SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Review of Data
Grace Miller Elementary School completed the 2008-09 Virginia Standards of Learning testing in May, 2008. The goal of the 2008-09 testing was to improve scores in reading in all areas, but particularly in the subgroup of disadvantaged students and disabled students. To that end, additional work had been done on providing consistent work on comprehension using all additional staff members. New initiatives had been started in early intervention for new kindergarten students. This early intervention program showed marked success, with the majority of the participants passing subsequent PALS assessments. New programs were piloted through the Response to Intervention process, implementing programs such as Headsprouts , Earobics , and Wilson's Fundations (K-2). Additional emphasis had also been placed on mathematics at Grace Miller. Time designated for math instruction was increased to one hour in all grade levels. Math classes were no longer grouped by skill level, but were taught in heterogeneous groups. Additional support was provided with small study groups by the remedial aide with the guidance of the classroom teachers. In grades kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2, the Scott-Foresman math program, Investigations, was implemented with great success. Quarterly testing was implemented in mathematics in Grades 2 - 5, using the Virginia SOL PASS testing. Though the PASS test was not coordinated with the Fauquier County Public Schools math pacing guide, the results of the testing did provide information to the teachers that served to guide instruction. Students participating in the Investigations program showed a strong increase in their number sense skills, as evidenced by classroom assessments and performance on the PASS (Grade 2). SOL, 2008 Performance : (See attached Appendix 1 for additional data.) 2008 OVERALL READING SCORES (GRADES 3-5) 81% Pass ( increase of 2% over 2007) 31% Pass/Advanced ( drop of 1% from 2007) 45% Pass Students w/ Disabilities ( increas e 6%) 62% Pass Disadvantaged ( drop of 3% from 2007) In summary, although the Reading SOL pass rate increased slightly over the 2007 pass rate, and an increase was evident in the pass rate for Students with Disabilities, there was a drop in the pass rate for Disadvantaged Students, putting Grace Miller Elementary into Year 2 of failing to meet AYP goals for Disadvantaged Students in Reading. 2008 OVERALL MATH SCORES (GRADES 3-5) 85% Pass (8% increase over 2007) 52% Pass/Advanced (17% increase over 2007) 52% Pass Students w/ Disabilities (9% increase ) 68% Pass Disadvantaged (3% increase over 2007) In summary, 2008 SOL scores in mathematics showed a significant increase over the previous year. Increasing the time spent on mathematics to 60 minutes per day in all grade levels, as well as changing the grouping for instruction from achievement level to heterogeneous caused significant improvement. In the fifth grade, the Scott-Foresman math program of Investigations was piloted in one classroom, resulting in a 100% pass rate for that class. 2008 OVERALL HSS SCORES (GRADES 3-5) 81% Pass (no increase or decrease from 2007) 58% Pass Students w/ Disabilities (16% increase ) 61% Pass Disadvantaged (1% drop ) In summary, History and Social Science SOL scores remained the same from 2007 to 2008. However, a significant increase was noted in the pass rate of students with disabilities. Also, the fifth grade passed the HSS SOL for the first time, with the change from departmentalized scheduling, to homeroom based instruction. 2008 OVERALL SCIENCE SCORES (GRADES 3 & 5) 92% Pass (1% increase from 2007) 29% Pass/Advanced (4% drop from 2007) 73% Pass Students w/ Disabilities (2% drop) 79% Pass Disadvantaged (8% drop from 2007) In summary, SOL Science scores seemed to remain essentially the same. However, there was a general shift downward in the subgroups, creating a need to emphasize that instruction in the future. PALS, EARLY INTERVENTION DATA During the summer of 2007, rising kindergarten students were screened by kindergarten teachers using a Grace Miller Elementary designed screening instrument. Twenty-two rising kindergarten students failed the pre-K screening, and were chosen to receive early intervention with the remedial aide. The remedial aide worked with these students in groups of 5 or 6, 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, until the administration of the Kindergarten Fall PALS in October, 2007. After completing the K-PALS, only 7 of the 22 of those students qualified for Title I services. In the spring of 2007, 21% of our Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade students were identified to receive additional services. During the 2007-08 school year, we continued to provide pull out services for our students. In the second grade, the reading specialist also team-taught a lower level reading class with the classroom teacher. With the results of the spring, 2008 administration of the PALS, the number of identified students fell to 10% (Kindergarten), 10% (Grade 1), and 12% (Grade 2). We are beginning the 2008-09 year with the following percentages of students identified: Kindergarten - 24%, First Grade - 9%, and Second Grade - 18%. We will continue programs similar to those implemented in 2007-08.
School Improvement Plan Grace Miller Elementary is developing its School Improvement Plan through the SMART Goals Process, using goals to improve student learning. SMART Goals are Strategic and Specific, focusing on the areas where the largest gap remains between vision and reality, and also on the areas where the biggest gains can be made. They focus on Specific groups of students, or on specific objectives. SMART Goals are also Measureable, with both formative and summative measures chosen. Summative measures are administered 2 - 3 times per year. Our SMART Goals are Attainable, worthy of commitment, and just beyond our reach. We have chosen Results-based Goals, that have concrete benchmarks against which to measure our progress. Finally, our goals are Time-bound, with a specific time-frame to reach each benchmark, and time to lmake adjustments in our plan. School Improvement Planning Team: Our focus the next two years is to make AYP through the Title I School Improvement Process. To that end, we have formed a school improvement planning team. This team met for 2 days during the summer, 2008 to analyze data, and develop the SMART Goals that will bring our improvement in the area of reading. The planning team will continue to meet quarterly throughout the school year, analyzing the data that comes in after each series of summative assessments. Members come from all grade levels and have different areas of expertise.
Grade Level Teams and Goals: Our focus has also moved away from the use of subject area teams for developing goals. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, we will be developing a focus each year at each grade level. Each grade level met at the beginning of the school year and analyzed the data that pertained to their work the previous year. From this data, each team developed one or 2 goals which focused on a strategic area that could be targeted throughout the year. Each grade team was also encouraged to look specifically at mathematics in order to continue improvement in that area. Goals developed and submitted from the different grade level teams target different areas across the curriculum. Please see the attached Appendix 2 for additional information. Goals will be reviewed quarterly throughout the year. Staff Development : Grace Miller Elementary continues to provide staff development through staff specialist presentations at faculty meetings, book groups, and teacher led workshops. This year, Grace Miller teachers have participated in Reading First academies, conferences on improving reading achievement, working with children with autism, and CRISS training on developing reading comprehension. We will be looking for additional staff development on raising the achievement of children of poverty, reading comprehension, and the development of number sense in mathematics.
School Vision and Mission: Grace Miller Elementary worked during the 2007-08 school year to develop a vision statement for the school community. The vision statement is: Grace Miller Elementary is an interactive learning community preparing each child to succeed as a productive citizen in a global society. During the 2008-09 school year, the Vision Committee will be working to develop a mission statement that will support the vision. The mission statement will indicate the actions that will be performed by the school community to reach the vision above. It is the plan of the Vision Committee that this work will serve to guide the Miller community for years to come. Goals and Strategies: The specific goals and strategies of the GMES School Improvement Plan for 2008-10 follow in a separate document. These goals and strategies will be reviewed quarterly. They will be reviewed again with the receipt of new data based on the administration of the 2009 SOL's. All strategies will be evaluated and new ones developed to continue the growth of skills at Grace Miller Elementary. Reading Improvement Goals, 2008-10
I. At least 85% of students at Grace Miller Elementary, including all subgroups, will demonstrate comprehension of grade level material, reducing both the failure rate, and the % of students not making pass/advanced by 10%. This goal will be reviewed in 2009, and the target increased to 89% if appropriate.
Strategies:
• Primary (K-2) students will focus on the areas noted in the data as weaknesses in comprehension (e.g. prediction, main idea, sequencing, cause & effect, etc.) • Primary students will develop skills in self-monitoring as they read, stopping to assess their understanding of the passage periodically. • Elementary (3-5) students will focus on the areas of comprehension noted as weaknesses (e.g. summarizing, conclusions, author's purpose, character motivation, etc.) • Elementary students (3-5) will develop endurance in reading by reading progressively longer passages throughout the year. • All classrooms will be provided with 15 sets of the Keys to Reading Comprehension, a laminated set of ring-bound cards which provide instruction in main idea, self-monitoring, making connections, predicting, summarizing, and answering questions. • Teachers will participate in staff development on guided reading, developing connections, raising the achievement of disadvantaged students.
• Teacher Mentoring Program: Teachers will be observed weekly for 5-15 minutes during reading instruction, with focus on the following elements:
• Grace Miller will continue to sponsor the Reading Luau, with the purpose of bringing parents to school to attend a workshop on helping their child to improve his/her reading skills - scheduled for November, 2008
• Grace Miller will being to implement a Young Scholars Program in 2009
• Students will be encouraged to read through 2 major incentive programs sponsored by the GMES Library and the Reading Committee
• Grace Miller Elementary will provide before and/or after-school tutoring annually beginning in January of that school year to students who are disadvantaged, ELL, or otherwise at-risk • All Dell computer lab activities (part of the encore rotation) will focus on reading skills.
Measures:
• Formative measures(administered multiple times per quarter) -
Targets:
II. At least 85% of students at Grace Miller, including all subgroups, will demonstrate appropriate fluency when reading grade level material. This goal will be reviewed in 2009, and the target increased to 89% if appropriate.
Strategies: • Staff development
• All students in Grades 3 - 5 will be individually assessed on reading fluency at the beginning of the school year, and quarterly thereafter according to words correct per minute, and the 4-point Rubric for Fluency & Expression
• Read Naturally Program
• Teachers will use repeated readings, songs, poems, etc. to build fluency in their classrooms.
Measures: • Formative:
• Summative:
Targets: • # wcpm each quarter per rubric • DRA levels, per comprehension strategies, with goals throughout the year. • PALS benchmarks for fall & spring • Achievement of a score of 3 or 4 on 4-Point Rubric of Fluency & Expression
Mathematics Improvement Goals, 2008-10
I. Grace Miller Elementary will reduce both the percentage of students failing and the percentage of students not making pass/advanced, in the area of mathematics by 10% annually.
Strategies:
• Students in Kindergarten - Grade 2 will continue to participate in the Investigations program of instruction developed by Scott Foresman.
• Teachers in Grade 5 will begin the implementation of the Investigations program for all students at that grade level, following a successful pilot program during the 2007-08 school year. • Teachers in Grade 4 will participate in a professional development program with the math coordinator, Kim Raines • Teachers will develop test questions to be included in a question bank for the FCPS benchmark testing program in math.
• Grace Miller GT students will continue to participate in an accelerated program of mathematics, working in both their grade level curriculum (compacted) and the curriculum of the next grade. • Grace Miller GT students will participate in mathematics competitions based on their level of achievement. • The Remedial Aide will provide remediation and support to at-risk students in mathematics during the intervention/enrichment period scheduled. • The Annual Math Night will focus on providing experiences to improve students understanding of numbers and how they work. • Increase VGLA participation for SPED and ELL students when appropriate.
Measures •Formative:
•Summative (quarterly):
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