Onalaska Elementary

Onalaska Elementary

Campus Improvement Plan

2013-2014

Board of Trustee Adoption Date: November 18, 2013

It is the policy of Onalaska ISD not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or handicap in its vocational programs, services, or activities as required by the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Campus Mission Statement

OES is responsible for preparing its students to live and work in a changing society.

Campus Vision Statement

Campus Theme – Our Students are Un”BEE”lievable

State Accountability

Met Standard

• Student Achievement
• Student Progress
• Closing Performance Gaps

Distinction Earned

• Academic Achievement in Mathematics
• Top 25 Percent Student Progress

Federal Accountability

Meets Average Yearly Progress

Campus Improvement Committee

2013-2014Members

Rachel Graham – 6th Grade Math Teacher - Chairperson

Rebecca Brown- 2nd Grade Reading Teacher

Rebekah Cook – 1st Grade ELAR and Social Studies Teacher

Abbi Allen – 4th Grade ELAR Teacher

Amy Vaughan – Parent/Business Representative

Frances Ager – Parent Representative

Stella Todd – Director or Curriculum and Special Programs

Karen McCaffety - Paraprofessional

Advisory Members

Hannah Williams – Principal

David Murphy – Assistant Principal

Jodi Adkins – Counselor / Parent

OISD Board Priorities

1. The district will provide an educational environment focused on meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students.

1. The district will provide a safe and orderly environment for all students.

1. The district will actively recruit and maintain teaching professionals of the highest quality in order to maximize the learning opportunities for all students.

1. The district will engage in proactive planning to address physical space requirements, maximizing resources, and optimizing educational opportunities for all students in the district.

1. The district will engage the community members in the educational processes of the system.

District Goals

GOAL 1: OISD will require high academic standards of every student through a well-balanced and appropriate curriculum. (Priority 1)

GOAL 2: OISD will continue to provide education for all students in a safe and drug-free environment conducive to learning. (Priority 2)

GOAL 3: OISD will actively recruit, hire, train, and retain highly qualified personnel. (Priority 3)

GOAL 4: OISD will continue to engage in proactive planning to address physical space requirements, maximizing resources, and optimizing educational opportunities for all students in the district. (Priority 4)

GOAL 5:OISD will encourage parents, businesses, and community members to become partners in the education of our students. (Priority 5)

GOAL 6:OISD will reduce the fiscal responsibilities for the district. (Priorities 1- 5)

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Goals

All districts receiving federal funds must adopt the following No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goals:

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1:By 2013-14, all students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2:All limited English proficient students will become proficient in English and reach high academic standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 3:All students will be taught by highly qualified teachers.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 4: All students will be educated in learning environments that are safe, drug-free, and conducive to learning.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5:All students will graduate from high school.

Onalaska Elementary

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

2013-2014

Onalaska Elementary Campus Improvement Committee (CIP) reviewed the following information prior to writing the 2013-2014 Campus Plan:

• AEIS Report
• Federal Accountability for AYP
• STAAR Data Disaggregated
• District PEIMS reports
• PBMAS Data Discipline Reports
• State and Federal Requirements (i.e. TEA, NCLB, IDEA,)
• Parent, Student, and Staff Surveys
• Highly Qualified Report
• Data from program evaluations ( i.e. SCE, Title )
• Financial Reports
• Discipline Referral Data
• Student Attendance Data
• Curriculum Based Assessment Data
• Referral Percentage for Students in Special Education
• Star Early Literacy Testing
• Campus Parent Participation Records
• Campus Mentor Participation Records

Onalaska Elementary

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

2013-2014

When Onalaska Elementary conducted the Needs Assessment for the 2013-2014 school year, data from the following eight areas was examined and recommendations and needs were identified:

• Demographics
• Student Achievement
• School Culture and Climate
• Staff Quality, Recruitment, and Retention
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
• Family and Community Involvement
• School Organization
• Technology

Committees made up of campus administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, and community members met to look at each individual area noted above. Each committee examined and discussed the data and made prioritized lists of their area’s needs. This information was shared and discussed in Campus Improvement Committee Meetings.

1.Demographics

Onalaska Elementary School (OES) is a pre-k through sixth grade campus that utilizes fifty-eight staff members to educate approximately 550 students. The student population frequently fluctuates as students move in and out of the area. One staff member was not replaced due to a reduced number of students in third grade.

Ethnic Distribution

Student Distribution

In 2012-2013, the student population demographics remained consistent with previous years with a makeup of approximately 85 percent white, nine percent Hispanic, and two percent African-American. Eighty-two percent of the students meet the criteria of being economically disadvantaged. We expect to see this category increase in 2013-2014 due to the struggling economy. Six students are Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and are serviced in the regular education classrooms with ESL certified teachers. On average, there are 18 students per certified teacher. Ninety-eight percent of the staff members are white and commute from other communities to teach in Onalaska.

Attendance Rate

There was a slight decrease in the attendance rate during the 2012-2013 school year. The committee would like to see an increase in attendance as it is directly tied to student performance and school funding. They recommended that we seek out student incentives for perfect attendance.

Number of Students per Grade Level in 2012-2013

Due to increase in class sizes, additional employees will need to be added to reduce the class sizes in second and third grade. (Last year, there were only three third grade teachers.)

Summary of Identified Needs:

1A. Incentivize students to achieve perfect attendance

1B. Hire teachers to meet the needs of students

1. Student Achievement

In 2013, Onalaska Elementary earned a Met Standard Accountability Rating. The campus earned an index one score of 85 in student achievement, index two score of 46 in student progress, and index three score of 82 in closing performance gaps. Two distinction designations were earned in academic achievement in mathematics and top 25 percent student progress. A distinction designation was not received for academic achievement in Reading/ELA.

Early Literacy Scores from 2012-2013

All kindergarten through second grade students are given at least 30 minutes of Read Well instruction each day during small group time. The groups normally consist of eightor fewer students. They focus on phonics, word recognition, and fluency. After reviewing the Star Early Literacy data, kindergarten was weak in sentence level comprehension. The teachers are asking comprehension questions during Read Well instruction to address this issue. The committee members were concerned that only 50 percent of the first graders were probable readers end of the school year. First grade teachers had reported that students struggled with word reading, tracking, and beginning sounds; therefore, they lost the meaning of the words and stories. The teachers believed that requiring the students to read independently earlier in the year would increase word meaning and comprehension in the future. Second grade teachers felt students were weaker in comprehension because the students did not go back and re-read the paragraph on the computer. They will incorporate more inferring skills in their daily instruction. Across all grade levels, the Campus Improvement Committee noted that paragraph level comprehension was the lowest. Therefore, additional time needs to be devoted to questioning the students during Read Well and shared reading time.

Math Assessment Results

Reading Assessment Results

Writing Assessment Results

Science Assessment Results

There was a slight improvement in the 2013 STAAR Results over the previous year. The Campus Improvement Committee, however, was not satisfied because the writing scores were in the 60’s instead of the 80’s like the math, reading and science scores. The group believes that an emphasis needs to be placed on improving the writing process for kindergarten through sixth grade students.

Results from the PDAS evaluations and feedback from walk-throughs revealed that94 percent of the teachers earned “exceeds” for having the students engaged in learning; 90 percent of the students were successful in learning; 78 percent of the teachers received “exceeds” in challenging students with critical thinking/problems solving; 76 percent earned “exceeds” in self-directed learning; and 81 percent of the teachers earned “exceeds” in connecting real world activities to classroom instruction. Based on these results and the increased emphasis on the STAAR Test’s higher-level questions, teachers need to improve their instructional application of critical thinking and problem solving strategies. The teachers will meet in vertical teams to review the Release STAAR Questions and use the question stems during instruction.

Retention Rates

Onalaska Elementary’s retention rates tend to be considerably higher than the state average. The committee believes that retention in kindergarten through second grade is high due to rigorous Read Well Program standards. It is the district’s policy that a student must pass a certain level of Read Well in each grade level to be promoted. Also, the district only offers summer school to students that have been retained and were still failing or had poor attendance. This policy, along with the Read Well standards, caused an increase in the number of retentions for first, second, and third grade students. The district policy also requires that third through sixth grade students pass the Reading and Math STAAR Tests in order to be promoted. There was an increase in the number of retentions in fourth grade because 2012 STAAR Tests Results were not released until January 2013. Therefore, students were not retained based in STAAR Tests Results the previous year.

After reviewing the Star Early Literacy, STAAR Tests, PDAS, and retention data, it was determined that additional focus needs to be placed on kindergarten through second grade reading comprehension, developing a campus wide writing process, and practicing rigorous questioning.

Summary of Identified Needs:

2A. Offer tier interventions across all grade levels to reduce the number of students retained

2B. Reassess criteria for Read Well grades

2C. Suggest staff development sessions for core content area teachers in kindergarten through sixth grade to attend

2D. Provide ELAR Training for kindergarten through sixth grade teachers to improve writing results

1. School Culture and Climate

In spring 2013, the district decided to conduct the Parent Survey using Survey Monkey. A note was sent home in Wednesday Folders requesting that parents access the link for the survey. Thirty-eight parents completed the online survey. Ninety-two percent of the respondents indicated that there are high expectations for students’ academic achievement, while 81 percent felt that these academic expectations are appropriate to challenge their child’s abilities. Ninety percent of the parents said that campus administration is focused on the improvement of students’ achievement. The responses indicated that the following areas were satisfactory: written communications are clear, helpful, and timely; the child’s teacher keeps them informed about academic and behavioral issues; parents have opportunities to visit the school and participate in activities; children’s health needs are met by the nurse; communication with the school is cordial and professional; the school facilities and classrooms are well-maintained; parents and students feel free to communicate with campus administration; parents, students, and principals work together for the benefit of the school; and the school has clear rules that are consistently applied. The campus needs to work on explaining to parents how children receive remediation and/or enrichment according to their needs and communicating test results to the parents.

Thespring of 2013 Staff Survey responses indicated that academic achievement is promoted throughout the school. Eighty-nine percent felt that the staff cared about them. One hundred percent believed that they work in an environment that is conducive to learning. There were some areas of concern: 36 percent believe that most parents in the district place a high priority on their child’s education, 47 percent of the teachers think that most parents understand and promote the campus’ instructional programs, and 36 percent believe there is strong parental support of the school’s programs. The areas of parental support will be difficult for the committee to address since many of the parents/guardians work out of town.

Results from the PDAS evaluations and feedback from walk-throughs revealed that, on average, 81 percent of teachers exceeded expectations in management of student discipline;87 percent exceeded expectations on the time on taskand having materials readily available portions of the evaluation; and 97 percent were compliant with policies, operating procedures, and requirements.

Two hundred seven third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students participated in a student survey on Survey Monkey. Analysis of their responses revealed that 88percent of the students strongly believe that teachers encourage them to do good work. Eighty-nine percent of the intermediate age students know the consequences for breaking school rules, while 92 percent know what kind of behavior is expected of them at school. Sixty-seven percent of the students feelsafe at school. Approximately, 70 percent of the students believe the counselor, assistant principal, and principal are available if they need to talk. Fifty-nine percent felt very comfortable asking questions when they did not understand something and believed the school had programs that assist with core classes.

Qualifying fifth and sixth grade students may participate in the Elementary National Honor Society, which helps out with various events during and after school. Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students are elected to serve on the Student Council that helps with the awards programs. All second through sixth grade students are encouraged to try out for UIL events.

One hundred six students with office referrals received disciplinary action in In-School Suspension and one new students spent time in DAEP. Upon request, the counselor meets with individual students to discuss concerns, bullying, or self esteem issues. Five Counselor’s Corner sessions are conducted each year to address these issues by class. Each month, cyber bullying and bullying training is conducted for new students.

After reviewing the surveys, it was determined that alternative strategies need to be utilized to attract parent participation; the words “not sure” need to be removed from the student survey; and students need to feel more comfortable about approaching their teachers for assistance.

Summary of Identified Needs:

3A. Continue to increase communication with parents

3B. Revise the student survey

3C. Continue to determine strategies to increase parent involvement

1. Staff Quality, Recruitment and Retention

All 36 teachers and 16 paraprofessionals are highly qualified. Sixty-six percent of the teachers returned to the campus. Eleven job openings were posted at Region 6 and TASA Net to recruit new highly qualified staff members across the campus.

The 2012- 2013Staff Survey responses indicated that 91 percent of the teachers felt there was an ongoing effective staff development program based on teacher needs. This year, the staff completed a short answer section to determine if in-service and instructional planning helped improve instruction; if the staff felt comfortable with TEKS Resource System; and their needs for additional staff development. Many staff members wrote positive comments regarding the additional planning days each six-weeks that are used to assist with TEKS Resource System lesson planning. In TEKS Resource System, teachers would like detailed activities in ELAR and additional mini assessments for the students to complete independently. When the teachers were asked to list three to five things that they would like to receive additional staff development on many of them requested assistance with technology programs and equipment.