2009 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / [X ]Elementary / []Middle / []High / []K-12 / []Other
[]Charter / [X]Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mr. Ira R. Gentry, Jr.
Official School Name: Oakland Elementary School
School Mailing Address:
4930 Pipers Gap Road
Galax, VA 24333-5746
County: United States State School Code Number*: 018-1130
Telephone: (276) 236-3049 Fax: (276) 236-5367
Web site/URL: http://www.ccpsd.k12.va.us/school/oes/E-mail:
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date
(Principal‘s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Dr. James G. Smith
District Name: Carroll County Public Schools Tel: (276) 730-3200
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(Superintendent‘s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mr. Reginald Gardner
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(School Board President‘s/Chairperson‘s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
Original signed cover sheet only should be mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as USPS Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, NCLB-Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.
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 for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2008-2009 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2003.
6. The nominated school has not received the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. 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 OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. 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.
10. 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 DATAAll data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 1-2 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: / 6 / Elementary schools2 / Middle schools
1 / Junior high schools
1 / High schools
0 / Other
10 / TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 9530
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: 10584
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
[ X ] Rural
4. 7 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 as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 10 / 8 / 18 / 7 / 0
K / 17 / 16 / 33 / 8 / 0
1 / 23 / 16 / 39 / 9 / 0
2 / 23 / 11 / 34 / 10 / 0
3 / 19 / 14 / 33 / 11 / 0
4 / 23 / 13 / 36 / 12 / 0
5 / 12 / 17 / 29 / Other / 0
6 / 0
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 222
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 0 / % American Indian or Alaska Native
0 / % Asian
0 / % Black or African American
16 / % Hispanic or Latino
0 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
82 / % White
2 / % Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 16%
This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until theend of the year. / 22
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 14
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 36
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 222
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.162
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 16.216
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 15%
Total number limited English proficient 34
Number of languages represented: 2
Specify languages:
Spanish, Thai
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 73%
Total number students who qualify: 161
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-price school meals 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: 16%
Total Number of Students Served: 36
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
0 / Autism / 8 / Orthopedic Impairment0 / Deafness / 10 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 6 / Specific Learning Disability
1 / Emotional Disturbance / 23 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 1 / Traumatic Brain Injury
0 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
10 / Multiple Disabilities / 10 / Developmentally Delayed
11. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of StaffFull-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 1 / 0
Classroom teachers / 13 / 3
Special resource teachers/specialists / 7 / 4
Paraprofessionals / 4 / 0
Support staff / 7 / 1
Total number / 32 / 8
12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 17 :1
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any attendance rates under 95%, teacher turnover rates over 12%, or student dropout rates over 5%.
2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006 / 2004-2005 / 2003-2004Daily student attendance / 96% / 95% / 96% / 96% / 96%
Daily teacher attendance / 95% / 94% / 95% / 92% / 95%
Teacher turnover rate / 12% / 15% / 0% / 23% / 0%
Please provide all explanations below.
Teacher attendance rate 2006-2007 flu throughout the school
Teacher attendance rate 2004-2005 one maternity leave
Teacher turnover rate school year 2006-2007: two transfers within the system and two resignations due to other employment
Teacher turnover rate school year 2004-2005: four retirements, two transfers (one within the system and one to another system)
14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).
Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2008 are doing as of the Fall 2008.
Graduating class size / 0Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 0 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 0 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 0 / %
Found employment / 0 / %
Military service / 0 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 0 / %
Unknown / 0 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
Oakland Elementary School, one of six elementary schools in the Carroll County Public Schools, is located in Pipers Gap, a rural community in the Blue Ridge Mountains about five miles southeast of Galax, Virginia, near the North Carolina border.
Our school began in 1900 as a humble one-room building called Woods School. In 1920, it was replaced by a two-room school and renamed Oakland. The present brick facility was constructed in 1953, with additions in 1968. As part of the division wide school improvement plan in 1999, extensive renovations began and were completed in 2001. The building program remodeled the existing cafeteria and classrooms and added a new art room, computer lab, library, gym, music room/stage, office complex, clinic, four classrooms, and bathrooms. With the present facilities, the school offers a comprehensive program which provides a variety of learning experiences for all students as well as providing opportunities for community participation in after-school activities, including family gatherings, meetings, sports, and special events.
Oakland presently serves 222 students in pre-kindergarten through grade five. In past years, the primary employers of the area were textile mills and furniture manufacturing companies that have now closed or relocated overseas, contributing to a high unemployment and poverty rate. Our area is also home to an increasing number of Hispanic families, comprising16 percent of our total school population. Oakland has the highest percentage enrollment of English Language Learners (ELL) in our division.
Currently, 73 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Because of our high poverty index and continued low test scores, Oakland received a Comprehensive School Reform Grant in 1999 and became the only Title I Schoolwide School in our division. In 2003, Oakland received a Reading First Grant for three years. In 2005 and continuing through 2008, the school received a 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) grant for after-school tutoring for those students needing additional help in Standards of Learning (SOL) subjects. We take great pride that a collaborative effort of students, staff, parents, and community support has produced increasing passing rates on state SOL testing as well as an increasing number of students with perfect scores on the SOL tests (8 in 2005-2006, 24 in 2006-2007, and 40 in 2007-2008). The Oakland Panthers have also met or exceeded national standards for making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), resulting in full accreditation for the last three years. Oakland Elementary School has been fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 1972.
Our motto "Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow" encapsulates our stated mission of providing learning experiences in a nurturing environment that enable all students to achieve and become productive, responsible, lifelong learners. With respect to our student population and the many issues and problems they must face not only at school but also within the home environment, Oakland seeks to incorporate a holistic approach to foster each child's development and success. To address the academic needs of all Oakland students, systemic changes have occurred in our school, including horizontal/vertical planning and analyzing and disseminating formative and summative test data. Programs that promote physical health include our Walking Program and the Cafeteria program focusing on healthy food choices. The guidance counselor focuses on the emotional well being by providing activities such as stress management and test taking skills, character development, drug awareness, and social skills. Family Preservation counselors assist students in the classroom with behavioral problems as well as provide family support. Cultural and social growth are promoted through 21st CCLC, 4-H, Home Alone, Parks as Classroom, and local areas of interest that develop an appreciation for our heritage. Our highly qualified staff and numerous volunteers ensure that all students are engaged and supported in differentiated instruction and cooperative learning opportunities to cultivate successful and productive citizens.