The Single Plan for Student Achievement
La Costa Heights Elementary School
37 68080 6106132
CDS Code
Date of this revision: October 2011
This Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is a plan of actions to raise the academic performance of all students and improve the school’s educational program.
For additional information on school programs and how you may become involved locally, please contact the following person:
Contact Person: Leighangela Brady
Position: Principal
Telephone Number: (760) 944-4375
Address: 3035 Levante St.
Carlsbad, CA 92009
E-mail Address:
Encinitas Union School District
The District Governing Board approved this revision of the School Plan on ______
La Costa Heights Elementary School
Single Plan for Student Achievement
Table of Contents
Area / Requirement / PageBackground Information / Title Page / 1
Table of Contents / 2-3
School mission/vision / 4
School profile / 5
SARC report / 6
School Site Council
Membership Chart / 6
School Site Council
Assurances, and Signature Page / 7
School Site Council
By-Laws / 8-12
Analysis of Current
Educational Practice / 13-14
Federal, state, and local data and analysis / API / 15
AYP / 16
ELA / 17-20
Math / 21-24
Title-III and CELDT / 25
Science / 26
PE / 26-27
Schoolwide Target(s)
Goals / Goal #1/ Assessment
ELA- Overall and Cluster
Targeted Improvement Areas / 28
ELA Plan & Action,
• Alignment of instruction with content standards
• Improvement of instructional strategies and materials
• Extended learning time
• Increased educational opportunity
• Staff development and professional collaboration:
• Involvement of staff, parents and community:
• Auxiliary services for students and parents:
• Monitoring program implementation and results / 29-31
Goal #2/ Assessment
Math- Overall and Cluster
Targeted Improvement Areas / 32
Math Plan & Action,
• Alignment of instruction with content standards
• Improvement of instructional strategies and materials
• Extended learning time
• Increased educational opportunity
• Staff development and professional collaboration:
• Involvement of staff, parents and community:
• Auxiliary services for students and parents:
• Monitoring program implementation and results / 33-35
Goal #3/ Assessment
English Learners- Overall and Cluster
Targeted Improvement Areas / 36
ELA Plan & Action,
• Alignment of instruction with content standards
• Improvement of instructional strategies and materials
• Extended learning time
• Increased educational opportunity
• Staff development and professional collaboration:
• Involvement of staff, parents and community:
• Auxiliary services for students and parents:
• Monitoring program implementation and results / 37-39
Budget / All categorical funds available to school / 40
Centralized Services Expenditures / 41
La Costa Heights Elementary School
Mission:
Our mission at La Costa Heights is to foster confident students who celebrate learning as a lifelong experience. Our students are educated in a positive and caring environment that promotes the achievement of their personal best. We will provide a sense of community while embracing global competencies of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity in a rigorous academic environment.
School Vision:
La Costa Heights will be known as a school where children come first. We will be a school of teacher leaders who work collaboratively to create an atmosphere which holds high expectations for all students, and where each child feels valued for his/her individual strengths. We will welcome the collaborative efforts of staff, parents, and community members to provide unique and challenging programs for our students.
La Costa Heights’ students will be immersed in a thinking, meaning-centered curriculum, which demonstrates relevance to their lives, provides in-depth experiences in all curricular areas, and provides a firm foundation for future learning. Students will be immersed in the technological world, which will build strong skills and enhance thinking and learning. Each child will develop as a whole person and advance his/her own creativity. Instruction will recognize developmental stages and individual differences, giving students the skills to problem-solve and make choices. Students will learn to appreciate diversity in people and experiences through the instruction of life skills incorporating honesty, teamwork, perseverance, and self-reliance.
As a child-centered school, we will take pride and ownership in sharing a commitment and responsibility for educating our students and preparing them for higher learning. Working as a team, we will continue on our quest of our vision: students, teachers, parents, and community members working collaboratively at La Costa Heights to create an atmosphere where learning reaches new heights.
School Profile:
Encinitas Union School District serves the City of Encinitas and the La Costa area of Carlsbad in North San Diego County. Although located in the city of Carlsbad, La Costa Heights Elementary is actually one of nine schools in the impressive Encinitas Union School District. All of the District’s schools have been recognized as California Distinguished Schools, and La Costa Heights has also been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School.
We offer a full academic program from kindergarten through sixth grade to approximately 680 students. Here at La Costa Heights we echo the district motto: Together helping children reach for the stars. Our rigorous curriculum and enrichment opportunities sustain us in fulfilling this mission. Children explore and demonstrate their abilities through challenging academic activities as well as creative art, music, drama, PE, and multimedia experiences.
School hours are extended Monday through Thursday to allow for weekly modified days on Friday. These days serve as collaboration days for the staff to meet as grade levels, in vertical teams, or to partake in professional development. Conversations center around student needs and decisions are made based on formative data analysis. Modified Fridays are also used to align state standards with curriculum, review current research, establish performance standards, and share effective instructional strategies that are assessed through multiple measures.
LCH teachers also participate in PILOT teams (Passion Inspired Learning Opportunity Teams). These vertical teams of teachers organize themselves by individual interest to conduct action research aimed at gaining a deeper knowledge of our top identified school initiatives. Research areas include written communication, character education/global citizenship, English Language Development, math acceleration, response to intervention, and grade level collaboration. Each PILOT team will design a professional development opportunity for the staff to share the findings of their research.
La Costa Heights has an active volunteer base. Volunteers regularly serve on the PTA (Parent Teacher Association), ELAC (English Learner advisory Committee), SSC (School Site Council), EEF (Encinitas Education Foundation), and various committees such as safety, wellness, technology, green team, and garden. Volunteers also help to support students in classrooms and assist in school activities. LCH partners with the YMCA to provide Playground Partners support at lunchtime.
The teachers and staff are dedicated to ensuring the academic success of every student and providing a safe and productive learning experience. We offer a variety of choices for after-school enrichment including band, art, chess club, Zumba, Spanish, Mandarin, and karate. For struggling students, we provide intervention assistance both during the day and after school through the research-based programs Success Maker and Read Naturally. Our school facilities are also used by a wide variety of community organizations such as Robotics Club and Scouts.
School Accountability Report Card (SARC)
The purpose of the report card is to provide parents and the community with important information about each public school. A SARC can be an effective way for a school to report on its progress toward achieving goals. The public may also use a SARC to evaluate and compare schools on a variety of indicators. A Spanish version immediately follows the English version.
To view the current La Costa Heights SARC (2009-2010) please visit us at
http://encinitas.schoolwisepress.com/home/site.aspx?entity=21771&year=2010&locale=en-US
School Site Council Membership
Education Code Section 64001(g) requires that the SPSA be reviewed and updated at least annually, including proposed expenditures of funds allocated to the school through the Consolidated Application, by the school site council. The current make-up of the school site council is as follows:
Teacher / Other School Staff / Parent or
Community
Member
Chris Possemato / X
Kristen Kirschenmann / X
Sandra Chapman / X
Marlene Carter / X
Ann Swan / X
Katinka Kight / X
Debbie Pinter / X
Audra Hokunson / X
Kelly Caponetto / X
Leighangela Brady / X
Numbers of members of each category / 1 / 3 / 1 / 5
School Site Council
Bylaws
Revised and Approved 9/1/11
Mission Statement:
We believe that teachers, parents, administration, and the students share in the responsibility of education at La Costa Heights Elementary School. The SSC at LCH will improve student achievement by supporting teaching and learning in the classroom and community through teamwork and collaboration.
Article I
Name of Council
The name of the governance shall be the La Costa Heights SSC
Article II
Role of the Council
The SSC will develop and maintain a school improvement plan to help all students learn the core curriculum as established by the district and state. The School Site Council shall have ongoing responsibility to review with the principal, teachers, other personnel and community members the implementation of the school improvement plan and to assess annually the effectiveness of the plan. The SSC shall recommend the SPSA and expenditures to the Governing Board for approval. Modifications or any improvement of the plan or budget shall be developed, recommended, and approved or disapproved in the same manner. The school improvement plan shall monitor the SLIP and Donation budgets to be sure all expenditures match the site improvement plan. The council shall carry out all other duties and responsibilities assigned to it in the Education Code of the State of California – Section 52853 and the EUSD Governing Board.
Article III
Membership
Section 1 – Size and Composition
The School Site Council shall be composed of at least (10) members selected by their peers as follows:
• Three Classroom Teachers
• One School Representative
• Five Community Members
• The School Principal
Council members representing parents and/or community members may be employees of the school district, but may not serve as a parent representative at the site of employment. Special consideration may be voted upon to increase the council to a maximum of 14 members as decided by the council.
Section 2 – Election Procedures
Selection Process-General Election
1. Parent Constituent Groups
· Parents may nominate or self-nominate
· In the general election of the parents at large, ballots will be sent home either by hardcopy or electronically; ballots will be returned within seven calendar days to the office.
· A notice of the newly elected members will be published.
2. Elections will be held in June for parent/community and September for teacher representatives.
3. Officers will be elected by the members at the first meeting of their term of office.
4. Principal will serve as co-chair.
Section 3 – Term of Office
It shall be the duty of all council members to attend all regular and special School Site Council meetings. Members have the responsibility to meet with their respective groups to ensure that various interests are represented.
Term of Office
· Members are elected to serve a 2-year term.
· Terms will go from August through June.
· Members are eligible for reelection at the end of their term.
· At the first regular meeting of the council, each member’s current term of office shall be recorded in the minutes.
Section 4 – Responsibility
· Ensure the representation of all constituents (parents, students, classified and certificated staff) in making policies, which affect the educational success of students.
· Attend all meetings on time and stay for the duration of the meeting
· Report and communicate with all constituencies through the minutes and/or verbal communication
· Share duties/responsibilities
· Notify the chairperson prior to any absence
· Come to each meeting prepared to discuss and/or vote on issues published in the agenda prior to the meeting date.
Section 5 – Resignation
Any member may resign by filing a written resignation to the School Site council co-chairpersons.
Section 6 – Termination of Membership
Upon a parity vote, a member shall no longer hold membership should s/he cease to be a resident of Encinitas Union School District or no longer meet the membership requirements under which s/he was selected; e.g., a parent becomes employed by the site. Membership can be terminated for any member who is absent from all regular meetings for a period of two consecutive meetings or for persistent failure to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in Article III Section 4 of these by laws.
Section 7 – Vacancy
A staff vacancy will be filled by a peer election at the next appropriate staff meeting or the chairperson may appoint someone to complete the term. Elected alternates in the order of most votes received will fill a parent vacancy, or if there are no alternates, the chairperson can appoint a parent to complete the term. The remainder of the term will not count toward a full school year term.
Section 8 - Vote
Each member shall be entitled to one vote. Only School site Council members shall vote on SSC issues. Absentee votes or proxy votes shall not be permitted. Email votes will be permitted only when impossible to gather members for a meeting. All voting will be documented and distributed to all SSC members.
Article IV
Meetings
Section 1 – Regular Meetings
The SSC shall meet at least 5–9 times a year while school is in session. The Chairperson and Principal shall determine the meeting dates and times.
Section 2 – Agenda
The agenda will be coordinated with input from the chairperson and principal. Any community or staff member may present items to the chairperson or principal. Presented items must be submitted on the approved SSC comment form. The agenda will be posted at least 72 hours before each meeting. Public communication must be a part of every agenda as well the place and time of the meeting. Items not in the agenda cannot be voted on.
Section 3 – Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called by the chairperson or by the majority vote of the SSC.
Section 4 – Place of Meetings
The SSC shall hold its regular meetings and its special meetings in a facility provided by the school, and readily accessible by all members of the public, including handicapped persons.