2006-2007 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
U.S. Department of Education
Cover Sheet Type of School: (Check all that apply) [ X ] Elementary [ ] Middle [ ] High [ ] K-12 [ ] Charter
Name of Principal Ms. Kathleen McKeown
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the official records)
Official School Name Deerfield Elementary
(As it should appear in the official records)
School Mailing Address 2 Deerfield Avenue______(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address.)
Irvine California 92604-3048
City State Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)
County Orange State School Code Number*30 73650 6096184_
Telephone ( 949) 936-5655 Fax ( 949) 936-5659
Web site/URL http://www.iusd.org/de/ E-mail
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent* Dr. Gwen Gross
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
District Name Irvine Unified Tel. ( 949) 936-5000
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board
President/Chairperson Mr. Mike Parham
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
PART I ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
[Include this page in the school’s application as page 2.]
The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school’s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s adequate yearly progress requirement in the 2006-2007 school year.
3. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, it has foreign language as a part of its core curriculum.
4. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2001 and has not received the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years.
5. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a districtwide compliance review.
6. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
7. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
8. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 12 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: 22 Elementary schools
5 Middle schools
0 Junior high schools
5 High schools
1 Other
33 TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: $7,480
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: $8,288
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ X ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 1 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
2 If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?
5. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 7
K / 41 / 16 / 57 / 8
1 / 32 / 28 / 60 / 9
2 / 22 / 38 / 60 / 10
3 / 38 / 39 / 77 / 11
4 / 51 / 40 / 91 / 12
5 / 52 / 49 / 101 / Other
6 / 59 / 41 / 100
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL ® / 546
[Throughout the document, round numbers 1 or higher to the nearest whole number.
Use decimals to one place only if the number is below 1.]
6. Racial/ethnic composition of 35 % White
the school: 5 % Black or African American
8 % Hispanic or Latino
47 % Asian/Pacific Islander
1 % American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
Use only the five standard categories in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of the school.
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 13 %
[This rate should be calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.]
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until the end of the year / 48(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year / 22
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 70
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 546
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3) divided by total students in row (4) / .128
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 /
12.8
8. Limited English Proficient students in the school: 14 %
76 Total Number Limited English Proficient
Number of languages represented: 28
Specify languages: African dialects, American Sign Language, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Cantonese, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Malayam, Mandarin, Marathi, other Indian dialects, Portugese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Taiwanese, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese.
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 9 %
Total number students who qualify: 48
10. Students receiving special education services: 8%
44 Total Number of Students Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
4 Autism 1 Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness 5 Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness 4 Specific Learning Disability
____Emotional Disturbance 29 Speech or Language Impairment
1 Hearing Impairment ____Traumatic Brain Injury
____Mental Retardation ____Visual Impairment Including Blindness
____Multiple Disabilities
11. Indicate number of fulltime and parttime staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-time Part-Time
Administrator(s) 1 ______
Classroom teachers 18 14
Special resource teachers/specialists ______2
Paraprofessionals ______13
Support staff 2 7
Total number 21 36
12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of
students in the school divided by the FTE of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 26:1
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. The student dropout rate is defined by the state. The student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout rate and the drop-off rate. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates, and only high schools need to supply drop-off rates. Also explain a high teacher turnover rate.
2005-2006 / 2004-2005 / 2003-2004 / 2002-2003 / 2001-2002Daily student attendance / 97 % / 97 % / 97 % / 97 % / 97 %
Daily teacher attendance / 94% / 96% / 96% / 91% / 93%
Teacher turnover rate / 9% / 9% / 9% / 4% / 9%
Student dropout rate (middle/high) / - / - / - / - / -
Student drop-off rate (high school) / - / - / - / - / -
PART III SUMMARY
Deerfield Elementary is a K-6 neighborhood school in the heart of Irvine, California. Serving students since 1976 when Irvine was still steeped in its agricultural past, Deerfield has evolved into a unique educational experience that successfully achieves a top-quality education while addressing the challenges and benefits of teaching a substantial number of recent-immigrant students. Deerfield’s children hail from countries as varied as Korea, Russia, India, China, Iran, Mexico, and several African nations. Gather all Deerfield families together in one place and you'll hear 29 different languages spoken. Open a classroom door and you'll see students of all skin and hair colors working together, unaware of terms such as "racial tension" and "clashing cultures."
Our Mission is that Deerfield students will attain high levels of achievement within a safe school environment that is staffed by highly-qualified individuals. Our vision is to foster success through meeting the academic needs of students with regard to individual learning styles and instructional levels. All students engage in a thinking, meaning-centered curriculum that is challenging, purposeful and promotes active student participation. We focus on state standards and enrich the curriculum through depth, complexity, and differentiation to ensure each student reaches his or her full potential.
While 40% of the student population comes from families where English is not the home language, Deerfield continues to produce Annual Program Improvement (API) test scores above the state, county and even district averages. In the past two years API scores have risen 50 points. The school's Alternative Program for Academically Accelerated Students (APAAS) currently includes students formerly identified as Title I. A well-rounded education encompassing academics, physical education, art lessons, vocal and instrumental music education, and civic duties allows each student to find his or her strengths in a "safe to try" environment. Programs available to assist individual needs include READ 180, Early Intervention Reading Model (EIRM), Title I, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), a Speech/Language Program, and a Resource Specialist Program (RSP).
Classrooms clustered in pods allow for team teaching and make for comfortable surroundings that can never be called sterile and uninspiring and support another tenet of our vision, that all Deerfield students engage in a thinking, meaning-centered curriculum that is challenging, purposeful and promotes active student participation. The very look of the school's interior is that of a beehive of learning. Student artwork adorns the corridor walls, and the vibrant, high-circulation library and state-of-the-art computer lab are nestled smack dab in the school's center, incorporating both the past and the future in child education.
At Deerfield we recognize the changing nature of education and society, and we can witness a way of life where "diversity" evolves into a word with only positive connotations. One can discover how seeing to an individual's needs and ensuring that indeed no child gets left behind produces astounding results--even when that individual doesn't initially speak the same language or have access to all of the advantages society has to offer.
Every student who graduates from Deerfield Elementary is prepared to meet the increasingly multicultural, ever-changing world. The Deerfield family takes tremendous pride in allowing its children to start their lives with such a remarkable experience.
NCLB-BRS (June 1, 2006) Page 23 of 23
PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
1. Assessment Results:
Deerfield participates in the state assessment system. The Academic Performance Index (API) is the cornerstone of that system, measuring the academic performance and growth of schools. It is a numeric index that ranges from 200 to 1000, with a statewide performance target of 800. The testing component of the assessment system is the California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. The STAR program includes California Standards Tests (CST), which are norm-referenced tests, the California Achievement Test - 6 (CAT- 6), a standardized test given only at grade 3, and the CAPA, an alternative assessment for severely handicapped students. At Deerfield all students in grades 2-6 are tested annually through the STAR program. No students at Deerfield have taken the CAPA in the past three years.
The CST tests assess mathematics and English language arts (ELA) in grades 2-6. Student scores are reported as performance levels. The five performance levels are Advanced (exceeds state standards), Proficient (meets state standards), Basic (approaches state standards), Below Basic (below state standards), and Far Below Basic (well below state standards). Students scoring at the Proficient or Advanced level meet state standards in that content area. Detailed information regarding CST results for each grade and proficiency level can be found at the California Department of Education Web site at http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/.
CST results are used to measure Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as well as to determine the California API. In 2005-2006 Deerfield once again met its AYP goals in ELA and math, school wide as well as in our two “numerically significant subgroups”—Asian and White (not of Hispanic origin) (hereafter called “White”). High student achievement is also reflected in the school’s API score. For 2005 – 2006, Deerfield’s API score of 907 demonstrates strong student achievement and reflects an astonishing 50 point growth over the past two years (2003-2004 = 857; 2005-2006 = 907). Both Asian and White students easily met improvement targets. Although students in both subgroups exceeded the 800 benchmark, Asian students at Deerfield have historically tested higher than White students, their high scores driven in particular by our Alternative Program for Academically Accelerated Students (APAAS) classes (grades 4, 5 and 6), which are heavily Asian. The gap between the two subgroups, however, is narrowing. In 2003-2004 Asian students scored 919 to White students 848—a 71 point gap. In current testing, Asian students improved to 945 and White students to 915, reducing the gap to 30 points.