Spofford Pond School
Kathryn Castonguay, Principal
31 Spofford Road
Boxford, MA 01921
Phone: 978-352-8616
Fax: 978-352-7855
Web: www.boxfordschools.org /
2013-2014
School Improvement Plan
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Mission Statement of the Boxford Elementary Schools 3
Core Values of the Boxford Elementary Schools 3
School Improvement Goals (Boxford School Committee) 3
Spofford Pond School Site Council Members 2013-2014 4
2013-2014 Site Council Meeting Dates 4
Updates from the 2012-2013 School Improvement Plan 5
Incorporating 21st Century Skills in the Spofford Pond School Improvement Plan for 2013-2014 7
Goal 1: Student Achievement and District Accountability 8
Goal 2: Technology curriculum and infrastructure 9
Goal 2a. Staffing 9
Goal 2b. Hardware, Software, Maintenance of Infrastructure 10
Goal 2c. Planning 11
Goal 2d. Reports and Updates 12
Goal 2e. Professional Development 12
Goal 3: Specific Learning Enrichment Programs 13
Goal 4: Bullying Prevention Plan 14
Goal 5: School Safety and Security 15
Goal 6: Foreign language/culture program destiny 16
Goal 7: Health and Wellness 17
Goal 8: Teaching community improvements 18
Goal 9: Transition to new Superintendent and administrative structure 19
Goal 10: Community Relations 20
Goal 11: Strategic Planning and Financial Management 21
Mission Statement of the Boxford Elementary Schools
The mission of the Boxford Public Elementary Schools is to pursue educational excellence by creating and sustaining a learning community that challenges its members to reach their full intellectual, social, creative, emotional and physical potential.
Core Values of the Boxford Elementary Schools
High Expectations for Academic Excellence: All students strive for a high level of academic achievement. Our schools provide educational opportunities that challenge students to their individual potential while encouraging all students to take academic risks and engage in critical thinking. All school staff members are dedicated to the consistently high level of performance necessary to support our students' academic achievement. The hard work by students and staff necessary to achieve these goals is expected, recognized and celebrated.
Personal Integrity: Consistent honesty, respect and personal responsibility regarding all our words and actions are fundamental principles. The common bonds within the school community are expressed through mutual cooperation, empathy and support.
Clear and Consistent Curriculum Implementation: Equitable learning opportunities for all are provided through an academic curriculum which is clearly understood by all and consistently implemented to meet grade level benchmarks.
Welcoming Environment: All members of the community strive to make our school environment safe, nurturing, and welcoming so as to foster the achievement of our shared Mission and Core Values. The connections between the schools and the Boxford community are valued and continuously renewed.
School Improvement Goals (Boxford School Committee)
Goal #1: Student Achievement and Accountability
Goal #2: Technology Curriculum and Infrastructure
Goal #3: Specific Learning Enrichment Programs
Goal #4: Bullying Prevention Plan
Goal #5: School Safety and Security
Goal #6: Foreign Language/Culture Program Destiny
Goal #7: Health and Wellness
Goal #8: Teaching Community Improvements
Goal #9: Transition to new Superintendent and Administrative Structure
Goal #10: Community Relations
Goal #11: Strategic Planning and Financial Management
Spofford Pond School Site Council Members 2013-2014
Name / Term Expires / NotesKathryn Castonguay, Principal / Ongoing
Lesley Gibson, Teacher / 2015
Deb Viviani/Carol Foster, Teacher / 2014
Kathy Magee, Teacher / 2015
Stacey Bouffard, Teacher / 2014
Hagan Rivers, Parent / 2015
Donna Sibbach, Parent / 2016 / New member joined in September, 2013
Jennifer Leire, Parent / 2016 / New member joined in September, 2013
Liz Pool, Parent / 2016 / New member joined in September, 2013
Nancy Coughlin, Parent / 2016 / New member joined in September, 2013
2013-2014 Site Council Meeting Dates
The following is a list of meetings for the Site Council for the 2013-2014 School Year:
· September 16th
· September 30th
· October 28th
· November 12th
· December 2nd
· January 13th
· February 10th
· February 24th
· March 10th
· April 14th
· May 5th
· May 12th
· June 9th
Meetings will be held at 3:30pm in the Spofford Pond School Conference Room.
Updates from the 2012-2013 School Improvement Plan
The following is a list of updates from the 2012-2013 School Improvement Plan:
Goal 1a: Students will achieve their academic and personal potential in content areas.
· The Math in Focus (MIF) program was fully implemented in grades 3-6.
· Training sessions were held for teachers on the MIF program.
· Teacher teams met throughout the year to align the MIF program to the standards and the report cards.
· The Math Committee Liaisons provided support to the teaching teams for the implementation of the MIF Program.
· New writing prompts were given to students in grades 3 through 6 three times in the year, one for each genre through the new TTU Writing program.
Goal 1b: All students will achieve their academic and personal potential in art, music, physical education, foreign language, library/media science, health/wellness as measured by local assessments.
· Miss Gregg, our Spanish/World Studies teacher has tailored a new curriculum to meet the needs of each grade level.
· Mrs. Boulay, our Library/Media Specialist will be teaching technology classes to each classes one time per week in lieu of the traditional library class. Students will continue to have access to the library to check out books (it will serve as more of a library commons).
· All students in grades 3-6 will have Physical Education classes two times per week starting this year.
Goal 2: Curriculum will be implemented consistently within each grade level.
· The Math in Focus (MIF) curriculum was fully implemented in all grades in our school. Ongoing professional development was provided for teacher teams.
· Teachers met weekly with their grade level teams to talk about curriculum implementation.
· TEAM time was led by Dr. Castonguay and the curriculum specialists to align the curriculum across grade levels as well as to the new report card.
Goal 3: All students will have the opportunity to learn in ways that match their abilities.
· Response to Intervention services, Extended Studies and Math Olympiad were implemented at a specific time each day for each grade level (this is also referred to as WIN block). For students that needed extra support in ELA and/or Math, they were involved in daily 30-minute Response to Intervention (RtI) groups. For students that needed enrichment, they had the opportunity to participate in our Extended Studies program with Mrs. Boulay. Classroom teachers differentiated curriculum for students not in the services listed above to reinforce, reteach and extend learning. Students were assessed through summative and formative assessments to inform our instruction.
· Parents were surveyed in April, 2013 about the program and ways to improve it.
· Staff members shared best practices throughout data meetings on intervention techniques.
Goal 4: All students, staff, parents and community members will experience a friendly supportive learning environment that recognizes, respects, plans for and rewards personal integrity, hard work, and civic responsibility.
· The Spofford Pond School Site Council met monthly to address school needs.
· Parents were surveyed regarding their experiences at the Spofford Pond School in April, 2013.
· The PTO created “welcome bags” for all new families who started at Spofford Pond School in the fall with school and local resources.
Goal 5: All students, staff, parents and community members will work in a respectful environment that includes a well-maintained school that provides appropriate space for all approved programs and will incorporate green initiatives were ever possible.
· The custodial teamwork throughout the year to ensure safe and clean physical plant.
· The custodians used “green” cleaning agents.
· In addition to weekly recycling, several of our students formed a Green Team with Ms. Vanessa Boyle. They campaigned for a reduction in energy consumption and were quite successful in their efforts by significantly reducing our electric bill!
· Ms. Boyle had also written a grant for the installation of a greenhouse, which is now under construction!
· A filtered water fountain with the capacity to refill water bottles was installed in August, 2013. This will help to increase the amount of reusable water containers in our community and reduce the need to recycle plastic bottles.
· Parents were surveyed in April, 2013 to gain their opinions about the Spofford Pond School.
Goal 6: We will continue to plan to address current and future needs regarding the recruitment, development, and retention of teaching, support, and leadership personnel in the future structure of the school district.
· Many teachers took on leadership roles within the school this year such as: health and wellness committee members, Olweus committee members, mathematics committee teachers, site council members, and grade level liaisons.
· Dr. Castonguay attended the administrator’s training for the new Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Educator Evaluation Tool.
· The leadership team and members from the Boxford Teacher’s Association (BTA) met to negotiate the language for the new Educator Evaluation system.
· The first “overview” training was held for all teachers.
· The mentor program helps new staff members acclimate to the school community and curriculum.
Goal 7: We will provide and maintain updated technology to support the educational and administrative needs across the curriculum.
· Technology mentors were appointed at each grade level and the specialist team to increase the support to teachers for using technology within instruction for student learning. Also these technology mentors helped to create the districts technology plan.
· A new wireless infrastructure was installed at Spofford Pond School.
· The leadership team met with BEST to identify needs for wireless end user devices for a capital campaign.
· We piloted a 1:1 Device program which included a “Bring Your Own Device” aspect to it as well as 1:1 computing with school owned devices in June, 2013. This will carry into the 2013-2014 school year.
· We gained a new Digital Learning Teacher, Mrs. Robinson, who will assist with technology integration in our curriculum in the classrooms.
· 20 new iPads were integrated into our school for use in one classroom as part of our 1:1 Pilot.
Goal 8: We will work to ensure that school curriculum, programs, procedures, and policies incorporate aspects of physical and emotional health and wellness of the school community.
· Olweus lessons were implemented every Day 6 in every classroom in our school.
· We held two student led Anti-Bullying assemblies in our school.
· The Olweus follow-up survey was administered to Spofford Pond students.
· The Site Council explored the BOKS program in collaboration with the Health and Wellness Committee. Plans to implement are scheduled for January, 2014.
Incorporating 21st Century Skills in the Spofford Pond School Improvement Plan for 2013-2014
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has developed a vision for student success in the new global economy.
Page 21 of 21
Spofford Pond School / School Improvement Plan 2013-2014Goal 1: Student Achievement and District Accountability
Massachusetts has established new district and school Progress and Performance Index (PPI) targets with specific six-year targets (2017) for all districts in English Language Arts and Mathematics for All Students and High Needs Students to narrow the achievement proficiency gap. The six-year target for Boxford in English Language Arts is a Composite Performance Index (CPI) of 96.4 for all students and 88.2 for the High Needs group. In Mathematics the targets are 95.3 for All Students and 84.3 for the High Needs group. Our goal is to meet or exceed the specific yearly targets for our students, established in 2007.
Questions/ Actions / Person Responsible / Measurement / Resources Needed / Due Date / TimeframeTeachers will implement the common core standards in all content areas with fidelity / Principal,
Teachers / Increase in our locally administered assessments as well as MCAS scores. / Standards, curriculum materials / 6/2014 / Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Teachers will participate examine student work with rubrics together at Team Time to generate a common expectation for meeting the standards / Principal,
Curriculum Specialists,
Teachers / Greater consistency in rating of student performance on student work and the report card. / Time, student work / 6/2014 / Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Teachers will continue to examine student assessment data in the RtI process to determine which students need additional support in reading, math and writing / Principal,
Curriculum Specialists,
Teachers,
RtI Interventionists / AIMS web data, MCAS data, classroom work samples/assessment / Student data, work samples / 6/2014 / Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Goal 2: Technology curriculum and infrastructure
Massachusetts has established standards of technology mastery for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Boxford schools will meet or exceed these standards by 2016. To support this goal, Boxford will evaluate these standards and develop a plan to incorporate them into each of the grade level curricula. We will invest in our support staff, curriculum development, and availability of computing devices and in the training of teaching staff to ensure a smooth transition to this higher state of integration.
Goal 2a. Staffing
· Adopt a reorganized technology staffing structure for Information and Instructional Technology implementation, which supports the teaching, and learning process at the classroom level as part of the FY 2014 school budget.
Questions/ Actions / Person Responsible / Measurement / Resources Needed / Due Date / TimeframeEmploy two Digital Learning Teachers to address both the common core standards and the technology standards / Principal / Completed Lesson Plans
Observation of lessons in the lab and in classrooms with mobile technology / Restructuring of the current roles in the Technology Department, More mobile technology devices / 6/2014 / Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Support the district in the reorganization of the IT department. Measure the impact of the restructuring / Principal,
Technology Staff,
Assistant Superintendent of Operations / Redesigned IT Structure
School Dude reports / Access to the Tri-Town IT department / 6/2014 / Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Goal 2b. Hardware, Software, Maintenance of Infrastructure
· Install business class Internet connectivity and enhanced wireless networks in both school buildings by spring 2013.