Schoolwide Plan Components

Schoolwide Plan Components

Belview Elementary 2015-2016

1. Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Belview Elementary School is a Pre-K through fifth grade school-wide Title I school with two hundred and seventy-three (273) students. Belview Elementary School demographics reflect a school population consisting of 227 White students, 25 African-American students, 13 Hispanic students and 4 Asian students. 50% of the student population receives free and reduced lunch rates this year. Special Education has 31 identified students on their caseload.

There are currently no students with a “homeless” status.

We have a full time counselor plus two school based therapists from NRCC due to our high needs population.

Achievement data that we analyze includes SOL data, Montgomery County Benchmark data, PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening), Fountas and Pinnell running record data & Words Their Way Word Study Assessment data.

The 2014-2015 Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) test results reflect an 89% Language Arts pass rate, 88% Math pass rate, an 94% Science pass rate and a 89% History pass rate. Belview Elementary School is a fully accredited school by the Virginia standards and has met and surpassed the AMO federal requirements. The English pass rate of 89% is up from 70% in the two previous years. We are thrilled with the hard work and progress of all of the students and teachers at Belview.

The Title I committee set a goal that 75% of Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third grade students will meet the benchmark of the Virginia PALS Spring 2016 Assessment.

Fall 2015 PALS grades K-3 results

Kindergarten 38 tested

9 did not meet benchmark

76% pass rate

1st grade 42 tested

20 did not meet benchmark

52% pass rate

2nd grade 44 tested

11 did not meet benchmark

75% pass rate

3rd grade 45 tested

9 did not meet benchmark

80% pass rate

Grades 1-3 Total tested 169

49 did not meet benchmark

71% pass rate

Teachers, administrators, parents & community members all have input on both the Belview School Improvement Plan which coincides with the Belview Title I Plan.

1. Schoolwide Reform Strategies

Kindergarten through fifth grade classes receive thirty minutes of Title 1 support for each group of two to six students that qualify for Title I services (sometimes groups are 20 minutes in fourth grade). The students that do not pass the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) assessment, are not reading on grade level according to the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark assessment, borderline students, students who have failed a past reading SOL assessment, or students identified by teachers qualify for Title I services. There is also individual assistance provided to 1st grade students through Reading Recovery. Consistent, concentrated reading efforts are being applied in grades kindergarten through five with the application of research based methods such as Words Their Way word study, the Houghton Mifflin Reading Program, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) and leveled books.

Reading support personnel provide additional remediation and assistance daily in grades K-5. The subgroup that we are focused on at Belview Elementary is the free and reduced lunch population. The Reading Recovery Program continues for the 2015-2016 school year. First grade students identified as at risk of having reading difficulties are targeted for this one-on-one instruction. Dawn Bowler works with the Reading Recovery students to enhance reading skills and fluency.

This year we are continuing several research based programs with our struggling readers. The Action Based Learning Lab is designed to get the brain ready to read through exercise and cross lateral activities. Students participate in the lab during some PE classes, and sometimes with the classroom teacher during Language Arts. We continue using LLI (Leveled Literacy Intervention) by Fountas and Pinnell. Teachers have been trained to implement this Reading Recovery based program with their most struggling readers in grades K-4. We use the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment kits to find the instructional reading levels of our students in order to accurately place them in an LLI group. We are excited that Montgomery County extended the LLI curriculum into fourth grade with the Gold Kits last year. We feel that was a huge factor in increasing reading progress for some of our fourth and fifth grade struggling readers.

During the 2010-2011 school year we began using the Words Their Way method of teaching word study in grades 1, 2 and 4. During the 2011-2012 year we extended that initiative to all grades K-5. We use the PALS spelling results as well as the Words Their Way Spelling Inventory to determine which spelling features each child has already mastered, and which features they are "using but confusing". This shows us the exact features where targeted instruction is needed. Montgomery County continues to support our efforts in this area. We just completed a training with Dr. Michelle Picard to further our knowledge of successfully teaching word study to our students. The reading specialists have led professional development for our classroom teachers and student interns at Belview over several faculty meetings this fall to share what we learned with Dr. Picard and look at areas in which we can improve our instruction.

SOL tutoring is available to offer support to those students needing Language Arts and Math help to pass the Virginia state SOL assessment. Students in grades three, four, and five are identified from previous SOL results, MCPS Benchmark Assessments (twice a year in reading), through teacher input, and from Fountas and Pinnell running record assessments. Tutors for the SOL tutoring program are Belview teachers and student interns.

Each winter, Belview students and their families participate in One School One Book to increase family engagement in reading. This year the book chosen is “A Ranger in Time” by Kate Messner.

Ways we will work to meet these objectives:

A. Title I staff provides daily small group instruction in grades K-5.

B. Teachers use Fountas and Pinnell running record assessments to find each student's instructional reading level, then plan lessons accordingly, using leveled fiction, non-fiction, and readers' theater materials that have been purchased and are housed in the bookroom where they are accessible for all teachers.

C. Title I staff collaborates with classroom teachers on a weekly basis to maintain consistency in reading strategies.

D. Continue LLI (Leveled Literacy Intervention) program for the lowest readers in each class in grades K-4.

75% of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students will meet the SOL benchmark in Language Arts.

A. SOL Tutoring will be offered for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students identified as needing additional Language Arts support.

B. The Houghton Mifflin Reading Program is available as a resource in all classrooms K-5 to provide consistency and implementation of reading strategies across grade levels.

C. Small group Title I instruction will support the Virginia Standards of Learning and the Houghton Mifflin Reading program.

D. Teachers will use Fountas and Pinnell running record assessments to find students instructional reading level, then plan lessons according to the data collected. SOL, PALS, Benchmark and formative data is used to guide instruction.

E. Istation is used daily as an intervention or support for students in grades K-5. Assessments are given monthly and teachers analyze data through generated reports.

3. Highly Qualified Personnel Evidence: Efforts to retain highly qualified staff to better meet the individual needs of all students. Montgomery County Public School gave each teacher steps this school year to increase thesteps after being frozen. Montgomery Countyplans to continue giving steps in thefuture years. Montgomery County is always looking at teachers' salary for improvement. There are also many efforts to incorporate professional development opportunities where teachers can gain re-certification points toward theirVirginialicense renewal. Montgomery County also participates with the Southwest Virginia Clinical Faculty Consortium. Through this consortium we are able to involve our new teachers in a mentor program as well as supervise many student teachers in the area.

1. Professional Development

100% of teachers and administration will participate in staff development to increase their knowledge of best literacy practices in the 2015-2016 school year.

We are spending some of our Title I materials money on the Words Their Way consumable materials for the students. Our teachers are grateful to have the materials they need to implement Words Their Way in their classrooms after the professional development we have just received with Dr. Michelle Picard, attended by Jonni Newcomb, Marsha Channell, Jessica Jones, and Carolyn Mashburn.

Dawn Bowler will attend the Reading Recovery Conference in January 2015.

Several of our classroom teachers attended the Daily Five CAFÉ training in North Carolina this summer with Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. They are excited to be using the strategies learned for setting up your classroom for successful reading, writing and spelling instruction.

Several other teachers attended the Google Summit this past year. Holly Pauley and Courtney Buck, our fourth grade classroom teacher are certified Google trainers, and they continue to offer professional development to the teachers at Belview (as well as Prices Fork). Many teachers are now creating their own formative assessments to use in the classroom to track reading progress and mastery of SOL skills.

Jonni Newcomb and Marsha Channell train all new teachers and teachers who have changed grade levels, in the administration of PALS, Fountas and Pinnell Running Records, and the Words Their Way inventory. This year, Jonni Newcomb and Cynthia Brandt (first grade teacher) are participating in the PALS EIRI (Early Intervention Reading Initiative) Professional Learning Community cohort including 7 webinar sessions and one workshop with Lisa Tyree from the PALS office at the University of Virginia. We continue to share what we learn through this webinar with other teachers, aides, and student interns working with our first grade students.

Dawn Bowler is part of the core team SAP committee. She works with teachers, staff and parents of students across the building who are struggling in reading as well as other possible areas.

Belview teachers are offered professional development from T-tac personnel (Wendy Phillips) to support our continued implementation of technology such as SMARTBOARDS, iPads, iPods, and the Student Response Systems.

Many of the teachers at Belview just completed the CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) training. This will allow us to support students dealing with crisis situations. This training is in conjunction with the PBIS team at Belview, working together to create common expectations and procedures across the grade levels.

Belview teachers are participating in a school-wide book study of “Engaging Students with Poverty”. Marsha Channell, Jonni Newcomb, and several other teachers are leading book study sessions once a month for small groups of teachers.

Other ways professional development goals are met include the following:

1. School and county based professional developments are offered.

2. Reading conferences are posted and available for attending.

3. Professional books are purchased and made available for additional information.

4. Words Their Way professional development was given during several faculty meetings to teachers and interns by our reading specialists who were trained under Dr. Michelle Picard.

***See MCPS website for multiple professional development activities and classes offered for professional development.

1. Attracting High Quality Teachers Montgomery County Public School only hires highly qualified staff for Title I schools. Classroom teachers must have a four year degree, a Virginia teaching license, and must be endorsed in the area they teach. Reading Specialists must have a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a Virginia teaching license, and a Reading Specialist endorsement. Paraprofessional must have 48 credit hours, a two year college degree, or have a passing score on the ParaPro Exam. Montgomery County Public School attends many area job fairs to recruit highly-qualified staff. These include job fairs at Radford University, Virginia Tech, and Roanoke College. We are geographically located near several colleges and universities. By participating in the Clinical Facultyconsortium we are able to recruit many of the student teachers we receive through this program.

1. Parental Involvement

*** see Parental Involvement Policyand Parent School Compact attached.

95% of the student population will be represented at one or more parent involvement activities during the 2015-2016 school year.

1. Belview Elementary will provide 5 family nights a year in conjunction with PTA meetings. We will continue to use feedback from the Title I parent surveys to help plan and meet the needs of our families. We use Title I funds to purchase books to give away to each child attending a family/PTA event.

2. Additional family nights may be planned for family interaction and participation.

3. One School One Book copies will be distributed during the month of February, with activities, trivia questions, prizes, etc. to engage our families in reading together.

4. Monthly newsletters (subscriptions through Home and School Connection) are sent home to families.

5. Title I District Parent Advisory meetings are held several times during the year.

6. The Belview website maintains educational links for home use.

7. Invitations are extended to parents/guardians for observations and/or participation in classroom activities. Teachers send home a weekly newsletter for their grade level to let parents know what the students are learning about each week with suggestions on how they can be involved at home.

8. Parents are notified of student progress through division wide report cards, the parent portal website, interim reports, PALS reports (explained during parent teacher conferences) and SOL scores are mailed to parents each year (the principal meets with all families of children who did not pass a VA SOL reading or math test).

9. To encourage reading at home, many teacherssend home books with a reading log to be initialed by the parents each week. The LLI program includes black and white copies of books for students to take home to reread with their family. A holiday/winter book and winter activity packet that promotes skill practice and a book is presented to each student at the Breakfast with Santa family event. These packets are designed to encourage the parents and students to practice the students' reading skills while they are out on break.

10. The Belview Title I Parent Involvement Policy as well as the Parent, Student, Teacher compact are all available on our website, as well as sent home with student on our Title I family night (Meet the Teacher Night) in August each year.

11. Students at Virginia Tech mentored a few Belview students as they worked together to build our Book Barn. This is a place where families can recycle gently used books. Students are encouraged to take books home to read and then to trade again when finished.

12. Belview just completed its third summer providing students with the opportunity to attend the Belview Bookmobile each Monday throughout the summer. Gretchen Ninestein (third grade teacher), along with other Belview teachers volunteer their time on Mondays to read with students, help them choose a book to keep and pass out popsicles. This has proven to be an excellent way to build relationships with our families and keep kids reading over the summer months. Belview United Methodist Church generously provides food bags to the families who attend the Bookmobile. We plan to continue this program in the future.

1. Transition

The Virginia Pre-School Initiative offers early learning assistance for pre-school age students. Belview hosts one pre-school class to provide early invention toward school success. One full time teacher and one assistant are in the classroom. Our guidance counselor gives a kindergarten orientation each year to help both pre-school students and students new to Belview transition to kindergarten. Reading teachers and kindergarten classroom teachers rotate the new students through stations for an informal assessment of their social skills, name writing, drawing a self-portrait, and ability to correctly use scissors and a pencil. These notes are documented on a shared Google document then used to place students in the appropriate class for the fall. Our guidance counselor also teaches a unit to help fifth graders transition to the middle school, in addition to visits taken to the middle school to familiarize students with their new surroundings.

1. Inclusion of Teachers

We are fortunate at Belview to have a principal with excellent leadership skills and teaching experience. She bases the entire school schedule on the Language Arts block and when the Reading Specialists can work in each grade level. She also plans weekly data meetings and grade level planning meetings on Wednesdays before and after school. We have an intense data meeting at the beginning of the year that includes ALL teachers to disaggregate the SOL data from the previous year within vertical teams across grade levels, and then we use the graphs we make to better address common weaknesses across a grade level and with individual students.