Ridgecrest Elementary School presents a comprehensive academic program to a very culturally diverse population of students. The student body is completely minority in embodiment. There is a large ESOL population, approximately 40% of the student body; consequently the ESOL teaching staff consists of eight teachers. There are also identified Special Education students who are serviced by two Special Education resource teachers. All students in grades K – 6 receive bi-weekly instruction in the Computer Lab. Classroom, ESOL, and Special Education, lessons are integrated with the county – wide technology program across the core curriculum content areas. The county Reading block is strictly adhered to throughout the grade levels. Identified ESOL students (according to their ESOL levels) receive additional reading support from the ESOL teachers who plan collaboratively with the grade level teachers on a monthly basis. ESOL students and special education students receive a second reading lesson outside of the reading block to emphasize the reading indicators from the Curriculum Frameworks. Students complete BCR writings on weekly basis as assessment for the Reading program. All students in grades

K – 6 receive Math instruction in one- hour blocks of time. The Math program presents lessons that provide students with a rigorous pacing of lessons according to the content standards and VSC pacing indicators. Lessons are supported with real – world applications, vocabulary extension (presented through the Word Wall), manipulatives for concept development, and BCR writing on a weekly basis. In addition to the regular day, in order to eliminate the achievement gap, minority students will be offered an extended day program twice a week beginning in the fall and continuing through the spring of the school year.

Ridgecrest Elementary School is a comprehensive Title I school with a culturally diverse student population comprised of minority races. There are a total of 546 students. Ridgecrest houses two full- day Headstart classes, two full day Pre-Kindergarten classes, and twenty- nine regular education classrooms- grades K – 6. ESOL students represent approximately 40% of the total student body. Male students equal 52.7% and female students equal 47.2% of the student body. The dominant race is Hispanic with 55.7% of the school’s population represented. African American children comprise the next largest race with 41.6% and Asians represent .2%. The instructional staff at Ridgecrest includes 30 classroom teachers, 29 of whom are certified, 3 who are non – tenured, 2 Special Education Resource teachers, 8 ESOL teachers, 2 paraprofessionals, three assistants in pre-school classes. Eighteen percent of the staff has a Master’s Degree and 2 have a Doctorate Degree. The staff is very stable. About 25% of the staff at Ridgecrest is bilingual representing Spanish, French, and Chinese languages. The parent liaison is also bilingual, helping to address the language barrier for the parents and community. The school is supported by the neighborhood school concept with many parents walking their children to school and attending the evening programs. Partnerships with the University of Maryland work in conjunction with the reading department to offer an evening program called "Partners in Print". The program is offered on a bi-monthly basis to all parents of children in Kindergarten and grade 1. Reading is the emphasis with hands-on interactive modeled lessons showing parents how to help their children with reading skills and homework. The Chesapeake Bay Trust Foundation sponsors a yearly grant for the students in fourth grade to experience an Outdoor Environmental Classroom. Students visited the Chesapeake Bay to experience opportunities to learn about he eco-system of the bay. They built the outdoor classroom as an extension of their fourth grade classwork. Intermediate grade level students annually present a play based upon their literature experiences. The students present the play in costumes with props, set changes, infusing songs and dances. Ridgecrest students also participate in CLUBS on a monthly basis in grades 1 – 6. The CLUBS are multi-age and sponsored by all faculty members including administration, office secretaries, specialists, and classroom teachers.

The goals and objectives for Ridgecrest are determined from the priority needs supported by Data Analysis from the MSA tests. The severe needs of our students, specifically caused by language barriers and lack of prior experiences from which to "tap prior background knowledge", demands that daily classroom lessons consist of in- depth and thorough exposure to the components of the Balanced Literacy program. Often, the developmental stages of the children require the instruction to be multi-sensory and imbedded in hands – on assessments. Because ESOL students comprise 40% of the school’s population, they require a longer time to master the spoken language and raise their reading levels. Consequently, ESOL students on a Basic level for Reading (as documented from the SRI scores, MSA scores, and Running Record scores) will receive a second Reading instruction class to insure further exposure and mastery of vocabulary, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. A second experience for Reading and Math instruction will be provided to students who are reading below grade level, particularly (but not exclusively) students who are identified as ESOL and / or special education. Selected students will receive instruction through an extended day program twice a week after school for two hours. This extended day experience will allow for additional time to address specific indicators in Reading. The Math MSA scores indicate a need for teachers to continue using both differentiated instruction as well as flexible grouping for students in Math. As the teachers meet in their monthly block planning meetings on grade levels, Math indicators and specific skills will be monitored closely. Support from the administration, additional manipulatives, or resource materials will be supplied as needed. Data Utilization meetings will specifically look at pre-requisite skills needed for students to be successful with higher level problem solving. Teachers will continue to use the weekly BCRs and score them using the students to self – check their work. The Action Research Committee stressed the need (in their conference presentation) for more in-depth experiences for all Ridgecrest students in the form of field trip experiences and hands-on opportunities to learn about topics presented during their content area studies. The fourth grade students will continue to expand their Outdoor Environmental Classroom sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Trust Grant (which is going into its third year). Students not only learn about the habitat and climate of Maryland as part of their social studies curriculum; they also learn and apply the vocabulary and terms of the content studies by experiencing the indicators first hand. This specific application through experience teaching will be emphasized throughout other grade levels to allow for expanded background knowledge.

Ridgecrest continuously monitors the students’ behavior through the use of Discipline Referrals. The Principal and Assistant Principal handle all the discipline through the use of PS 74’s (Discipline Referrals). Parents are regularly contacted respectfully for students with inappropriate behavior. Alternative suggestions and practices (to suspension) are implemented by Administration. The Principal and Assistant Principal also monitor a weekly detention class after school for repeat offenders after contacting the parents and maintaining signed permission slips to stay late after school. Both Administrators present the Code of Conduct to all classrooms (in the fall and spring) as well as two general assemblies with the PPW being presented reviewing Code of Conduct. All teachers receive a staff handbook with an in-service on procedures and policies as well as the in-service on Sexual Harassment. Ridgecrest also initiated Character training for staff in 2003 – 2004, which will continue in 2004 – 2005. Character training supports the climate for listening and speaking to children in a way that models anger management and builds self- esteem. The approach encourages adults and children to approach altercations in a calmer and more respectful manner. The parents and community are also greeted warmly and professionally in the office. The PTA meetings are held monthly and presented in both English and Spanish. A variety of topics are included during the school year to allow parents opportunities to learn strategies in working with their child at home. Partners in Print co-sponsored with the University of Maryland also present small group opportunities with books to take home as well as techniques to use when reading with their children. All parents are always welcome and included in evening programs. The attendance at Ridgecrest remains high, well above the satisfactory percentage. Parents often call the school to inform the teacher of the child’s absence. Yearly conferences are held between the teacher and parent, where not only academic issues are addressed, but also attendance or tardiness concerns. The Principal meets with parents as needed as well as addressing severe concerns with personal letters mailed to the parents.