U.S. Department of Education November 2002September 2003
2003-2004 No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Cover Sheet
Name of Principal Mrs. Darla Bryant
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the official records)
Official School Name Walcott Elementary School
(As it should appear in the official records)
School Mailing Address 4275 Hwy 214 ______
(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address)
Hereford TX 79045 -7705
City State Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)
Tel. ( 806 )289-5222 Fax ( 806)289-5224
Website/URL: http://penick.tea.state.tx.us/schooldistrictlocator/ISD/walcott.asp?page=1 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.
Date______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent* Dr. Bill Mc Laughlin
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
District Name Walcott ISD Tel. ( 806)289-5222
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.
Date______(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board
President/Chairperson Mr. John Perrin (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.
Date______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
PART I ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
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
All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 12 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: __1__ Elementary schools
_____ Middle schools
_____ Junior high schools
_____ High schools
_____ Other (Briefly explain)
___1__ TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: $4466.00
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: $5030.00
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
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
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ * ] Rural
4. 3 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 / 10 / 7 / 17 / 7
1 / 11 / 10 / 21 / 8
2 / 11 / 12 / 23 / 9
3 / 10 / 14 / 24 / 10
4 / 8 / 10 / 18 / 11
5 / 8 / 14 / 22 / 12
6 / 5 / 11 / 16 / Pre K / 11 / 7 / 18
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL ® / 159
6. Racial/ethnic composition of 48.4 % White
the students in the school: .6 % Black or African American
49.7 % Hispanic or Latino
1.3 % Asian/Pacific Islander
0 % American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 12.5 %
(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. / 11(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 9
(3) / Subtotal of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 20
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 159
(5) / Subtotal in row (3) divided by total in row (4) / 0.125
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 / 12.5
8. Limited English Proficient students in the school: 6.3 %
10 Total Number Limited English Proficient
Number of languages represented: ___1_____
Specify languages: Spanish
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 57.3 %
91 Total Number Students Who Qualify
If this method does not produce a reasonably accurate estimate of the percentage of students from lowincome families or the school does not participate in the federallysupported lunch program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: 9.4 %
15 Total Number of Students Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
____Autism ____Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness ____Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness 7 Specific Learning Disability
____Hearing Impairment 8 Speech or Language Impairment
____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 ___1____
Classroom teachers ___7______1____
Special resource teachers/specialists ___1______
Paraprofessionals ______1___
Support staff ___3______1____
Total number ___12______4____
12. Average school student-“classroom teacher” ratio: _19.9___
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. The student dropout rate is defined by the state. The student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout rate and the drop-off rate. (Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates and only high schools need to supply drop-off rates.)
2002-2003 / 2001-2002 / 2000-2001 / 1999-2000 / 1998-1999Daily student attendance / 97.0 / 97.4 / 96.6 / 97.2 / 97.6
Daily teacher attendance / 99.2 / 98.7 / 98.7 / 99.2 / 98.0
Teacher turnover rate / 0% / 12% / 0% / 12% / 0%
Student dropout rate / NA / NA / NA / NA / NA
Student drop-off rate / NA / NA / NA / NA / NA
PART III SUMMARY
Provide a brief, coherent narrative snapshot of the school in one page (approximately 475 words). Include at least a summary of the school’s mission or vision in the statement.
Walcott Elementary is an independent school district located in Deaf Smith County. Walcott is located thirty- five miles west of Hereford, Texas. There is no town where Walcott is located. Dry land farmland and lots of ranches surround our school district. We are an unusual school district because every one of our students is bussed into our school. Some students travel as little as ten miles to school, while others travel as far as forty five miles.
Walcott ISD has a tradition of academic excellence with our district performing at the Exemplary level for many years. The mission statement for Walcott is as follows: Every child belongs at Walcott and every child shall have the opportunity to demonstrate his or her learning, skills, and talents. Walcott provides a varied and appropriate curriculum aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). We encourage parent involvement in the educational process. Walcott assumes accountability for students, parents and all school personnel. Working together our students become life long learners, enhancing the quality of their lives.
The faculty at Walcott Elementary is the contributing factor to the success of our students. Our nine teachers are committed to student achievement and their own advancements in education. All our teachers are English as a Second Language (ESL) and Gift and Talented (GT) certified. We also have two teachers who hold Masters degrees and one in the process. Our teachers have high expectations for each and every student. Walcott teachers make sure that each student has the opportunity to succeed. Our teachers are not satisfied if our students are not performing at the appropriate grade level. Walcott teachers go above and beyond to help their students reach their academic potential. Our teachers work to disaggregate test data and identify students based on state reports. By analyzing the Texas Learning Index (TLI) scores and early predictors’ scores such as the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI), our teachers have information to develop individualized plans for instruction in the classroom as well as information to help parents with assistance at home. Our school mission is to provide every opportunity for students to succeed. If our teachers see a student showing regression or non-mastery, then they work to provide every opportunity for that student to get back on track and to once again be successful. Walcott teachers are available each morning from 8:00 to 8:20 for tutorials. Any student who is having difficulty may visit the teacher and receive extra assistance. Walcott also offers a summer school program for six weeks. Students in third through sixth grade who do not pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test are required to attend. Teachers from Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade may also recommend any student who they feel needs extra assistance. It is Walcott’s hope that this extra time and assistance will help students improve weaknesses and have students better prepared for the coming school year. We at Walcott believe that “No Child Should Be Left Behind” and we work diligently to promote this philosophy.
PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
1. Describe in one page the meaning of the school’s assessment results in reading (language arts or English) and mathematics in such a way that someone not intimately familiar with the tests can easily understand them.
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is a completely reconceived testing program. It includes more of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) than the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) did and attempts to ask questions in more authentic ways. TAKS has been developed to better reflect good instructional practice and more accurately measure student learning. The development of the TAKS program has included extensive public scrutiny and input from Texas teachers, administrators, parents, members of the business community, professional education organizations, faculty and staff at Texas colleges and universities, and national content-area experts. The agency has taken steps to involve as many stakeholders as possible in the development of TAKS because it is a responsibility that must be shared if this new assessment is to be an equitable and accurate measure of learning for all Texas public school students. The TAKS measures academic skills in reading and mathematics at Grades 3 through 8 and at the exit level, writing at Grades 4 and 7, and at exit level, science at Grades 5, 10 and 11. In addition, Spanish-version TAKS tests are administered in reading, mathematics, and writing to eligible Limited English Proficient students as determined by their LPAC committees. The State Board of Education adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), as Texas’s new statewide curriculum. The TAKS test has been designed to be a demanding measure of student progress in learning the TEKS and will be aligned with the new federal requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation.
The State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) is an assessment developed by the Texas Education Agency to evaluate the academic progress of students receiving special education services. This test is given to students enrolled in grades 3 through 8 who are receiving instruction in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in a subject area tested by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), but for whom TAKS, even with allowable accommodations, is not an appropriate measure of academic achievement. SDAA includes the instructional levels of Kindergarten through grade 8 and is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum. Students enrolled in grades 3 through 8 are assessed in reading and mathematics at their appropriate instructional levels. In addition, students enrolled in grades 4 and 7 are assessed in writing at their appropriate instructional level. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA ’97) called for the inclusion of students with disabilities in statewide assessment and accountability systems. The 75th Texas Legislature enacted a law that required the development and administration of the State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA). This law specifies who is eligible for the assessment and how assessments are selected for each student.