MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TITLE I SCHOOLWIDE PLAN
2011 - 2012
Correlated to the Title I School-wide Checklist
Georgia Title I School-wide Plan
Signature: ______Date: ______
Interim Principal
______Date:______
Executive Director
______Date:______
Education Specialist
______Date:______
Director, Office of Federal Grants and Program Compliance
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TITLE I SCHOOLWIDE PLAN
Correlated to the Title I School-wide Checklist
1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school which addresses all academic areas and other factors that may affect achievement.
We have developed our school-wide plan with the participation of individuals who will carry out the comprehensive school-wide program plan. Those persons involved were the Bethune Faculty and staff. Grade level teams met at the end of the 2010 – 11 school year to review student performance, discuss student’s strengths and deficits, professional development needs, and to identify strategies for academic achievement.
We have used the following instruments, procedures, or processes to obtain this information and this will be done by reviewing any data providing supporting information for the established FY’12 goals (i.e. student attendance, common assessments, benchmark tests, 8-week assessments, Scholastic Reading Inventory, quarterly assessments, weekly teacher-made tests, Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) – third through fifth grades; 3rd and 5th Grade Writing, and Georgia KindergartenInventory of Development Skills (GKIDS)for etc.). The academic performance of the returning students as well as students new to the school will been considered in the establishment of the FY’12 goals. New students are tested to determine their current level of functioning once they enroll in the school.
We have taken into account the needs of migrant children. Presently, the district does not have a migrant population in need of service. If we do receive migrant students, we will contact the district migrant liaison and follow the prescribed procedures.
Bethune Elementary School Performance data on the Spring CRCT 2011 is as follows:
MathMeets and Exceeds 71.5% Econ Disadvantaged70.9%
AYP Meets and Exceed Rates 75.7%
*Met AYP with Confidence Interval
Reading/English Lang Arts 83.7%Econ Disadvantaged83.3%
AYP Meets and Exceed Rates => 80 %
*Met AYP
We have reflected current achievement data that will help the school understand the subjects and skills in which teaching and learning need to be improved.
We have based our plan on information about all students in the school and identified students and groups of students who are not yet achieving to the State academic content standards and the State student academic achievement standards including:
Economically disadvantaged students
Students from major racial and ethnic groups
Students with disabilities
Students with limited English proficiency
The data has helped us reach conclusions regarding achievement and other related data.
A school-wide comprehensive needs assessment was conducted to determine the domains on each grade level where students performed below proficiency. These areas are:
CRCT Domains Bethune Students Were Below Proficiency
GradeDomain
3Numbers and Operations / Science / Social Studies
4Algebra / Data Analysis and Probability
Earth Science
Geography / Economics / Government
5Data Analysis and Probability
Geography / Economics
Second - Fifth Grade Strategies for Improvement
Ensure that students are aware of and utilize content related vocabulary throughout dailylessons and across the curriculum. Needs-based instruction is a part of the daily schedule.
Departmentalization of ELA, Social Studies and Science was a very effective strategy to meet the needs of our fifth graders.
Science fair participation is a requirement with student’s projects aligned to the standards.
Reading
•Writing across the curriculum
•Activate background knowledge to link learning – text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world; determining importance
•Incorporate Question Answer Relationship (QAR) strategy – textually explicit information, textually implicit, or use of background knowledge
•Reading for Information – teach strands for comprehending non-fictional text
Math
•Data analysis and probability – teach students higher order thinking skills through analysis – patterns, trends, relationships, comparisons, contrasts
•Emphasize the use of content related vocabulary
•Use of manipulatives / hands on activities to imbed geometry
Science
•Establish science labs on each grade level for students to actively engage in project-based learning
•Teach content related vocabulary and integrate the science content across the curriculum
•Ensure students understand the scientific process and its importance
Social Studies
•Teach maps skills and an understanding of geography
Needs Assessment for Kindergarteners
•Transition classes for Pre-k to Kindergarten; Kindergarten to First - July
•Learning Labs (small group) to meet specific needs of students
Needs Assessment for First Graders
•Reading Intervention for struggling readers / Implement Accelerated Reading
•Numbers and operations
•Hands on Science Lab
•Teacher-made pre-post test to monitor progress
Our target population is those students who did not meet grade level standards. In grades 3 – 5, our goal is to ensure that students meet standards on the 2012 CRCT. Our second target population is those students who meet standards on the CRCT. Our goal for them is to ensure that they exceed on the 2012CRCT. The number of students exceeding standards is showing incremental gains each year.
The data has helped us reach conclusions regarding achievement or other related data.
- The major strengths we found in our program were that students benefitted greatly from our researched-based Success for All literacy program and the on-going support of the SFA Literacy Coach. Students performing significantly below grade level receive an additional 30-45 minutes of instruction three days per week to work on reading deficiencies.
- The strategies used in SFA also benefitted our students in other content areas: higher order questioning, making inferences, problem solving, drawing conclusions, understanding cause and effect; the use of graphic organizers to help students organize their thinking, think alouds, writing across the content, and vocabulary development.
Our other strengths are that students who have been identified as needing additional support in reading and math receive tutoring during our Accelerated Support Program (ASP), our corporate partners who tutor students, as well the Everybody Wins power lunch program for third, fourth, and fifth graders to increase their reading comprehension.
- The major needs we discovered were that students who had high mobility rates needed lots of supports which include assessments immediately to determine their proficiency levels and to provide remediation as quickly as possible. We continue to need to focus on numbers and operations in math across all grade levels. While our students are making progress, proficiency levels are below AYP rates of 75%. The Math Coach is a significant team member who coordinates professional development in math to build teacher capacity to ensure they can effectively teach math content so that students can demonstrate mastery when the content is presented in multiple formats. We learned that students need to continue to record in journals after daily lessons, beginning in first grade, as a review of what they learned and discovered. Teachers need to continue to use assessment data and have students to explain their thinking so that we can correct any misconceptions. Wrong answers provide a wealth of knowledge of how students are processing information. Our students continue to need hands on experiences through projects, team collaborations and presentations so that they learn from each other, work as teams and can discover and discuss what they have learned, and ask questions. Teachers also need to ask students higher order questions to promote critical thinking skills.
All 3rd -5th grade students in the school will receive an additional 45 minute block of needs-based instruction in math and/or reading daily.
Weekly assessment data, benchmarks are analyzed by students and by grade level with each team to determine areas of improvement and to determine, instructional focus areas, and various strategies to re-teach the standard.
Students receive differentiated instruction in fluid groups to ensure that they master standards. Third through fifth graders attend the Bethune Eagles Academy Mondays and Thursdays and engage in an additional 2 hours per day of reading, mathematics and science instruction.
- The needs we will address are those listed in b.
- The specific academic needs of those students that are to be addressed in the school-wide program plan will be literacy and numeracy.
- The root cause/sthat we discovered for each of these needs was that student lacked a strong command of phonics, had low fluency rates, limited vocabulary, which results in low comprehension levels.
In mathematics, we found that students were good at computation, however, when the same problem was presented in the form of a word problem, their proficiency levels dropped.
2.School-wide reform strategies that are scientifically researched based.
2(a) Provide opportunities for all children in the school to meet or exceed Georgia’s proficient and advanced levels of student performance.
Bethune Elementary School is a Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams). Components of our comprehensive reform model includes a 90 minute literacy block, Success for All (SFA), our core reading/writing program; MOVE IT MATH, 75 minutes of interactive math instruction, Consistency Management Cooperative Discipline (CMCD) school-wide, and Communities in School, specific support for students and their families. Our reform models is funded with Title I funds.
Students also receive instruction in English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.
Every classroom teacher receives and analyzes the results of their students performance data. Students are grouped according to their needs and are provided targeted support in the areas where they have deficiencies. Data is maintained to determine when students have mastered the content. Grouping is fluid so that as students progress, their grouping changes. Teachers provide more direct support to students who are underperforming. The use of technology in integrated into instruction for remediation and acceleration. Grade level teams meet weekly to analyze weekly performance results and to determine which strands need to be retaught and those needing acceleration.
Grade level teams meet weekly with the math and literacy coach to review upcoming standards to be taught. Grade level teams also analyze weekly assessments to determine student progress in science, social studies, and English language arts.
The six elements of an effective lesson ClassKeys are reviewed with all faculty and staff, with teachers dialoging about what these expectations actual look like in a classroom. Every teacher is observed and provided feedback using this form.
1.The lesson objectives and/or Essential Questions are aligned to the grade level standard and effectively communicated to all students so they are aware of what they should know and be able to do.
2.Instructional activities are aligned with the appropriate level of rigor for each standard, the grade level. Lessons are differentiated based on the student’s various levels of proficiency.
3.Lessons must be related to real life experiences of students.
4.A variety of instructional activities must include meaningful student engagement, student collaborations and leadership, opportunities for independent work/research, and integration of technology.
5.Questioning must go beyond simple recall; requiring students to make inferences, problem solve, synthesize, evaluate, make prediction, and draw conclusions.
6.Multiple measures are employed to assess student performance, to inform students of how well they are doing, and to inform/alter instructional effectiveness/practices based on student outcomes.
7.Lesson closure must reviews the instructional objective and previews the next lesson cycle.
On-going observations and feedback is given to teachers by the principal, the instructional coaches, model teacher leaders, and district level mentors, to ensure we have high levels of teaching and learning. Coaches teamteach in areas where teachers have demonstrated deficiencies in teaching various content or are in need of support. Areas that need improvement are targeted by student, by grade level, and school-wide to determine trends and/or misconceptions to design a plan of improvement.
District scope and sequence charts are followed to ensure all students are presented the Georgia Performance Standards as outlined. Standards are broken down into smaller components called elements. This allows us to clearly delineate where students are struggling and how to extend learning for students who are excelling. Lesson extensions are presented in the form of “menus” so that students who finish early can enhance their learning independently.
Rubrics are given to students so that they are aware of expectations. This also is a mechanism for students to assess their performance levels and to make corrections prior to submitting their assignments.
Teachers have created grade level “blogs”, and incorporate the use of various sites on the internet to include United Streaming, GOAS to expose students to interactive web-based lessons. Students are aware of expectations and can complete assignments using the computers and the promethean boards to gain immediate feedback on their performance levels.
..2(b)are based upon effective means of raising student achievement.
A daily instructional block for each subject area is utilized. Flexible grouping is employed across the curriculum based on both weekly and eight-week assessments (i.e. Scholastic Reading Inventory, MOVE IT Math Quick Checks and Quarterly Assessments, weekly assessments in ELA, science, social studies; performance tasks, portfolios, benchmark assessments).
Every eight weeks, students will take an assessment to determine skills mastery. Students that attain mastery will move to the next skill level group. Subsequent group placements will be based on these assessments. Differentiation will also be based on multiple measures to include student performance data, teacher evaluations, progress monitoring, benchmark data, etc. Students exceeding standards will receive more rigorous assignments and differentiated instruction and work. Students who do not meet standards will receive additional support from their teacher that is scaffolded at the necessary level for them to master the content. Targeted students will also receive tutoring, and/or four additional hours of instruction per week in the extended school day program.
Grouping and regrouping strategies will be used based on collected data. Flexible grouping will include, small groups, cooperative groups, and individualized instruction based on assessed instructional needs. Multiple instructional strategies will be utilized to document student progress.
Writing will be implemented across the curriculum on a daily basis. Using the CUPS method (capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling), the students will participate in the writing process using a variety of genres. Some examples of writing instruction will include, but is not limited to, narrative, descriptive, persuasive, expository, and technicalwriting. Mock writing samples will be conducted monthly for fifth graders.
2(c) Use effective instructional methods that increase the quality and amount of learning time.
Student diagnostic data will be used to determine targeted professional development specifically in reading and all other content areas. An annual professional development calendar is generated based on compiled data from multiple sources.
Teachers receive on-going professional development in the core content areas through weekly math training with our MOVE IT MATH Coach, and in reading with our Success for All Facilitator during common planning. Science, social studies and additional math training is provided to staff through the redelivery model from designated content teachers in these subject areas as well as the coaches and model teacher leaders after district level professional development. Specific science and social studies lessons are redelivered. Follow-up observations of these lessons are conducted by the principal and coaches feedback provided to teachers using the ClassKeys, and content specific observation tools.
Flexible grouping is a component of every lesson. The content is delivered to students with guided practice. Then students are divided into differentiated groups to provide the necessary support students need to master the standard. Students work collaboratively teams and assume various leadership roles within their teams. Teachers dialogue with individuals and small groups to extent learning and to have student analyze their work.
Instruction is bell-to-bell. The media specialist provides students with specific instruction. Non-core teachers integrate core content subjects in their instruction. Four additional hours of instruction are provided to students weekly in third through fifth grades. Students in kindergarten through second grades receive support for our teachers and paraprofessionals, EIP teachers, Hands on Atlanta staff for reading during the school day and in the after school day program, and in the YMCA after school program.
Based on students’ CRCT scale scores and other performance data, instruction will be delivered to accommodate student’s instructional needs as appropriate. For those students who are not on grade level, additional instructional time will be provided to include pull out, after -school, and tutoring. Students who are pulled out for remediation at various times so they do not miss core content areas daily. Classroom teachers provide support for students who miss a lesson through homework assignments and center time.
They will continue to receive targeted instruction that includes higher order questioning, summarization and note taking. Graphic organizers will be used throughout the school day to help students organize their thinking. Strategies for acceleration in order to move students into higher performance levels will be incorporated.
2(d) Address the needs of all children, particularly targeted population and address how the school will determine if such needs have been met and are consistent with improvement plans approved under the Educate America Act.