U.S. Department of Education September 2003
2003-2004 No Child Left Behind---Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Cover Sheet
Name of Principal: Mr. Duane Motzko
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the official records)
Official School Name: Eagle Valley Elementary
(As it should appear in the official records)
School Mailing Address: 106 Frank Street South
Clarissa______Minnesota 56440-0468
City State Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)
Tel. (218) 756-3631 Fax (218) 756-2560
Website/URL: www. evps.k12.mn.us 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.
Duane Motzko Date February 9, 2004______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent* Mr. Dale Svaren
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
District Name Eagle Valley Public Schools Tel. (218) 738-6442
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.
Dale Svaren Date_____ February 9, 2004______
(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board Mr. Robert Winkler
President/Chairperson
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
I have reviewed the information in this package, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Robert Winkler Date_____February 9, 2004______
(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 of Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes grades K-12. (Schools with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has not been in school improvement status or 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 2003-2004 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 1998.
5. The nominated school or district is not refusing the OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a districtwide compliance review.
6. The 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 the 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
1. Number of schools in the district: __1__ Elementary schools
_____ Middle schools
_____ Junior high schools
__1__ High schools
_____ Other (Briefly explain)
__2___ TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: _____$8079______
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: _____$7745______
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
[ ] Suburban
[ X] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 6 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?
5. Number of students enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalK / 7 / 8 / 15 / 7
1 / 19 / 13 / 32 / 8
2 / 10 / 10 / 20 / 9
3 / 7 / 6 / 13 / 10
4 / 19 / 18 / 37 / 11
5 / 11 / 15 / 26 / 12
6 / 24 / 10 / 34 / Other
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL ® / 177
6. Racial/ethnic composition of 99 % White
the students in the school: 0 % Black or African American
1 % Hispanic or Latino
% Asian/Pacific Islander
% American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 4.5%
(This rate includes the total number of students who transferred to or from different schools between October 1 and the end of the school year, divided by the total number of students in the school as of October 1, multiplied by 100.)
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 7(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 1
(3) / Subtotal of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 8
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 178
(5) / Subtotal in row (3) divided by total in row (4) / .0449438
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 / 4.49
8. Limited English Proficient students in the school: 0 %
0 Total Number Limited
English Proficient
Number of languages represented: Not Applicable
Specify languages:
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 62 %
111 Total Number Students Who Qualify
10. Students receiving special education services: 14 %
25 Total Number of Students
Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
1 Autism ____Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness 3 Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness 2 Specific Learning Disability
____Hearing Impairment ____Speech or Language Impairment
4 Mental Retardation ____Traumatic Brain Injury
____Multiple Disabilities ____Visual Impairment Including Blindness
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 0
Classroom teachers 10 0____
Special resource teachers/specialists 4 1
Paraprofessionals 10 0
Support staff 6 0
Total number 31 0
12. Average school student-“classroom teacher” ratio: 17.7/1
13.
2002-2003 / 2001-2002 / 2000-2001 / 1999-2000 / 1998-1999Daily student attendance / 97% / 96% / 95% / 96% / 95%
Daily teacher attendance / 96% / 96% / 97% / 96% / 98%
Teacher turnover rate / 0% / 0% / 6% / 0% / 11%
Student dropout rate / NA / NA / NA / NA / NA
Student drop-off rate / NA / NA / NA / NA / NA
14. (High Schools Only) Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2003 are doing as of September 2003. Not Applicable
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 (travel, staying home, etc.) / _____%
Unknown / _____%
Total / 100 %
PART III SUMMARY
Eagle Valley Elementary is a K-6 school with 180 students located in Clarissa, a small rural community in Todd County, Minnesota. Sixty-one percent of the students come from families that qualify for free and reduced lunches. Forty-five percent of the student body is female, and fifty-five percent is male. Seven and three tenths percent of the students are in Special Education Programs. There is no appreciable number of students in the other demographics. Many residents do not have a higher education and do not value or feel a quality education is important for their children.
Our goal is to provide a caring and educational environment where staff, parents, and community members work together to show the importance of a good education. We have implemented many educational experiences for our students that involve individuals from outside the school. We strive to use scientifically based programs that utilize technology to provide students the tools and knowledge they require to meet their individual needs and to be successful and useful members in society.
The teaching staff has between 17 and 30 years of experience and is very knowledgeable and caring. We continually hear parents, community members, and others from outside our community remark how caring and friendly the staff is and how they can feel this as they walk down the halls of the school building. This is important, as a major role of our school is to make parents and community members feel welcome in our school and to get them involved with the students’ education. A child’s education needs to begin at an early age, and the parents are the primary people responsible for this. Parents get involved early in their child’s education by enrolling their child in our Early Childhood Collaborative Program (ECSE, ECFE, Preschool, and Headstart). In Kindergarten and the primary grades, parents are guest readers in their child’s classroom, are invited to take part in special events in the classroom, and are encouraged to present topics of interest to them. An effort is made to visit places in the business district so community members become active members in each child’s education. As students enter the intermediate grades, they are involved with many opportunities including Jr. Great Books, chess, science trunk presentations, Science Fair competitions, Math Master’s competitions, and many other gifted programs. Many of these are taught or assisted by parents and members of the community. Every student in the school is required to read for 20 minutes a night with their parents. Each student is also required to do Star Testing in both Math and Reading at least twice a year. This is a computerized program that determines an individual’s reading or math level. Once tested, students are then placed in the Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Math programs where they are assigned work at their ability level and then tested. These programs, along with the 20 minutes of at home reading a night, have been very instrumental in out school’s success. Children enjoy the feeling of success when doing assignments according to their ability level, and of being able to meet the goals that they set for themselves. The school provides an Accelerated Reader Store twice a year for the students. They earn points by passing the Accelerated Reader quizzes which can then be used to purchase items at the store.
Over the past decade our school has strived to stay abreast of technology. We have a computer on every teacher’s desk for their use, at least one computer in each classroom for student use, a computer lab with 25 computers, access to the internet on almost every computer in the building and PDAs for each student in our sixth grade class. The PDAs have a wireless Internet connection and are used in the Spelling, Social Studies, and Math curriculum areas. Students are allowed to take them home in the evenings.
PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
1.
Grade 3 Students had the Following Results
Reading: Level I Level IIa Level IIb Level III Level IV
% of students 0% 3% 22% 57% 19%
Math: Level I Level IIa Level IIb Level III Level IV
% of students 0% 3% 16% 59% 22%
These scores indicate that no students were in level I, or at risk of not being able to pass the Basic Skills Tests in 8th grade. Students in this group need supplemental help early to have a good chance of passing the Basic Standards Test the first time. 3% of the third grade students were in level IIa for both reading and math. These students have partial knowledge and some skills necessary to pass the Basic Standards Test. These students may benefit from some supplemental instruction to increase their chances of passing the Basic Skills Tests on their first try. Students in Level IIb are successfully working on grade level and have a good chance of passing the Basic Standards Test on their first try. Students in level III demonstrate competence in knowledge and skill and have a high probability of passing the Basic Skills Tests on their first try. The students in level IV demonstrate advanced performance, knowledge, and skills and have a very high probability of passing the 8th grade Basic Skills Tests the first time. Therefore, 97% of our students in third grade have a good to very good chance of passing the Basic Skills Tests the first time. The remaining 3% may pass the tests without any additional help, or may require some supplemental help to pass the tests the first time.
Grade 5 students had the following test results.
Reading: Level I Level IIa Level IIb Level III Level IV
% of students 3% 18% 9% 44% 26%
Math: Level I Level IIa Level IIb Level III Level IV
% of students 3% 12% 24% 44% 18%
3% of our fifth grade students in both reading and math fell into level I. These students will require supplemental learning opportunities to get them to a level where they will be able to pass the Basic Standards Test the first time. Students in Level IIa have partial knowledge and some skills necessary to pass the Basic Standards Test. These students may benefit from some supplemental instruction to increase their chances of passing the Basic Skills Tests on their first try. Students in Level IIb are successfully working on grade level and have a good chance of passing the Basic Standards Test on their first try. Students in level III demonstrate competence in knowledge and skill and have a high probability of passing the Basic Skills Tests on their first try. The students in level IV demonstrate advanced performance, knowledge, and skills and have a very high probability of passing the 8th grade Basic Skills Tests the first time. In summary, 3% of our students (level I) will likely require supplemental instruction if they are to pass the Basic Skills the first time. Anywhere from 79% to 97 % of the students in Reading and 85% to 97% of the students could likely pass the Basic Skills Tests on the first try without any additional help.