2014-2015 Berryhill School Improvement Plan Report

School Improvement Plan

2014-2015

2013-2014through 2014-2015

School Improvement Plans remain in effect for two years, but a School Leadership Team may amend as often as necessary or appropriate.

Draft Due: September 26, 2014 / Final Copy Due: October 24, 2014
Berryhill School Contact Information
School: / Berryhill / Courier Number: / 319
Address: / 10501 Windy Grove Road / Phone Number: / 980-343-6100
Charlotte, NC 28278 / Fax Number: / 980-343-6146
Learning Community / West / School Website: /
Principal: / Cara Heath
Learning Community Superintendent: / Paul Pratt
BerryhillSchool Improvement Team Membership
From GS §115C-105.27: “The principal of each school, representatives of the assistant principals, instructional personnel, instructional support personnel, and teacher assistants assigned to the school building, and parents of children enrolled in the school shall constitute a school improvement team to develop a school improvement plan to improve student performance. Representatives of the assistant principals, instructional personnel, instructional support personnel, and teacher assistants shall be elected by their respective groups by secret ballot....Parents serving on school improvement teams shall reflect the racial and socioeconomic composition of the students enrolled in that school and shall not be members of the building-level staff.”
Committee Position / Name / Email Address / Date Elected
Principal / Cara Heath / / 08/2014
Assistant Principal Representative / Leroy Wray / / 08/2014
Dean of Students / Ashley Giblin / / 08/2014
Inst. Support Representative / Lauren Wade / / 08/2014
Inst. Support Representative / Melanie Bell / / 08/2014
Inst. Support Representative / Kris Gorman / / 08/2014
Parent Representative / Shelly Davis / / 08/2014
Parent Representative / Alice Green / / 08/2014
Parent Representative / Dan West / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Courtney Broocks / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Justin Kennedy / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Tina Brandalik / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Charlene Williams / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Chantal Bircher / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative/Chairperson / Colleen McQuade / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Chelsea Harley / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Sarah Gibson / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Sean Bostelman / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Melissa Veloz / / 08/2014
Teacher Representative / Laura Bartos / / 08/2014

Vision Statement

District: CMS provides all students the best education available anywhere, preparing every child to lead a rich and productive life.

School: To provide students at Berryhill School with 21st Century skills and a Global Awareness that will better enable them to be digital citizens in a technology advanced society.

Mission Statement

District: The mission of CMS is to maximize academic achievement by every student in every school.

School: “Child, parent, teacher, community… each a teacher, each a learner, each a success.”

Berryhill SchoolShared Beliefs

2014-2015 Berryhill School Improvement Plan Report

  • All children learn differently
  • All children can learn at high levels (in spite of challenges)
  • Student learning drives all decision-making
  • We assess our effectiveness of achieving high levels of learning for all on the basis of results rather than intentions. Faculty and staff seek relevant data and information and use that information to promote continuous improvement
  • Mutual respect among parents, students, and staff enhances self-esteem
  • Every child should be treated with respect and valued as an individual
  • Berryhill’s Learning Community will be inviting, respectful, supportive, inclusive, and flexible for student success

2014-2015 Berryhill School Improvement Plan Report

Berryhill SchoolSMART Goals

  • SMART Goal 1: Provide a duty-free lunch period for every teacher on a daily basis.
  • SMART Goal 2:Provide duty-free instructional planning time for every teacher under G.S. 115C-105.27 and -301.1, with the goal of proving an average of at least five hours of planning time per week, to the maximum extent that the safety and proper supervision of students may allow during regular student contact hours.
  • SMART Goal 3: 90% of teachers will strongly agree or agree on the 2014-15 Teacher Survey with the following or related statement.
  • When I get feedback after an observation, I receive supportto implement those changes (i.e. someone modelssuggestions for me, I have time to practice outside of class).
  • SMART Goal 4: 90% of teachers will strongly agree or agree on the 2014-15 Teacher Survey with the following of related statement.
  • I think I am safe when I am at school.

80% of students will strongly agree or agree on the2014-15 Student Survey with the following or related statement.

  • I think I am safe when I am at school.

Discipline referrals will decrease by 5% from the 2013-14 school year.

  • SMART Goal 5: 85% of all Berryhill students will meet or exceed a year’s growth in math, as measured by the End-of-Grade test and/or Measures of Student Learning, as well as Measures of Academic Progress.
  • SMART Goal 6: 85% of all Berryhill students will meet or exceed a year’s growth in reading, as measured by the End-of-Grade test and/or Measures of Student Learning, as well as Measures of Academic Progress.

Berryhill SchoolAssessment Data Snapshot

Berryhill School
Reading / ALL / AMIN / ASIA / BLCK / HISP / MULT / WHTE / EDS / LEP / SWD / AIG
Participation Denominator / 409 / 2 / 18 / 69 / 228 / 13 / 79 / 374 / 96 / 39 / 16
Participation Percent / 100 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 100 / 0 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 0
Participation Status / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Met / Insuf. / Met / Met / Met / Met / Insuf.
Proficiency Denominator / 366 / 2 / 15 / 61 / 205 / 12 / 71 / 333 / 85 / 36 / 14
Proficiency Percent / 27.0 / 0 / 0 / 14.8 / 19.5 / 0 / 49.3 / 24.3 / 8.2 / 2.8 / 0
Goal Percent / 49.5 / 36.1 / 65.4 / 33.0 / 35.9 / 51.1 / 60.9 / 35.8 / 18.5 / 21.6 / 91.6
Proficiency Status / Not Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Not Met / Not Met / Insuf. / Not Met / Not Met / Not Met / Not Met / Insuf.
Math / ALL / AMIN / ASIA / BLCK / HISP / MULT / WHTE / EDS / LEP / SWD / AIG
Participation Denominator / 409 / 2 / 18 / 69 / 228 / 13 / 79 / 374 / 96 / 39 / 16
Participation Percent / 100 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 100 / 0 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 0
Participation Status / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Met / Insuf. / Met / Met / Met / Met / Insuf.
Proficiency Denominator / 366 / 2 / 15 / 61 / 205 / 12 / 71 / 333 / 85 / 36 / 14
Proficiency Percent / 39.9 / 0 / 0 / 27.9 / 37.6 / 0 / 54.9 / 36.9 / 25.9 / 13.9 / 0
Goal Percent / 48.1 / 34.3 / 74.1 / 30.0 / 39.4 / 47.8 / 58.4 / 34.9 / 25.7 / 21.2 / 92.5
Proficiency Status / Not Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met/CI / Met/CI / Insuf. / Met/CI / Met / Met / Met/CI / Insuf.
Science / ALL / AMIN / ASIA / BLCK / HISP / MULT / WHTE / EDS / LEP / SWD / AIG
Participation Denominator / 122 / 0 / 2 / 19 / 71 / 4 / 26 / 107 / 19 / 11 / 6
Participation Percent / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Participation Status / Met / ~ / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Insuf.
Proficiency Denominator / 112 / 0 / 2 / 17 / 64 / 4 / 25 / 97 / 15 / 10 / 6
Proficiency Percent / 60.7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 59.4 / 0 / 0 / 57.7 / 0 / 0 / 0
Goal Percent / 57.0 / 0 / 73.5 / 39.3 / 45.6 / 58.7 / 68.2 / 43.8 / 24.8 / 28.5 / 93.7
Proficiency Status / Met / ~ / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Insuf.
Current Year EOC / ALL / AMIN / ASIA / BLCK / HISP / MULT / WHTE / EDS / LEP / SWD / AIG
Participation Denominator / 65 / 0 / 0 / 14 / 35 / 3 / 13 / 58 / 11 / 5 / 3
Participation Percent / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 0 / 0 / 0
Participation Status / Met / ~ / ~ / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Met / Insuf. / Insuf. / Insuf.
Attendance / ALL / AMIN / ASIA / BLCK / HISP / MULT / WHTE / EDS / LEP / SWD / AIG
Rate / 97.6 / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~
Status / Met / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~
Assessment / Subgroup / 2013-2014 / 2012-2013 / 2011-2012
% GLP / % CCR / % GLP / % CCR / % GLP / % CCR
Grade 03 EOG Composite / All / 44.1 / 29.4 / 45.4 / 58.6
Grade 03 EOG Math / All / 51.8 / 38.8 / 53.7 / 75.9
Grade 03 EOG Reading / All / 36.5 / 20.0 / 37.0 / 60.3
Grade 04 EOG Composite / All / 50.9 / 44.0 / 35.1 / 63.5
Grade 04 EOG Math / All / 56.9 / 53.4 / 38.6 / 85.7
Grade 04 EOG Reading / All / 44.8 / 34.5 / 31.6 / 66.7
Grade 05 EOG Composite / All / 44.8 / 35.8 / 38.2 / 73.1
Grade 05 EOG Math / All / 56.4 / 43.6 / 48.4 / 86.6
Grade 05 EOG Reading / All / 27.3 / 21.8 / 16.1 / 76.1
Grade 05 EOG Science / All / 50.9 / 41.8 / 50.0 / 77.6
Grade 06 EOG Composite / All / 41.2 / 32.4 / 37.5 / 73.6
Grade 06 EOG Math / All / 43.2 / 36.5 / 34.4 / 81.1
Grade 06 EOG Reading / All / 39.2 / 28.4 / 40.6 / 77.4
Grade 07 EOG Composite / All / 45.4 / 33.1 / 45.7 / 59.2
Grade 07 EOG Math / All / 41.5 / 30.8 / 43.1 / 81.6
Grade 07 EOG Reading / All / 49.2 / 35.4 / 48.3 / 69.4
Grade 08 EOG Composite / All / 56.3 / 45.3 / 51.4 / 52.4
Grade 08 EOG Math / All / 43.8 / 35.9 / 31.3 / 85.7
Grade 08 EOG Reading / All / 34.4 / 25.0 / 45.8 / 52.4
Grade 08 EOG Science / All / 90.6 / 75.0 / 77.1 / 88.1
EOC Math I / All / 39.7 / 25.4 / 17.5 / 52.4
School EOG Reading Composite / All / 38.7 / 27.2 / 36.2 / 67.8
School EOG Math Composite / All / 48.6 / 39.4 / 41.7 / 82.8
School EOG Science Composite / All / 72.3 / 59.7 / 61.8 / 81.7
EOG Composite / All / 47.3 / 36.7 / 42.1 / 64.2
EOC Composite / All / 39.7 / 25.4 / 17.5 / 52.4
School Composite / All / 46.8 / 36.0 / 40.9 / 75.0
Berryhill School
Certified And Administrative Staff / Number of Years Experience for Teachers (in CMS only)
Position Title / Count / 0-3 / 3-5 / 5-7 / 7-10 / 10-15 / 15-20 / 20+
N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / %
Total / 61
23 / 43.4 / 5 / 9.4 / 9 / 17.0 / 5 / 9.4 / 3 / 5.7 / 4 / 7.5 / 4 / 7.5
Principal, Middle School / 1
Assistant Principal, Middle Sc / 1

Dean Of Students / 1
Counselor, Elementary / 2
Facilitator, Middle School Aca / 1
Facilitator, Professional Dev / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Social / 2
Teacher, Kindergarten Only / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Math / 2
Teacher, K-3 / 15
Degrees Held By Teachers / a / Highly Qualified Teachers
Teacher, 4-6 / 8
Teacher, AIG / 1
Highly Qualified / Not Highly Qualified
Bachelor's / Advanced
Teacher, Preschool / 2
N / % / N / %
N / % / N / %
Teacher, Spanish / 1
31 / 58.5 / 22 / 41.5
44 / 83.0 / 9 / 17.0
Literacy Facilitator, Elementa / 1

Teacher, 7-12 Art / 1 /
Teacher, Bilingual / ESL / 5
Substitute, Certified Teacher / 3
Teacher, Middle Grades Languag / 3
Teacher, EC General Curriculum / 2
Teacher, Elementary Physical E / 1
Teacher, Title I 4-6 / 1
Teacher, CTE Business Educatio / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Science / 2
Teacher, Physical Education / 1
Teacher, Elementary General Mu / 1
Berryhill School
Certified And Administrative Staff / Number of Years Experience for Teachers (in CMS only)
Position Title / Count / 0-3 / 3-5 / 5-7 / 7-10 / 10-15 / 15-20 / 20+
N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / % / N / %
Total / 61
23 / 43.4 / 5 / 9.4 / 9 / 17.0 / 5 / 9.4 / 3 / 5.7 / 4 / 7.5 / 4 / 7.5
Principal, Middle School / 1
Assistant Principal, Middle Sc / 1

Dean Of Students / 1
Counselor, Elementary / 2
Facilitator, Middle School Aca / 1
Facilitator, Professional Dev / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Social / 2
Teacher, Kindergarten Only / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Math / 2
Teacher, K-3 / 15
Degrees Held By Teachers / a / Highly Qualified Teachers
Teacher, 4-6 / 8
Teacher, AIG / 1
Highly Qualified / Not Highly Qualified
Bachelor's / Advanced
Teacher, Preschool / 2
N / % / N / %
N / % / N / %
Teacher, Spanish / 1
31 / 58.5 / 22 / 41.5
44 / 83.0 / 9 / 17.0
Literacy Facilitator, Elementa / 1

Teacher, 7-12 Art / 1 /
Teacher, Bilingual / ESL / 5
Substitute, Certified Teacher / 3
Teacher, Middle Grades Languag / 3
Teacher, EC General Curriculum / 2
Teacher, Elementary Physical E / 1
Teacher, Title I 4-6 / 1
Teacher, CTE Business Educatio / 1
Teacher, Middle Grades Science / 2
Teacher, Physical Education / 1
Teacher, Elementary General Mu / 1
Berryhill School

Berryhill SchoolProfile

The Berryhill faculty is comprised of experienced, stable staff. Because Berryhill is located in the southwestern corner of Mecklenburg County, Berryhill staff drive past other schools in order to get to Berryhill. All teachers and paraprofessionals are highly effective as well as highly qualified based on the No Child Left Behind Act. Based on the NC School Report Card, the percentage of teachers who have completed advanced college degrees (41.5 %) exceeds the district and state percentages. Berryhill currently has ten staff members who have achieved National Board certification. The teacher turnover rate is significantly lower than the district and the state rate. (Title I Component #5)

2013-2014 Teacher/Teacher Assistant Survey results indicate that the freedom and flexibility that staff are given is a major reason for our stability. Another reason for staff stability, as measured by teacher interviews and surveys is the strong mentoring program offered by Berryhill.

Berryhill is a Phase II Inclusive Practices School. Faculty and staff embrace a philosophy or set of beliefs based on the idea that students with disabilities have the right to be members of classroom communities with non-disabled peers, whether or not they can meet the traditional expectations of those classrooms. Inclusion is based on the notion that all students can make valuable contributions to a class.

Berryhill annually implement a “Checkers” program aimed at pairing Berryhill staff with identified students. Criteria include but are not limited to: behavior, academics, social/emotional concerns, and attendance. The adult “Checker” assumes the responsibility for establishing a rapport with the student and “checking” on the student. For 2014-2015 we will begin to implement “Checkers 2.0”, which targets 6-8 grade students who need a caring adult to start their day off in a positive way.

Due to the low staff turnover rate at Berryhill, we will offer professional development geared to the more experienced teacher. A focus will be to provide opportunities for teachers to learn how to track student results from teacher-made common formative assessments. The emphasis will be on disaggregating a numerical score on as assessment and communicating to each student how he/she did on each objective. A continuing focus for 2014-2015 will be the expansion of our Balanced Literacy program. Balanced Literacy is in place and functioning well in our primary grades and this year we are expanding to our upper elementary and middle school grades. Vertical PLCs will meet each week, allowing subject area teachers to meet vertically. Monthly curriculum and instruction faculty meetings will continue to focus on Number Sense in Math and Comprehension in Reading. (Title I Component #4 High Quality and Ongoing Professional Development)

District accountability measures as seen on the CMS Managing for Performance Portals, NC School Report Card, and AMO results support annual student growth. Berryhill will also use MAP results to guide our individual and classroom instruction. 2013-2014 Teacher/Teacher Assistant survey results, along with parent and student survey results, support the level of commitment by staff and the level of satisfaction felt by parents and students. The performance of students scoring on grade level in reading and math as measured by the North Carolina End of Grade Test has risen steadily from 2004 to 2013. Berryhill has been recognized as a “School of Progress - High Growth. Since our transition to PK-8 Berryhill has maintained “expected growth”. Our focus for 2014-2015 will be writing workshop and reading comprehension to close and eliminate the K-2 achievement gap. Through effective implementation of Professional Learning Communities we have developed a strong collaborative culture. Every Thursday afternoon from 3:30 p.m. until 4:15 p.m. grade levels meet to discuss how they will address individual student needs. (Title I Component 2a, 4b)

Insight Survey results indicate that:

79% of respondents agree that they are satisfied with the support they receive at school for instructional planning. (Title I Component 5b)

82% of respondents agree that the school is committed to improving their instructional practice. (Title I Component 5b)

86% of respondents agree that the expectations for effective teaching are clearly defined at their school. (Title I Component 5b)

Parent survey results indicate that:

100% of respondents feel that school wide expectations around policies, rules and structures are clearly communicated at our school.

90.5% of respondents agree that school goals for instruction and achievement are clearly communicated.

95.2% of respondents are comfortable seeking help from staff at my child’s school.

Student survey results indicate that:

100% of students think what they are learning at school is (or will be) useful.

Based on the above information we feel that Berryhill is a learning environment that celebrates diversity, staff and student achievement. Berryhill is a safe and orderly environment where all students are expected to perform to the best of their ability.

Notable strengths include:

Weekly Professional Learning Community meetings every Thursday afternoon from 3:30 p.m. until 4:15 p.m. to analyze individual student data and re-group students for individualized instruction.

Mastery of technology to disaggregate and analyze student data as a means of communicating to multiple audiences (individual teachers, school level support staff, grade levels, Berryhill staff, parents, and district level staff). Berryhill teachers, staff and administration are developing the expertise required to access and analyze information about our students. The administrative team uses this information to place our most effective teachers in the area(s) of most need. (Title I Component 5a)

Unencumbered duty-free lunch for all licensed Berryhill staff.

A.M. tutorial for identified K-8 students to accelerate student learning in reading and/or math and to decrease the achievement gap. (Title I Component #2b, c, and d)

Extended school year opportunities for identified primary, elementary, and middle school students through Title I to accelerate student learning in reading and/or math. (Title I Component #2b, c, and d)

Skillful use of technology to engage students in new ways, providing rich content and opportunities to work collaboratively. In addition, technology is used as an instructional tool to:

Provide background information and academic vocabulary (Discovery Education)

Address the needs of multiple learning styles within a classroom by using Title I funds to purchase iPads or ChromeBooks for every K-8 classroom.

Provide daily or weekly access for all students to our computer lab

Use Character Education and recognize positive character traits over the closed-circuit television channel throughout the school to create a positive academic and social learning environment. Teachers and students serve as positive role models.

Use Title I funds to support computer-assisted instruction through the purchase of computer hardware and software programs such as iPad Apps to support and enhance classroom instruction. Staff members analyze test results during weekly Professional Learning Community meetings by populating our Berryhill Common Core Data Tracker. Use the data to identify student strengths and needs and to regroup students for individualized instruction. (Title I Component 8a)

Identified areas for improvement include:

A need for professional development for teachers to create formative assessments in SchoolNet aligned with the NC End of Grade format. (Title I Component #6)

Math – Vertical alignment of Number Talks and Balanced Math throughout K-8 mathematics.

Writing – All ELA blocks will include implementation of writing workshop.

Reading – Continue with the transition to Balanced Literacy as we expand from primary grades to elementary and middle school grades. Use Title I funds to continue to purchase leveled books for our classroom libraries.

Academic Vocabulary – Expect students and staff to use the academic vocabulary of the subject area and grade level as defined by the Common Core State Standards.

Develop strategies to increase parent involvement. Our Berryhill Parent Involvement Policy was attached to our Welcome Back Newsletter and our Title I Parent Policy is included in each student’s planning agenda. At the bottom of the policy we ask for feedback from our parents. An ongoing goal at Berryhill is to improve our efforts to educate Berryhill staff in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners to implement parent programs and to build ties between parents and our school. At our Thursday, September 12 Welcome Back Open House and Annual Title I Parent Meeting, the principal delivered the annual State of the School Address. Topics included expectations for this year, an overview of our Family Reading Initiative and an update on Berryhill’s Title I status. This was followed by hands-on parent education workshops demonstrating how to help students with reading. We will again be offering a Parent English Class, funded by Title I, focusing on English to help parents help their child in school. These will be held Wednesday mornings for interested Berryhill Parents. (Title I Component 6a, b, j, k)

Teaching reading/writing in the content area. This provides relevance to the child and enhances the student’s awareness of the world and people around him. Non-fiction builds background knowledge and is a genre that children need exposure to. Exposure to “the news” allows children to make connections with world events as part of comprehension strategies. Students who receive explicit instruction and modeling of comprehension strategies and skills develop comprehension of text. In support of our school-wide goal of closing and eliminating the K-2 achievement gap and “85% of all Berryhill students will meet or exceed a year’s growth in reading, as measured by End of Grade test and/or Measures of Student Learning,” we will use Title I funding for annual subscriptions to Scholastic Science World, Weekly Reader, and Time for Kids.