Rolling Terrace
Elementary School
School Improvement Plan
2010-2011
Mrs. Jennifer Connors, Principal
Blair Cluster
Baldrige CategorySchoolwide Program Components / Page
Leadership
- Baldrige Linkages Chart
- Mission/Vision
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Organizational Performance Results
- Goals and Objectives
Student and Stakeholder Focus
- Comprehensive Needs Assessment
Faculty and Staff Focus
- Instruction by Highly Qualified Teachers
- Strategies to Attract Highly Qualified Candidates
- Professional Development Plan
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24-25
Strategic Planning
- Action Plans
- Increased Parent Involvement Implementation Plan
- Activities to Ensure that Under Performing Students Reach Proficient or Advanced
- Plans for Assisting Pre-School Children in the Transition to Local Elementary School
- Schoolwide Reform Strategies
- Coordination and Integration of Federal, State, and Local Funds
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27-38
57-58
59-61
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Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
- Measures to Include Teachers in the Decisions Regarding the Use of Academic Assessments
Process Management
- Monitoring the SIP Goals
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Leadership
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Rolling Terrace Elementary School September 2010
School Improvement Team Information
Principal: Jennifer Connors
All members of the School Improvement Team who worked on the plan must complete the sign in sheet. Their signatures verify that they were active members on the team. The School Improvement Team leads the school community in making the school a positive place in which teaching and learning thrive. The team should be representative of the school community and work closely with school administrators to develop a comprehensive plan for school improvement.
Addendum:
Print Name / Signature / PositionVilna Bonilla-Kenny / Vilna Bonilla-Kenny / Family Services& Community Coordinator
Rolling Terrace Elementary School September 2010
On the lines below, please record the dates that your school improvement team will meet during the 2010-2011 school year to review the plan, monitor action plans, and identify next steps as needed.
August 16, 2010September 30, 2010
November 4, 2010
December 9, 2010
January 27, 2011
February 24, 2011
March 24, 2011
April 14, 2011
May 12, 2011
June 9, 2011
Rolling Terrace ES is also involved in additional Enhanced School Improvement Team (ESIT) meetings that include participation by the Office of School Performance and Division of Title I Programs. These meetings are scheduled for:
September 15, 2010
November 29, 2010
January 19, 2011
April 11, 2011
Rolling Terrace Elementary School communicates theschool improvement plan to parents in the following ways:
- invites parents to attend and participate at BGSIP meetings
- notices in the Principal’s newsletter
- the school improvement plan is posted on the RTES website
- a copy of the school improvement plan is in a binder with a sign-in sheet in the Main Office for parents to review
- agenda item at PTA meetings, Principal’s Coffees, PIC meetings, BGSIP meetings, SLT meetings
Rolling Terrace Elementary School Mission
The mission of the Rolling Terrace Elementary School is to provide a caring and safe learning environment where all children achieve success. We are a diverse population of students, parents, and staff who hold ourselves and each other responsible for student achievement. This goal will be achieved through rigorous instruction, collaboration among stakeholders, effective utilization of resources, and trust in one another. We believe that through teamwork, Rolling Terrace Elementary School will be a high achieving school community.
Students’ Job
We, the students of Rolling Terrace Elementary School, with the support of dedicated teachers, friends, and family, will work hard to create a safe, challenging, respectful, community of good listeners who follow directions and do our best to gain skills and knowledge in all curricula areas. We will not give up on each other!
Parents’ Job
We, the parents of Rolling Terrace Elementary School, believe in a supportive and committed community where students are provided the essential tools needed for learning to become successful. We will communicate regularly and be involved to nurture students to become good learners.
Staff Job
We, the staff of Rolling Terrace Elementary School, believe that an ideal school is grounded in respect. We believe through high expectations, rigorous curriculum, hard work, and dedication all children can become successful life-long learners and responsible citizens.
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Organizational Performance Results
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Annual Measurable Objectives for K-5 Schools for 2011
85.9% (within the confidence interval) of all students and of the 7 subgroups represented at Rolling Terrace Elementary School will demonstrate proficient oradvanced in reading on the MSA.
84.5% (within the confidence interval) of all students and of the 7 subgroups represented at Rolling Terrace Elementary School will demonstrate proficient oradvanced in math on the MSA.
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Student
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Stakeholder Focus
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Needs Assessment
School / Program Overview
Rolling Terrace Elementary School is a Pre-K-5th grade school operating a school-wide Title 1 program. As an International Magnet School, we serve a multi-ethnic population of approximately 750 students. We have many programs including Spanish Immersion, the Silver Spring Judy Center, Linkages to Learning, and a Family Room staffed by a full time bi-lingual parent community coordinator. The Spanish Immersion program is a full immersion program in Kindergarten and a partial immersion program in grades 1-5. In grades 1-4, in addition to a Spanish language and culture component, Spanish Immersion students receive instruction in mathematics and science in Spanish, and all other subjects in English. In grade 5, in addition to the Spanish language and culture component, Spanish Immersion students receive instruction in science and social studies in Spanish, and in all other subjects in English. The partial immersion program greatly affects student instruction, school demographics, the master schedule, and the overall school organization.
The master schedule has been developed to provide time for targeted and focused math and reading interventions at all grade levels. For example, flexible grouping in math to allow for math acceleration, paraeducator schedules that no longer assign a para to a grade level – instead they are being assigned a student group/content area, and the inclusion model for special education and ESOL will prevent fragmentation of student days. We also have a staffing plan that has been shared with all to outline exactly what the roles and responsibilities are for non-classroom-based teachers, specialists, and para-educators. This includes details specifically referencing student groups/content areas. The staff knows that these student groups/content areas will change during the year as needed following the math and reading monthly data meetings. It is our intent that by focusing each staff member on an identified student group and allowing for flexibility we will be able to give each child a plan for success and support to allow that child to achieve.
Monthly data meetings will include all key stakeholders. Action plans will be developed to identify students needing additional interventions and the steps to move those students toward their academic target. Flexible scheduling for all non-classroom-based teachers, specialists, and paraeducators will allow us to shift interventions to those students we target. The classroom teacher will be responsible for overseeing each student’s intervention plan. Support in the form of staff development is provided to the classroom teacher for this, as well.
During the 2009-2010 RTES implemented Positive Behavioral Intervention System (PBIS). This program will continue for the 2010-2011 school year. According to the “Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (schoolwide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making targeted behaviors less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.” RTES students will receive tiger paws for being Respectful, Responsible, Safe and Prepared. During the 2010-2011 school year, a .5 focus teacher will be used as a student support specialist in order to ensure that all students are present and available for learning. This focus teacher will continually assess student data and plan lessons/small group activities in order to address school and emotional student needs. This teacher will work closely with the school counselor and school administrator.
School Data Analysis
MSA Data for 2009-2010
Total School Info / 2011 AYP Targets / Subgroup InfoReading / 85.9 / 77.8% (All Students)
Math / 84.5 / 77.8% (All Students)
AYP Not met / 4 / LEP & FARMS-Rdg/Math
AYP met with confidence interval / 8 / All Students-77.8% Rdg/Math
Rdg- Asian77.8%,Hispanic 73.3%,SpecEd 63.6%
Math- Hispanic 72.6%,African American 69.2%,SpecEd 59.1%
AYP met with safe harbor / 1 / Rdg-African American 67.7%
Grade Level Data
Grade 3
% Advanced / Read.-25% Math-35%
% Proficient / Read.-53% Math-36%
% Basic / Read.-23% Math-29%
Grade 4
% Advanced / Read.-29% Math-39%
% Proficient / Read.-48% Math-44%
% Basic / Read.-23% Math-17%
Grade 5
3333% Advanced / Read.-42% Math-28%
% Proficient / Read.-36% Math-46%
% Basic / Read.-22% Math-26%
A variety of data points will be examined throughout the year to monitor students’ progress in reading and math as reflected in our School Improvement Plan. Rolling Terrace Assessment Prep (RTAP) is our local formative assessment program which will be administered in reading and math to all students in grades 3, 4, and 5 in October and January. Monthly data meetings at each grade level in reading will occur with all key stakeholders to create action plans for identified students who are not meeting benchmark or are underperforming. This data will include, but will not be limited to: MAP-R, mClass Reading, MSA, Terra Nova, and formative assessments in grades 3-5. Monthly math data meetings will also be held to review data including but not limited to: Unit Assessments, formative assessments, BCR/ECR tasks, RTAP, and Study Island MSA practice. The monthly data meetings will occur to provide support for students and teachers and will enhance communication between staff members that support students to determine interventions.
Students classified as ELL, RELL and Special Education in grades 3, 4, and 5, who scored “Basic” on MSA or Terra Nova will be supported by the Scholastic READ ABOUT program which focuses on vocabulary and comprehension strategies. Staff development in guided reading and small group instruction for teachers K-5 will be implemented. LEP students in grades 3-5 will receive additional small group interventions from a Title I ESOL support teacher. Teachers in Grades 3-5 will also be “coached” by Title I ESOL coach teacher in best practices for increasing second language acquisition. Students below benchmark in third, fourth, and fifth grade will receive additional small group guided reading instruction from a Title I reading support teacher. Students who are in second grade who received Reading Recovery as a first grader will be monitored by our Reading Recovery team, and those identified students who are not meeting second grade reading benchmarks will receive additional intervention from the reading support teacher. In addition, sixteen first grade students will receive Reading Recovery.
Students classified as ELL, RELL and Special Education in grades 3 and 4 who scored “Basic” on Math MSA or Terra Nova the previous year will be supported by the STAR Catcher program. This program focuses on the understanding of math vocabulary, ability to demonstrate verbal understanding, demonstrate understanding through related tasks, and finally document understanding through writing. (scaffolding for BCR experiences) Students learning math in the Spanish Immersion program will participate in focused content vocabulary review and writing in English. A schoolwide basic facts initiative will continue to be implemented to support number skills in all grades.
We continue to place emphasis on our students exceeding math and reading benchmarks. Our GT committee assists in monitoring the kinds of differentiated activities in place during classroom instruction to ensure our students reach the highest levels of learning. William and Mary, Junior Great Books is a focus resource for our students who excel in reading and problem solving using critical and creative skills for writing, vocabulary, and discussion. Math plans include the challenge opportunities identified by the MCPS units at each grade level. Students exceeding grade level standard are routinely provided with these instructional opportunities and this is exhibited through their completionof challenge items in the unit assessments.
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Rolling Terrace Math 6
2010-2011 Enrollment
2010-2011Students Enrolled in Math 6
Total students in Grade 5 (111)
#/% in Math 6 50/67%
Overall / 55/50%
White / 14/25%
Asian / 6/11%
African American / 13/24%
Hispanic / 22/40%
In order to facilitate increased student participation and successful completion of accelerated math, Rolling Terrace will continue our very successful STAR Catcher program focusing on Special Ed and LEP students in K, 3, 4, 5 grades. Additional math support will be given to students in the Spanish Immersion math classes to insure student understanding of vocabulary. Our SIP mandates monthly data meetings in math. Rolling Terrace has a Math Acceleration Plan with grade level sub-group targets for acceleration that will be monitored monthly. The master schedule has been designed to provide flexible grouping in math to support acceleration at each grade level. The RTAP will continue to be given to assess students’ grade level achievement, and interventions will be provided to “fill in” any gaps in students’ knowledge to insure successful completion of accelerated math. In addition, the weekly math planning sheets will include a focus on acceleration using differentiated strategies and differentiated planning to address those students who have mastered and exceeded grade level standards.
Kindergarten Reading data – Percentage meeting benchmark of Level 6
As measured by mClass Reading
09/10Overall / 84/120 70%
White / 22/29 75%
Asian / 6/6 100%
African American / 18/24 75%
Hispanic / 40/60 66%
Grade 2 Reading data – Percentage meeting benchmark of Level M
# / % Students tested in09/10
Overall / 51/112 46%
White / 119/30 63%
Asian / 4/8 50%
African American / 8/13 61%
Hispanic / 20/60 33%
Grade 4 Reading Data – Percentage meeting Grade Level MAP-R Targets
# / % Students tested in09/10
Overall / 69/90 76%
White / 20/20 100%
Asian / 2/2 100%
African American / 13/17 76%
Hispanic / 36/47 76%
American Indian
Grade 5 Reading Data – Percentage meeting Grade Level MAP-R Targets
# / % Students tested in09/10
Overall / 87/107 81%
White / 16/16 100%
Asian / 6/6 100%
African American / 23/27 85%
Hispanic / 40/55 72%
American Indian / 1/1 100%
Out of School Suspension Rate
# / % Students in09/10
Overall / 12/1.74%
White / 0
Asian / 0
African American / 4/.6%
Hispanic / 8/12%
The main reasons for suspensions from 09-10 were physical aggression, refusal to obey school policies and weapons.
The main intervention that has been put into place is the continuation of the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Program. We have added a .5 focus teacher that will have an integral part in assisting with keeping students successful and remaining in school. This will occur with a consistent review of student referral data that will allow students needs to be addressed. The focus teacher will work with students to ensure their instruction is not impacted due to their behaviors. This will be done through individual, small group and grade level lessons to instruct students on strategies that will help them remain in the classroom throughout the day.
Our school completed the Maryland State Department of Education's School Inventory. This is an online survey designed by MSDE to assist school's in determining the root cause factors related to achievement. This information provides school based feedback that narrows down areas school improvement and helps guide the direction of our work. The survey showed areas of higher ratings in reference to instruction and assessment. As we reviewed the results, we selected categories to pursue from staff responses that were 60% or less when combining the evolving and sustaining ratings.
Based on our data from this inventory, the following categories need to be considered as we structure and monitor our school improvement efforts:
Instruction:
-increase use of resources and opportunities for students to utilize school library media and access to technology as part of daily instruction
Root cause: teachers were extremely dedicated to moving students forward and meeting benchmarks and instruction was extremely focused and in some cases traditional. Upgrade: This is a testament to our teacher’s dedication but as we embrace differentiation, we need to make a greater effort to meet instructional indicators using creative strategies and resources.
School Culture and Climate
-ensure all stakeholders actively participate in a shared school mission, vision, and values and monitor school climate
Root cause: lack of consistent parent attendance at school improvement meeting opportunities/ Upgrade: We expect as the year moves on this will improve as we have had consistent parent attendance at Leadership/ BGSIP meetings and the principal is also including parent coffees on her schedule at various points this school year.
Professional Development
-ensure all professional development is aligned with the Maryland State Curriculum and this alignment is vividly demonstrated through these activities.
Root cause: staff development funding no longer provided by district / Upgrade: We are utilizing a portion of our Title I budget for s a schoolwide initiative to include professional development since all district funds for this have been removed from local schools.
Organizational Structures/ Resources
-increase collaboration with the district team/ central office resources
Root cause: teachers are not always directly involved in the central office activity that occurs at the local school and therefore responses regarding central office / district team involvement in school may be limited based on their occasional involvement/ Upgrade: we are participating in the Enhanced School Improvement Team effort as we strive to improve achievement and therefore the district team/ central office staff will directly participate in local school meetings.