Mountain Park Elementary | Strategic Plan SY 2016/17 – 2019/20
Mountain Park Elementary
Strategic Plan SY 2016/17 – SY 2019/20
Approved June 2016
SECTION I. Strategic Planning Background and Approach
This section is a brief narrative providing the reader with a summary of the purpose, process, people, and timeline of the strategic planning process. Content has been provided for your use in this section, though schools may revise this content as desired.
In May 2012, the Georgia Board of Education voted to make Fulton County Schools the state’s largest charter system. The charter system model offers increased autonomy and flexibility, both at the school level and system-wide, to employ research-based methods to improve student achievement, even if such innovations require exemptions to current state laws and regulations.
Given this framework, individual schools within Fulton County have the ability to work in dramatically new ways. We are asking our communities to help drive change by redefining engagement in our schools. Our collective vision is that every Fulton County school will have a school leader and local School Governance Council equipped to lead effectively in a charter system environment--improving student achievement through innovation and flexibility. Schools will be empowered to consider the best uses of resources at the local level and design innovative practices that align with school needs.
Mountain Park Elementary began the second strategic planning process in the spring of 2016. In order to plan our strategic direction, we first engaged with our community to understand our specific strengths and challenges and consider a path to address them collectively. To effectively complete this process, Mountain Park Elementary’s School Governance Council developed a needs assessment by engaging key stakeholders: students, staff, parents, feeder schools, and community assets. The SGC and leadership team reviewed formal data and conducted focus groups and empathy interviews. After engaging stakeholders, the SGC charted the findings from this needs assessment, and prioritized the significance of the findings. These findings- along with the staff’s reflection of the current strategic plan initiatives- were used to develop long-term goals and focus areas.
Our process included five distinct phases: (1) a needs assessment; (2) the identification of priority issues; (3) the establishment of long-term outcomes, focus areas, & short-term goals; (4) the formulation of strategic initiatives; and (5) the development of a monitoring plan. Developed over a period of several months and designed collaboratively with input and guidance from many stakeholders, the strategic plan represents our deliberate approach to shape and guide what Mountain Park Elementary is, what we do, and why. Our students deserve the best educational experience we can provide, and this plan sets our vision and direction for making that happen.
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Mountain park elementary | Strategic Plan SY 2016/17 – 2019/20
SECTION II. Context for the Strategic Plan: The School’s Needs Assessment
For every school, the strategic planning process involves a thorough consideration of the following questions: Why is reflecting on our practices, processes, and perceptions critical to achieve our long-term outcomes? How will we address the root causes identified in our needs assessment? How will we know we are moving in the right direction? What will we do differently? By identifying strengths and weaknesses within the school and examining opportunities and challenges within the external environment, schools lay the foundation for building a strategic plan that builds on their positive attributes while overcoming any weaknesses or areas for improvement.
Mountain Park Elementary began the strategic planning process by conducting a needs assessment. Through a close analysis of the internal and external environments, we sought to identify stakeholders’ perceptions of our school and enhance our understanding of the political, socio-economic, and demographic environment in which the school operates. By analyzing a comprehensive set of school data, the leaders of Mountain Park Elementary reflected on progress toward 2012-2016 strategic plan long-term outcomes, clarified performance trends and identified the school’s most critical areas for improvement.
Progress toward 2012-2016 Strategic Plan Long-Term Outcomes
Long-Term Outcome 1 / Indicator / Baseline / Target / Current DataIncrease achievement at the highest levels in math / Milestones Data / Milestones 2015
% of students scoring and levels 3 & 4:
3rd: 68%
4th: 65%
5th: 70%
Students at or above 50%ile range for Spring 2014:
1st: 89%
2nd: 84%
3rd: 87%
4th: 86%
5th: 88% / Increase of percentage of students scoring levels 3 & 4 on Milestones as well as at or above the 50%ile in math on the STAR test / Milestones 2016
% of students scoring and levels 3 & 4:
3rd: 69%
4th: 65%
5th: 62%
Students at or above 50%ile range for Spring 2016:
1st: 86 %
2nd: 95%
3rd: 87%
4th: 78%
5th: 91%
During the 2013-2014 school year, the School Governance Council developed a strategic plan. The state of Georgia retired the CRCT in 2014. 2014-2015 was the first year of implementation for the strategic plan. In 2015, Georgia Milestones was administered to students in grades 3, 4 and 5. Due to the change in tests, the 2015 Georgia Milestones Assessment is the baseline. Current data is the 2016 Georgia Milestones data.
Additionally, we looked at STAR math data to determine student growth from Spring 2015 to Spring 2016.
Long-Term Outcome 2 / Indicator / Baseline / Target / Current Data
Increase achievement at the highest levels in reading. / Milestones Data / Milestones 2015
% of students scoring and levels 3 & 4:
3rd: 74%
4th: 64%
5th: 75%
Students scoring in the upper quartile on Lexile level for their respective grade-level in Spring 2015:
1st: 37%
2nd: 25%
3rd: 16%
4th: 26%
5th: 38% / Increase of percentage of students scoring levels 3 & 4 on Milestones as well as students scoring in the Lexile upper quartile for their respective grade level / Milestones 2016
% of students scoring and levels 3 & 4:
3rd: 66%
4th: 60%
5th: 74%
Students scoring in the upper quartile on Lexile level for their respective grade-level in Spring 2016:
1st: 41%
2nd: 35%
3rd: 22%
4th: 22%
5th: 34%
During the 2013-2014 school year, the School Governance Council developed a strategic plan. The state of Georgia retired the CRCT in 2014. 2014-2015 was the first year of implementation for the strategic plan. Spring 2015, Georgia Milestones was administered to students in grades 3, 4 and 5. Due to the change in tests, the 2015 Georgia Milestones Assessment is the baseline.
In 2013-2014, when the original strategic plan was written, the CRCT provided student achievement data in reading and English/language arts separately. The Georgia Milestones reports one score for reading and English/language arts combined. Due to this change, the previous long-term outcome two and long-term outcome three are now combined into one long-term outcome for ELA.
Additionally, we looked at STAR reading data to determine student growth from Spring 2015 to Spring 2016.
Needs Assessment – Process
To conduct the needs assessment, members of the SGC developed a Needs Assessment Workplan. The team determined areas to explore both internally and externally. The desired outcome was to gather a list of findings, and make judgments about what the needs are, to determine the long-term outcomes.
The members ultimately decided to internally explore: Georgia Milestones Assessment data, ITBS data, and the culture and climate of Mountain Park through parent, teacher, and student focus groups as well as survey data from the AdvancED Dashboard. Several stakeholder groups were involved in reviewing the Milestones Assessment data: teachers (in grades 3-5 as well as Talented and Gifted teachers), the Mountain Park Elementary Leadership team (which includes lead teachers from each grade level and department), and the SGC. Each group utilized the “Notice and Wonder” protocol to analyze the data. The teams completed the same protocol around the ITBS data. This data was presented through charts that showed 2015 data broken down by grade and subject along with a comparative school analysis. The ITBS data was also represented longitudinally. The 2016 Milestones data was presented through charts that showed data broken down by grade and subject; comparative school data is not available at this time.
In addition to the formal assessment data, the SGC and Mountain Park Administrative team reviewed the data related to culture and climate from the AdvancED Dashboard surveys. Finally, the Mountain Park Design Team engaged Mountain Park Elementary students, teachers, and parents in focus groups and empathy interviews. This data was also reviewed by the SGC and the administrative team.
To explore the external environment, the SGC identified community resources, trends, and perceptions through asset mapping and engaging community stakeholders. Members of the Mountain Park Elementary School Governance Council met with members of other Roswell cluster School Governance Councils to develop an asset map through an asset mapping protocol. From the asset map, members of the SGC decided to conduct focus groups with community stakeholders, including teachers and staff from feeder schools, to gather feedback.
Needs Assessment – Prioritized Findings
The SGC and leadership team identified several key findings from the needs assessment. Both teams used the “SUG” method to prioritize the findings. “SUG” is an acronym for Seriousness, Urgency, and Growth. To determine the seriousness of each finding, the teams discussed the importance of the finding as well as the impact of the finding. To determine the urgency, the teams discussed how quickly action was needed. Finally, to determine growth, the team discussed what would happen if no action was taken. The teams rated each finding in each category by: high, medium, or low. The key findings and supporting data are presented on the following page:
Finding / Supporting DataSchool guidelines for homework (10 minutes per grade level) are not being followed. / Parents and students both stated that homework was on average taking longer than the time allocated (ten minutes per grade).
Based on the 2015 Milestones data, other schools in the NWLC outranked MPE in percentage of students that were level 3 and 4 in all subjects across all grade-levels. / The percentage of students in level 3 and 4 in math is less than the percentage of: 8 NWLC schools in 3rd grade, 10 NWLC in 4th grade, and 5 NWLC schools in 5th grade.
The percentage of students in level 3 and 4 in ELA is less than the percentage of: 3 NWLC schools in 3rd grade, 7 NWLC in 4th grade, and 6 NWLC schools in 5th grade.
The percentage of students in level 3 and 4 in social studies is less than the percentage of: 2 NWLC schools in 3rd grade, 6 NWLC in 4th grade, and 6 NWLC schools in 5th grade.
The percentage of students in level 3 and 4 in science is less than the percentage of: 5 NWLC schools in 3rd grade, 8 NWLC in 4th grade, and 8 NWLC schools in 5th grade.
Based on the 2016 Milestones scores, fifth grade performed significantly higher on the extended writing task. / On the extended writing task, the general education students scored: 25%, 29%, 45%, 35%, and 34% in level 4 by class. One fifth grade special education teacher had 17% of her students score level 4 on idea development, organization, and coherence.
Comparatively, one student in fourth grade scored a level 4 in the same category. In third grade, no special education students scored in level 4, and the general education students scored: 7%, 19%, 10%, 20%, 0%, and 5% in level 4 by class.
Some TAG students did not demonstrate growth from 2015 to 2016 on the Milestones Assessment in reading, science and social studies. / The level of achievement for 3rd grade TAG students was high with 100% scoring in levels 3 and 4 in reading, 96% in science, 92% in social studies and 100% in math.
The average achievement level of 4th TAG students decreased in reading by 6.5%, remained the same in math, decreased 11% in science and 15% in social studies.
The average achievement of 5th grade TAG students remained the same in reading, decreased in math by 3%, increased in science by 1%, and decreased in social studies by 4%.
Negative responses on the Culture and Climate from the AdvancED Dashboard are statistically insignificant. / Less than 10% responded negatively on a few questions.
Cohort comparison from the ITBS shows that students are performing consistently. / 2015 ITBS data shows that current fifth graders scored in the 80%ile in reading, 83%ile in language arts, 83%ile in math, 81%ile in science, and 84%ile in social studies. The same students as third graders scored 83%ile in reading, 85%ile in language arts, 84%ile in math, 82%ile in science, and 85%ile in social studies.
Finding / Supporting Data
The percentage of students that were at or above the 50%ile range in math decreased in all grade levels from 2014 to 2015. / First grade decreased by 2%, second grade decreased by 3%, third grade decreased by 5%, fourth grade decreased by 3%, fifth grade decreased by 4%.
The percentage of students that were at or above the 50%ile range in math increased in three out of five grade levels from 2015 to 2016. / First grade decreased by 2%, second grade increased by 10%, third grade increased by .15%, fourth grade decreased by 8.5%, fifth grade increased by 3%.
When looking at student cohorts, the percentage of students that were at or above the 50%ile range in math decreased or remained the same from 2014 to 2015. / 2nd graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 7%, 3rd graders in Spring 2015 did not change at 87%, 4th graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 6%, and 5th graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 1%.
When looking at student cohorts, the percentage of students that were at or above the 50%ile range in math increased in three out of four cohorts from 2015 to 2016. / 2nd graders in Spring 2016 increased by 6%, 3rd graders in Spring 2016 increased by 2.5%, 4th graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 9%, and 5th graders in Spring 2016 increased by 5%.
There is an interest in instructional coaching rounds, but it is non-existent. / Five teams said instructional rounds were non-existent. Several teams expressed an interest in doing rounds.
TAG collaboration is important, but revisions to the current model are necessary. / Only one grade-level said successful as is, but three grade-levels said in-progress.
Percentage of students reading in the uppermost quartile decreased in all grades, except 5th grade, from Spring 2014 to Spring 2015. / First grade decreased by 6%, second grade decreased by 7%, third grade decreased by 5%, fourth grade decreased by 4%, fifth grade increased by 9%.
Percentage of students reading in the uppermost quartile increased in three out of five grades, from Spring 2015 to Spring 2016. / First grade increased by 4.5%, second grade increased by 10%, third grade increased by 6%, fourth grade decreased by 4%, fifth grade decreased by 3.5%.
Grade cohorts from 2014 to 2015 show upper grades increased the percentage of students reading in the uppermost quartile while the percentage of students decreased in the younger grades. / 2nd graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 18%, 3rd graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 16%, 4th graders in Spring 2015 increased by 5%, 5th graders in Spring 2015 increased by 8%.
Grade cohorts from 2015 to 2016 show upper grades increased the percentage of students reading in the uppermost quartile while the percentage of students remained the same in the younger grades. / 2nd graders in Spring 2016 decreased by 1.7%, 3rd graders in Spring 2015 decreased by 2.5%, 4th graders in Spring 2015 increased by 5%, 5th graders in Spring 2015 increased by 9%.
Mountain Park is interested to see how future work will impact Milestones Assessment data. After completing a data analysis protocol with third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers on 2016 Milestones data, teachers concluded that fifth grade’s use of both Lucy Calkins’ Readers’ Workshop and Writers’ Workshop with fidelity was the key to the increased performance.