In alignment with the goals and priorities of Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS), the School Performance Plan (SPP) allows for a transparent and collaborative school improvement process with a focus on student achievement.
The School Performance Plan was developed this school year as the continuation of the detailed work and planning completed in the previous school year. The SPP focuses schools on engaging in disciplined inquiry cycles through the use of Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA). Through the successful utilization of PDSA, schools are able to impact student achievement and teacher practice by taking a scientific approach to school improvement.
| SCHOOL PROFILE | ||
| School Name: FORT FOOTE ELEMENTARY |
School Year: 2026 Area: Area-1 |
Local Education Agency: Prince Georges County Public Schools Supervisor Name: Hardy, Sheena |
| State School No.: 1213 |
Supervisor Email: Sheena.Hardy@pgcps.org |
School Type: 04. Elementary School Title I: No |
| Grades Served: 0PK, 05 |
Community School: Yes |
Principal Name: Ryan Daniel State Identification: CSI:No, TSI/ATSI:Yes |
| Principal Email: Ryan.Randall@pgcps.org |
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| School Address: 8300 OXON HILL Rd, OXON HILL,MD - , OXON HILL MD 20744 |
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| School Vision: Fort Foote ES embraces diversity by creating a nurturing and collaborative learning environment that empowers students, staff and families to be critical thinkers and lifelong learners. |
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| School Mission: At Fort Foote Elementary, we are dedicated to fostering a nurturing and inclusive learning environment where every student is empowered to reach their full potential. Through collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, we strive to cultivate critical thinkers and compassionate leaders who are prepared to thrive in a diverse and dynamic world. Together, we build bridges of understanding and support, ensuring that all students feel valued and inspired to succeed. |
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| SMART Goals | ||
| A targeted aspiration that serves as the focal point for collective improvement efforts Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; Timebound |
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| Math- By the end of the 2025–2026 academic year, 30% of students in grades K–5 will demonstrate proficiency (70% or higher) on the third quarter mathematics benchmark by effectively using written explanations, reasoning, and modeling strategies to solve problems. Progress will be monitored quarterly through student math writing samples, benchmark assessments, and classroom performance tasks. |
RELA/ELA-By May 2026, 100% of teachers in grades K–5 will strengthen their instructional practices by explicitly teaching writing strategies that help students articulate their thinking, develop ideas with relevant details, and maintain focus in their written responses by demonstrating a proficiency (score 3 or higher) on schoolwide writing rubrics and/or MCAP Rubrics for written expression by citing text evidence, explaining their thinking, and applying taught writing strategies. Progress will be monitored monthly through collaborative review of student writing samples. |
Attendance-By June 2026, Fort Foote Elementary will decrease chronic absenteeism from 25% to 15% (a 10-percentage-point reduction), as measured by MSDE chronic absenteeism calculations, through consistent implementation of proactive attendance communication, early intervention protocols, and biweekly monitoring of student attendance data. |
| Problem of Practice | ||
| One problem the school has chosen to address that will assist them in moving toward the overarching Smart Goal | ||
| While students at Fort Foote engage in mathematics instruction with access to visual supports and manipulatives, many students struggle to communicate their mathematical reasoning in writing and through models. Current student work shows limited evidence of written explanations, justification of thinking, or use of multiple representations to solve problems. As a result, students are not consistently demonstrating the depth of reasoning required to meet grade-level standards or to perform at proficiency on benchmark assessments. |
Students across grades K–5 are not consistently producing proficient written responses to reading because explicit instruction of writing strategies—such as teacher modeling, guided practice, and use of exemplars—is not implemented with consistency or clarity. As a result, many students, especially English Language Learners, struggle to organize their responses, cite relevant evidence, and explain their thinking in writing. While writing opportunities exist within the ELA curriculum, inconsistent modeling, limited guided practice, and ineffective use of student writing samples reduce students' ability to transfer taught strategies into independent writing during reading instruction. |
A consistent system for monitoring, communicating, and intervening in attendance is in place, but implementation varies across staff and grade levels, resulting in delays between absences, parent communication, and intervention actions. While overall attendance has increased over the past three years, chronic absenteeism remains high (25%) and disproportionately impacts specific student groups. Inconsistent follow-up, limited proactive outreach, and uneven documentation reduce the effectiveness of our attendance improvement strategies |
| Change Idea | ||
| A specific, actionable idea or technique that school teams will use to address the SMART Goal | ||
| Implement a schoolwide weekly Math Journal Routine using a consistent prompt structure ('Show–Explain–Justify') to strengthen math reasoning, modeling, and academic vocabulary across all grade levels. | Teachers will participate in collaborative professional learning and planning sessions to strengthen explicit instruction of writing strategies (e.g., modeling, guided practice, and use of exemplars). Teachers will implement these strategies in daily lessons and use student writing samples to guide feedback and next steps. | Implement a consistent schoolwide Attendance Intervention Cycle that includes daily teacher check-ins, weekly attendance monitoring, biweekly targeted outreach to at-risk students, and monthly communication to families, ensuring timely follow-up and documentation of interventions. |
| Target | ||
| The AIM set to determine if the implementation of the change idea was successful | ||
| At least **90% of teachers** implement the weekly math journal routine (Show–Explain–Justify) as evidenced by lesson plans, journals, or walkthroughs. Teachers provide written or verbal feedback on math journal entries at least **twice per month**, aligned to the rubric (Model–Explain–Justify) |
100% of teachers will implement weekly modeling of analytical writing and/or routine writing task as evidenced by lesson plans, journals, or walkthroughs. Teachers provide written or verbal feedback in journals weekly. |
**100% of weekly meetings held** **Tracker updated weekly** with tiers, notes, and next steps. |
| **By the end of 8 weeks, 75% of students** will score a **3 or higher** on the unit milestone according to the math reasoning and modeling rubric, showing clear steps and at least one math vocabulary word | **60% of at-risk students** reduce their absence rate within the next 30 days. **Short-cycle (monthly):** 2–3% reduction in Q1. |
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| Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) / Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) | ||
| This section is for state-identified schools only. | ||
| Identified Group(s) | Evidence-Based Strategy (EBS) | EBS Target |
| Multilingual Learners | **Adopt and implement explicit modeling of mathematical discourse and writing through teacher think-alouds and intentional unpacking of math prompts** to strengthen MLL students' ability to explain reasoning, justify thinking, and use academic language in mathematics. This strategy will focus on: **Teacher think-alouds** that model how to interpret math prompts, identify what the question is asking, and plan a written response Explicit modeling of **mathematical discourse and writing**, including how to justify answers and connect explanations to models or representations Consistent use of **academic language** during modeling so MLL students hear and see how mathematical thinking is communicated |
MLL students demonstrate increased ability to: * Explain mathematical thinking in **complete written sentences** * Justify answers using reasoning tied to the math prompt * Reference models, drawings, or representations in their explanations Growth is evident in **MLL student math writing samples** over time, showing clearer reasoning and stronger use of academic language. |
