90th percentile. Page 6
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. St. Jerome Catholic School is proud to implement a one-on-one computer program in Grades 5 through 8. Each student will be given their own Chromebook. It will have textbooks that students are able to access through the internet. Currently 7th and 8th graders are piloting this program in math and social studies. Teachers have the ability to create interactive lessons using ibooks with their students. We also will have a two-on-one program for students in preschool through grade four. Each classroom will be provided with enough devices for students to work in small groups or in stations throughout the day. Page 7