Math Growth
Goal:In the 2016-17 school year, 55% of continuously enrolled students in grades 2-6 will meet fall to spring math learning targets established by NWEA.
In the 2017-18 school year, 60% of continuously enrolled students in grades 2-6 will meet fall to spring math learning targets established by NWEA.
WBWF Goal Areas Addressed by this Goal: AGC, CCR, GRAD
Key Measures & Results for this Goal: 2016 progress towards math growth not met.
21% of these students in grades 2-6 met target as set and measured by NWEA, an additional 21% made some progress. Again it is important to note that 40% of these students are receiving Special Education Services. More of our students like math over reading and are generally better at math. However, when it comes to testing they do not see the importance of it and do not try their hardest. With IXL we should be able to track and monitor their progress through the entire year-not just twice a year at state testing times. For the 2017-18 year we have started using another assessment program –FASTBRIDGE. We will be assessing students three times a year and comparing these results to MAPS and MCA. It is another way to access students and may be less intimidating than the state assessments.
Reading Proficiency
Goal:For each year in the contract period, 60% of students in grades 2-6 attending OOCS continuously from fall to spring will achieve grade level proficiency, determined by NWEA normative data, in the area of reading as measured by the spring NWEA assessment.
WBWF Goal Areas Addressed by this Goal: RG3, AGC, CCR, GRAD
Key Measures & Results for this Goal: 2016 progress toward reading proficiency is approaching standard.
The school did not meet as 20% of students in grades 2-6 achieved grade level proficiency. Proficiency means at least 95%.
Math Proficiency
Goal:For each year in the contract period, 60% of students in grades 2-6 attending OOCS continuously from fall to spring will achieve grade level proficiency, determined by NWEA normative data, in the area of math as measured by the spring NWEA assessment
WBWF Goal Areas Addressed by this Goal: AGC, CCR, GRAD
Key Measures & Results for this Goal: 2016 Progress toward Math Proficiency not met.
27% of students grades 2-6 achieved grade level proficiency in math. This means that the students scored 95% or higher. 43% of the students in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade were proficient.
Science Proficiency (and Growth)
Goal: For each year during the contract period, students will exhibit proficiency in the area of science by creation and presentation of a project at the annual science fair.
WBWF Goal Areas Addressed by this Goal: AGC, CCR, GRAD.
Key Measures & Results for this Goal: Curriculum mapping ensured that grade level science standards were met with a rubric measured, project based thematic unit. Staff evaluated projects based upon grade level standards. Local professionals in the science fields judged the science fair projects. This promoted career and college by role modeling local professions and evaluating student work from the perspective of the professional community. This feedback was provided to students and teaching staff. Baseline data in the 2015-16 school year showed that 84% of students demonstrated proficiency according to the science fair standards based project. In 2016-17approximately 86% of the students demonstrated proficiency according to the science fair rubric and 67% of 5th grade students met or partially met the standards per Spring MCA-III scores.
Attendance
Goal:Oshki Ogimaag Charter School will achieve its target attendance rate of 90%.
WBWF Goal Areas Addressed by this Goal: RG3, AGC, CCR, GRAD
Key Measures & Results for this Goal: OOCS fell just short of the goal for 2016-17. The overall attendance rate was 86.53%. An analysis shows that Caucasian students exceeded the goal at 97.69% whereas Native American students had an 85.47% attendance rate. Attendance has been a definite struggle for some students, it is an area that we are trying to be proactive in and are working at educating the parents of the students so they can see the correlation between good student attendance and being successful at school.
Indicator A: Federal and State Accountability – World’s Best Workforce
It is difficult to find and attain experienced teachers in our area. Our school is located in remote Northeastern Minnesota on an Indian Reservation, housing is limited in our immediate area and can be expensive away from the reservation. Most people would rather live and work in larger towns and cities. People are sometimes willing to move and work here for a year or two but then want to move on to larger schools and areas. We have been fortunate to find qualified paraprofessionals from our community, currently all of our paraprofessionals have prior experience working with students and have lived in Grand Portage most of their lives so they know the students and families well as well as the history of the school and the community.
The low number of students at our school it is difficult to measure any achievement gap data. We have a high number of students that receive free/ reduced price lunches, a high number of American Indians and a high number of special education students. We treat them all the same, teach to their level of learning, use a variety of teaching styles and keep encouraging them to do their best. By incorporating their culture in our daily teaching we hope they will leave the anger and frustration behind and come to school and feel safe and ready to learn.
Third grade reading scores. In 2016-17 we had 3 students in 3rd grade. One partially meets the standards according to MCA-III results, two do not meet. According to the Fountas and Pinnell Assessment Data two students were reading at grade level, one was not. The one that was not at grade level did make gains through the year.
8. Educational Effectiveness: Assessment & Evaluation
*The specific areas of need in the school’s education program that were identified at the start of the 2016-17 school year, and the data the needs were based upon;
In reviewing test scores from MAPS, MCA and Fountas and Pinnelle for students over a period of 3-4 years we could see that there was a pattern of the same students being proficient or almost proficient and the same students while they did grow were still not proficient. For 2017-2018 we have subscribed to Fastbridge, an assessment program that was designed by and implemented through the University of Minnesota. A very clear advantage to this program is the ease of using the information we gain from the test scores. It has a clear and concise format that shows the skills that students have mastered, are developing and what their future skills are. This helps teachers to better plan lessons and to see what skills need to be reviewed- it gives a clearer understanding to where students are compared to their classmates.
*The school’s system for periodically reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of all instruction and curriculum, taking into account strategies and best practices, student outcomes, school principal evaluations under section 123.B147, subdivision 3, and teacher evaluations under section 122A.40, subdivision 8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5.
It has been difficult to carry out the observation and professional development plans for past directors. We now have a timeline in place to help with the process; there will informal and formal observations by the Director as well as Instructional Leader. Staff have a self-evaluation to complete, the rubric they will use helps them look at their planning, how they are motivating students, communicating with students and providing opportunities for individual differences. It has them reflect on classroom management and how they participate in the school as a community.
The current school board has also adopted a plan and policy for the Director Evaluation. It is a simple checklist for staff, school board members and the director to check off- it will contain 1-2 goals that are agreed upon by the school board and director and there is a plan in place to touch base part way through the year to see how the goals are progressing.
*What do we want our students to learn? How will we know when they have learned it? How do we respond to students learning at a slower pace than expected or not at all?
At OOCS we continue to ask ourselves these questions. Students that are not meeting expectations are referred to Child Find and Child Study groups. If need be interventions are planned. Assessments are conducted in Fall and Spring, those being MCA and MAPS. Other assessments include Environmental Fair projects, Science Fair Projects. All students are evaluated four times a year on progress of classroom work and projects. That information is shared with families through progress reports and parent teacher conferences.
9. Student & Parent Satisfaction
The graph shown below is a sample of some of the responses from our 2016-17 Family Survey. Eight surveys were returned. Of the surveys returned all showed a positive response to questions ranging from school atmosphere to quality of education. Some parents indicated that they wish OOCS would offer more musical activities, swimming lessons, and traditional drumming and dancing. OOCS was fortunate enough to obtain a grant and be able to offer swimming lessons to all students. We contracted with the Y from Grand Marais- 100% of our students participated in 6 days of swimming lessons.
10.Environmental Education
The mission of Oshki Ogimaag Charter School’sauthorizer, the Audubon Center of the North Woods, is to instill a connection and commitment to the environment in people of all communities through experiential learning. ACNW defines environmental education as the implementation of values and strategies that foster learning and create environmentally literate citizens who engage in creating healthy outcomes for individuals, communities, and the Earth. The overarching goal of environmental education is an environmentally literate citizenry. The test of environmental literacy is the capacity of an individual to work individually and collectively toward sustaining a healthy natural environment. This requires sufficient awareness, knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to create a healthy planet where all people live in balance with the Earth.
At OOCS, students are provided with meaningful opportunities to explore their local ecosystem through integrated, standards based projects and field experiences. By exploring the community in which we live, students are better able to make connections between what they read and learn within the classroom to the natural environment that surrounds them. For example, students are able to see the impacts of pollution, how we can preserve our resources and interact as a part of the environment rather than a force that dominates it.
The first strategy to provide real world, field based environmental education is to connect with local scientists employed by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This partnership provides an in-kind contribution to our organization, and gives students access to Tribal research and the opportunity to participate in current environmental initiatives. Staff members include credentialed biologists, fish and wildlife experts, wetlandsspecialists, water and air quality specialists, balanced with local Anishinaabe experts with traditional knowledge of our ecosystem. This partnership is essential in our ability to achieve our goals.
The second strategy includes an additional partnership with the Grand Portage Agricultural and Development Committee and Grand Portage Health Service to implement the school garden program.
Both partnerships provide the opportunity for classroom based education, field work, and utilize language and culture as an integrating context. The school grounds house a greenhouse and teaching gardens, where a tremendous amount of instruction takes place. In addition, the school has a garden is located 6.5 miles from the school grounds. Students do plant and harvest the garden, but the larger garden’s purpose is for production rather than teaching. With the help from the community we are able to help provide produce for school lunch, elderly nutrition program lunches and the summer food program.
Curriculum Integration and School Culture: OOCS utilizes a project based model that integrates knowledge into practice. EE values and strategies are evident in many disciplines. Exploration of the natural world is present through project based, multidisciplinary themes. Some of the 2016-17 curricular themes were: One Week of Sugar Bush Camp, Wild Ricing, John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, Plants, Geology, Phenology plus several more.
Elements of traditional ecological knowledge are strategically included throughout the curriculum and school projects designed to include research being conducted on the Grand Portage Reservation. Each year we work to improve the effectiveness of our partnership in order to better support students. This year, the emphasis was on planning and alignment. This enabled all classroom staff to integrate the topics from Trust Lands with classroom themes creating a solid connection between classroom learning activities and EE.
EE permeates other academic disciplines than science. In mathematics, students are practicing skills in measurement, data gathering and analysis, estimation, and geometry. In language arts, EE activities provide opportunities for students to write about issues and experiences of importance and students practice oral communication skills in the areas of listening and speaking. Physical Education and wellness are a component of our environmental education program, as well as the arts.
Goal: Students will be better able to identify the connections between Anishinaabe values and environmental stewardship.
To accomplish this goal, students in all grades will attend at least three field trips to natural areas with cultural significance to learn cultural protocols, stories, and indigenous knowledge. Activities include harvesting and processing traditional foods, medicinal plant identification, indigenous speakers in the school, and storytelling. As mentioned previously, the volunteers met with teachers before, during, and after the teaching calendar was set in order to ensure that activities were connected with classroom material.
As a result of these activities, 60% of students will be able to demonstrate cultural protocols when practicing environmentally based cultural activities by the end of each year, FY15-18.
70% of projects at the annual Fall Environmental Inquiry Fair will include cultural topics. Baseline Data shows that we were sucdcessful, 70% of students did identify cultural topics at the Environmental Literacy Fair in 2016-17.
In the 2016-17 school year, 86% of field experiences integrated traditional ecological knowledge. Grand Portage Trust Lands Staff provided over 900 classroom minutes throughout the school year in addition to preparation time and collaborative lesson planning with teaching staff. In addition to classroom minutes, staff conducted the field opportunities identified in the chart below. The learning purpose for all field experience is to highlight cultural connections through integrating local knowledge into academic disciplines.
Local Waterways
Seasonal Observation
Electronic Fishing / Aquatic Entomology, Water Quality, Technology / Grand Portage Creek / Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Wild Rice Harvest / Observation, Water Quality, Sustainable Resource, Plant Biology, / Cuff Lake and Eagle Marsh / Traditional Harvest and Processing of Wild Rice.
Water Study / Observation, Biology, Sustainable Resource Management, Wetlands, Water Quality, Plant Biology.
Students visited a local pond to make observations on the changing environment throughout the year. Students observed beaver activity.
/ Little Lake, Grand Portage Minnesota
Lake Superior / Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Grand Portage Fish Hatchery / Students learned about fish stocked in local lakes. They learned about fish species, why fish are stocked, and participated in the stocking process. / Grand Portage Fish Hatchery, Lake Superior / Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Sugar Bush / Students and staff spent five days at Sugar Bush Camp. They set up camp, hauled wood and water, cooked over an open fire, of course tapped trees and collected sap. They were able to boil down the sap into syrup which we ate over pancakes.
Academic skills included estimation, measurement, listening skills, and journaling. / Mineral Center, Anishinaabe Sugar Camp / Students heard traditional Anishinaabe stories about the Sugar Bush from a local elder while they were in the sugar bush. Offered Tobacco. Gave back sap that was not boiled down quickly enough.
Gardening / Observation, Plant Biology, Plant Quality, Technology, Journaling / School Gardens / Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Fall Forest Exploration / Forestry Learning stations: measurement, tree identification, tree life cycle / Grand Portage Forests / Role of local forestry department in land management and research
Students were evaluated via observation whether or not they followed cultural protocols independently or if modeling was needed when involved in environmentally based cultural activities during the school year. The result was that 100% of students followed the essential cultural protocol of placing asemaa (tobacco) into the fire prior to tapping a maple tree, before harvesting at the gardens, before planting the gardens and before harvesting wild rice. All students learned that the appropriate time to tell traditional stories is when there is snow on the ground.