DRAFT OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Monger SIP of 59 Oct-13

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Monger Elementary School

#1789

1100 East Hively Ave.

Elkhart, IN 46517

574-295-4860

Elkhart Community Schools

April Walker

Principal

Rebecca Crocker

Academic Dean

2014-2015

Monger Mustangs


Table of Contents Components of the Plan___ Page #

Title I School-wide Plan Checklist 4 Narrative description of the school and community 5-7 Statement of mission, vision, or beliefs 7-8 Statutes and rules the school wishes to have suspended from operation 8 Description and location of the school’s curriculum 8-10 Titles and descriptions of assessment instruments 10-12 Plan for submission of the plan to the governing body 12 Attendance rate 13 Comprehensive Needs Assessment 14-16 Safe and disciplined learning environment 18-22 Cultural Competency 18 Implementation of school-wide reform strategies 23-27 44-67 Highly qualified teachers in all core content area classes 28-31 Strategies to attract high-quality, highly qualified teachers 32


Parental involvement

Strategies to increase parental involvement 32

Description of how school provides individual academic results to parents 33

Strategies to involve parents in planning, review and improvement of the school-wide plan 33

Plans for assisting children to transition into, through, and out of school 34-35

Opportunities for teachers to be included in decision-making related to the use of academic assessment results 36 Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local funds 37

A list of programs that will be consolidated under school-wide NA

Appendix A 38-59

Supporting Data for Rationale

Appendix B 52-59

Action plans Appendix C 59

Title I Budget Information


Title 1 School Wide Checklist

Components of a Schoolwide Plan*: Found on Page #:

1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the whole school 16-20

2. Implementation of schoolwide reform strategies that:

26-32 Appendix B: pgs 62-73

Provide opportunities for all children to meet proficient and advanced levels of student academic achievement

Use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research that:

Strengthens the core academic program

Increases the amount of learning time

Includes strategies for serving underserved populations

Includes strategies to address the needs of all children in the school, but particularly low achieving children and those at risk of not meeting state standards

Address how the school will determine if those needs of the children have been met

Are consistent with and are designed to implement state and local improvement plans, if any

3. Highly qualified teachers in all core content area classes 30-33

4. High quality and on-going professional development for teachers, principals, and paraprofessionals Appendix B: pgs. 62-73

5. Strategies to attract high-quality, highly qualified teachers to this school 34

6. Strategies to increase parental involvement, such as literary services 34-35

6 a. Description how the school will provide individual academic assessment results to parents 35

6 b. Strategies to involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the schoolwide plan 35

7. Plans for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, or a state-run preschool program

36-37

8. Opportunities and expectations for teachers to be included in the decision making related to the use of academic assessment results leading to the improvement of student achievement

37-38

9. Activities and programs at the school level to ensure that students having difficulty mastering proficient and advanced levels of the academic achievement are provided with effective, timely additional assistance

11-13, 26-30

10. Coordination and integration of federal, state and local funds; and resources such as in-kind services and program components 38

10 a. A list of programs that will be consolidated under the schoolwide plan (if applicable) NA


Description of the School and Community

Located in Elkhart County, and built on the banks of the Saint Joseph and Elkhart Rivers, Elkhart, Indiana is an incorporated Class 2 city located in north central Indiana. With an ethnically diverse population of 51,687 (up from 44,840 in 2001) citizens, Elkhart occupies 468 square miles of the county. The majority of businesses in the Elkhart city and surrounding county regions are found in manufacturing, followed by the service sector, retail trade, wholesale trade, financial services and construction. Elkhart County has been hit very hard with a high unemployment rate. It was advertised on MSNBC that it was one of the highest in the nation. Financial strains and cutbacks for education by the state have placed additional burdens on the school corporation. Monger Elementary School, part of the Elkhart Community Schools Corporation, serves approximately 379 students in kindergarten through grade six. Monger is located in a diverse area of single family homes, multi-family units, subsidized multi-family housing units, and unsubsidized multi-family housing units. The teacher to student ratio is 1:20.3. All classrooms are self-contained with inclusion and pull-out from support staff. There are three full day kindergarten sections with three certified and highly qualified teachers. Grades K, 1, and 3 have three classroom sections each and grades 2, 4, 5, & 6 have two classroom sections each. As of September, 2013, Monger School’s ethnically and socio-economically diverse student population consists of 52.9% Hispanic, 24.6% white, 13.4% African American, and 8.8% multi-racial. Overall, 89% of the students are on free/reduced lunch.

Analysis: Our combined free/reduced lunch percentage range for students has been in the high 80 to low 90 percentages for the last 5 years.

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

% Free 83.3 82 81.5 77.6 81.2

% Reduced 7.1 9 8.3 11 9.3

% Paid 9.6 9 10.3 11.3 9.5

0 20 40 60 80

100

% O

f St

ud

en

ts

SES Trend Based on Lunch Participation


YearAm. In. Am. In. Black Black Asian Asian Hispanic Hispanic White White

Multi-

Racial

Multi-

Racial

2013-14 0 0.0% 56 15% 1 0.00% 200 53.0% 93 24.5% 29 8.0%

2012-13 0 0.0% 56 16% 2 0.60% 187 52.0% 90 25% 27 7.5%

2011-12 0 0.0% 47 13.4% 3 0.9% 175 49.9% 95 27.1% 31 8.8%

2010-11 0 0.0% 70 17.2% 6 1.4% 197 48.6% 88 21.7% 44 10.8%

2009-10 0 0.0% 67 16.5% 6 1.5% 194 47.8% 90 22.2% 49 12.1%

2008-09 0 0.0% 57 14.0% 5 1.2% 215 52.8% 91 22.4% 39 9.6%

2007-08 0 0.0% 66 15.6% 5 1.2% 241 57.0% 76 18.0% 35 8.3%

Analysis: For the past 7 years, Monger School’s student population trend has been: a) our Hispanic student population is our largest student group (53%), b) followed by our white students (24.5%), and c) our black students (15%) being our third largest student group.

Monger Elementary offers a variety of educational programs including support for ENL students as well as two special education support personnel. Monger has a part time social worker to assist families with needs that exceed the realm of school as well as a parent support person who coordinates efforts to involve more parents in the schooling of their children. Monger currently has a part time behavior specialist on staff three days a week to help write and implement behavior plans, complete functional behavior assessments and to assist teachers in maximizing student achievement through various behavior management techniques. Monger also has two Title I Interventionist teachers to provide focused instruction to students that are not learning within the regular classroom with general classroom interventions. The 8 Step Process of data collection, analysis, regrouping, and intervention is used to provide focused, intense intervention or enrichment in order to meet all students’ needs. A GEI (General Education Intervention) team meets weekly to recommend assessment, initiate interventions, and monitor the educational progress of struggling students. Students who do not make adequate progress based on grade level benchmarks may be referred for additional educational evaluation.

Monger Ethnic Groups 2007-2014


Title 1 Status Monger Elementary is a Title I building. In 2011, Monger had made adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two years in a row which resulted in Monger being released from School Improvement status. Current PL221 information has placed Monger Elementary in the “A” (Exemplary Progress) category for the past 3 years.

Monger Elementary School Mission Statement

As a community of educators at Monger Elementary School, we are committed to maintaining a safe, orderly environment that fosters positive self-esteem, social responsibility, and an acceptance of cultural diversity. Within this environment, we will prepare all students to:

Communicate effectively as competent readers, writers, and speakers

Apply their academic knowledge in the areas of mathematical and technical skills

Become self-motivated individuals

Respect and work cooperatively with others

Think critically and be creative problem solvers

To this mission, we commit all our resources

School-wide Vision

Student achievement

Understand changing needs

Cross-curricular instruction

Community involvement

Expectations (high)

Standards-based lessons

Staff development


Core Beliefs

We believe all students in the Elkhart Community Schools must be provided an equal opportunity for optimal educational growth regardless of age, race, creed, national origin, disability, gender, or economic status.

We believe the school shares with the home, the church, and community agencies the responsibility for developing in all students a lifetime love of learning and the knowledge, skills, habits, understandings, attitudes, and character traits essential for

Choosing and participating in a vocation

Creating good human relationships

Achieving responsible, contributing citizenship

Enriching one’s personal life

Statutes and rules the school wishes to have suspended from operation

Monger Elementary is not applying for any waiver of statutes or rules.

Description and Location of Curriculum

Summary Statement for Language Arts

Houghton-Mifflin Journeys has been adopted as the core reading program for all Elkhart Community Schools Elementary programs. The Journeys program provides a structure for teaching the Indiana Academic Standards and the Common Core Standards in English/Language Arts. Through curriculum maps, Elkhart Community Schools have provided teachers with instructional calendars that highlight weekly focus standards, and formative assessments based on the focus standards. Using the Journeys program, classroom teachers are required to follow the district instructional calendars for reading within a ninety-minute uninterrupted block of time for kindergarten, first, second, and third grade, and a ninety-minute instructional block for grades 4 through 6 as required by the Indiana K-6 Reading Framework. The Journey’s program also provides a writing component which follows the 6 Traits of Writing (ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions). Through the Journeys program, teachers are doing explicit instruction of the five components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) as well as differentiated instructional options for struggling and advanced learners.


Through an 8 Step process, teachers assess students, analyze student data, collaborate, and provide intervention for focus skills for students on grade level, below grade level, and above grade level in three week cycles. Summary Statement for Science Monger Elementary school utilizes the Scott Foresman Science series which covers the Indiana’s Academic Standards for Science. Science instruction is also supplemented with hands-on, inquiry based science kits supplied from ETHOS (Encouraging Technology and Hands on Science). ETHOS is a non-profit science organization in Elkhart. Each grade level receives up to two complete kits per academic school year which compliment the science series and meet the state science standards. Monger currently employs three highly qualified teachers who are science liaisons to guide certified teachers of grades K-6 in inquiry based science instruction and lesson planning in their classrooms.

Sixth grade uses SEPUP (The Science Education for Public Understanding Program) creates innovative science curriculum for use in 6-12 education. Issue-oriented science forms the core of SEPUP's curriculum materials. Every unit uses personal and societal issues to provide thematic continuity for student investigations and observations. Five Modules* were selected for the 6th grade to address the Common Core Science Standards : Life Science, Studying People Scientifically, Ecology, Earth/Space Science, Exploring the Solar System, Physical Science, and Energy

Summary Statement for Mathematics Instruction Monger Elementary School’s current mathematics instruction in grades K-6 is through the implementation of the 5 Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program by The Leadership and Learning Center. This program serves as a framework built on a research based instructional model that teachers at Monger are using alongside the Everyday Math program by McGraw-Hill. The Five Easy Steps model has introduced five essential components for developing a strong mathematics program. They are: Computational Skills, Problem Solving, Conceptual Understanding, Mastery of Math Facts and Common Formative Assessment. This instructional process ties in the new Common Core standards and also correlates with the current Indiana’s Academic Standards for Mathematics. Teachers use specific teaching strategies, materials, resources, manipulatives, and math games within instruction to enhance math concepts. All students in grades k-6 also engage in daily math review and weekly problem solving activities which incorporate critical thinking skills and require students to cooperatively and individually solve mathematical problems with reasoning. Summary Statement for Social Studies Monger Elementary School currently implements Social Studies a series by Scott Foresman, which is aligned with Indiana’s Academic Standards for Social Studies. This series is supplemented with informational texts from Monger School’s guided reading library. Books from the guided reading library are utilized for both language arts instruction and social studies instruction. Students learn note-taking and map skills through the use of graphic organizers. In addition, students also receive exposure to real life experiences through the use of mock


trials, mock elections, and other role playing activities. For the 2013-14 school year students in grades 3-6 are being given the opportunity to take 2 field trips to various museums in Elkhart County. Public Review of Curriculum Materials: Elkhart Community Schools does not provide paper copies of its curriculum guides. Parents, students, and staff members may access the curriculum guides by going to the following website: http://www.elkhart.k12.in.us/content.php?id=12 Parents who do not have access to a computer may request the Monger’s main office to print paper copies of the curriculum guides for them. The public may review the curriculums at the Elkhart Community School’s Educational Services Center, as well as on the Elkhart Community School’s website. Paper copies of the curriculum may be obtained from the Educational Services Center or Monger Elementary School’s main office.

Titles and Descriptions of Assessment Instruments: Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP+) is a standardized, criterion referenced test mandated by the state for all students in grades 3-10. It determines proficiency in language arts and math and is the basis for determining Adequate Yearly Progress and PL221 category. IREAD3-is a basic reading skills assessment developed by the State of Indiana. It measures grade level proficiency in reading for student in grades K-2. The IREAD3 assessment determines 3rd grade students’ eligibility to promote to 4th grade. ACUITY- is a computer based assessment designed to support both interim and formative assessment programs with a unique integration of classroom-friendly assessments, instructional resources, reporting, and customization opportunities. This will be utilized for all students in grades 3-6. This data will be used to make future educational decisions to meet the needs of all learners. Acuity will be administered four times during the school year and is aligned with state standards and ISTEP.

mCLASS:Math assesses basic proficiency as well as deep mathematical understanding for students in grades K-2. Steps provided on the handheld device guide teachers to administer appropriate curriculum-based measures (CBM) and diagnostic interviews. After syncing the handheld device, teachers can view Web-based analysis of their students’ data.

http://www.elkhart.k12.in.us/content.php?id=12


mCLASS®:Reading 3D is an innovative approach to literacy for K-2 students that balances the assessment of Foundational Skills with Text, Reading and Comprehension (TRC) diagnostics, giving a complete picture of a student's reading development. Third Grade implements paper pencil Dibels. The importance of early reading as an indicator of future performance calls for a balanced and multidimensional approach to student assessment and instructional guidance. K-2 teachers progress monitor students to track growth based on their proficiency levels. Students in a high risk category are progress monitored weekly and students with strategic proficiency are progressed monitored once a month. Included within the mClass assessment is the widely-used DIBELS assessment:

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) -Refer to action plan as to which grade levels will be assessed and how frequently progress monitoring will take place.

Letter Naming Fluency is intended for students in kindergarten and first grade. It is a standardized, individually administered test that provides a measure of risk.

Initial Sound Fluency is intended to be used in preschool and kindergarten. It is an individually administered measure of phonological awareness that assesses a student’s ability to recognize and produce initial sounds in an orally presented word.

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency is intended for use with kindergarten and first grade. It may also be used with older children experiencing difficulty with phonological awareness. It assesses a student’s ability to segment three and four phoneme words. It is a good predictor of later reading achievement.

Nonsense Word Fluency is intended for use with kindergarten through second grade. It may be used for monitoring the progress of older students with low skills in letter sound correspondence. It is a test of alphabetic principle including the

ability to blend letters into words.

Oral Reading Fluency is intended for use with first through third grade

students. It is an individually administered test of accuracy and fluency with connected text.

Curriculum Based Measures (CBMs) which are also known as general outcomes measures (GOMs) are measures of student's performance in either basic skills or content knowledge. These are measurement systems probes for math, reading, writing, and spelling are easy to administer, quick, classroom friendly, have simple scoring, are technically reliable and valid, and provide multiple alternate forms to use for collecting data on student progress.

District Window Assessments – are linked to the 8-step process and test Tier I instruction in reading comprehension skills in grades second through sixth. We will be using the Journey’s Benchmark assessments.


LAS LINKS- State-approved instrument for initial placement/screening of new English language learner students. The LAS Links Assessment Test will be used as a placement test in the fall of 2014 and a new test, ACCESS, will be used in the spring of 2015 to replace LAS Links. Elkhart will be using the new WIDA standards for ESL beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

Plan for Submission/Updating School-wide Plan - The Title 1 committee met with Karen Reynolds in the fall and spring of 2013-

14 to discuss current standardized testing data. After analyzing the school data collaboratively, the team brainstormed suggestions and ideas for school improvement. With the help of Ms. Reynolds, the ideas were decided upon and put into the school action plan. Mrs. Reynolds retired at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Former Monger principal, Don Kominowski, will be taking her place as Monger School’s consultant for school improvement efforts beginning in the 2014-15 school year. The plan is to continue meeting as a team a minimum of 2 times per year to monitor the status of the plan and make appropriate updates.


Attendance Rate

Trend data indicates that Monger’s students are consistently at, or above, the state average for attendance. At this time, attendance is not a school-wide concern. The assistant secretary and school Social Worker monitor attendance. When a student has missed too many days, he or she is put on an attendance program and is monitored by the Social Worker. Once a student reaches level 3 in the plan, an attendance hearing is held with the parent(s), student, and Social Worker. Further action occurs as needed.

Analysis: There is no 2013-14 attendance data posted on the IDOE Compass. We expect the past trend to continue to show Monger’s attendance average to be above the state average.

2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

Monger 96.7 96.2 96.6 96.9 95.7

State 96.1 95.8 95.9 96.1 95.8

95

95.2

95.4

95.6

95.8

96

96.2

96.4

96.6

96.8

97

Attendance Percent Rate Monger Compared to State


Comprehensive Needs Assessment: Curriculum and Instruction

Areas of Concern:

The state adopted yet another set of standards late summer of 2014. The late adoption of the Indiana College and Career Readiness Standards did not allow staff time to collaborate/plan for the implementation and assessments for the new standards. There will be a new ISTEP exam in the spring of 2015 and there are limited resources for teachers. The Acuity exam was also changed and information as to how we can use Acuity to prepare for ISTEP is not clear at this point. The overall concern is that there are a lot of changes in regards to assessment and standards that are taking place during the school year. This makes it hard for teachers to know how to prepare students for the assessment pieces.

Areas of Strength:

Teachers, with the help of our interventionists, have begun adding the missing standards to the instructional calendars to ensure they are teaching all standards assessed on ISTEP. The core reading program has been widely embraced by teachers and most are utilizing the many resources the program provides. The district has went back to following the Every Day Math program now that we are no longer using Common Core Standards. Teachers are more comfortable with the EDM program being followed as written, verses bouncing around.

Student Achievement

Areas of Concern:

Our 3rd grade passing percentages are the lowest in our building, and are lower than the district average.

For grades K-2, our overall TRC proficiency for the end of the 2013-14 is up 6% from 2012-13. However, the number of students proficient in this measure does not meet the 80%+ proficiency we strive for. We do take in to account the number of English Language Learners and understand that it takes time to develop language proficiency in the lower levels.


Areas of Strength:

On the 2013-14 ISTEP Exam, Monger set a new school record for percentage of students passing both Math and ELA. 80.8% of our students passed both subjects. This is a 12% increase from the 2012-13 school year.

We also set a school record in our percentage of students who passed the ELA portion of ISTEP with 88.4% of our students passing. This was a 14% increase from 2012-13!

Our math scores continue to be higher than the district and state average with our percentage passing being 86.4%. This was a 6% increase from last year.

Monger has an over 90% passing rate in both language arts and math for grades 5 & 6.

Family and Community

Areas of Concern:

With the extended day and reduction of prep time, teachers are having a hard time meeting with parents of struggling students and making positive contacts with parents of students doing a great job. There seems to be a high mobility rate. With the redistricting, Monger seems to be getting a lot of new kids from various schools.

Areas of Strength:

Through the 21st Century Grant, a family night is scheduled several times throughout the school year. Personal parent contacts and workshops are offered through the work of Parent Coordinator, Camelia Corona. The Monger P.T.O. has also used Back to School Night as a way to engage and involve other parents. Home letters are sent home to parents informing them of the skills being taught in math and the core reading program in both English and Spanish. All communications and notices from the school are sent in both languages. The hiring of a full time translator has helped increase communication between staff and our Hispanic families.

School Culture and Climate

Areas of Concern:

We faced a lot of staffing changes to start our new school year. Large class sizes and new people had people starting a little nervous. As we work out these kinks, staff seems to be pulling together. We are still working to strengthen our bully prevention program in order to help students learn positive problem solving skills and character traits.


Areas of Strength:

We have a friendly and welcoming office staff, having a translator helps our Hispanic families feel more comfortable in calling and asking questions. School leadership team members continue to plan activities to celebrate student success. We are also implementing a monthly awards program to celebrate positive student behaviors. Recent connections between the school and the Tolson Center will also allow us to reward student behavior with a field trip to Tolson. Teachers joined forces to create a school social committee. Teachers seem positive in trying support one another and are making efforts to build staff morale.

School Management

Areas of Concern:

A majority of Monger’s teachers have bought in to the concept of using data to drive instruction and intervention. However, we are concerned with not having assessments that align to the new standards. With the development of the new ESL standards (WIDA), the responsibility of the ESL teacher and classroom teachers have changed. We are starting 2014-15 without very much direction with the new standards.

Areas of Strength:

All Monger teachers participated in at least two days of professional development for the new 5 Easy Steps math program prior to the 2012-13 school year. Professional development opportunities will be planned to support teachers in the area of differentiated instruction. In 2013-14, teachers were provided resources and information regarding best practices for ESL students. Master teachers have been identified to provide coaching to other teachers in the district. Monthly learning log meetings have been scheduled for teachers and administrators to discuss student assessment data and plan instructional strategies to meet student needs.


Member’s Name Affiliation

Jan Farron Business Representative

Victoria Hays Intervention Teacher

Stacy Lambdin Teacher Representative

April Walker Principal

Linda Wagner Teacher Representative

Nikole Dinehart Parent Representative

Nina Swartzlander Teacher Representative

Mayra Adame Parent Representative

Rebecca Crocker Academic Dean

Name Position

April Walker Principal

Nina Swartzlander Teacher

Denise Hensley ENL Teacher

Angie Matthys Teacher

Victoria Hays Intervention Teacher

Linda Wagner Teacher

Nikole Dinehart Parent

Stacy Lambdin Teacher

Camelia Corona Parent Support

Joy Graber Teacher

School Improvement PL 221 Committee

Title I School-wide Planning Team


Cultural Competency Monger Elementary Staff members have experienced culturally responsive teaching training and most recently were involved in professional development activities with an IDOE module focused on Cultural Competency.

Achievement data is analyzed with a focus on Monger subgroups and specifically where there are gaps in achievement for certain populations of students. This is done so that the teachers are able to develop strategies to address and remediate these gaps. Detailed analysis of student progress for all subgroups for which we have data, is included for passing rate and growth rate (see pages 46-63)

Safe and disciplined learning environment/ Bullying Program at Monger: Discipline referrals at Monger from all locations are now being recorded in the computer and the data will be analyzed regularly in order to plan interventions which are proactive rather than reactive. Monger School continues to participate in the Olweus Bullying Program and has an active school committee working to prevent such activity at the school. We have created a Behavior Intervention Team that will meet weekly to discuss students with challenging behaviors and collaboratively create individual behavior plans for specific students. The BIT team will be analyzing student discipline data each month to monitor the school’s fair implementation of discipline practices in order to prevent disproportionate office referrals/consequences.

Information regarding our anti-bullying initiative:

Bullying, as defined in Elkhart Community Schools Rules for Student Conduct, is overt, repeated acts or gestures, including, but not limited to, verbal or written communications, and /or physical acts, with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate,


intimidate, or harm other students. Monger is a part of the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. As a part of the program, class meetings will be held once each week. Staff will be provided with lesson plan topics for those class meetings with many of them focusing on bullying and what students should do if they are bullied and if they witness bullying. In cases where bullying occurs the supervising staff member determines if it falls into the minor or major category. If minor, the supervisor addresses the student, reminding him/her of appropriate behavior and warning of possible consequences if such behavior recurs. If major, the child is referred to the office. In the case of a major infraction, parent contact is made and student receives consequences for the behavior. If the bullying persists, it could lead to suspension or expulsion. These procedures are found in Guidelines for Good School Order and Rules for Student Conduct that are distributed at the beginning of the school year or when a student enrolls in the school.

Elkhart Community Schools is a bully-free zone, providing students with a comfortable and safe learning environment. The district uses the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program to teach students appropriate behavior in school hallways, classrooms, playgrounds, lunchrooms, and other areas that students congregate. Our students are also taught appropriate ways to respond to a bully, and how to help a classmate that is being bullied. As a service to students, parents, and the ECS community, the district is now providing a "Bully Free Hotzone" to respond quickly to questions or concerns about bullying.

Parents and students can access the new forum, [email protected] to obtain specific advice on how to handle a bullying incident, to report bullying, or to request school or group training in the Olweus Bully Prevention methods.

mailto:[email protected]


What is Bullying?

A student is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more students. Bullying implies an imbalance in power or strength. Bullying can take forms such as:

Hitting or punching (physical bullying) Teasing or name calling (verbal bullying) Intimidation through gestures, social exclusion, threats, or spreading rumors (indirect bullying) Sending insults by e-mail, Web, or text messaging (cyber bullying)

Goals of Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

Reduce existing bully/victim problems among school children. Prevent the development of new bully/victim problems. Improve peer relations. Improve school climate.


Elements of Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

Develop school rules against bullying. Post and discuss these bully rules. Incorporate bully themes into the curriculum. Teach appropriate intervention strategies to empower bystanders. Increase supervision in "hot spots" for bullying. Intervene on the spot when bullying occurs. Use consistent positive and negative consequences. Hold follow-up discussions for bullies and students who are bullied. Share information with staff. Involve parents of the students involved.

Mary Yoder Holsopple is the bully prevention coordinator for ECS.

Bullying Briefs

Students in the fourth grade report the highest number of bullying incidents. Kids are less likely to be bullied if they have friends. Girls are more likely to report being bullied through social exclusion, rumor spreading, and

sexual comments. Boys are more likely to report being physically bullied. Both boys and girls report being involved in verbal and relational bullying.

Boys who were identified as bullies in middle school were four times as likely to have three or more criminal convictions by age 24 as their non-bullying peers.

Victims of bullying have higher rates of anxiety and depression, and lower self-esteem, even as adults.

Bullying has been linked with serious school violence, shootings, and hazing incidents.


Bullying Professional Development

All Certified teachers underwent initial (half-day) Olweus bullying training on April 22, 2010 at Roosevelt Elementary. All Elkhart School administrators were re-trained in the fall of 2013. Training was led by Mary Yoder-Holsopple, district facilitator. Follow up training and continued professional development will be held during staff professional development Tuesdays. There will be a total 5 professional development opportunities for staff during the school year. The bully prevention team meets monthly.

Monger Elementary Safe School Committee April Walker-Principal Rebecca Crocker-Academic Dean Mike Swanson- 3rd grade teacher Kim Varga – Behavior Consultant Emily Lewandowski – School Social Worker Camelia Corona – Parent Support specialist


Implementation of School-wide Reform Strategies:

Scientific-based research strategies increase the quality and quantity of instruction at Monger. Monger demonstrates its commitment to research-based methods and strategies by implementing Five Easy Steps, Everyday Mathematics, Houghton-Mifflin Journeys reading program and Inquiry science. Monger staff follows an 8 Step Process combined with Data Teams to analyze student data and provide all students with daily, 30 minute interventions which is based upon their individual needs. Students are appropriately grouped and participate in interventions through a school-wide SUCCESS period. The selected strategies and focus skills address the needs of all children in the school.

Standards-based instruction is being implemented at Monger Elementary School to ensure all groups of students enrolled will meet proficient levels of achievement on high stakes exams such as IREAD and ISTEP+. Student achievement is measured by ISTEP+, Acuity, mCLASS, CBM and district pre and post formative assessments which drive instruction. The 8 Step Process utilizes data collected from common formative assessments on identified focus standards to provide remediation or enrichment Math and Reading/Language Arts. Any students who are non-proficient are targeted for specific intervention through an all school SUCCESS period. Students are also provided with differentiation of core instruction within the classroom and interventionists are utilized to help support students and teachers. 3rd grade students who failed the IREAD3 exam have the opportunity to attend up to six weeks of summer school remediation before retaking the test.

The Elkhart Community Schools English Language Arts core curriculum as specified in curriculum maps for each grade level, and through instructional calendars is taught using the Houghton-Mifflin Journeys reading program. Journeys is aligned with the Common Core Standards preparing our students for future success. Curriculum maps and instructional calendars drive the instructional sequence and the 8 Step Process is used to assess students on core academic skills analyze the data, plan interventions and regroup students based on the data.

Monger Elementary School has implemented the cluster model classrooms for high ability students. This approach along with the daily 30 minute success period intervention that all students will receive at their instructional level, and small group guided reading instruction will ensure that all students will have the opportunity to meet proficient and advanced levels of achievement.

Monger staff uses effective teaching methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research and are determined through a process involving collaboration, data analysis and problem solving as described below:


Monger’s Learning Log meetings occur monthly to determine student progress and needs. As a part of the monthly Learning Log meeting, teachers select appropriate instructional strategies upon which all members of the team agree. The strategies and instructional approaches that teachers utilize come from the research based resource, “A Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works” Marzano, Norford, Paynter, Pickering, and Gaddy, 2001 and from required district professional development workshops.

Monger teachers participate in “Learning Log” meetings once a month in order to analyze data collected from the Journey’s Benchmark Assessments, Acuity and/or mClass. The learning log meetings include administrators. Teachers use the data discussed in learning logs to re-group students based on a particular skill and then provide remediation or enrichment, based on student needs.

All Monger students are provided with appropriately leveled interventions based on needs identified through the 8 Step Process.

Daily Reading Intervention-Each student in grades K-6 is assessed and then assigned a success group based upon his/her academic need. Students are then given additional instruction outside of the 90 minute reading block in the reading comprehension skill they most need help in.

All Monger students are given additional help or enrichment through daily intervention time called “SUCCESS” Students are given extended day learning opportunities. During grade level intervention times, ENL, Special Education, and other resource teachers provide explicit instruction to students. All available certified and non-certified personnel participate “SUCCESS” period. Student intervention groups are determined through the use of the 8 Step Process (common formative assessments, learning logs) and Diagnostic evaluations which are provided to those students.

Instruction at Monger is based upon a three tier model driven by the 8 Step Process. All students receive whole group instruction as well as a SUCCESS intervention regardless of their level of academic accomplishment. Any student continuing to struggle as determined by data will be provided additional intervention through work with teachers assigned to intervention duties. If a student from the second tier is still struggling, the child will be referred to the building General Education Intervention team. Once the GEI team meets, the team provides the teacher with an additional intervention (tier 3) for the struggling student and will monitor progress monitoring data over a given amount of time. If the student fails to make adequate growth, the student may be referred for special education testing.

Through common classroom assessments and the results from standardized tests, teachers are able to determine if student needs are being met. Teachers in grades K-2 will progress monitor students at the recommended rate for struggling students (weekly for


intensive needs, and bi-weekly for strategic needs). Teachers in grades 3-6 will be giving the Acuity Diagnostic Assessment to determine if student needs are being met and to drive their instruction along with district provided assessments for focus skills. Teachers will also use other Curriculum Based Measures such as MAZE or Math CBMs to assess the progress of their struggling learners. This information will be incorporated into Data Team and Learning Log meetings and instruction will be adjusted accordingly.

After School Clubs-Monger students are given the opportunity to participate in a variety of after school clubs that provide them additional instruction in areas of need. Clubs in the past have been: 21st Century SES, Brain Hurricane, Science , Dance, Guitar, Animal Safari, Crafts, 21st Century Homework Help, Indianapolis Algebra Project and Apangea which can be researched at: (http://www.apangea.com/products/research_behind_apangea.htm). This year, our 21st Century Clubs will have a STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts, & mathematics) focus.

Monger Elementary School’s core curriculums are based on Indiana’s College and Career Readiness Standards. The curriculums are implemented through programs that utilize researched instructional practices. Monger Elementary School implements the following scientifically researched programs:

Houghton-Mifflin Journeys Elkhart Community Schools adopted English/language arts basal series which is aligned with the Common Core Standards.

Five Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program-This program is used in conjunction with our current math program.

Everyday Mathematics - This math program correlates with Indiana’s Academic Standards. It utilizes specific teaching strategies, workbooks manipulatives and math games within instruction to enhance math concepts.

Scott Foresman Science is the Elkhart Community Schools adopted science basal series, however only grades 3-6 have student textbooks and teacher’s manuals. Grades k-2 utilize Indiana’s Academic Standards and the Newbridge Science leveled readers. Monger is currently using S.T.C. science kits to supplement the science curriculum.

SEPUP is the Science Education for Public Understanding Program (6th Grade)

http://www.apangea.com/products/research_behind_apangea.htm


Title I Program The Title 1 program at Monger Elementary provides supplemental reading instruction to selected students in kindergarten through sixth grade requiring assistance in meeting the Indiana’s Academic Standards and the Common Core Standards. Students are selected for the program based upon results from the following assessments: Acuity, mClass data, CBM, Read Well, SRI data and teacher recommendations. Goal Achievement Assessments: mClass data, Acuity data, Writing Prompts, Constructed Response questions, common formative assessments, and individual diagnostic assessments. C.A.R.E.S. Monger Elementary School is proud to partner with CARES (Communities Actively Relating to Elkhart Schools), Inc. This program provides adult volunteers to serve as mentors and tutors for primarily at-risk students in grades K-6. Teachers can request a CARES volunteer for a specific student in their classroom. Summer School The purpose of Monger’s Title 1 Summer School Improvement Program, is to provide additional academic instruction during the summer for our students. The targeted incoming Kindergarten and third grade students are those most “in need” academically based on reading and math testing results. The teacher to student ratio will be one to twelve. The Title I Summer School Improvement Program lasts for three weeks during the month of June. 21st Century After-School Clubs Students at Monger in grades k-6 are able to participate in after school learning clubs which meet 3 -4 hours per week for eight to twelve weeks in the fall and an additional eight to twelve weeks in the spring. These clubs focus on the teaching of Indiana Standards through STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts, Mathematics). Projects based assessments are utilized to evaluate club effectiveness. Additionally, homework clubs meet several times a week to assist those students who have difficulty getting homework completed or need additional assistance.


Timely additional assistance:

Component 9: Activities and programs at the school level to ensure that students having difficulty mastering proficient and advanced levels of the academic achievement are provided with effective, timely additional assistance:

According to the ISTEP+, mClass, and Acuity benchmark assessment data, and district formative assessments, standards-based instruction is being implemented to increase student achievement. Following a three week cycle of instruction followed by assessment, students are grouped based upon need and provided a “SUCCESS” period in which intervention is provided for all students regardless of their level of achievement.

Houghton-Mifflin Journeys program is utilized to focus on specific student needs as addressed on the aforementioned summative, benchmark, and formative assessments. The Journeys program provides Tier II and Tier III interventions as part of the program.

RtI (Response to Instruction)/8 Step Process Model

Interventions for Tier II and Tier III will be determined through the 8 Step Processes to address individual student needs. Monger Elementary will be utilizing research based interventions through Read Well and BURST to assist those students needing additional academic support. Two certified teachers will direct the scheduling and implementation to ensure that all academic needs are met.

GEI (General Education Intervention)

Monger Elementary also has a GEI team to address student academic and behavioral concerns. This team is composed of teachers, administrators, and specialized individuals to assist in the evaluation, implementation, and review of specific student focused learning. After an initial screening in the subject area of concern and attempted remedial strategies, teachers will refer a student to the GEI team. The student receives individual or small group instruction specifically on the student’s level of need and progress is monitored through CBM. A student is followed through this process until they are dismissed from the cycle due to improvement or moved into testing for Special Education services.


Highly Qualified Teachers and Paraprofessionals

TO: STATE OF INDIANA TITLE I OFFICE

FROM: DOUG THORNE

DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL LEGAL SERVICES

ELKHART COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

DATE: 8-24-10

RE: LEA HIGHLY QUALIFIED PLAN

Elkhart Community Schools’ plan to hire and maintain highly qualified staff members is as follows:

Teachers:

No teacher is hired unless that teacher holds a current IN license to teach the area for which they have been hired.

Teachers are not hired to teach in an area for which they do not have licensure in that specific area.

The Personnel Department maintains on-going records of teachers’ certification expiration dates.

The Personnel Department sends out regular and timely communication three times each year to teachers as reminders to re-new licenses.

The Personnel Department follows up communication with personal phone calls to ensure that all teachers maintain current licenses in the area in which they have been hired to teach.

Communication from the Personnel Department to teachers concerning licenses states that no teacher will be allowed to start the school year without a current license on file.

Master contract language in agreement with The Elkhart Teachers Association and Elkhart Community Schools states that any teacher who does not maintain appropriate and current licensure is in violation of their contract and forfeits employment.

Paraprofessionals:

Over the last three years, all currently employed paraprofessionals have been provided a multitude of opportunities to study for and take the Para Pro Assessment through ETS. Elkhart is a computer test site also.

From January 2002 until the present, any person hired as a paraprofessional had to meet the requirements of two years of college, or an associate’s degree, or passing scores on the Para Pro prior to being allowed to apply for a position. This practice continues to date.


Elkhart Community Schools employs and maintains teachers who are highly qualified by the following criteria: All teachers will hold a current Indiana teaching license in the area for which they are hired The Personnel department maintains on-going records of teacher’s certification expiration dates and notifies teachers when

renewal is needed Monger School implements the district policies to ensure that the teachers maintain current teacher licensure

The principal of Monger Elementary makes recommendations to the Personnel Department regarding the hiring of professional staff that will enhance Monger’s school-wide reform plan. Candidate recommendations are based upon, but limited to the candidate’s: Acceptance of ethnically and socio-economically diverse student population and knowledge of how to effectively teach these

students Willingness to continue to grow professionally through collaboration and professional development Desire to be a life-long learner and positive role model for the students at Monger

Monger SIP of 59

Oct-13


September 4, 2014

This document has been verified by Doug Thorne, Executive Director of Personnel and Legal Services

So that the Elkhart Community Schools can be in compliance with I.C.5-14-3-4(b)(8) this information is reported without the disclosure of confidential information.

Employee Job/Position Time Location Degree

1 Para- Translator 0111 Monger BS Bachelors Degree

2 Para- Media/Library 0111 Monger Compliant Para Test

3 Para- Instructional 0111 Monger Compliant Credit Hours

4 Para- Instructional 0111 Monger Compliant Para Test

5 Para- Keyboarding 0111 Monger BA Bachelors Degree

Paraprofessionals 2013-2014


Component 5: Strategies to attract high-quality, highly qualified teachers to this school:

The Elkhart Community Schools personnel department does the initial recruiting and screening of potential teaching candidates. The use of a systematic screening and hiring program, Ventures in Excellence, assures the employment of the best candidates.

Parental Involvement

Component 6: Strategies to increase parental involvement, such as literacy services

The services that are provided as part of our school-wide program include:

Title 1 Parent Meetings, Back to School Night, Everyday Mathematics Workshop, and parenting classes. The parenting classes focus on a variety of topics. Also provided as part of the school wide program are the school newsletter in English and Spanish and an ENL translator for our Spanish-speaking parents.

At Monger Elementary we currently have in place for parent participation:

Family Reading Night.

Parenting Classes with the pre-K students to help the student become better prepared to come to school.

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meets once a month.

Parents have the opportunity to participate in their child’s classroom; this can occur as often as the parent is available.

Homework workshops designed to provide tools/resources for parents to assist their children with academic work.

21st Century Club Facebook Page.

Monger Elementary School partners with the following agencies to increase community involvement:

The Elkhart Public Library - educates the parents on the importance of and how to read aloud to their children, as well as other reading strategies to help their children become better readers.

CAPS (Child and Parent Services) – this agency provides services to parents by giving them parenting ideas and strategies to help foster success in their child’s development.

Down Town Churches Coalition - this organization partners with the school to build and nurture wholesome communities of safety, support and decent housing.


Elkhart Exchange Club - this organization partners with the school to encourage citizenship among the sixth grade students.

CARES – volunteers provide individual student tutoring and mentoring through a local church.

Component 6a: Description how the school will provide individual academic assessment results to parents:

Various methods and activities have been put into place at the district and school levels to assist parents in understanding their child’s academic progress. The ISTEP assessment reports are sent home to inform parents of student’s academic progress. These documents explain how to read and understand the testing information. Parents with questions are encouraged to contact the classroom teacher or principal for further explanation. Any necessary translation assistance is facilitated through the parent support. In addition, parent letters will be sent to primary students to provide suggestions for enhancing reading development and information on their students’ progress on the mClass assessments. Acuity testing information will also be provided to parents on a quarterly basis. 3rd grade teachers also hold an initial IREAD meeting to explain to parents the requirements of the IREAD3 exam and inform parents of their child’s current level of performance. Teachers also utilize two parent teacher conferences a year where they review individual student data with parents.

Documents will be translated for non-English speaking parents. Translators will be provided at meetings or conferences for language minority parents.

Component 6b: Strategies to involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the SIP plan:

To monitor Monger’s SIP effectiveness, a parent advisory board has been assembled to help in the design, implementation, and communication between the school and the parents. The parent meetings are held at Monger Elementary. Monger’s annual parent informational meeting takes place at the beginning of the school year. The annual parent meeting addresses the Parent Involvement Compact, Parent Involvement Policy, Complaint Resolution Procedure, and Parents’ Right to Know. At the annual meeting, parents are encouraged to participate in a school-wide survey. This survey then allows the school to create programs and activities that meet the needs of Monger’s student/parent population. Parents communicate with teachers through Parent/Teacher conferences twice an academic school year, conferencing with teachers upon parent’s request, telephone number of school available to all parents, Spanish translator in the main office, and teachers’ e-mail.


Parent Involvement Analysis

Parents who have responded to surveys feel welcome at our school

Families feel appreciated for the things they do at school

Parents feel that the school is a safe place for students

Parents would like to be more informed by the school

Parents attend their children’s conferences

The plan was developed based on needs identified in that comprehensive needs assessment. Each year the school improvement team has monitored data in those areas during quarterly day-long checkpoint meetings. (See Appendix B for this year’s checkpoint summary information.) Revisions and adjustments are made to the plan based on analysis of the trends and most current data.

Transition Plans Component 7: Plans for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, or a state-run preschool program: Few students who enroll at Monger for kindergarten have previously attended a preschool or Head Start prior to enrollment. Of those students who come from a preschool setting come to Monger from the following providers:

Dunlap United Methodist Preschool

Children’s Discovery Center

Hively Avenue Preschool

La Petite Academy

Head Start

PACE Head Start Head Start in Elkhart County was reorganized during the 2005-2006 academic school year. Head Start is now supervised in Elkhart County and St. Joseph County by a collaboration of the school districts in both counties. Head Start programs are located in Elkhart County’s local school buildings. This reorganization has allowed Head Start officials and local schools to work more closely together in preparing early learners for success in kindergarten. All Head Start programs in Elkhart County use the High Scope curriculum with pre-school children. The High Scope curriculum is rich in language development and aligns well with the kindergarten curriculum and the Elkhart Balanced Literacy.


Next Steps

In order to improve the performance of students entering Monger Elementary School from preschool, we will be hosting a Head Start class at Monger for the first time during the 2014-15 school year. The Head Start program will allow 34 preschool age students to attend preschool at Monger. Head Start employees with work with parents to ensure students meet specific benchmarks academically as well as keep up on immunizations and student health.

Curriculum discussion will also be held with parents during Monger’s annual kindergarten Back to School Night. During this time, the kindergarten teachers and Parent Support Coordinator will create a forum to inform parents about kindergarten at Monger Elementary School. Questions will also be answered on how parents can best assist their children who are enrolling as well as those who are not yet enrolled. Additionally, parents will receive an informational packet for their students who are of preschool age and not yet enrolled in a preschool.

As there has been no prior tracking of students entering Monger from preschools, parents of current kindergarten students will be given a survey inquiring if and where the child attended preschool. This will become a new step in the enrollment process for tracking preschool history in the upcoming years.

6th grade students are transitioned to the middle school through orientations that are held at the middle schools. Students who may have a difficult transition are also taken on an additional trip by their teacher to visit the school during the spring of their 6 th grade year. Counselors from the various middle schools come to the elementary schools to discuss class scheduling options as well as answer any questions that students may have regarding the middle school transition.


Opportunities for Teachers to be included in Decision-Making Component 8: Opportunities and expectations for teachers to be included in the decision making related to the use of academic assessment results leading to the improvement of student achievement: A variety of vehicles exist for including teachers in decision-making regarding the use of academic assessments to provide information on, and improve achievement of, students and the overall instructional program. Students’ performance drives modifications and improvements in the selection and use of school-based assessments. Teachers analyze classroom, benchmark and summative assessment data to drive instructional efforts and to improve the overall instructional program. Grade level Data Teams, collaboration meetings, and Learning Log Teams meet on a monthly basis to review student performance as measured by formative and/or summative assessments to assess the learning and instruction of performance on the Standards. Instructional methods are the primary measure regarding implementation, academic improvement, and instructional decision-making. Collaboration Teams submit their agenda, meeting times, and plans to the principal after each meeting. Monger’s School Improvement Committee (SIC), meets two times each school year is composed of teachers, parents, community members, the principal, and staff and participates in the selection, use, and interpretation of standards based assessments. The School Improvement Committee reviews students’ ISTEP results and data team’s results to help make decisions regarding the use of academic assessments and monitor the implementation plan. Student assessment data is used to drive instruction at Monger Elementary School. Through the use of data team’s data, as well as other corporate and statewide data, teachers at Monger celebrate the areas of strength while delving into data to ensure understanding and support best practices instruction. The collection of data is ongoing throughout the year as data teams are held monthly. During this time, teachers analyze pre/post data while referencing Power Indicators to utilize standards-based and student-focused instruction. Each data team meeting is a time to analyze the effectiveness of strategies utilized for instruction. During this time of collaboration, teachers are able to discuss which strategies have been effective and which have not. Teachers also identify specific students who have made the minimum level of proficiency as well as identifying those students who will need extra support to become proficient. All teachers at Monger have been trained by the Literacy and Learning Center (formerly Leadership and Learning Center) in the following areas: Unwrapping the Standards, Effective Teaching Strategies, and Data Teams. Research-based best practices instruction is ongoing at Monger.


Coordination and Integration of Federal, State, and Local Funds

Component 10: Coordination and integration of federal, state and local funds; and resources such as in-kind services and program

components: While the school has chosen to coordinate the program efforts, it will not consolidate program funds at this time. All fund

expenditures and budgetary coordination, within Title 1 schools, are coordinated at the district level. Coordinated programs include Title

1, special education, and English as a second language those students who qualify. Title 1 funds provide 2.0 teachers as building-wide

interventionists, 2.5 paraprofessionals, who also is involved in student interventions, 0.25 building translator, and 0.75 parent support

liaison, as well as collaboration time for our certified staff members. Additionally, the funds facilitate time for professional development

and monitoring the implementation of the school improvement plan.


Appendix A:

Supporting Data for Rationale

Pgs. 41-53, Graphs 3-21


2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

% Passing Both E/LA Math 64.2 77.7 68.4 80.8

% Passing E/LA 68.7 80.1 74.2 87.4

% Passing Math 78.6 89.9 80.7 86.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Graph 3 Monger School Total % of ALL Students Passing ISTEP

% Passing Both E/LA Math

% Passing E/LA

% Passing Math

Analysis: Math and E/LA scores increased. The number of students shown passing both increased.


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

3Gr Sp 2011

3Gr Sp 2012

3Gr Sp 2013

3Gr Sp 2014

4Gr Sp 2011

4Gr Sp 2012

4Gr Sp 2013

4Gr Sp 2014

5Gr Sp 2011

5Gr Sp 2012

5Gr Sp 2013

5Gr Sp 2014

6Gr Sp 2011

6Gr Sp 2012

6Gr Sp 2013

6Gr Sp 2014

Graph 4 % of All Students Passing ISTEP

Both E/LA & Math

Analysis: 6th

grade showed the greatest increase in % passing both subjects

from 2013 to 2014.


3Gr Sp 2011

3Gr Sp 2012

3Gr Sp 2013

3Gr Sp 2014

4Gr Sp 2011

4Gr Sp 2012

4Gr Sp 2013

4Gr Sp 2014

5Gr Sp 2011

5Gr Sp 2012

5Gr Sp 2013

5Gr Sp 2014

6Gr Sp 2011

6Gr Sp 2012

6Gr Sp 2013

6Gr Sp 2014

Total % Passing 80 83 72 78 63 89 82.5 95.3 61 56 74.5 91.9 70 82 68 90.5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% P

assi

ng

Graph 5 % Passing ISTEP E/LA 2011-2014

Analysis: 5th

Grade was our biggest concern in 2013. However, 4th

and 5th

grade showed the highest passing

percentage in E/LA in 2013. 5th

grade showed a significant growth with 17%. 6th

grade showed a 22.5%

growth. In 2013, 5th

grade achieved their highest passing percentage in 4 years. Grade 3 is a concern and we

are looking closely at 2nd

grade mClass data and reading instruction, as well as 3rd

grade interventions to

correct this in the future.


3Gr Sp 2011

3Gr Sp 2012

3Gr Sp 2013

3Gr Sp 2014

4Gr Sp 2011

4Gr Sp 2012

4Gr Sp 2013

4Gr Sp 2014

5Gr Sp 2011

5Gr Sp 2012

5Gr Sp 2013

5Gr Sp 2014

6Gr Sp 2011

6Gr Sp 2012

6Gr Sp 2013

6Gr Sp 2014

Series1 80 88 70 73.1 67 92 88.4 86.4 69 82 87.5 94.9 92 94 77.5 95.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% P

assi

ng

Graph 6 % All Students Passing Math ISTEP 2011-2014

Analysis: 5th & 6th grades lead the school in passing % on ISTEP Math. All grade levels consistently show a minimum of 70% or more passing Math on ISTEP.


2013-2014 ISTEP Data-Demographic Break Down-E/LA

Graph 7 Graph 8

Analysis: In E/LA, at the building level, two of our three large student populations (Hispanic and White) are

passing at higher than the 70% success rate. Our White students are passing at an 87.2%. Our Hispanic

students are passing at a 90%. Our Black student population is passing at a slightly lower rate with 85.7%

success.

Monger School has a higher success rate passing for all three large student populations than the corporation

has achieved.


Graph 9 Graph 10

Analysis: Monger School had a lower percentage of students with Free/Reduced Price (87.6%) passing

the E/LA than Paid (100%). However, when you compare the actual numbers (134 students on

Free/Reduced Price vs. 18 Paid), we feel that we are making progress.


Graph 11 Graph 12

Analysis: A comparison of percentage Special Education Students passing E/LA (62.5%) to the

percentage of General Education Students passing E/LA (91%) does seem appropriate when the actual

number size of the two groups are compared (SpEd Total 10 & GenEd Total 142). What is more

meaningful to the staff is to look only at the SpEd population (62.5% passed vs. 37.5% did not pass). This

is a data point that needs to improve.

The ELL data in Graph 11 is a bit disappointing. Since the state average for passing is 70%, this is an area

that needs to be looked at a deeper level.


2013-2014 ISTEP Data-Demographic Break Down-MATH

Graph 13 Graph 14

Analysis: In Math, at the building level, all three of our large student populations (Hispanic, White and

Black) are passing at slightly higher than the 80% success rate. Our White students are at 95.8%. Our

Hispanic students are at 83%. Our Black student population is passing at an 81% success, which is

significantly higher than the previous year of 67.7%.

Monger School has a higher success rate passing in Math for all three large student populations than the

corporation has achieved.


Graph 15 Graph 16

Analysis: Monger School had a lower percentage of students with Free/Reduced Price (86.9%) passing the

Math than Paid (94.4%). However, when you compare the actual numbers (134 students on Free/Reduced Price

vs. 17 Paid), we feel that we are making progress.

As a building, our success rate of 86.9% in Free/Reduced Price students exceeds both the corporation’s success

rate of 71.5% and state’s success rate of 75.2%.


Graph 17 Graph 18

Analysis: The achievement gap in math between Special Education students

and General Education students is significantly lower than E/LA. The same is

true for the gap between ELLs and Non-ELL’s. Math continues to be a

strength for all sub-groups.


Passed Did Not Pass Just Cause Waiver Retained

2011-2012 84 7 9 5

2012-2013 81 19 9 12

2013-2014 86.4 13.6 5 2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% o

f St

ud

en

ts

Graph 19-IREAD 3 2011-2014


0.53 0.49

0.35

0.53

0.63

0.56

0.65

0.56

0.25 0.2

0.16 0.19

0.49

0.42 0.38

0.44

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

2010-11 EOY

2011-12 EOY

2012-13 EOY

2013-14 EOY

TRC -EOY Proficiency 2011-2014

K

1st

2nd

Monger Combined

Analysis: Monger is on a downward trend in the % of students showing proficiency on TRC testing. This is a concern.


66% 73%

58% 65%

92%

68%

48%

69%

89%

78%

61%

78%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

K 1st 2nd Monger Combined

mClass EOY Composite Data 2011-2014

2011-12 EOY

2012-13 EOY

2013-14 EOY

Analysis: Our percentage of proficient students is a concern in grades 1 and 2. Kindergarten showed huge gains in DIBELS proficiency.


Appendix B Monger Action Plan


MONGER MATH ACTION PLAN – 2014-15

School: Monger Elementary Focus Area: MATH

Goal: By spring of 2015, 90% of students grades 3-6 will meet Indiana Academic Standards in Math as measured by ISTEP+.

Benchmarks: Year 1: By Spring of 2015 90% of grades K-6 students will score at Proficient as measured by MCLASS K-2; ACUITY 3-6 Year 2: By Spring of 2016 94% of grades K-6 students will score at Proficient as measured by MCLASS K-2; ACUITY 3-6 Year 3: By Spring of 2017 96% of grades K-6 students will score at Proficient as measured by MCLASS K-2; ACUITY 3-6

Strategies Supporting Professional Development and Assessment

Begin Date

Teacher Action Steps

Person(s) Responsible

Begin Date

Professional Development

Person Responsible

Evidence of Implementation

Evidence of Impact

8/12

GENERAL:

Teachers follow the instructional calendar and implement

Poster method

Fact Fluency (K-2)

Conceptual Learning

Math Review (K-6)

K-6 Teachers

FOR NEW TEACHERS PD 5 Easy Steps

Conceptual Understanding

Math Review

Poster method

Fact Fluency On-going classroom support as needed Monthly collaboration regarding problem solving

Building coaches

Building

coaches and Experienced grade level teachers

Grade level

teachers

Monthly Problem solving rubric

M-Class Math

(K-2)

Acuity (3-6)

Problem solving scores

8/12 Explicit direct instruction of math vocabulary

Classroom Teachers

(K-3) Math Vocabulary Word Wall (4-6) Evidence of teaching math vocabulary – charts, notebooks, posters, journals, etc

Fall

2014

Teachers hold individual test talks in the fall to review ISTEP results to set goals and motivate. Share ISTEP image results and growth results on the computer. (Grades 4,5,6)

Teachers 4-6

8/12

Each grade level will develop a method for students to track their own data

Classroom Teachers

Student data folders Data displays/bulletins

Growth on ACUITY MCLASS

Begin Date


Person(s) Responsible

Begin Date


Person Responsible


Evidence of Impact


8/12 LOW ACHIEVERS: Differentiated instruction through EDM program Touch-point math – remediation Small group extra support based on student needs

Classroom Teachers

Classroom teachers &

Math interventionists

& paras

On-going

EDM Student Math Journals

Progress Monitor : K and 1st -

Every 2 weeks intensive. 2nd

grade – Whole class, paper pencil

M-Class (K-2)

ACUITY

HIGH ACHIEVERS Clustered classrooms provide more challenging work

Classroom teachers of H/A Cluster students

Train cluster teachers Faith Schultz EDM student math journals Intervention

8/12 PARENT INVOLVEMENT Parent Education classes based on Purdue Series for pre-school parents

Camelia Corona, parent coordinator

Parent attendance

10/10 PARENT INVOLVEMENT Quarterly Family Nights at the school

21st Century

Clubs/PTO/Parent coordinator

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Actively recruit parent volunteers to support teachers

Parent coordinator

8/14 TECHNOLOGY K-2 teachers use MCLASS to

assess and progress monitor

K-2 whiteboards and iPads

K-6 will use Power School grade program

Grades 3-6 have access to the computer lab

ACUITY assessment and remediation 3-6

Provide a keyboarding, EXCEL, PPT, etc. program for students to become proficient in production skills during the weekly computer class

Work on Science Fair projects in computer lab - research

MobyMax remediation program

K-6 teachers Vickie Hays Tech Coordinator, Mike Swanson

Lorna Suggs

2 Days PD in the fall for K-2 teachers w/ new whiteboards/iPads Ongoing Support for whiteboards/iPads

Mike

Swanson

Projects completed in Computer lab


MONGER English Language Arts Action Plan 2014-15 Goal: By spring of 2015 90% of students grades 3-6 will meet Indiana Academic Standards in English Language Arts as measured by ISTEP+.

By spring of 2016 92% of students grades 3-6 will meet Indiana Academic Standards in English Language Arts as measured by ISTEP+. By spring of 2017 94% of students grades 3-6 will meet Indiana Academic Standards in English Language Arts as measured by ISTEP+.

BENCHMARKS (FORMATIVE GOALS) 2015

90% of students in grades K-2 will achieve the benchmarks set by DIBELS and TRC for each individual grade level.

90% of students in grade 3 will achieve benchmarks set by DIBELS and achieve 65% of items correct on ACUITY reading standards in each quarter.

90%students in grades 4-6 will achieve 67% of the items correct on the ACUITY reading standards each quarter.

GOAL (SUMMATIVE GOALS) 2015

90% of students in grades K-3 will read at or above grade level as measured by IREAD or MCLASS.

90% of students in grades 3-6 will score proficient as measured by ISTEP+.

Begin Date


Person Respons

ible

Begin

Date


Person Responsibl

e


Evidence of Impact

8/11

GENERAL: K-6 teach Indiana Academic Standards according to the district instructional calendars with fidelity using the Journeys Reading Program and include the standards we identified that are not included in Journeys in the 120-minute English Language Arts block daily that includes writing. Non-negotiables:

Skills

Turn and Talk

Questioning

Fluency

Vocabulary

Whole group on grade level

Small group instruction

Main story selection of the text

Writing Optional: Spelling

K-6

Teachers

Fall

2012

Share Think Central resources with teachers (Write Smart and Resource Hub) Teacher collaboration on what’s working in the 90 minute block

Nina S.

Review of collaboration minutes by principal

Journey’s Screener at BOY and EOY Vocab.&Comp.

(2-6)

MCLASS (K-2) ACUITY (3-6)

EASY CBMs

assessment on compre to measure growth – 2

per grading period Grades 2-6

Journeys Benchmark

Test 1, 3 and 5

SRI (Nina & Vickie)

8/12

Teach writing process during the 120 minute ELA block following the Journeys unit focus calendar using the Journeys as either a guide or a resource. (K-6) Students produce a product at end of Journeys unit. Score the product using Journeys 4-point rubric. 18 points is considered proficient (This is a grade of B. Grade of A is above proficient.)

Fall 2014

Share the state ELA/writing standards with the staff.

Writing scores at end of

each unit

Begin Date


Person Respon.

Begin Date


Person Respon.


Evidence of Impact

Fall 2014

3-6 teachers review ISTEP Applied Skills data in August to identify patterns of errors in order to strengthen and guide constructed response.

Fall 2014

Teacher collaboration to review data, the Think Central and

Notes from

collaboration


Fall

2014

Grades 1-2 will focus on restating the question in constructed response. Administer the constructed response items on the Think Central website weekly to accompany the Journeys curriculum. Discuss the results at one grade level meeting per month 3-6.

teacher-led discussions about constructed response as appropriate.

Use of

Constructed Response

questions weekly

Write Smart (3-5) Resource Hub (6)

Scores on the constructed response.

Fall

2013

LOW ACHIEVERS: Based on data, identify

students to meet daily for 20-30 minutes with the interventionists.

Interventio

nists

MCLASS (K-2)

ACUITY (3-6)

LOW ACHIEVERS: Based on regular post-test of priority standards,

Interventionists work with low achievers 30 min. daily in addition to the 90-minute reading block

Progress monitor using DIBELS/TRC (K-2) and develop student-driven interventions

Progress monitor (4-6) and develop student-driven interventions

GRAPESEED for K during SUCCESS

Provide Tier 3 services for identified students.

Use BURST for all Grade 1 - Tier 3 Intervention

Provide READWELL intervention for grades 2-4

Provide GEI services for students referred by teachers

K-6

Teachers

K-2 teachers

4-6 Teachers

Interventio

nists

Grapeseed Training in August for ESL & K teachers

Learning Log

data

Learning Log notes

MCLASS (K-2)

ACUITY (3-6)

Fall

2013

ESL

GRAPESEED K-1

Provide in-classroom support/teaching for ESL students by the classroom teacher to meet LAU requirements

Implement new WIDA Standards

Fall

2014

On-

going

Provide classroom teachers with strategies for meeting LAU requirements Provide ongoing support for teachers *WIDA PD

ESL teachers

ESL teachers

Jean Creasbaum

Schedule, walkthroughs

Classroom walkthroughs/evaluation

s

FALL 2014/

15

Summer programs for ESL students levels 1-4 – Jump Start.

21st

Century

Begin Date


Person Respon.

Begin Date


Person Respon.


Evidence of Impact

FALL 2014

Classroom teachers will implement best practices for ESL students: Non-linguistic representations; Increased wait time; Pair-Share student talk time; differentiation

K-6 teachers

Administrative Walk-through

MCLASS (K-2)

LAS Links ACUITY (3-6)

HIGH ACHIEVERS: Identified high ability students are clustered at each grade level 1-6 to provide challenging curriculum

Cluster teachers

How to teach the high ability learner

Faith Schutz Schedule

MCLASS/TRC

ACUITY


Fall 2014

Fall 2014

CULTURAL COMPETENCY Recognize and address vocabulary and syntax differences of various cultures. Address our practices, procedures, and cultural awareness of issues that cause over-identification of Af. Am students in special ed. in selected categories and Disproportionality of student suspensions by increasing prof dev, making necessary adjustments in our procedures and increasing our monitoring of data. Bully-Prevention team or BIT will analyze and share discipline data with the staff regularly. Inform teachers of ESL cultural issues that can help them work with both students and parents

All staff

Bully prev. team

Fall

Review strategies for de-escalating student behavior Share priority life skills to teach in weekly class meetings. Presentation on ESL strategies

Bullying committee

Kim Varga, Behavior

Consultant

ESL teachers

Check-in/ check out

connections

Monitor Discipline Data

9/11

PARENT INVOLVEMENT Family reading/math night will be offered once a

month in conjunction with PTO

Parent service group serves as a liaison between school and community

Inform parents about the assessments, parent compact, student reading performance

PTO, Camelia Corona, parent coordinator

TRANSITIONS Pre-K summer program Kindergarten roundup by parent service group

TECHNOLOGY

Use Think Central resources on the whiteboard Show Think Central

resources with teachers (Write Smart and Resource Hub) to K-2 teachers

Mike

Swanson

Research MobyMax -

Vicki


NEXT STEPS:

Analyze and share the ISTEP results with all grade levels.

Choose two school wide goals to focus and monitor.

Research assessments

Share the school improvement plan with teachers in the fall

Analyze discipline data

Total # in

population

% of

population

Referrals % of total

referrals

# students

referred

189 53% Hispanic 47

(37)

26%

(16%)

25

10 are attendance problems

The numbers in parentheses represent the

values after the attendance figures have been

subtracted from the totals

55 15% AA 132

(116)

36%

(49%)

42 16 are attendance issues

most common infractions – inappropriate

behavior, chronic, insubordination

88 25% White 80

(72)

30%

(31%)

34 6 attendance

26 7% Multi-

racial

13

(5)

8%

(2%)

8 4 attendance

358 272

(236)


Title I Budget

Copy is on file in the District’s Title I Central Office at the Elkhart Community Schools Educational Center (ESC).

Monger Elementary/District Technology Plan is located for public review at http://elkhart.k12.in.us/content.php?id=66

Monger Crisis Plan- Complete Plan on file in the school’s office.

A Copy the Entire Plan is on File online at

http://elkhart.k12.in.us/content.php?id=115

Appendix C:



DRAFT OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Documents

Transcript of DRAFT OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN