The Single Plan for Student Achievement
Stephens Elementary School
20-65193-6023899
CDS Code
Plan Period: 7/1/2008-7/1/2010
Date of revision: 4/07/2009
The Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is a plan of actions to raise the academic performance of all students to the level of performance goals established under the California Academic Performance Index. California Education Code sections 41507, 41572, and 64001 and the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) require each school to consolidate all school plans for programs funded through the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, the Pupil Retention Block Grant, the Consolidated Application, and NCLB Program Improvement into the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
For additional information on school programs and how you may become involved locally, please contact the following person:
Contact Person: Sandra Frisby
Position: Principal
Telephone Number: (559)-665-8060 Ext 665
Address: 355 N. Fifth Street
Chowchilla, CA 93610
E-mail Address:
Chowchilla Elementary School District
The District Governing Board approved this revision of the School Plan on 6/15/09.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Chowchilla Elementary School District is to provide each student a superior education in a safe and positive climate that promotes high academic performance, personal responsibility and respect for self and others.
School Profile
Stephens School is a Kindergarten only campus which serves 11 kindergarten classrooms in the Chowchilla Elementary School District. All classrooms consist of English Only Students and English Learner Students. Stephens Elementary School also serves a pre-school classroom that includes morning and afternoon classes. Each class consists of 22 students. The ethnic make-up of Stephens School represents a diverse community comprised of Hispanic, white, African American, Asian, Punjabi, Arabic, and Philippine students. Stephens School has 9 instructional aides that assist in the classrooms for 3 hours each day. A part-time speech/language therapist, resource specialist and school counselor/psychologist provide additional support services to help meet the needs of our qualified students on a regular basis.
The goal of Stephens School is to provide students on a daily basis, highly motivational lessons in each of the core curricular areas: reading, writing, math and oral language. Academic goals are developmentally appropriate and aligned with the state standards. Curriculum is enriched with social awareness activities and character development. We strive to bridge school, home and community to ensure our students will become life long learners.
School Accountability Report Card
The School Accountability Report Card (SARC) is available from the school or district office. The School Accountability Report Card is also hosted on the district web site. (www.chowchillaelem.k12.ca.us). The SARC includes details on:
* School & District Information
* School Description & Mission Statement
* Parent Involvement Opportunities
* Demographic Information
* School Facilities Information
* School Safety
* Class Size Information
* Teacher/Staff Information
* Curriculum & Instructional Materials
* Types of Services Funded
* Williams Settlement Requirements
Analysis of Current Educational Practice
Upon reviewing the following data: California English Learner Development Test (CELDT) Test Scores, Pre/Post Screening Data, Trimester Benchmarks, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and Local Test Data it was concluded that all groups and sub groups need focused attention in all academic areas.
Goal 1
All students will be continually taught phonemic awareness to enhance their reading skills.
Goal 2
All students will be continually taught mathematic skills to enhance their mathematic skills.
Goal 3
All students will receive 3 hours of allotted differentiated Language Arts instruction specifically targeted toward their individual needs.
Conclusions from Parent, Teacher and Student Input
As a result of a pre-screening standards based assessment given to each student prior to beginning school it was determined many students begin school already behind. Therefore, parents expressed the need to prepare their student for school. In order to accomplish this goal parents of pre-school students are given a handout that assists them to prepare their child for Kindergarten. In addition, all parents enrolling their children at Stephens’ school also receive a handout to assist them to prepare their child for Kindergarten. During the first parent conference, parents are provided a copy of the kindergarten report card to help parents support their student in alignment with the grade level standards.
Goal-Parents knowledge of Kindergarten curriculum will increase.
Teachers/Staff will work with parents as equal partners to support their students at home. Parents will be provided resources after the third week of school (homework rings that include letters, numbers and site words.)
1. Alignment of curriculum, instruction and materials to content and performance standards:
Stephens School has aligned the curriculum, instruction and materials to content and performance standards by implementing state adopted core materials and board approved programs. Teachers at Stephens School have been provided Staff Development opportunities and grade level articulation time weekly to focus on the California State Content and Performance Standards, adopted core materials, and the opportunity to share and discuss best teaching practices and strategies. Dedicated Staff Development time has equipped the staff with skills to effectively integrate the standards and adopted text materials throughout the lesson planning and delivery process. Student performance and progress is assessed and recorded on a trimester basis. Stephens School has developed a standards-based report card to align with the content and performance standards. Assessment is ongoing, with the results reported each trimester on an assessment composite. The Stephens School teachers created and implemented pacing guides for use in language arts and mathematics. The pacing guides are another measurement to help ensure the alignment of curriculum, instruction and materials to the content and performance standards.
2. Availability of standards-based instructional materials appropriate to all student groups:
Chowchilla Elementary School District supports a rigorous plan for English Language Learners. The program is based on the state grade level English Development Standards. The program includes structured English immersion, transitional programs, mainstreaming and alternative programs.
Houghton Mifflin has been adopted (June 2002) as the core language arts program. All teachers have access to and utilize the Universal Handbooks that are a part of the Houghton Mifflin series.
The district adopted Harcourt for mathematics (June 2008) as well as science (June 2007).
McMillan McGraw-Hill (June 2006) is the adopted series being used for social science.
Teachers use the Houghton Mifflin English Language Learner Universal Access book, Hampton Brown Avenues, Phonics and Friends, Project GLAD, Chorus of Cultures, Literacy Connection Assessment, English as a Non-Native Language (ENL) for English Language Development.
All programs in use have extensive accommodations to meet the instructional needs of all students including English learners, at-risk students, special education students, and gifted and talented students.
3. Alignment of staff development to standards, assessed student performance and professional needs:
In order to meet the diverse needs of the students, the district has implemented weekly Staff Development. The dedicated Staff Development time allows the teachers to collect, analyze, review and reflect on student data. Staff Development days are also dedicated for teacher collaboration, sharing best teaching practices, and discussing intervention strategies and student enrichment. An area of focus for the 2008-2009 school year will be in English Language Arts as most teachers attended the SB472 training during the summer of 2007. The teachers have created a Homework Portfolio that was sent home beginning the third week of school. The Homework Portfolio contains resources for additional home practice on letters, sounds, numbers, shapes, and colors. The teaching staff will also continue to receive math training through the ITQ Grant. The training will focus on cognitive guided instruction in regards to math comprehension and mastery. The training is three year training and the Stephens staff is in the second year of the training.
4. Services provided by the regular program to enable Underperforming students to meet standards:
All teachers implement the standards-based instructional materials described above. The district adopted materials address the needs of all students, including underperforming students. During initial instruction, teachers use explicit instructional strategies and techniques to address the needs of the underperforming students. Stephens School has also implemented a deployment block 3 days a week. During this 60-minute period, the students receive English Language Development or additional support from the adopted Language Arts core curriculum.
To assist teachers in working with students who are underperforming, Stephens School has 9 highly qualified instructional aides for three hours each day. Bilingual instructional aides assist in all classrooms to help meet the needs of the English Language learner students. The campus also has a migrant aide who works in the ELL classrooms on a weekly basis. A Madera County Migrant Office is housed in the Stephens Office, which also provides the school with migrant services as needed.
Stephens School has a Student Study Team process for students who are showing either academic or social difficulties. Students can be referred for an SST where a team, which includes the School Psychologist, Resource Program Specialist, Speech Therapist (if necessary), the classroom teacher, parents, and principal, meets and discusses the needs of the student. This team works together to create accommodations, modifications, goals and a plan for the student. Follow-up meetings and conferences are conducted to ensure the student is making adequate progress and/or to rewrite the goals if necessary.
The Speech Therapist is on campus one day a week. During this time she works with students on their identified areas of needs. A Resource Specialist is also on campus four afternoons each week to work with students who have been identified as needing extra support as per the student’s I.E.P and/or teacher recommendations.
Stephens School students have the opportunity to attend Club Y.E.S. Club Y.E.S. provides instructional learning activities as well as some enrichment activities. Club Y.E.S. is offered to the students 5 days a week for 3 hours each day. The students that attend Club Y.E.S. are instructed and supported by specially trained paraprofessionals and high school students.
5. Services provided by categorical funds to enable Underperforming students to meet standards
Title I funds are used to provide programs and materials for at-risk students in the District.
Title II Part A funds are used to provide quality staff development for all teachers.
Title II Part D funds are used to enhance the existing technology in the District.
Title III funds are used to provide programs and materials for the EL students in the District.
Title IV funds are used for the materials and literature used during Red Ribbon Week. These funds are also used to help develop a School Safety Plan for the District.
Title V funds are used to enhance programs and staff development at our schools in the District.
Title VII funds are used to support the ELL Program K-2 and offer opportunities for staff development for teachers working with ELL students in K-8th grade. There are instructional materials provided for these ELL classrooms which are funded throughout EIA/LEP monies. These monies also help fund the Instructional Assistants that are assigned to these classrooms.
6. Use of state and local assessments to modify instruction and
improve student achievement:
A variety of standards-based assessments are administered and used throughout the year to modify instruction and improve student achievement. Local assessments consist of kindergarten pre/post-screening assessments and the Houghton Mifflin Emerging Literacy Survey as well as the Leveled Reading Passages. These assessments are used to measure the student’s mastery of: Concepts about Print, Phonemic Awareness, Decoding and Word Recognition, Sight Words, Running Records, and Oral Language Development.
Mathematics chapter tests pre and post-tests from the Harcourt Math Assessment Guide are administered. The local assessment data from all assessments is recorded and reviewed on a trimester basis by the teachers and the administration.
The California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is administered to English Learners in the beginning of the school year. This assessment is analyzed by the curriculum office and utilized to instruct students.
The district has also purchased the DIBELS program and all kindergarten students will be assessed twice during the school year by a trained DIBELS team consisting of teachers and support staff.
7. Number and percentage of teachers in academic areas experiencing low student performance:
Stephens School is comprised of 11 teachers and 100% of our teaching staff experiences low student performance. We are a designated Title I school. All our kindergarten teachers are highly qualified to teach in the designated grade and are considered highly qualified by NCLB standards.
8. Family, school, district and community resources available to assist these students:
A variety of family, school, district and community resources are available to assist our students:
Special Education Program, Student Study Team Process, preschool on campus, Community Health Aide, Mental Health/Kings View Counseling Services, Migrant Services, ELAC/DELAC, Parent Teacher Association (PTA), School Site Council (SSC), Parent Handbook, Back to School Night, Open House, Art Day, Grandparents Day, Rotary Reading Friends, High School Helpers and Parent Teacher Conferences.
9. School, district and community barriers to improvements in student achievement:
A variety of support systems are being implemented both at the district and school site level to address the major barriers identified that affect student achievement. These barriers include varying levels of parental involvement, English learner academic achievement compared to other subgroups of students, and varying levels of professional development as it relates to standards-based instruction, assessment and intervention. Stephens School has established goals for student achievement and has identified internal expertise, district support and community resources that will enable the school to carry out the defined action plans.
10. Limitations of the current program to enable underperforming students to meet standards:
It is felt that there are no limitations to the goal for all students to achieve and meet high standards; only opportunities for growth and improvement. In working together as a team, Stephens School will strive to meet the goals and be supportive of all students.
Chowchilla Elementary School District
SPSA Goals 2008-2009/2009-2010
1. To increase ELA proficiency for all students and significant subgroups to 46% proficient or higher by the end of the 2008-09 school year.