2011 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
A Public School
School Type (Public Schools):
(Check all that apply, if any) /
Charter /
Title 1 /
Magnet /
Choice
Name of Principal: Mrs. Dawn Carpenter
Official School Name: Franklin East Elementary School
School Mailing Address: / 1753 East 8th AvenueMesa, AZ 85204-3617
County: Maricopa / State School Code Number: 4917
Telephone: (480) 472-6431 / E-mail:
Fax: (480) 472-6488 / Web URL: http://www.mpsaz.org/franklin/east
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
______Date ______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Dr. Michael Cowan Superintendent e-mail:
District Name: Mesa Public Schools District Phone: (480) 472-0000
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mr. Steven Peterson
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.
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PART I - ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION / 11AZ1The 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 one or more of 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.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2010-2011 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2005.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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 / 11AZ1All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT
1. / Number of schools in the district: / 57 / Elementary schools(per district designation) / 13 / Middle/Junior high schools
9 / High schools
1 / K-12 schools
80 / Total schools in district
2. / District per-pupil expenditure: / 1740
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. / Category that best describes the area where the school is located: / Suburban4. / Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school: / 2
5. / Number of students as of October 1, 2010 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total
PreK / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6 / 58 / 44 / 102
K / 58 / 71 / 129 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0
1 / 65 / 57 / 122 / 8 / 0 / 0 / 0
2 / 53 / 59 / 112 / 9 / 0 / 0 / 0
3 / 55 / 53 / 108 / 10 / 0 / 0 / 0
4 / 58 / 53 / 111 / 11 / 0 / 0 / 0
5 / 56 / 61 / 117 / 12 / 0 / 0 / 0
Total in Applying School: / 801
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6. / Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 1 / % American Indian or Alaska Native3 / % Asian
1 / % Black or African American
21 / % Hispanic or Latino
1 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
73 / % White
0 / % Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. / Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the 2009-2010 school year: / 8%This rate is 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, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 13
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 56
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 69
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1, 2009 / 846
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.08
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 8
8. / Percent limited English proficient students in the school: / 2%
Total number of limited English proficient students in the school: / 18
Number of languages represented, not including English: / 1
Specify languages:
Spanish
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9. / Percent of students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: / 41%Total number of students who qualify: / 329
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-priced school meals program, supply an accurate estimate and explain how the school calculated this estimate.
10. / Percent of students receiving special education services: / 6%
Total number of students served: / 47
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
0 / Autism / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment
0 / Deafness / 1 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 5 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 22 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 0 / Traumatic Brain Injury
18 / Mental Retardation / 1 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / Developmentally Delayed
11. / Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 1 / 0
Classroom teachers / 33 / 5
Special resource teachers/specialists / 1 / 6
Paraprofessionals / 0 / 16
Support staff / 2 / 14
Total number / 37 / 41
12. / Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1: / 24:1
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13. / Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only high schools need to supply graduation rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any student or teacher attendance rates under 95% and teacher turnover rates over 12% and fluctuations in graduation rates.2009-2010 / 2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006
Daily student attendance / 96% / 96% / 95% / 95% / 96%
Daily teacher attendance / 94% / 92% / 93% / 93% / 93%
Teacher turnover rate / 11% / 0% / 4% / 0% / 0%
High school graduation rate / % / % / % / % / %
If these data are not available, explain and provide reasonable estimates.
2009-2010: Two teachers as follows: 12-week FMLA leave and 4-week FMLA.
2008-2009: Three teachers as follows: 23 days FMLA, 28 days FMLA, 60 days FMLA and 23 days long-term medical leave.
2007-2008: No long-term leaves recorded. One teacher-23 absences due to illness*.
2006-2007: No long-term leaves recorded. One teacher-23 absences due to illness*.
2005-2006: One teacher-22 days FMLA. One teacher-24 absences due to illness*.
* The same teacher accrued excessive absencesfrom 2005-2008.
14. / For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools): Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2010 are doing as of Fall 2010.
Graduating class size:
Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / %
Enrolled in a community college / %
Enrolled in vocational training / %
Found employment / %
Military service / %
Other / %
Total / 0 / %
PART III - SUMMARY / 11AZ1
Franklin East Elementary School is one of five Franklin School campuses within the Mesa Public School system. The Mesa district is the largest in Arizona and educates more than 65,000 students. Franklin East, a Back-to-Basics school without attendance boundaries, is open to all parents choosing to enroll their children. A parental agreement of support form indicating that the parent is aware of school practices is signed by parents as a part of the enrollment process. Franklin East educates approximately 850 K-6 students each year using the academic model created in 1978. The school focuses on a precisely defined curriculum, using instructional strategies that complement the expectations of parents and are linked with the maturational characteristics of the students. The development of the original program evolved through numerous parental committees and these committees today assist the school in maintaining continuity and consistency in the instructional efforts of the highly trained faculty.
The Franklin academic program uses a phonics based approach to reading instruction entitled The Writing Road to Reading by Ramalda Spalding. The Spalding Method is a complete language arts approach providing explicit integrated instruction in spelling, writing, listening and reading comprehension. In combination with the The Writing Road to Reading, the reading curriculum is based on extensive use of high quality literature to further develop a love for reading in our students. Our highly detailed accelerated math program uses week-by-week, concept-by-concept overviews, or teacher guides, to insure appropriate review of each concept, guide the pace of instruction, provide necessary foundational development and takes into account the maturational and intellectual differences of students. In addition, these overviews provide concept consistency and continuity from grade level to grade level, allowing the teachers to use the best possible instructional materials, and strategies for each concept. The language program is based on principles of grammar and language analysis with the opportunity to develop precise, clearly understood written thought. Franklin East students learn traditional concepts of history, geography, and patriotism. In science, foundational concepts of earth, biological, chemical, and physical science enrich the students’ understanding of the world. Research skills, using technology, are developed starting in kindergarten. Student learning is further enhanced in art, art masterpiece, music, music masterpiece, PE, health, safety, band, orchestra and sports opportunities. Attention to the whole child is developed through instruction in the following: character development, conflict resolution, and student government. The Franklin academic program enhances learning using a very specific, nightly homework program that includes minimum and maximum amounts of time spent on homework, delineated by grade level. The purposes of the homework program are to develop personal responsibility, time management skills, and serve as a communication tool with parents.
Some additional characteristics of Franklin East School include: discipline, which is based on firm and fair behavioral expectations that include parental involvement at the early stages of defining boundaries; extensive teacher in-service training; whole group instruction with small group and individual tutorial support by the classroom teachers to further help children focus on educational expectations; an extensive monitoring program details each child’s progress in foundational skill areas; and teachers participate in Professional Learning Communities at each grade level to plan and implement the curricular guidelines.
Franklin’s positive, caring climate enhances individual academic achievement and progression, resulting in students' developmentof respect for others, pride in self, and loyalty to country. As we strive for literary excellence, our goal is to guide children toward independence. Franklin East students are prepared to be successful in future academic endeavors, and our students pursue their future with the strength of character that reflects the ideals of education, confidence, and competence. Children excel at Franklin East. Parents support our program. The faculty and staff define professionalism. Within the scope of the Mesa Public School educational family, Franklin East gives its best to our students, our parents, our district, our community, our city, our state and our nation.