2015 – 2016 Lincoln Elementary Plan for Excellence
Newark Central School District Vision
ewark Central School District is the centerpiece of our community that binds students, staff, families and neighbors through a profound sense of hometown pride. We engage all students with the diverse opportunities and academic experiences they need to reach their maximum potential. Our students thrive in an environment of high expectations, collaboration and respect. Effective communication and sustained connections foster a sense of importance, contributing to the success of every student every day.
BOE Goals:
§ Improve Academic Results by 2019-2020
§ All students will be reading on grade level by the end of 2nd grade.
§ Linking data to students' performance on state exams
§ Create and maintain a welcoming and responsive communication with students, parents and community members
§ Having all staff respond to parent communication within 48 hours
§ Improve consistency of implementation of district/school rules and expectations, including but not limited to:
§ Respectful behavior, Dress Code, Electronic Devices
District Priorities:
§ Increased Monitoring of Student Achievement
§ Pro-active use of interventions. Frontload end of year interventions
§ Embed higher level thinking skills as part of daily instruction to support implementation of Common Core Standards
§ Increase the development of literacy and numeracy skills K-12 across all content areas
§ Implementation of Dignity for All Students Act
§ Increase the clarity and effectiveness of monitoring reports
§ Implementation of Dignity for All Students Act
PRIMARY READING GOALS
Grades K – 2 Reading Goals
Kindergarten: 85% of Reading Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at the end of the year.
First Grade: 85% of Reading Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at the end of the year.
Second Grade: 85% of Reading Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at the end of the year.
Grade Level / 2015-2016Previous Grade Level / 2015
Nov. / 2016
Jan. / 2016
Mar. / 2016
June Goal
Kindergarten / N/A / Level A / Level B / Level C / Level D 85%
First Grade / 79% (127/161) / Level E / Level F / Level H / Level J 85%
Second Grade / 73% (115/158) / Level K / Level L / Level L / Level M 85%
PRIMARY WRITING GOALS
Grades K – 2 Writing Goals
Kindergarten: 90% of Writing Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
First Grade: 85% of Writing Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
Second Grade: 90% of Writing Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
PRIMARY MATH GOALS
Grades K – 2 Math Goals
Kindergarten: 90% of Math Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
First Grade: 85% of Math Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
Second Grade: 85% of Math Standards, based on expected levels of achievement, will be met or exceeded at end of year.
New READING, WRITING and MATH Initiatives for 2015-2016ACTION STEPS / PERSON(S)
INVOLVED / EVIDENCE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Teachers will fully implement ELA Listening/Learning Modules. They will align to the NYS Standards, including a continual use of student assessments to drive instruction. Information from students’ daily work and assessments will be used to determine student progress. (DTSDE Tenets 3 & 4- 3.2, 4.2, 4.5) / Classroom Teachers K-2
Building Principal / · Lesson Plans
· Student Assessments
· Student Work Samples
Teachers will meet weekly,bi-weekly or tri-weekly with school principal on an individual basis (depending on student progress and teacher choice). Discussions will end with analyses and plans to progress student progress on an individual basis.
(DTSDE Tenets 2, 3 & 4- 2.5, 3.4, 3.5, 4.5) / Classroom Teachers K-2
Building Principal
Reading Teachers
Service Providers / · Acceleration Plans
· Documentation from Student Progress Meetings or IST
Teachers will fully implement the new report card system. Teachers will assess students against established, focused district standards and use real-time feedback embedded in the new report card system to adjust instruction on a student by student basis. Teachers will share feedback with students and parents in real time regarding student progress towards achieving those standards. (DTSDE Tenets 3 & 4- 3.5, 4.2, 4.5) / Classroom Teachers UPK-2
Building Principal / · Teacher Documentation
· Student Report Cards
Reflective teaching/learning practices will become the norm for all staff and students in the building. All instructional meetings will adopt a “taxonomy of reflective practices” that will focus on student work, learning and teaching. Reflecting on administrative, teaching and student practices will allow educators to think critically about their own practices and everyone contributes to students’ learning. (DTSDE Tenets 3 & 4- 3.4, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5) / Classroom Teachers UPK-2
Building Principal
Special Area Teachers
Service Providers / · Teacher self-reflections at beginning/end of the year
· Student work
A PreK-Grade 2 CORE Team using an RTI based model will analyze, develop and monitor individualized Tier III Student plans ever Wednesday. The school psychologist, principal, speech/language pathologist, and selected teachers (when applicable) will meet to discuss individual Tier III students. The result of these ongoing meetings will be to develop, implement and monitor intense plans with measurable goals. The ultimate goal will be to decrease the supports necessary to keep these students successful in a mainstream environment. (DTSDE Tenets 2-5- 2.5, 3.5, 4.4, 4.5, 5.4, 5.5) / School Psychologist
Speech/Language
Pathologist
Principal
Classroom Teachers / · Student Success Plans
· Number of plans whose goals were met
A PreK-2 Attendance Team will meet weekly. The school psychologist, principal and school nurse will meet weekly to identify students who become at risk for attendance. Individual interventions that are “Tiered Based,” using an RTI model, will be implemented with the goal of increasing student attendance for all students in the building from last year by at least 2%. (DTSDE Tenets 2, 5 & 6- 2.4, 2.5, 5.2, 5.5, 6.5) / Nurse
Psychologist
Principal / · School Attendance Rate
· Tiered intervention tracking system
A PreK-2 Instructional Support Team will meet weekly. The school psychologist, principal, reading teacher and appropriate teachers will meet weekly to identify students not responding to Tier I instructional approaches. Individual success plans will be collaboratively developed for these students with measurable and achievable goals. Goals and interventions will be monitored and revisited on a two, four and six week basis, depending on the student and his or her needs. (DTSDE Tenets 4 & 5- 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 5.2, 5.5) / School Psychologist
Principal
Reading Teachers
Classroom Teachers / · Student Success Plans
· Number of plans whose goals were met
All teachers will implement actions that assist students in achieving both short and long-term goals including:
· Implementing NYS Math Modules including Math Fluency Practice, Concept Development, Application Problems, Student Debrief Sessions, Exit Tickets, Mid Module Assessments and End Module Assessments.
· Developing math fact competencies, adding and subtracting numbers to achieve a minimum of 85% accuracy in addition and subtraction facts by the end of the year at each grade level.
(DTSDE Tenets 3 & 4 – 3.5, 4.2) / Administrator
Grade K, 1 and 2 Teachers
Teacher Assistants / · Classroom Observation
· Math Fact Assessment Data
· Lesson Plans
Teachers will meet in UPK-5 and Special Area Vertical Teams to ensure vertical alignment of instruction and cross-curricular alignment of skills and Strategies (DTSDE Tenet 2 & 3-2.2, 2.4, 3.1, 3.4) / Classroom Teachers / · Lesson Plans
*DTSDE (NYSED Diagnostic Tool for School District Effectiveness used for Local Assistance Plan)
Initiative / Revisions from Last year / EVIDENCE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Teachers will compile data,. They will match it to established standards, and change instructional plans daily. (DTSDE Tenets 2 & 3 – 2.2, 3.5) / Use of new standards based report card system. / · Class Data
· Reflection/Analysis Forms
· Documentation of Strategies
Reading Teachers will meet with teachers. They will collaborate in their cluster every 4 to 5 weeks to analyze reading progress, determine student needs and necessary interventions. (DTSDE Tenet 3 - 3.2) / Teachers will focus on Word Study, revising use of learning stations and differentiated reading approaches in classroom. / · Lesson Plans
· Documentation of implementation of suggested feedback
Teachers will have the opportunity to work with a colleague on reflective teaching practices. Teachers will be afforded the time to plan, watch and debrief with each other. The goal is to help build our capacity for reflecting and learning as educators. (DTSDE Tenet 3 – 3.4) / N/A / · Lesson Plans
· Classroom Observation
Teachers will assist students in setting goals. The goals for their learning will be based on feedback and analysis of their work. Students will be involved in tracking their own growth and reflecting on what they need to do to progress (self-assessment). (DTSDE Tenet 4 – 4.2, 4.5) / Focused use of Reflective Practices discussed at Grade Level meetings. / · Documentation of student goals and tracking of progress
Interest Inventories will be used in instructional decision making. A volunteer group of teachers, the principal and parent representatives from the PTA will revisit how we might use these inventories to better engage students in the classroom. (DTSDE Tenet 4 – 4.3) / Volunteer group to develop more meaningful use of inventories. Involvement of parents. / · Lesson Plans
· Increased Engagement
· Reduced referrals at IST for engagement related issues
*DTSDE (NYSED Diagnostic Tool for School District Effectiveness used for Local Assistance Plan)
Initiative / PERSON(S)
INVOLVED / EVIDENCE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
A Building Climate Team Will Lead Our Building Towards Alignment
An inclusive team that consists of paraprofessionals, educators, parents and the principal will meet monthly. The focus of the group will be to ensure that the school’s social and emotional responsiveness is aligned with the school and district vision. The group will monitor building data related to student behaviors, academic achievement and student attendance. The Building Climate Team will develop actions related to Responsive Classroom, Farewell Friday, school-wide assemblies and the physical appearance in the building that foster safe, positive and engaging learners. This committee will develop a system for sharing these actions with the rest of the staff. The expectation will be that the entire building will follow the recommendations put forth by this volunteer committee.
(DTSDE Tenet 5 – 5.2) / Building Principal
Psychologist
Grade Level and Special Area Teachers
School Nurse
Reading,
Speech/Language
OT and PT Teachers
Paraprofessionals
Parents
Custodian
Administrative Assistant
/ · Documentation of Student Progress
· Student Progress Team Notes
Sustained Social and Emotional Responsiveness Initiatives
Initiative / Revisions from Last year / EVIDENCE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Staff members of Lincoln Elementary School will create a socially and emotionally responsive environment by:
· Welcoming students to the building and to their classrooms by greeting them by name.
· Connecting our School Vision directly with the student goal setting to help students further internalize the meaning of the Lincoln Elementary School Vision as they relate their goal to an aspect of the vision.
· Creating classroom partnerships for the purpose of student management.
· Incorporating various cultures of our school into the school community through such things as daily announcements, monthly assemblies or classroom activities.
(Tenet 6, 6.3)
· Continuing to use familiar characters to identify classrooms and other locations within the building.
· Continuing to offer regularly scheduled activities to students to enable community building and opportunities to explore and delve into areas of interest with mixed grade level groups. Expand this to a minimum of two events this year and incorporate a cultural theme for one of the events.
· Offering group sessions for students on topics such as managing stress or bullying.
· Implementing an incentive program tied to the Lincoln Elementary School Vision.
· Providing students with an incentive program in the cafeteria to motivate positive behavior.
· Continuing Farewell Fridays. Involve a group of parents and teachers who wish to plan Farewell Fridays and focus each week on elements recommended by the Building Climate Committee. Incorporate academic achievement in Farewell Fridays as well, especially areas where students make growth.
(DTSDE Tenets 5 – All practices) / · Increased alignment with school and district vision.
· A new behavior incentive program that is coordinated with all three elementary schools.
· Increased acknowledgement of academic achievement during Farewell Fridays. / · Survey Responses from
· Students, Parents and Staff
WELCOMING AND RESPONSIVE COMMUNICATION Initiatives / PERSON(S)
INVOLVED / EVIDENCE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Staff members of Lincoln Elementary School will maintain welcoming and responsive communication with students and parents by:
· Having a grade level night for parents in October to inform them of what their children are learning and typical expectations in each grade level.
· Holding a Kindergarten Orientation with more information for parents and more staff, parents and student involvement.
· All teachers sent letters to students in the summer to introduce themselves and welcome them to their classroom.
· Monthly Newsletter from school will include information about specific happenings in classrooms in addition to school-wide information.
(DTSDE Tenets 6 – 6.2, 6.4, 6.5) / · Building Principal
· Professional Staff / · Newsletters (school and classroom)
· Connect Ed. Messages
· Parent Feedback
· Survey Results
A digital survey will be administered to all visitors to the building.
An IPad will be used to have visitors answer three questions related to Tenets 5 and 6. The results of this survey will be used by the principal, the administrative assistant and the Building Climate Committee to assess progress in these areas. (DTSDE Tenets 6 – 6.2, 6.4, 6.5) / · Building Principal
· Building Climate Committee
· Building Greeter
· Administrative Assistant / · Survey results
Sustained Welcoming and Responsive Communication Initiatives
Teachers will request information from parents at the start of the school year about students including interests, concerns, strengths etc. All correspondence will be translated as needed.
(DTSDE Tenets 6 – 6.3) / · Building Principal
· Pre-K-2 Teachers / Parent Feedback
Survey Results
Staff members will create a culture of partnerships through ongoing improved communication with families by:
· Returning communication to parents for professional staff and Administrators will be by the end of the following school day.
· Regularly maintaining school building websites and teacher websites.
· Sharing with parents and visitors in our main foyer as quarterly data is collected to highlight student progress and accomplishments.
· Being proactive in providing dates of educational events to parents to increase participation.
· Providing parents with information regarding short and long-term goals and accompanying skills and strategies with guidance on how they can provide support outside of school.
· Holding quarterly data meetings to review school-wide data for parents through PTA meetings with teacher assistance.
· Providing parents with access to resources and coordinating contact with community agencies to address student and family needs.
(DTSDE Tenets 6 – 6.3, 6.5) / · Building Principal
· Professional Staff
· Building Secretary / · Parent Feedback
· Survey Results
*DTSDE (NYSED Diagnostic Tool for School District Effectiveness used for Local Assistance Plan)