2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / []Charter / [X]Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mr. Daren Christianson
Official School Name: Barnes County North - North Central Campus
School Mailing Address:
10860 20 1/2 St. SE
Rogers, ND 58479-0001
County: Barnes County State School Code Number*: 02-007-6118
Telephone: (701) 646-6202 Fax: (701) 646-6566
Web site/URL: http://www.barnescountynorth.k12.nd.us/index.htmlE-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*: Mr. Doug Jacobson
District Name: Barnes County North Tel: (701) 646-6202
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: Ms. Lori Carlson
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.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. 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 2009-2010 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 2004.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009.
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: (per district designation) / 1 / Elementary schools (includes K-8)Middle/Junior high schools
High schools
2 / K-12 schools
3 / TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 15410
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. 5 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position 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 / 5 / 5 / 10 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 15
K / 9 / 5 / 14 / 7 / 8 / 6 / 14
1 / 7 / 3 / 10 / 8 / 9 / 6 / 15
2 / 4 / 6 / 10 / 9 / 2 / 3 / 5
3 / 3 / 6 / 9 / 10 / 4 / 9 / 13
4 / 0 / 8 / 8 / 11 / 2 / 7 / 9
5 / 5 / 7 / 12 / 12 / 7 / 5 / 12
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 156
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / % American Indian or Alaska Native
% Asian
2 / % Black or African American
% Hispanic or Latino
% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
98 / % White
% 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: 8%
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. / 9
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 2
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 11
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 143
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.077
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 7.692
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 0%
Total number limited English proficient 0
Number of languages represented: 0
Specify languages:
The North Central campus does not have any limited English proficient students.
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 41%
Total number students who qualify: 64
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: 12%
Total Number of Students Served: 19
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 / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment0 / Deafness / 2 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 8 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 7 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 0 / Traumatic Brain Injury
2 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / 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 / 17 / 2
Special resource teachers/specialists / 3 / 0
Paraprofessionals / 2 / 0
Support staff / 5 / 0
Total number / 28 / 2
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 9 :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%.
2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006 / 2004-2005Daily student attendance / 97% / 95% / 96% / 96% / 94%
Daily teacher attendance / 96% / 96% / 96% / 96% / 96%
Teacher turnover rate / 11% / 6% / 6% / 6% / 0%
Student dropout rate / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Please provide all explanations below.
Attendance for our staff and students can vary due to illness associated with seasonal flu and other general issues. With our small numbers of teachers and students these viral type of issues can negatively effect our attendance as when one student may come to school ill and pass the illness to half of their class or to staff. Truancy is not an issue in our school.
14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).
Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2009 are doing as of the Fall 2009.
Graduating class size / 8Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 57 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 0 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 0 / %
Found employment / 43 / %
Military service / 0 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 0 / %
Unknown / 0 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
The North Central School was formed in 1963 and built on a 40-acre donated plot of land in a central location of the district. Because the school is not situated in any of the small towns within the district, all of the students are either bussed or drive to school. The school demographics consist of mainly low-income (over 43 percent free or reduced lunch) students living on farms or within the small towns throughout the district. Students come from a variety of family units including single parents, foster parents, grandparents, and dual parent families.
One of the strengths of the school is its highly trained and effective teaching staff, which is willing to try and use new scientifically based teaching methods. The staff has a deep commitment to excellence and has high expectations of its students. They have also made a concerted effort to evaluate the results from the assessments used by the district to drive instruction and modify instruction resulting in even higher achievement.Another strength of the school is its history of patron support for the school and whatever is in the best interest of the students. However, none of the success at the school would be possible without the strong work ethic of its students.Students continuously demonstrate intrinsic motivation and have developed personal ownership for their own education.
The school provides counseling services to 100 percent of the student population.Counseling includes social, personal, academic, and career services.Counselors are available on a daily basis which students take full advantage of.We feel that by stressing the importance of mental, emotional, and physical health, students are better prepared to perform successfully in the classroom.
The North Central School has been a Schoolwide Title I school since 2001. This has greatly benefited our struggling students, as there has been a greater opportunity for direct instruction within the classroom as well as providing opportunities for additional instruction before and after school hours. Through the combination of best instructional practices, more direct teaching through small groups and one-on-one instruction, and providing an extended school day, student performance has improved. Students are encouraged and recognized for working to their potentials. Literacy proficiency is a concentration of elementary and high school staff.Staff have developed indicators of essential learnings, which include individual reading goals utilizing the use of the accelerated reader program and grade level specific expectations. The teaching staff of the district has benefited through additional professional development provided in areas like differentiated instruction, 4MAT multiple intelligence instruction, and reading across the curriculum within all curriculum areas. Since becoming Title I School Wide, the school has implemented a variety of assessments in addition to the traditional CTB and ACT results. Some of them include NWEA assessments, dibels, and results from Renaissance Learning products assessments like STAR and STAR Early Literacy. These assessments provide valid and reliable data that drives the best instructional strategies in order to make students proficient and successful in their learning.
The school’s mission is “to challenge every person to achieve to his/her potential in a positive, productive learning environment.” Even though the school has a high percentage of students from low-income families, the students perform and test at a high level not seen in many schools as will be shown in this application. Professional development and the skillful implementation of quality teaching strategies is the cornerstone of our educational philosophy.