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Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School |
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School Improvement Plan |
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Section I. Executive Summary Introduction Gladys Noon Spellman is a
model comprehensive school. The
community of Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School believes that all
children can learn. Our
mission is to provide opportunities for all children to achieve the
highest educational standards. This
will enable our children to become contributing members of the 21st
Century. Within a safe and
caring environment all children will expand their prior experiences and
make connections to different ways of reasoning, problem solving, and
communicating. We will
accomplish this by promoting a unified community of staff, parents,
students, businesses, and concerned members of the community.
In 2000, Gladys Noon Spellman received the Blue Ribbon School
award for academic excellence. In
addition, Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School is one of seven
elementary schools in Maryland named a “Best Practice School” in a
study by The Maryland State Department of Education, which looked at
transfers/mobility between 1998 and 2002 and its effect on academic
performance. Gladys Noon
Spellman Elementary School was sited as a school with “relatively high
mobility rates, and relatively high academic performance.”
The State study described Gladys Spellman as a school that has
overcome “statistical imperatives” associated with student mobility
and low academic performance. The professional day begins at
8:15 with collaborative planning by all instructional and support staff.
The student day begins at 9:15 a.m.
Students arrive and begin their day with morning announcements
and “warm-up” activities, which include ”The Daily Bite”.
Our instruction begins promptly at 9:30.
With the exception of sixth grade, which adheres to the middle
school instructional model, all students receive at least 2 hours of
uninterrupted reading instruction and 90 minutes.
All requirements for the content areas of social studies, science
and health are incorporated into the academic program as stipulated by
Prince George’s County Public School.
The School Instructional Team (SIT: members include school based
staff and parents) and the School Support
Services Team (SSST: members include school based staff, central area
specialists, and parents) meet every Tuesday during the instructional
day. School Based
Management Team (SBMT: members include grade level chair person,
parents, support staff, and welcome staff) and /or faculty, convene on
rotating Wednesdays during morning collaborative planning time.
In addition to the designated PTA members, who serve on the SBMT
parents are invited and encouraged to participate in School Based
Management Team Meetings. School Demographics The student population is both
culturally and economically diverse.
Our 447 students proudly represent 22 different countries.
This richness of cultural diversity is reflected by a student
population that is 76% African American, 16% Hispanic, 5% Caucasian, 2%
Asian, and less than 1% American Indian.
Additionally, 73% of the total population receives Meals
benefits. The instructional staff is
comprised of 29 general education classroom teachers, 3 self-contained
special education classroom teachers, 1.0 physical education teacher,
1.0 music teacher, 1 reading specialist, 1 math specialist, 1 reading
recovery teacher, 3 English as second language teachers (ESOLl), and 1
science specialist. We have
only one staff with a provisional certificate for teaching.
The support staff component is comprised the reading specialist,
reading recovery, ESOLl teachers, math specialist and the science
specialist. The
Kindergarten and Pre K classes have a dedicated paraprofessional who
services students in those classes.
Also paraprofessionals support the Special Education Cluster
Classes. These is also a
Before and After Care program which provides childcare before and after
school. “Working Together for
Excellence through Reading to Lead” is the theme that guides all
stakeholders of the Gladys Noon Spellman community.
At Spellman, teachers, administrators, parents, students and
community members all take an active role in establishing effective
stakeholder teams, implementing effective classroom management
strategies and procedures. Emphasis
is place on developing effective intervention strategies for students
identified as at-risk, helping teachers to overcome mobility,
cross-cultural, cross-gender and cross-socioeconomic communication gaps,
making parent’s partners in their children’s learning, reducing
class size and inspiring students to learn. At Spellman, students are given a challenging yet nurturing
environment in which all students can realize their academic potential
and grow to understand cultural diversity. Major initiatives and how
these efforts will improve student performance. According to our 2004 MSA
results 46% of 3rd graders and 51% of 5th graders scored proficient or
advanced in reading. The math results indicate that 47% of our 3rd
graders and 56% of our 5th graders scored at the proficiency or advanced
level. When comparing 2003 results to 2004 results we noticed that in
reading, our 3rd graders had a 19% increase while the 5th graders showed
a 14% increase. Additionally, our math results indicated a 6% gain for
our 3rd graders and a 12% gain for our 5th graders.
According to our 2005 MSA
results 66% of 3rd graders and 67.1% of 5th
graders cored proficient or advanced in reading.
The math results indicate that 70% of our 3rd graders
and 69% of our 5th graders scored at the proficiency or
advanced level. When comparing 2004 results to 2005 results we noticed
that in reading, our 3rd graders had a 20%
increase while the 5th graders showed a 18% increase
in reading. Additionally,
our math results indicated a 23% gain for our 3rrd graders
and a 13% gain for our 5th graders.
The following representatives the proficiency level % : Grade 3 reading 66%
math 69.8% Grade 4 reading 56.6%
math 59.6% Grade 5 reading 67.1%
math 68.2% Grade 6 reading 65.5%
math 81.0% The major initiatives at
Gladys Noon Spellman is to support student performance including:
reduced class size in grades 1 through 6, inclusion of special education
teachers and ESOL teachers into the regular classroom instruction,
increase frequency of collaborative planning, additional resources and
technology(Leapfrog software, United Streaming, Grow Network, Edusoft,
and new computers), staff development, placement of at-risk students
with highly qualified teachers, as stipulated by NCLB, regular academic
review and exchange of students. These
initiatives are designed to support our regular education students as
well as focusing on our Special Education and LEP students. School Priority Needs Based on the achievement data
derived and analyzed from MSA, Spellman has identified a need for our
students to be proficient in Reading.
At 3rd grade 34% of our students are reading basic
level or at risk level. At 4th grade 43.4% are reading basic
level or at risk level. At 5th grade 32.9% of our students are reading
basic or at risk level. At
6th grade 34.5% are reading basic level or at risk level. Based on the achievement data
derived and analyzed from MSA, Spellman had identified a need for our
students to be proficient in Math.
At 3rd grade 30.2% of our students are performing at
the basic level in math. At
4th grade 40.7% are performing at the basic level in math.
At 5th grade 31.8% are performing at basic level in
math. At 6th grade 19% are performing at basic level in
math. Based on the achievement data
derived from school-based analyses and the MSA, there is a great need
for our students to be proficient in reading and math.
The Hispanic, Special Education, Limited English Proficiency, and
FARMS students achievement level was basic or at risk. The major strategies the school will continue to implement
are: ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue reduction in class size grades
1 through 6 ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue a schedule providing uninterrupted reading instruction in Prek,
Kindergarten and 1st-6th grades respectively. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue weekly collaborative grade level meetings ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue data utilization meetings monthly and across grade levels ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue staff development of Dream Writers for all teachers in grade 3
thru 6 to improve the strategies in the teaching of an integrated
curriculum reading/writing and technology. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue staff development for “Soar to Success” and “Reading
Across the Curriculum” to implement instructional strategies that
support the school improvement plan/bridge/voluntary curriculum,
monitoring tool and curriculum framework.. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman teachers
will document use of math manipulatives to encourage the understanding
of mathematical concepts by students ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
provide uninterrupted math instruction in PreK thru 6 grades. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to implement the use of technology by staff and students to
instruct/assess and to improve student achievement ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue the inclusion model for Special Education students and
Teachers. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to support for Special Education students that are in the
regular classroom. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to make available to students at risk the opportunity for after
school and summer program
for improvement in reading and math.
Based on funding. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to offer an alternative to suspension to students. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to use the e-organization as a method of communication for all
staff. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue to offer a Pre-k program for students in the boundary
community. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue the Buddy System for new students.
This program helps address our high mobility. ·
Gladys Noon Spellman will
continue the 3 R program: Respect,
Responsibility, and the Right to Learn (Total
School ) Safe and Orderly Environment At Gladys Noon Spellman
Elementary School teaching and learning can only take place in a safe
and orderly school climate. To
ensure that the environment is supportive of teaching and learning we
have adopted a no tolerance policy for fighting, bullying, and
disrespect. Spellman will
continue to use Pride Patrol, Jr. Pride Patrol, Safety Patrols, and
Emerge as organizations for students to learn problem solving skills,
conflict strategies and building self-esteem. Parent and Community
involvement is vital to the success of the GNS program.
We will continue several initiatives to increase parental and
community involvement in school planning, instruction, and the
decision-making process. Activities involving parents
and the community are: “Step
Up” parent emergency team (parent ready to come to school at a minute
notice for support in emergency situations), community partnerships with
Prince George’s Hospital Center, Comcast, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority,
distribution of weekly newsletters/Firm, Fair and Consistent in both
Spanish and English, distribution of Parent Volunteer Request Form,
Weekly Community Chat on Monday evenings (an informal discussion
opportunity with the Principal for parents and community members),Agenda
books (a vehicle for daily home/school communication), and Special
Education Family Night. The Spellman staff will strive
for a reduction in the number of discipline referrals, and suspensions
for students. An alternative to suspensions
program will be place for the school year 2005-2006.
This alternative program will allow students to remain in class
with the option for 1 to 8 hours of detention served over several days.
This program must be in agreement with the parent before
alternative can be offered. The substitute teachers at
Gladys Noon Spellman will also continue with in-service sessions with
the Principal to enhance the teaching and learning in the classroom. (All substitutes are invited to attend the in-service
sessions during the summer) Other strategies in our plan
include: 1.
Analyze monthly suspension, behavior referral reports by grade,
gender, and race in order to ensure fair and equitable handling of
disciplinary procedures to guarantee the rights of every student in the
school. 2.
Data will be used to assist the staff in identifying specific
activities to address the needs of the students in each of the
sub-groups. 3.
Meet with parents of students with safety and conduct concerns
within a 24 –hour period. 4.
Provide students with an appropriate review of the Code of
Students Conduct three times during the school year conducted by the PPW,
AP and Counselor. 5.
All students will sign the Student Code of Conduct Contract in
grades 2 thru 6 6.
The Pupil Personnel Worker will conference with students and make
home visits as needed. 7.
Center for school detention once a week will be established for
students who need disciplinary strategies. 8.
Staff in-service on strategies for classroom
management/functional behavior assessments, and behavior plans. 9.
Share with parents at PTA meetings: The Code of Student Conduct,
and Student Code of Conduct Contract 10. Communication about
procedures/policies to ensure safe/orderly climate at the school thru
newsletter, website and meeting with the Cheverly Town Council 11. Continue the communication
with parents when students are sent to the office for discipline
referrals.(Parents are always called when a student is sent to the
office). 12. Incentives for perfect
attendance during MSA week. 13. Continue the celebration
of students for outstanding achievements thru awards 14. Continue the celebration
of outstanding teachers thru incentives.
Parent Involvement At Gladys Noon Spellman,
teacher interaction with parents and the community contribute greatly to
the success of the teacher, student, and the school.
The value and esteem with which the school is held by the parents
and the community as a whole is a result of interactions with the
teacher. Positive
communication links with parents establish and maintain the following
actions and attitudes: 1.
Availability:
The teachers make themselves available to parents.
Conferences with parents may be held before school, after school,
or during the evening hours. Teachers
employ every means of communicating with parents, even calling from
their homes in the evening. These calls may be positive in nature, such
as informing parents of how hard the student is trying and the good work
that is resulting. The
calls may also be used to inform the parents about problems and concerns
and ask for their involvement in a plan for improvement. 2.
Interest:
During interactions with parents, the teachers are good listeners
maintaining eye contact, an appropriate facial expression, and an
interested attitude. Teachers
demonstrate an interest in all factors that affect the students’
performance in the school. 3.
Helpfulness:
Teachers invite parents to participate in forming a plan to
change an undesirable situation. Suggestions
from both the teachers and the parents are considered and used as
appropriate solutions. These suggestions often involve the joint efforts
of both the teachers and the parents. 4.
Confidentiality:
All matters discussed with parents are kept confidential.
Teachers do not become involved in idle gossip.
Information is shared only when and with whom it should be shared
for the best interests of the students. 5.
Test
Results: Teachers present
the type of assessment being discussed and its purpose. The level of
achievement demonstrated by the students toward meeting the standards
set is fully explained.
Teachers compare the students’ progress with their prior level
of achievement and identified future needs. 6.
Student
Involvement in Programs: Teachers
discuss and explain to the parents the particular programs in which the
students are involved. Why
the particular student was placed in the program, how the program will
benefit the student, what results may be expected, and how
those results will be communicated to the parents are fully discussed. 7.
Invite
Parent to Visit: Parents
and members of the community are encouraged to visit the classroom to
observe, firsthand, how the students work and behave as members of the
class and how programs in the school operate. 8.
See
Community Interaction: Teacher
request participation from various parts of the community to enrich and
enlarge the instructional resources available to students.
They also pursue opportunities to
display student products in the community to demonstrate excellence. 9.
Parent
Activities: PTA, Lunch Room
Monitors, Room Mothers, Phone Trees, Field Trips, Community
Outreach, School Skate, Reward Dances, Classroom Readers In Conclusion
The Gladys Noon Spellman Community’s mission is to provide a
positive educational environment
where all students and
teachers achieve excellence. So
that no child will be left
behind, every student will be engaged in active learning and every
teacher will be engaged in
active teaching. At Gladys
Noon Spellman every child will be challenged to think critically to
solve real life problems in our technologically driven society. |
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