Part III – Section A. Overview of the Plan
The Heart River Elementary schoolwide plan began during a reading study group. We were questioning what we might do to improve reading skills of low achieving students and those students who are at risk of falling through the cracks. Discussion centered around researched based reading techniques as outlined in the Put Reading First booklet. The text Teach Them All To Read that we studied visited these components and gave several examples of schools that were using researched based techniques to teach reading.
Our discussions also led us to the conclusion that we recognize that students who seem to start out as low achievers continue to be low achievers. We are working with those students but felt that the time that is spent with these students is not sufficient to increase their skills. We also discussed that we need to do a better job of assessing our students in order to find out more specifically what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Our comprehensive needs assessment also indicated a strong need to include a math goal with emphasis on problem solving.
From the above study group sessions and our needs assessment we determined the following goals and activities for our schoolwide plan:
All students will increase their reading comprehension across the curriculum.
Activities:
a. District-wide adoption of the Scott Foresman Reading curriculum.
b. Utilize flexible-grouping in K-4, with groups being formed by analyzing
assessment data.
c. Establish a 90 minute reading block with additional pullout dependent on
student need.
d. Collect data for student assessment portfolios and to use that data to help
formulize flexible reading groups and to determine the skills needed to
be addressed.
e. Students will demonstrate through writing, verbalization, or image
representation their comprehension of curricular information.
1. All students will participate in ‘Say It, Read It, Write It, Get It!’
2. All students in grades K – 5 will demonstrate their comprehension of
curricular information using a narrative.
3. All students will bring home an activity to share with their family.
All students will increase their math skills in all content areas.
Activities:
a. District-wide adoption of Math Investigations.
b. District-wide professional development in the area of Math
Investigations.
c. Flexible-grouping in grades 4 and 5.
d. Collection of data gained from ND State Assessment, STAR Math
Assessment and NWEA assessment for student assessment portfolios.
e. Students will demonstrate their understanding of number operations
through problem solving using the Math Investigations curriculum.
1. All students will verbalize, show, or write an explanation of their
thinking while problem solving.
2. All students will be able to recite and apply the ‘Say It, Read It, Write
It, Get It!’ slogan.
Part III Schoolwide Application
Section B.- Schoolwide Program Planning Team
1. List the names of people and programs represented in the development of the plan.
Parents Name(s): Connie Wiege, Tammy Praus, Karen Lange, Marni Neubauer
Teachers Name(s): Ali Schneider (Grade 5), Darlene Medlar (Grade 4), Deb Walth (Grade 3), Lyn Shirey (Grade 2), Jolene Gress (Grade 1), Rhonda Kraenzel (Kindergarten), Dustin Honeyman (Kindergarten), Melanie Hickel (Reading/Math Specialist), Terry Glasser (Reading/Math Specialist), Gayle Pavlicek (Reading/Math Specialist), Michelle Kovash (Hearing Impaired), Carla Mortensen (School Improvement Co-chair EMH)
Community Members:
Other Staff Name(s): Kristi Meidinger (Grade 1), Cheryl Grossman (Grade 2), Patti Levorsen (Grade 3), Jackie Glaser (Grade 4), Kelly Steinbach (School Improvement Co-chair Grade 5), Michele Jaeger (TMH), Nancy Kienzle (Speech), Merrill Fahlstrom (Speech), Kathleen Schou (LD), Paulette Huber (Music), Kelly Kussy (Physical Education), Barbara Danks (Counselor), Leah Campbell (Library), Tammy Galipeau (ED), Johanna Njos (Gifted and Talented), Louise Zeller (Art)
Pupil Service Personnel Name(s): Dorothy Martinson (Director of Student Services)
Principal’s Name: Sherry Libis
Program Administrator(s): Melanie Hickel (Reading/Math Specialist), Terry Glasser (Reading/Math Specialist), Gayle Pavlicek (Reading/Math Specialist), Kelly Steinbach (School Improvement Co-chair Grade 5) Carla Mortensen (School Improvement Co-chair and EMH)
Technical Assistance Provider Name/Title: Stephanie Two Crow (Assistant Director Schoolwide Programs)
Additional Member: Jeanette Wyckoff (Classified Staff)
2. Describe the team’s plan for communicating with the school and community.
Our schoolwide committee will be responsible for disseminating information to the staff, students, parents, and community. As we gather information during the implementation of the schoolwide plan we will gather data for analysis, plan staff development, and problem- solve issues that may occur.
In August during fall registration we will include information about Heart River’s schoolwide plan within the registration packets. As in the past, an Open House will be held the day before school starts. At this time parents are able to meet staff that their children will be working with during the year.
Schoolwide information will be included periodically in our monthly school newsletters.
Included will be such items as the AYP report, a description of the academic assessments that will be used during the school year and student assessment portfolios, a monthly schedule of the reading skills being taught, and reports on student progress as well as recognition of those students receiving awards or noted progress. Teachers will also share information about programs through letters sent home to parents.
News of school events can also be found in the local newspaper, on local television networks, and on our school web page. The Dickinson Press receives our school newsletter, and frequently visits Heart River. A TV reporter in our area often comes to report on stories and events unique to our school. Our web page contains a great deal of information about our school, including a link to our Title I program and we can include information and upcoming events there.
Two other organizations that provide a basis for communication are the Heart River Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners in Parenting (PIP). The PAC, serving as our parent group, meets on a monthly basis with the goal of helping to advise our school in various areas, and to help organize events within the school. West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center PIP, a district agency, provides information to parents and community members through classes and monthly newsletters. They are instrumental in encouraging parents to get involved with their children, and with their schools.
As a school we are involved in community events throughout the year. We participate in Market Place For Kids at Dickinson State University and the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce’s Education Expo. These events allow us to showcase what is happening in our schools through student demonstrations and exhibits of their work.
3. Explain how members of the school and community who are not on the schoolwide planning team will be involved in the implementation, further development, and continuous evaluation of the schoolwide plan.
Staff members who are not participating on the schoolwide planning team are involved through staff meetings and discussions. It is required of all staff members to participate in the implementation of the plan, and also the evaluation and assessment process. As we reach the spring of the year, the committee will analyze data and reevaluate the plan. The plan for the following year will be presented in May to prepare our teachers for the fall.
Since our schoolwide plan and our school improvement plan coincide, a set structure for our school is already established. All staff members will participate to implement the program and provide feedback. It will be crucial to work together as a school team for purposes of communication and to solve problems as they arise. Planning for staff development will also be an essential aspect of our schoolwide plan.
In order to discover the strengths and weaknesses of our plan we will need to participate in regularly scheduled assessments and implement annual surveys for our parents and staff. The results of these surveys, along with the achievement data, will provide an ongoing evaluation of our schoolwide plan.
Part IV Ten Required Components
1. Comprehensive Needs Assessment
A. Provide a brief description of your school, your attendance area, and your
community.
Mission Statement: “Empowering Students to Succeed”
The Dickinson Public School District believes providing educational opportunities and experiences will empower each student to develop their academic, physical, emotional, social, personal, creative, and career potential.
The Dickinson area is a community of approximately is 18,625 people. The Dickinson Public School District serves approximately 2,518 students and employs 431 people including 218 teachers.
Heart River Elementary School Profile:
Heart River Elementary is located in the southwest section of Dickinson. It is located in a residential area. We are currently the only school on the south side of Dickinson.
Heart River Elementary currently has 235 students. Our ethnic breakdown is as follows:
Asian = 1
Black = 4
Caucasian = 215
Hispanic = 6
Native American = 9
We participate in both the breakfast and hot lunch program. Our average number of students taking part in breakfast is 85 students. For lunch our average is 215. Fifty-two percent of our school population participates in the free/reduced meal program.
We have 45 students who receive special services in one or more of the following areas: speech, language, learning disabilities, hearing impairment, emotionally disturbed, educable mentally handicapped (EMH), trainable mentally handicapped (TMH),and other health impaired (OHI).
Of 178 families 39 of these families are single parent families. We have 17 students who are rural students, and 53 students who attend the after school program on a regular basis.
Of the seventy five families who responded to our survey 65 families said they had internet access on their computers.
Description of Schedule and Student Services
Heart River provides educational programming for students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. We have two full day sections of Kindergarten. We have two sections of every grade level from first through fifth grade.
We currently have an after school program with attendance on the average of 26 students. We also have the Best Friends Mentoring Program, which provides students with social needs an hour a week mentor that comes to the school and does activities with their matched friend.
We have a counselor and share an art teacher, librarian, school psychologist, social worker, emotionally disturbed, and gifted and talented teacher with other schools in the district. We also share a physical and occupational therapist.
B. Describe how a comprehensive needs assessment was conducted and how it addresses the needs of all students in the school (including regular, special education, talented and gifted, migrant, bilingual, etc., as well as low-achieving students) paying particular attention to the needs of educationally disadvantaged children.
Heart River Elementary data collection came from parents, students, and staff through surveys that were constructed and compiled by a district level school improvement team. The survey which was completed in the spring of 2003 gives a view of the perceptions of these different groups on the school climate and the academic performance of the school. We also gave parents a survey during the spring 2004 parent teacher conferences on their perceptions of how well their children are being educated in the area of math and reading.
In the area of assessment we reviewed the North Dakota State Assessment results from the last 4 years. This year we also assessed the third through fifth grade students in the North Dakota State Assessment and second through fifth with the NWEA. Kindergarten students were assessed with the Kindergarten Readiness Test from Scholastic Testing Services.
It is one of our goals to create assessment portfolios for each student beginning with Kindergarten and continuing through fifth grade. Lower elementary students will use specific reading assessments that are part of the Scott Foresman series. We also use the DIBELS assessment for students in K-2 and the AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures. Grade levels 2 – 5 will be assessed using the NWEA, and grade levels 3 – 5 will be assessed using the North Dakota State Assessment. All students in grades 1-5 will take the STAR assessment in both reading and math.
Teaming meetings will be conducted on a regular basis to interpret and analyze the data from the various assessments. The grade level committees will use the information to further develop and organize the instruction for teaching reading.
C. Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the current program for improving the education of low-achieving students.
Strengths:
Our staff has strong communications skills, and they take the time to work together for the cause of the student. The cooperation among most staff members allows for teachers to team together with special needs or Title I teachers to provide accommodations for students that have those individual needs.
Our para-professionals in the building provide strong support for our students so that they may function in the regular classroom setting. They work with students so as not to take away their independence but to further enhance their skills.
Our teachers use the Building Level Support Team path to refer students who have difficulties with academics or social/emotional problems. In this process we work together as a team to come up with a variety of methods or strategies to implement before referring for testing.
Teachers utilize the assistance of special needs teachers and resource teachers in providing supplemental instruction to low achieving students. The only setback is that we do not feel the time is always sufficient.
Weaknesses:
One of the biggest areas recognized as a weakness is the fact that many of our low achieving students seem to remain as a low achiever at each grade level. We feel that there are many avenues for support but we also feel that we need to find more time to work on strategies and increase the intensity of some of these strategies with our low achievers.
Our staff also recognizes that we have not been very flexible in how we group students to teach researched based reading and math techniques. We recognize that we may be more flexible with our lower achievers as many have modifications. We have not taken the time to further boost our good readers and math students other than through Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math where they work at an independent level.
Some students coming in at the Kindergarten level often come with little or no skills. These students tend to move slower with the learning process and often lack social skills to get along with other children. These children may be retained or end up being passed on to the next grade level at which time they will need intensive intervention.
According to our North Dakota State Assessments in the area of reading and math we seem to fluctuate in scores from year to year. Consistently, when there is a higher number of special education or Title I students in the class being tested, our scores are significantly lower. In viewing these scores we see that we need to be more intensive with instruction in grades K-3 with those students who have difficulties in the beginning stages of their academic careers.
D. As a result of the comprehensive needs assessment, what are the specific priority need areas of the schoolwide program? (Please list in priority order 1, 2, 3, etc.)
1. Instruction using Researched Based Techniques
The quality of instruction provided for reading and math implementation needs to be enhanced to meet the needs of all of our student population. We feel that we need to spend time on strategies at levels in which students are able to be taught. This means flexible grouping for students outside of their main instruction in the classroom. Regular assessments will drive the plan for the specific skills that need to be taught. Low achievers will be provided with a more intense reading instruction. All teachers will follow the Scott Foresman reading and math Investigations to ensure that skills are developed on a consistent level from grade level to grade level.
2. Assessment to guide instruction
We will develop an assessment pattern for each student at every grade level. Those assessments will be kept in an assessment portfolio so as to be able to have the information at our fingertips. Our goal is to have a roadmap for each one of our students so that we can identify their strengths and weaknesses and can develop our instruction to meet their needs. At this point we use the DIBELS assessment, AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures, and NWEA at all possible grade levels, North Dakota State Assessment, and we will continue to use the STAR reading and math assessment in grades l-5. Assessments will also drive the plan for areas in which staff development is needed.
E. List the goals of the schoolwide program. These goals should be directly related to the priority need areas identified as the means to educate all students in the school to the state’s academic content standards and the state’s academic achievement standards, as illustrated in the comprehensive needs assessment.
The Dickinson Public School District has adopted the Scott Foresman reading and math series. This series has been approved and does use researched based reading and math techniques in their curriculum to improve instruction. We also believe that assessment will assist in helping all students to learn as we can teach to their weaknesses.
Heart River Elementary’s goals are:
All students will increase their reading comprehension across the curriculum.
All students will increase their math skills in all content areas.
F. Explain how reaching the above goals will meet the needs of all the students at your school.
Heart River Elementary has several programs that provide for students at all levels and abilities. Our special education services include full time staff members in each of the following areas: learning disabilities, educable mentally handicapped, trainable mentally handicapped, and speech services. We have part time instructors in physical and occupational therapy, a gifted and talented teacher and a school guidance counselor and a social worker. Improving student reading skills will likely increase ability in the other core subject areas, as reading is the basic component in all subject areas. During the implementation process of specific reading strategies we will be able to identify problem areas for our students, especially those who struggle. We can also compare classroom observations with assessment data. Students who struggle even during these small group strategy sessions may be students who need to also have one-to-one sessions in identified areas of need.
Small group math Investigations instruction takes place in Grades 4 and 5 using the above mentioned staff. Flexible grouping helps to meet the needs of all our student population. Progress monitoring will be placed in the assessment portfolios.
2. Schoolwide Reform Strategies
Part A to Part G
As our goal is to have all students at or above grade level in reading and math, the focus of our schoolwide plan is to implement several strategy/skill-building mini groups, where the objective will be to strengthen reading and math strategies in all grades, kindergarten through fifth.
The research-based skills we will address are outlined in the Put Reading First publication, brought forth by the National Reading Panel, and include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Scott Foresman, our reading series, adheres to these scientifically-based reading guidelines, and will be used during regular classroom Reading time.
Adjusting to the Invesigations math series and all of its components can be an overwhelming task. We feel that it is important for our staff to get to know their series and develop best practices based on this series. Professional development from the series writers and program specialists are doing sessions within our district to provide the foundation of the program and educate our staff on how to use all aspects of the program in the most effective way.
During the assessment process we will also be identifying those students who need more instruction in the area of reading. Our focus will be on grades K-3 and providing those students with additional reading instruction aside from their regular reading instruction in class. The instruction will be provided through our reading instructors in our schoolwide program.
We plan to supplement our regular classroom reading instruction by adding additional time to teach reading strategies to all students in flexible groups based on the results of their reading assessments. We will start with scheduling a 90 minute reading block. It may be necessary to plan for additional time to teach these strategy sessions for some students, with coordinated times set up in grades K - 3 and 4 - 5. Special services teachers will participate in these reading strategy lessons, along with all classroom teachers, in order to keep our groups small. Kindergarten groups will consist of approximately 5 students per teacher; 1st - 3rd grade groups will have approximately 10 students per teacher; 4th and 5th grade groups will have approximately 9 students per teacher. Students will be grouped according to their academic needs. Those students struggling with a skill will receive instruction based on reinforcement of that skill, while those students who have mastered the skill will be further challenged with enrichment activities based on that skill. Teachers will be assigned to groups, matching their instructional strengths. Time will also have to be scheduled in order to give teachers the opportunity to collaborate and plan these reading strategy sessions, and also to discuss the progress of the students in their groups.
Our study group will continue to meet throughout the year. The focus of study will involve a more in-depth look at 6 + 1 Traits of Writing.
Assessing all students with multiple validated assessments will give us the road map we are looking for in order to give the instruction needed to all students. The DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment will be administered to students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade, in the fall, winter, and spring as well as AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures. The NWEA assessment will be given to students in grades 2nd through 5th in the fall and again in the spring. The STAR reading and math assessment will be given to students in grades 2nd - 5th in the fall, winter and spring. First grade will receive this assessment in the winter and spring. Kindergarten will take the Readiness Test from Scholastic Testing Services in the fall and in the spring. This consistency in assessing students will allow us to communicate to students as well as to their parents the child’s strengths and weaknesses in the hopes of inviting them to become more involved in their child’s education. The assessment portfolios will be reviewed by teaching staff once every grading period so as to assist with continuing to meet the academic needs of the students.
Students will continue to participate in the Accelerated Reader and Math programs and we will work on developing the program so that all teachers, especially in grades 4 - 5 are using the program consistently. When purchasing books for our library, our district librarian and library para have been active in seeking to purchase books that match the available Accelerated Reader tests. Our parents have been supportive of the Accelerated Reader program as they allow fund raising monies to be used to update the program with new tests, and also assist in purchasing books for the program.
We recognize that we will still need to have pull-out sessions for struggling students. Small-group instruction for all grade levels will be provided by instructors with reading and math credentials. Students will be identified through analysis of the assessments as well as teacher
observation in the classroom, and in strategy sessions. We are looking at implementing an Intensive Kindergarten session for a very minimal number of kindergarten students who would benefit from an extra half hour of instruction. This would occur during Kindergartem teaming time and other non -direct instruction time.
Learning to become fluent readers means that students need to have a chance to practice reading to others. We would like to implement a Buddy Read into our program, where we would match 4th and 5th graders with lower elementary students and take time during the week to partner read. Our school has adopted the Best Friends Mentoring program in which community members spend one hour a week with a matched student. The mentors usually
eat lunch with their child and after lunch may spend time doing activities with the child, one of which is reading.
Struggling students who may feel unsuccessful academically have many opportunities at Heart River to become involved in activities that promote positive outcomes. These activities include: Band, Music Festival, Student Council, Market Place for Kids, Math Olympics, Geography Bee, Spelling Bee, and basketball.
Heart River currently has an After School Program with approximately 26 students attending on a regular basis. After providing a snack and a little bit of exercise, students have the opportunity to receive homework assistance, and to work on activities that develop their math and reading skills. Computers are available to students to access math and
reading software, and online strategy games in those subject areas. Some play time is also provided for socialization.
Summer school is offered for students with remedial needs in the area of math and reading. This program is available to students in grades K – 5 and runs for six weeks during the summer. Students must receive instruction for a combined 60 hours in math and reading. Class sizes are limited at 15 students. Extended school year is also available for our
special education students if written into their IEP.
The High Five program takes place during the summer and is available to students with social and emotional problems. Students need to be referred to this program by schools, or other social-emotional programs. This program runs in half-day sessions for six weeks throughout the summer.
Gearing Up For Kindergarten has become a transitional component that prepares children for kindergarten, while equipping parents with skills that prepare their child for success in school. The program runs for eight weeks in the fall and eight weeks in the spring. During each 1 and 1/2 hour session preschoolers learn about social skills, kindergarten routines, and practice readiness skills. Parents are presented a variety of strategies to help prepare their children to be successful learners. An evening meal and daycare are also provided for participants.
Often times our lowest achieving students have social concerns and have difficulty in developing relationships with adults and other children. In order to help these students overcome low self esteem, and in hopes of making them and all students feel welcome in our school we have established Kids Club. Our goal is to assign students to every staff member for the purpose of making contact with that child at some time during the school day. Knowing that someone other than their classroom teacher is concerned about them will help them develop a trust level and will allow them to feel more comfortable and assured in their learning environment. We meet once a month for an organized Kids Club activity.
All of the above-mentioned programs help us to better serve our undeserved populations, by giving them the social and emotional support needed to help them succeed academically.
We will assess all students in the area of math and reading on a consistent basis and closely monitor their progress in these subject areas. We also have a social worker on staff who works in our building about 15 hours per week.
3. Instruction By Highly Qualified Teachers
Identify all paraprofessionals employed at your school who provide instructional services to students.
All of the following paras have their Title I Certificate. Their certificates with numbers are on file at the Central Administration Office and at our school.
Lori Bender Special Services Passed ParaPro
Christine Heitz Title I Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Carol Klatt Special Services Passed ParaPro
Diane Koskovich Special Services Passed ParaPro
Leann Mehrer Special Services Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Renee Maxner Special Services Passed ParaPro
Kari Raab Special Services Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Sherry Showalter Special Services Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Vicki Siefken Special Services Passed ParaPro
Damian Sobolik Special Services Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Susan Splichal Library Para Passed ParaPro
Maria Stockert Title I Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Kayla Westrum Special Services Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Jamie Whitlow Tech Para Passed ParaPro
Stephanie VanHoorn Special Services Passed ParaPro
B. Explain/outline duties of each paraprofessional employed at your school. For each paraprofessional explain how their duties increase the opportunities for students to meet the state’s academic achievement standards.
Paraprofessionals in Educable Mentally Handicapped Program
Carol Klatt
Stephanie Van Hoorn
Sherry Showalter
Each of these individuals is responsible to assist the classroom teacher in the mainstreaming efforts of the EMH students. They provide one-to-one or small group tutoring support based on the classroom teacher’s instructions. They also provide one-to-one support in the regular ed classroom in the mainstreaming process.
Paraprofessionals in the Trainable Mentally Handicapped Program
Renee Maxner
Vicki Siefken
Kayla Westrum
These individuals provide support for students in the regular ed classroom in the mainstreaming process. They also may be a one-to-one or small group tutor to TMH students under the supervision of the TMH classroom teacher.
Paraprofessional in the Learning Disabilities Program
Damian Sobolik
This individual provides support for students in the regular ed classroom in the mainstreaming process. He also may be working one-to-one or with a small group tutoring LD students under the supervision of the LD teacher.
Paraprofessional in the Speech Program
Leann Mehrer
This individual provides support for students in the regular ed classroom in the mainstreaming process. She also may be working one-to-one or with a small group tutoring Speech students under the supervision of the Speech teacher.
Paraprofessional in the Title I Program
Maria Stockert
Christine Heitz
These individuals provide one-to-one tutoring in the area of reading and math under the direct supervision of the classroom teacher or reading/math specialist. The service provided by these persons would be additional support to the student and the specific needs are identified and communicated by the classroom teacher and/or reading/math specialist.
Paraprofessional in Occupational and Physical Therapy
Lori Bender
This individual carries out the plan that is written by the occupational and physical therapists as outlined in their plan or IEP. Students working with this para will work with gross motor and fine motor movements as outlined in his/her plan.
Paraprofessional in the Library
Susan Splichal
She provides instructional support services under the direct supervision of a classroom teacher or librarian. She provides the instructional support mainly in the library and occasionally in the classroom.
Paraprofessional in the Computer Lab
1. Jamie Whitlow
She provides instructional support under the direct supervision of a classroom teacher. She also provides computer lab assistance and technical support in the lab and in the classrooms.
C. Heart River Elementary Instructional Staff and Experience Levels
Please refer to Parents Right to Know Clause in the Appendix
D. Describe how you will ensure a highly qualified professional staff is employed at your school and how qualified staff will be employed in a manner that best enhances your schoolwide reform plan.
All professional certified teaching staff will meet the highly qualified criteria as established by the Title I law. All paraprofessionals currently meet the highly qualified definition. Those paraprofessionals hired hereafter must meet the criteria of highly qualified or be willing to attain that status by the time of their employment.
At a district level, training was scheduled with Ellen Knutson to train teachers in the implementation of math Investigations along with strategies for Developing Math Ideas. These sessions are held during the school year and will give multiple math training opportunities for all classroom teachers at Heart River.
District professional development training in the areas of math and reading is ongoing with many opportunities for teacher and para participation.
Heart River teachers are required to participate in various study groups throughout the year. Para educators are always welcome.
4. Professional Development
The school must describe how it will implement high quality and ongoing professional development for teachers, principal, and paraprofessionals and, if appropriate, pupil services personnel, parents, and other staff, to enable all children in the school to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards.
Describe how all staff members will be involved in the implementation of the schoolwide plan. This should include how professional development will lead to better instructional practices by all school staff.
Describe how the school will utilize professional development to support schoolwide program goals.
Heart River Elementary School’s professional development plan will center on using effective instructional strategies and regular on-going assessment practices that will increase student performance and identify student academic needs. Planning and development will be based on data collection and analysis in order to make decisions about the interventions used to increase student achievement.
Heart River specifically has a study group working on 6 + 1 Traits of Writing. Scott Foresman Math Ivestigations, our newly-adopted math program, has provided our district with many professional development opportunities in the math content area.
Teachers of students in grades 2-5 have been trained in the NWEA assessment process. These teachers have implemented the NWEA and are familiar with giving the test as well as reading the test results and learning to adjust teaching methods to meet the needs of their students.
A site based committee with representation from all stakeholders functions as a communication body for the school in making key decisions related to staff development. This committee provides input to the district in what is needed at the building level. They also provide a plan for the school based on input from the stakeholders regarding what staff development is needed. Planning will need to be based on the continued analysis of the assessment data during the implementation of the plan.
Study group topics will be chosen by administration and staff. Problem-solving groups will be held once a month on the last Wednesday of the month. Additional meetings will be held as needed.
Dickinson Public School District and the West River Teacher Center offer a significant number of professional development opportunities, many of which include developing skills in teaching reading and math. These classes are offered throughout the school year as well as during the summer. The classes are open to all staff and most are available for college credit. These classes offer teachings in the skills necessary to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards.
Dickinson Public School District along with West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners in Parenting offer classes to a variety of people throughout the community and also classes exclusive to our staff. DPS provides classes throughout the year for our para-educators in which they can choose from a variety of opportunities. Partners in Parenting offer a number of classes for parents and the general population on topics that may provide knowledge and understanding of aspects within the school setting. Such topics as IEP’s, Homework Completion, Social Relationships of Your Child, Reading with Your Child, are presented. These topics can all lend a hand in the understanding and implementation of the schoolwide plan.
Professional development training using scientifically based research will be provided in reading and math strategies. The following resources will be utilized: West River Teacher Center, Dickinson Public School’s Curriculum Director, Dickinson Public Schools Student Service Director, Dickinson State University, and the State Title I Support Team. Professional Development grant monies will be used to obtain schoolwide participation in trainings.
D. Attach the district’s professional development plan and explain how the schoolwide plan aligns directly to this plan.
Heart River Elementary’s schoolwide plan aligns directly to the Dickinson Public School’s District plan which focuses on providing opportunities for students to meet or exceed state standards in all academic content areas. Both plans state that staff will become more knowledgeable in the instruction of reading and math.
5. Highly Qualified Teachers to High Needs Schools
The majority of the teaching staff is veteran teachers. Sixty percent of our staff have been teaching 10 years or longer. We have 2 teachers with 5 years of experience or less. Our staff is a cohesive staff and they fully support each other. This staff has worked to provide a quality education for all students and continues to seek new ways of teaching.
6. Parental Involvement
A. Describe how parents will be involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the schoolwide plan and how communication will be the two-way between parents and the school. Describe parent meetings, including specific information on the yearly informational meeting held to inform parents about the schoolwide program.
The most important way of gathering information from parents is to be able to talk to them face to face. Since that is not always possible in the school setting we rely heavily on communicating with parents through newsletters and personal letters. Phone calls are also made if necessary. Parent/Teacher conferences held twice a year give us an opportunity to see most parents. Because time is so limited during these evenings we will often use surveys to collect information from parents. Parents will be involved when we need to review and update the schoolwide plan. The plan will be reviewed with our Parent Advisory Committee twice a year during regular monthly meetings. During the implementation process, this review may occur more often due to changes in the program.
B. Attach the required building parent involvement policy. See Appendix (p. 13)
C. Describe the yearly parental evaluation of the schoolwide program, including how this information is used to improve the schoolwide plan. Note that if the evaluation’s results show that the schoolwide plan is not satisfactory to parents, the school is required to submit these comments to the LEA.
Parental evaluation will be done through the use of surveys and from comments gathered at our Parent Advisory Council meetings. Surveys will be distributed in the spring of the year. Results from these surveys will be used to improve and modify our program based on their view of our program.
Questions will include perceptual insights on the part of both the parent(s) and child, such as perceptions regarding small-group instruction and reading progress.
D. Attach the required building parent involvement compact. See Appendixn (p. 14)
E. Describe how the parents will be an integral part of the activities you’ve designed to reach your schoolwide goals.
Book fairs are conducted twice a year in conjunction with Parent/Teacher Conferences. The book fairs put an emphasis on reading and how we want all students to make reading a priority. In the past we have done promotions such as buy one book get one free. We have allowed students who were not able to buy books to pick out books for free.
Literacy Reading and Math nights are held twice a year. Families are invited to spend some time in reading/math-related activities. Our goal is to have one each semester with specific themes to make the activity more exciting. A family meal and childcare is provided free of charge. Parent information based on the reading and math curriculum is woven into the evening activities.
Feedback from these events, and involving parents in planning these events will give parents ownership within the school. They are vital in making these events happen and we hope that they will see these events being helpful in many different ways both socially and educationally for their children and themselves.
F. Explain how the school will provide parents with assistance in understanding topics pertinent to the schools schoolwide program.
As mentioned above we will disseminate information to parents in conjunction with our schoolwide literacy nights. Any questions or concerns can be addressed at these meetings.
Information will be presented in several of the Heart River monthly newsletters. Included in this information will be specific pieces explaining the plan and also suggested activities that parents and children can do together at home to build on the concept of reading and math.
Teachers will be able to answer questions or concerns during the Open House scheduled before the first day of school. They may also answer questions during Parent/Teacher conferences held twice a year in the fall and in the spring.
Parents may visit with teachers or the administration at any time during the school year. We encourage parents to call or visit if they have questions or concerns. It is so much easier solving situations or answering questions if that personal contact is there. We encourage and open door policy.
G. Explain services that will be provided to parents as part of the schoolwide program, including, if necessary, family literacy services.
West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners In Parenting sends a monthly newsletter to all student families. This newsletter contains helpful hints regarding issues in school or in dealing with school work at home. The newsletter also informs parents of any classes that are offered across the district in different parenting skills.
The Adult Learning Center is also available for assisting adults in learning reading/math. This is a confidential setting so as to allow adults to feel at ease when learning to read. The agency gives the opportunity to learn to read, work with technology, learn math and achieve your GED.
7. Preschool Transitioning
A schoolwide program plan must describe how it will assist preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs, such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, or a State-run preschool program, to the local elementary.
In the spring of the year transition meetings are held with the parents, kindergarten teachers, special needs teachers, and the teachers from Early Childhood/Head Start Program. These meetings are meant to discuss the needs of the individual students in both social and academic areas.
The Early Childhood Center (ECC) is a service available for all children 3 – 5 years of age.
This program advertises its services through television public service announcements, Partners in Parenting newletters, and schools in the district also provide information to parents through school newsletters.
The ECC staff also meets with district kindergarten teachers and building administrators to review the curriculum of the ECC program. The ECC staff has developed a milestones checklist, aligned to reading and math standards for preschoolers, that they share with area preschools and child care centers.
Kindergarten teachers as well as special needs teachers are invited to observe students in the ECC educational setting once they know which children are coming to our school. This gives our kindergarten teachers first hand observations of the children in an educational setting.
Our kindergarten teachers hold an Open House for students and their parents in the spring of the year. The students have an opportunity to view the classrooms and meet the teachers. Parents will receive a list of school supplies and other informational materials they can work on at home with their child.
During fall registration individual conferences are scheduled with each kindergarten student and parents. During the conference parents have an opportunity to address any questions/concerns they may have.
Gearing Up For Kindergarten has become a transitional component that prepares children for kindergarten, while equipping parents with skills that prepare their child for success in school. The program runs for eight weeks in the fall and eight weeks in the spring. During each 1 and 1/2 hour session preschoolers learn about social skills, kindergarten routines, and practice readiness skills. Parents are presented a variety of strategies to help prepare their children to be successful learners. An evening meal and daycare are also provided for participants.
Kindergarten Readiness checklists will be disseminated to area pre-schools in the fall to use as a guideline in preparing preschoolers for kindergarten.
8. Measures to Include Teachers in Decision-Making Regarding the Use of Assessments
The plan should describe the measures that will be implemented to include teachers in the decisions regarding the use of academic assessments in order to provide information on, and to improve, the achievement of individual students and the overall instructional program.
Each classroom teacher will be responsible to maintain the data collection for the assessments that will occur at their grade level. The following assessments in the area of reading/math will be in place at each grade level:
K: Kindergarten Readiness Test from Scholastic Testing Services, DIBELS, AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures, Scott Foresman Reading and Math Investigation assessments
1st: STAR Reader Assessment, STAR Math Assessment, DIBELS, AIMSWEB Test of Early Literacy Measures, Scott Foresman Reading and Math Investigation assessments
2nd: STAR Reader Assessment, STAR Math Assessment, DIBELS, AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures, NWEA, Scott Foresman Reading and Math Investigation assessments
3rd – 5th: STAR Reader Assessment, STAR Math Assessment, North Dakota State Assessment, NWEA, Scott Foresman Reading and Math Investigation assessments
Informal assessment selected by teachers may include oral reading observations, conferencing in self-selected reading, reading fluency assessments, and comprehension checks on both oral and silent math and reading selections. Some of these assessments will be done through writing with the use of a rubric.
Teachers will share assessment results with parents at parent-teacher conferences. They will also use the data to identify areas of difficulty and group students according to their needs. Assessment data will be regularly added to each student’s assessment portfolio.
9. Effective Timely Assistance
A. Describe the activities that will be in place that will ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering the proficient or advanced levels of academic achievement standards shall be provided with effective, timely assistance. This must include measures to ensure that students’ difficulties are identified on a timely basis and that sufficient information on which to base effective assistance is provided as part of schoolwide programming.
*Kindergarten Readiness Test from Scholastic Testing Services – K – assessed fall, spring
*STAR Reader and Math Assessment - 1st - assessed winter, spring 2nd - 5th grade - assessed fall, winter, spring
* NWEA – 2nd through 5th grade – assessed twice a year
* DIBELS – K through 2nd grade – assessed fall, winter, spring , Progress Monitoring of RTI students weekly
*AIMSWEB Test of Early Numeracy Measures – K through 2nd – assessed fall, winter, spring, Progress monitoring of RTI students weekly
*North Dakota State Assessment – 3rd through 5th grade – Fall of the year
Assessment results would be examined by teachers at the different grade levels during the teaming meetings. At that time, student placement would be made according to needs.
Due to the number of assessments that we are conducting we should be able to see which students are having difficulty and in which specific areas. Our goal to form teaming groups every year to teach specific skills to students in those areas of need. Students will be in flexible groups that can change as academic needs change. Teachers will have small groups of approximately 6-8 students in their group. Teaming group sessions will be 45-60 minutes in length.
We also use our resource teachers to teach their own reading/math group. Having the ability to use more staff, we can have smaller reading/math groups in the regular education classroom so that all children will have their needs met. The resource teachers will also provide additional services to those students who would benefit from more individualized instruction.
In the spring of the year we also hold transition meetings so that the current grade level teacher can meet with the next grade level’s teacher and also the special services teachers. They discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each of the students so that the next level teacher can plan teaching strategies according to the social/academic needs of the student.
10. Coordination of Programs
Describe the coordination and integration of federal, state, and local services and programs, including programs supported under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, violence prevention programs, nutrition programs, housing programs, Head Start, adult education, vocational and technical education and job training.
Regional After School Program (RASP) provides after school activities in a structured environment for students who are at risk in reading and math according to NWEA scores.
Sunrise Youth Bureau has staff that come to our schools to teach lessons in several different areas of character development, violence prevention, drug and alcohol prevention and diversity.
West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners In Parenting provide opportunities for parents to attend classes and receive support and training in areas of need.
The Changing Program is facilitated through Dickinson State University, Southwest District Health Unit and West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners in Parenting. The changing program is for 5th grade students and addresses emotional and physical changes that are occurring in their bodies.
The Best Friend Mentoring Program provides mentors that come to our school during the noon hour to provide social needs to selected students. This is a time where mentors can read with their student.
Part V. – Accountability and Continuous Improvement
A. Describe how the school provides individual student academic assessment results in a language parents can understand, including an interpretation of these results, to the parents of a child who participates in the academic assessments required by section 1111 (b) (3).
Visual aides would be used in explaining test results to the parents if parents do not speak the English language. If needed, a translator could be obtained to provide assistance with the understanding of the results. The teacher and principal would be present to assist with the explanation of the data to the parents.
B. Describe your plan for measuring and reporting student progress at the end of the school year, including how you plan to disaggregate data to identify groups of students and determine whether or not they are making progress. (Annual Review)
Once our assessment pattern is established, scores of assessments that are taken district wide can be disaggregated according to several different categories. Subgroups that could be disaggregated would be: special needs students, free and reduced students, ethnicity, and by gender.
Parents will be notified of student performance through quarterly report cards and parent-teacher conferences that are scheduled during the 2nd and 3rd nine weeks. North Dakota State Assessment test results will be sent to parents upon receiving the results. NWEA test results will be discussed with parents and a final copy given to them at the end of the testing phase so that they may see the progression of their child’s skills.
Annual Review Process:
All data from assessments and surveys will be collected and shared with parents and staff at a meeting before the end of the year. Feedback will be gathered from the participants at the meeting and will be used to revise and update the school plan. The updates will be made with the planning committee and presented to staff for final review and approval.
Due to the fact that we are creating assessment portfolios access to our academic data will be at our disposal. We will be using perception surveys from our parents and staff. Success will be measured by showing an increase in the percentage of students reading and problem solving at their level.
C. Describe your plan for measuring and reporting student progress during the school year.
As was mentioned previously assessment portfolios will be assembled in order to track progress of students. Teachers will use the assessment results in discussions when they are doing team planning for reading/math instruction. Informal as well as the formal assessments will provide valuable information to teachers as they work with students. In addition, resource teachers and special education teachers will meet with regular education teachers to discuss progress of individual students on specific educational plans.
Portfolios will be reviewed during building support and team planning meetings.
D. Describe what other measures you will use besides student achievement data to identify successes and problems in your schoolwide plan.
Perception data that is received in our surveys will be used as it gives us an idea of the thoughts of parents and teachers.
Demographic data can give us the number of students, their gender, their attendance and their socio-economic status.
Alignment of the curriculum to the State’s standards and benchmarks will be a measure of meeting the instructional needs of our students at each grade level.
E. Describe how you will use the results of your student assessment data and other measures to improve instructional practice.
Data will be used to plan for instructional strategies that will be used for students based on their needs. Using the data will also determine the type of materials that will be used to teach the students.
The data collected will also assist the teacher and building staff in determining what type of professional development would be most beneficial to staff. The professional development plan for the building would be based on those needs.
Part VI – Technical Assistance
Sherry Libis – Principal at Heart River Elementary School
Dorothy Martinson – Director of Student Services for Dickinson Public Schools
Stephanie Two Crow – State Schoolwide Assistant Director
Laurie Matzke – State Director of Title I
Part VII – Fiscal Support
A. Detail the budget of your schoolwide plan. Demonstrate how Title I funds (and funds from other sources) will be used to implement the schoolwide program. Include the following major categories: salaries and benefits; instructional materials; parent involvement; professional development; and technology.
Title I funding at Heart River is utilized to support the salaries and benefits of two and one half teaching positions and two paraprofessionals. Materials, supplies, and equipment purchases are also supported by Title I funds.
Professional development is also funded by Title I funds. Primarily these funds are used to attend Title I conferences and study groups.
Parent Involvement activities are funded at both a building level and district level. West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners in Parenting provides activities throughout the school year for parents. Title I funds are used to help support these efforts.
B. Document how the school has adequate funds to effectively carry out the activities described in this plan and specifically how the school shall devote sufficient resources for professional development in the implementation of the 10 required components.
Local and district funding, other Title programs, West Dakota Parent and Family Resource Center Partners in Parenting, West River Teacher Center and Special Education funding are all used as resources for funding for professional development.
Summaries of Assessments and Surveys
Used to Determine Goals
NCA Survey – Given May 2003:
This survey was given as the final piece of our 5 year plan in the NCA process. This survey although relevant in getting the student, staff, and parent perception of our school was not specific to reading and math. The information gave us an overall perception that parents are satisfied with our school processes, staff, and curriculum. For the purposes of our schoolwide plan we wanted to get something more specific.
State Assessment Results - (2001 – 02 ) and (2002-03)
2001 – 2002
Heart River Grade 4 students had 55% of their 4th grade students either meet or exceed the standards for proficiency in Reading in the North Dakota State Assessments. This class had several students who were either special education students or who were Title I students or low income students. The majority of the students scored at the partially proficient level in these groups. See attached School Plant Profile printed as of 11/25/03. In the Terra Nova our students scored 51% NP in the area of reading. Our district scored 63%.
2002 – 2003
Heart River Grade 4 students had 77% of their 4th grade students either meet or exceed the standards for proficiency in Reading in the North Dakota State Assessments. This class had few students who were special education students, Title I students or low income students. The majority of the students in this class scored at the proficient level. We will attach the school profile for this year when it is printed. In the Terra Nova our students scored 71% NP in the area of reading. Our district scored 64%.
2003 – 2004
At the time of this typing we had not yet received our scores but they are supposed to be here any day now. This information will be included in our data as we track from year to year.
Summary: Because we are only working with two years of data it is difficult to see consistency however it is evident that our students who are special education students and who are low income students definitely need more assistance. Just in observations made through out the school in classrooms and caseloads we see that these students often make some progress but not enough to score at the proficient level. Our plan will work to assist these students at a lower level and hopefully give them more intense instruction in the first 3 years of school.
Reading Survey – Given to Parents at Conferences Feb. 9, 2004
We gave a short survey consisting of 8 questions asking parents to rate what they thought about their child’s reading. I will report the questions with the majority answer for each question.
1. My child’s skills at sounding out unfamiliar words are:
53 parents reported somewhat developed
2. My child’s skills at reading smoothly and with good expression are:
51 parents reported very developed
3. My child’s skills at understanding and retelling what he/she has read are:
61 parents reported very developed
4. My child’s skills at identifying parts of the story such as characters and plot are:
56 parents reported somewhat developed
5. My child’s skills at understanding vocabulary are:
55 parents reported very developed
The other 3 questions were more informational questions;
The information reported that students mostly read for enjoyment. That parents read with with their children for both enjoyment and assisting with homework and the majority of our students read fictional books for enjoyment with non fiction coming in second. Newspapers were the least read of our students.
Summary: Our parents who completed this survey are viewing their children as having developed or somewhat developed skills in the above areas. The majority of the answers to each question were much lower in the Needs More Work area and Not Sure area. We read this as our parents are feeling confident in the reading instruction of their students.
Reading Survey – Given to 7th grade students who were educated at Heart River. This survey was given in May of 2004 at the end of the 7th grade year.
Our students were asked questions such as if they felt they were prepared for reading in the 7th grade, if they understood what they read and if they felt they could read fluently aloud in class. Other questions related to writing and research.
Summary:
Students reported that they felt they were prepared for reading with the majority of the girls reporting that most of the time they were prepared while the majority of the boys reported some of the time. Students reported that they understood what they read with the majority of the girls and boys saying that most of the time they understood what they read. In the area of fluency, the majority of the girls stated that they could read fluently always and the majority of the boys said most of the time with very seldom coming closely in 2nd.
Overall this report would tell us that the 7th grade students felt they were adequately prepared but on our part we would like our students to be able to answer “always” for all of their answers. And it certainly tells us that boys seem to be less confident then our girls.
We also currently use our Star Assessment results and Accelerated Reader schoolwide summary report to indicate if we are making progress in reading. The average for each of our grade levels remains at grade level or slightly below in grades 1-3 and starting in grade 4 we see the average book level decrease in each grade level. Example the 6th grade class with 42 students has a 3.9 average book level. The report indicates that 33.3 % of our students at this grade level are at risk. Part of the problem with this report is the inconsistency of requirements in each class. Our goal will be to have consistent reading requirements in each class at each grade level.
Draft of Skills That Will Be Taught in Strategy Sessions
The following is a list of skills that have been developed by a team of teachers. After assessments have occurred all staff will meet to revise and determine which skills need to be taught. Groups of teachers will be divided into 1-3 teachers and 4-6 teachers.
Phonemic awareness
Phonics
Word Analysis
Fluency
Vocabulary
Main Idea
Facts & Details
Sequence
Cause and Effect
Compare and Contrast
Predictions
Context Clues
Drawing Conclusions and Inferences
Fact and Opinion
Common Word Patterns
Plurals, possessives, contractions, compound words, etc….
Heart River Elementary
Parent Involvement Policy
Heart River recognizes that parents are an integral part of the education of their children. The following items are opportunities for parent involvement in the home and school with assisting students in the reading process.
Invite all parents to Heart River’s Open House in August.
Send home information regarding the School wide plan for Heart River. Invite parents to attend family fun nights where there will be short sessions to talk about the plan.
Include in newsletters information regarding the school wide program and include in newsletter tips for good reading habits at home.
Conduct two family fun nights in which reading activities are the theme. Students and parents will have an opportunity to interact in small group activities centered around reading.
Conferences will be held twice a year in November and February. Parents will be encouraged to attend as this is a vital time for parents and teachers to discuss progress of their child.
Parents who have students on IEP’s will be invited to the IEP meeting and will be strongly encouraged to provide input into the IEP plan.
Parents are to expect that they will receive progress reports in the form of report cards 4 times a year and midterm reports 4 times a year.
Parents will be involved with children in reading for pleasure at home. Students will be reading books for Accelerated Reader, Book It, and also reading incentives throughout the school year.
Parents and children will have the opportunity to participate in participating at a game during Spring Fling in which books will be given away as prizes.
Parent surveys will be given to parents as part of the analysis of the success of the current program. We value the opinions of our parents.
Include in the final newsletter a report of the overall success of the program. Report strengths and weaknesses and where we plan to go the following year.