School Land Trust for 2015-16 FINAL REPORT Posted October 18, 2006
Goal #1
Purchase one technology lab to keep the technology working correctly and maximizing productivity with students in lower grades, 1-3. The school will reach the goal by purchasing the mobile lab and having the software purchased and installed, ready to use, by September 1, 2015.
Measurement:
Please Note: For some reason, the 2015-16 plan we submitted to Land Trust was a duplicate of our 2014-15 plan. We have no idea how this happened, but we somehow, accidentally, cut and pasted wrong, or didn't save our new plan correctly. We called and talked to both Karen and Paula about this accidental error. This final plan report does show that we spent the Land Trust Funds in appropriate ways, but the numbers are not exactly how they got submitted online. We profusely apologize for this error and confusion. We will explain exactly how we spent the funds in appropriate ways.
We did purchase a mobile lab with 25 computers. The mobile lab was used primarily in grades 3 and 4 because both of those grades have 75 students each. Grades 1 and 2 only have 50 students each. These lower grades ended up using the computer lab more than the mobile labs. But the mobile labs were used on a regular basis with grades 3 and 4 in both literacy and homeroom (content area) classes. Students used the mobile labs daily on an alternating basis to practice their informational and literary text writing, integrating these skills with both narrative and informational content texts. This additional mobile lab has been invaluable! The third graders needed this lab to practice writing daily to learn to be familiar with writing on a laptop and using the technology as a tool for learning. This practice was also very helpful for SAGE testing. In fact, we used this mobile lab when we did SAGE testing for convenience in scheduling classes in a timely manner. Before the mobile lab was purchased, students in grade 3 were not using mobile labs at all. In grade 4, they were sharing a mobile lab with Grade 5, but it was being monopolized with Grade 5 so Grade 4 would spend 20-30 minutes extra in the computer lab once or twice a month. With the purchase of the mobile lab for Grade 3, the students in Grades 3 and 4 were able to use the mobile lab several times a week for a minimum of 30-60 minutes at a time. The time spent on the mobile labs with meaningful writing work increased substantially and this helped our students to really develop as writers and thinkers over the course of the year. The SAGE scores for Grade 3 were good. There is room for improvement this year, but we believe the scores were better than they would have been if we did not have the extra mobile lab. The SAGE scores for Grade 4 improved almost across the board for most 4th graders compared to the previous year when they did not have access to the mobile lab. Other measurements that were used included: Grade 3 teachers lesson plans, weekly team meetings to discuss formative data and areas of progress as well as areas for improvement, increased time spent on the mobile labs went from zero in grade 3 to 30-60 minutes for each third grader 2-3 times per week all year. This is a substantial increase. This was also true for 4th graders. Their time increased from 30 minutes 1-2 times per month to 30-60 minutes daily 2-3 times per week all year. The end of year benchmark tests in grades 3 and 4 showed a marked decrease in students below grade level, compared to the previous year.
Action Plan:
We purchased a mobile lab of 25 laptop computers. Originally, we planned on having this mobile lab used by grades 1-3, but we actually used this mobile lab with grades 3 and 4, to serve more students. The students in grades 1 and 2 used the regular computer lab for their extra computer time. In addition to the mobile lab, we also purchased an iPad and keyboard for our Title I Literacy Specialist. She used this computer for the DIBELS administration and to keep track of DIBELS data for grades K-3. In addition, we also purchased iPads and covers for eight (8) classroom teachers. These teachers used their iPads for DIBELS administration because we went to an online mClass system called Amplify. The purchase of these iPads is a wonderful investment for teachers to use with assessments and also small group literacy and math instruction. We also purchased internet access points that facilitated the Wi-Fi connection in the school so our mobile labs maintained their internet connections continuously. This was crucial to do for SAGE testing and to have multiple labs running simultaneously. Last, we purchased Kindles and covers for our honors literacy class so we could download books for these students. This saved us a substantial amount of money and space for textbooks.
Expenditures:
The software we purchased was the renewal of Microsoft Office 365 which is used by our entire faculty and staff. This is a three-year subscription and is invaluable software for all of the computers and mobile labs in our building.$3,000
Our mobile lab cost less than we had anticipated. ($11,160). We also purchased an iPad and keyboard for our Title I Reading Specialist ($902). We purchased iPads and covers for eight (8) classroom teachers to more easily administer our online DIBELS assessment, and use the iPads for whole class and small group instruction in literacy and math ($3,744). We purchased internet access points for three mobile labs to keep the internet connection working continuously and keep the Wi-Fi connection strong with multiple labs working simultaneously ($600).
$16,801
Goal#2
To improve students reading and math skills (in lower grades, 1-3) through technology and continue what we started in 2014-15, using mobile labs and classroom practice for reading and math. Research shows that for student achievement to be maintained, goals must continue for 3-5 years to build consistency.
Measurement:
Goal #2 and Goal #1 are very similar in terms of measurement. More specifically, the technology TA helped the teachers keep schedules and keep track of students' time spent on mobile labs and in the computer lab. The tech specialist also made the SAGE testing schedule for grades 3-6 at the end of the year, helped maintain all computers in working order, helped to troubleshoot if there were problems. Mostly his time was spent in the computer lab and in classrooms working with students directly on how to use technology and become more comfortable using technology as a tool for learning as well as provided professional development to teachers and TAs with use of technology for instruction.
Action Plan:
We hired a highly qualified teaching assistant to work with students in all grade levels with technology. This instruction occurred in the mobile lab class, which is 30 minutes per class, each week, as well as in their regular classrooms when working on mobile labs. Our tech specialist also held training classes where provided ongoing professional development to teachers, teaching assistants, and our Title I Reading Specialist to learn how to use Amplify, the online DIBELS assessment. He is so useful in teaching students how to use technology for writing in all content areas and how to feel comfortable with the mobile laptops as a tool for writing.
Expenditures:
One technology paraprofessional who teaches the students, provides professional development for teachers and TAs, makes the schedule for technology use, mobile labs, and SAGE testing schedule.
$5,109
Goal #3
Teachers will write and submit grants for funding field trips, projects, materials, or texts that support their students' academic achievement and follow CORI guidelines, which integrates literacy into core subjects, or math projects, books or materials that impact student learning. Teachers must apply for teacher grants using the form provided by the Land Trust Committee in which we ask specific questions to ensure that any monies granted using SLT Funds will be used properly, such as subjects addressed, how monies assist classroom instruction, learning outcomes, and student benefit. These grants must be approved by the Land Trust Committee to be awarded. Teacher grants are available for grades K-6 as long as guidelines are met.
Measurement
We had a record number of students participate in the science fair in 2016. This was exciting. We have spent more focus on science and Mr. VanSycle has helped new teachers to make their science classrooms more engaging with relevant hands-on activities that have increased students' motivations to learn more deeply about science. We have continued to implement CORI in several classrooms, which is increasing students content knowledge and motivations for learning science. While students are improving, we would like to continue to work on this goal of increasing students' literacy skills so they can deepen their science content knowledge. Our SAGE scores rose in some grades but not others, so we still have work to do. Mr. VanSycle and Dr. Swan are working with teachers on CORI units to develop these skills deeper. This takes time. Teachers applied for 'teacher grants' to use Land Trust Funds for content-related field trips. We had teachers apply for math games that increase students' knowledge of important concepts and help with learning times tables. One teacher wrote a grant for seeds and flowers to be planted as part of their service learning project in fourth grade. One teacher purchased headphones for her mobile lab because the students are using the labs more. Several grade levels wrote grants for field trips to the Living Planet Aquarium and the Hogle Zoo to tie real-world animal habitat research to their online/text research as a comparison. Fourth grade purchased maps for their classrooms. Fifth grade purchased a set of leveled readers for their library. Measures for these purchases and the impact they had on student learning included: Reading Motivation questionnaires (Pre and Post) associated with beginning of the year interest in reading were given to several grade levels. These scores improved in grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 where the survey was administered. Formative assessments were given when teachers taught full CORI units in grades 3, 5, and 6. These assessments showed both growth in motivation as well as growth in science content knowledge from the beginning to the end of the unit. These knowledge gains were significant for 80% of the students. These measurements will continue to be efficacious when more teachers are teaching CORI units. This is a long-term goal because it takes teachers 3+ years to be able to teach CORI with efficacy. This was our first year with full CORI units and not all teachers were able to teach them with fidelity. This is a goal that is important to keep working on, even with some teacher turnover, because the impacts on student learning are so important to achieve.
Action Plan
1. Continue ongoing core science instructional team headed by Karl VanSycle to deepen grade-level content instruction that was developed in the 2014-15 school year, based on core standards. 2. Continue to provide ongoing professional development within grade level teams as well as whole group to support teachers with CORI implementation 3x per year by Dr. Swan and core science team. 3. Allow teachers the opportunity to apply for teacher grants to augment their CORI instruction. Teachers must apply for grants and the Community Council must approve grants before they are awarded. 4. Baseline measures will be 2015 SAGE scores and completed measures will include 2016 SAGE scores, as well as teachers' formative and summative assessments during each CORI unit of instruction. For younger grades, measures will include teachers' formative and summative assessments during each CORI unit of instruction. Literacy benchmarks will also be used with CORI grants. Benchmarks and end of unit assessments will be used for any math and/or literacy grants awarded.
The exact steps of the action plan were carried out as outlined.
Expenditures:
Teachers' grants included the following: Materials and supplies, including science fair materials (610) $1,792.00. Field trips [listed under travel (580)] $1,640. Leveled Readers for 5th grade [listed under Library books (644)] $2,400.
$5,832
Total Land Trust Funds allocated for 2015-16 $33,784
Total Land Trust Funds spent in 2015-2016 32,433
Carryover to 2016-2017 1, 351