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School Improvement Plan
Homestead Elementary School Improvement Goals 2007 - 2008 Goal 1: 85% of students in grades 2, 3, and 5 will achieve Target Growth scores as measured on the spring, 2008 NWEA Reading test.
Goal 2: Increase the achievement of third, fourth, and fifth grade students by 5% in the 3 and 4 category of the 2008 ISAT Reading Extended Response assessment.
Goal 3: To promote a positive building climate Character Counts will be infused throughout the Homestead Community with the intent to reduce bullying by at least 5% as evidenced by the reduction of bullying incidents reported on the 4th and 5th grade survey.
Executive Summary During 2006-2007 Homestead focused on two cognitive goals – reading and reading extended response – and one affective goal – conflict resolution and team building. These were identified and developed by the entire staff during the fall of 2006. The goals were written to align with the Oswego District #308 Board of Education goals and with the mandates of No Child Left Behind legislation. Goals targeted specific learning standards in the reading curriculum for second, third, and fifth grade. Action plans were written for all grade levels. The Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores have become the benchmark by which we are publicly measured. To give a truer measure of the school we also use NWEA MAP Test, STAR reading scores, local assessments, and qualitative measures – those areas of community, character, climate, and curriculum/technology – to reflect our effectiveness. The School Improvement Plan is a reflection of the staff’s actions and beliefs over the past year. All members of the school community – students, parents, teachers, and staff – are essential ingredients for our success.
Each grade level wrote action plans for each of the cognitive goals. School Improvement Character Committee wrote an action plan for our affective goal. In the fall of 2006 action plans from the 2005-2006 school year were reviewed to determine if changes were needed to our previous goals. It was decided, while we would continue to implement the strategies described in our 2005-2006 plan, we would focus on the area of reading only for 2006-2007. The Building Leadership Team met regularly to review plans and plan staff development activities to support the action plans. All action plan activities are ongoing activities to be done 2006-2009 or to be completed in the 2006-2007 school year.
Goal #1: 85% of students in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade will achieve their target growth scores as measured on the spring, 2007 NWEA MAP reading test.
This goal was not met at any grade level. (2nd grade - 57% achieved goal; 3rd grade -49% achieve goal; and 5th grade – 64% achieved goal)
The NWEA MAP test was fully implemented in District #308 during the 2006-2007 school year. Using data from previous years on ISAT tests and Terra Nova Tests, Homestead’s staff felt we needed to continue to focus on improving reading for all students. The NWEA MAP test provides a growth target for each student as well as information on specific areas of reading that a student may be strong or weak in. Using this information from the fall testing, we felt we could address individual student’s needs and improve specific areas of reading weakness. Setting a goal of 85% was a “best guess” estimate of what we should expect, given the fact we had never used this test before. Several questions have arisen because we did not meet our goal. As a result of our discussions as a staff, it was felt that we needed more staff development to understand the NWEA MAP test, what the RIT scores tell us, how to determine appropriate growth based on a student’s target growth rate, and strategies to better address student’s areas of weakness to show appropriate growth.
Goal #1 Action Plans specifically address main idea and supporting details, summarizing, vocabulary development, and student-set goals for improvement in reading.
Goal #2: Increase the achievement of 3rd. 4th, and 5th grade students by 5% in the 3 & 4 category of the 2007 ISAT Reading Extended Response assessment
This goal was not met at any grade level. (3rd grade – ’05-’06 28% scored in the 3 & 4 category; ‘06-‘07 23% scored in the 3 & 4 category. 4th grade – ’05-’06 22% scored in the 3 & 4 category; ’06-’07 20% scored in the 3 & 4 category. 5th grade – ’05-’06 57% scored in the 3 & 4 category; ’06-’07 32% scored in the 3 & 4 category)
This goal was written to support Homesteads’ continuing efforts in the area of writing. During the time the writing assessment was dropped from ISAT testing, we felt that the extended response would provide data to support our efforts to provide effective writing instruction. Our newly adopted reading series also incorporated extended response writing in the theme tests. Overall, students struggled with this part of the assessment. Although none of the grade levels demonstrated a 5% increase in students achieving a 3 or 4, it should be noted that when comparing the same group of students 2005-2006 4th graders had 22% in the 3 & 4 category and as 5th graders in 2006-2007 they had 32% in the 3 & 4 category. Our 2005-2006 3rd graders had 28% in the 3 & 4 categories, but only 20% as 2006-2007 4th graders.
Three staff members will be attending workshops focused on improving writing on the ISAT and improving extended response writing on the ISAT. They will present at a 2007-2008 staff meeting , sharing the knowledge they gained from these workshops.
Goal #2 Action Plans specifically address using common graphic organizers, modeling making connections to support the ideas in their writing, and using a “Brain Chain” organizer with Houghton Mifflin anthology stories.
Goal #3: To build a positive building climate for students, four hours of staff development in conflict resolution and team building will be provided. Staff will then teach at least 1 conflict resolution/team building strategy to their students during the 2006-2007 school year.
Goal met for positive building climate by providing 4 hours of staff development and at least one strategy was used by every teacher in the classroom.
The staff development part of the goal was accomplished on Feb. 21, with a one hour staff development meeting on bullying – what it is, myths about bullying and bullies, and strategies/activities to create a positive classroom environment. This was followed by a 3 hour staff development meeting on our School Improvement Day, March 13. Results from the bullying survey done with students were discussed with staff, results of the “Our School Is a Place Where” classroom activity were presented, and team building activities that could be used in the classroom were presented to staff, along with a chance to participate in several of the activities. The last 30 minutes of the afternoon was used for grade levels to meet and discuss/plan how to incorporate the information they had received that day into their classroom. Each teacher then completed a form describing the activity they used with their students and the results of that activity by the end of the school year.
Survey results from the School Improvement Day activities related to conflict resolution and team building indicate the staff felt that staff development was successful. One hundred per cent stated that the information and activities of the day were useful for them in their classroom. They indicated many different ways they would be able to use the information they had learned. When asked to indicate how the day may have been improved, comments focused on providing smaller groups and more chance to debrief or talk about how to use the activities in the classroom. We will continue to build on the information and activities learned this year while focusing on bullying and bullying prevention during the 2007-2008 school year.
Goal #3 Action Plans include a survey, increasing staff knowledge and awareness of conflict resolution and team building strategies.
No Child Left Behind Following accountability criteria, Homestead School tested all
students from representative groups. The population of sub groups of
low income, major racial and ethnic groups and LEP do not meet the
minimum number for ISAT desegregation to determine Annual Yearly
Progress. Review of the NWEA MAP reading and math scores for ELL and
special education students indicate that these students perform
below the general school population but score in the average to
below average range. Preview of 2007-2008 Homestead will continue to focus on effective school strategies through our SI Committees of Climate, Character, and Curriculum, specifically in the area of reading. Our overall achievement on standardized tests in the area of reading has been good. However, we feel our students are capable of achieving at a higher level. We will continue to assess how we respond when students don’t learn and how we can successfully use differentiation strategies to improve student achievement. Our goal is also to expand our tutoring program for at-risk students, as well as providing support and staff development for teachers as they implement best practices in reading. Our Character Counts program will continue to emphasize the six pillars of character with students, staff, and parents.
With the development of the Oswego District #308 Strategic Plan, Homestead will focus on including essential skills, pyramids of intervention and differentiation, as well as Character Counts, into our School Improvement Plan. We will also continue to follow the model of Professional Learning Communities allowing us to meet the needs of the students and staff.
Goal 3: To build a positive building climate for students 4 hours of staff development in conflict resolution and team- building will be provided. Staff will then teach at least 1 conflict resolution strategy to their students during the 2006-2007 school year.
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