BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS:
Recognizing North Carolina
Title I Distinguished Schools
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA
State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
A volunteer reads to Butler Elementary
students who learn to “Be a Horse”
(school mascot): Honest, Orderly,
Respectful, Safe, and Engaged (page 15).
Hurricane Irene didn’t stop Cape Hatteras
Elementary in Buxton, NC, where students
still have fun in events such as this science
festival (page 6).
A 30-minute intervention/enrichment block
outside of core instruction time provides
further intervention and acceleration at
Lindley Park Elementary in Asheboro, NC
(page 19).
The National Title I Distinguished Schools program recognizes exemplary Title I schools
that hold students to high standards and demonstrate exemplary school effectiveness in:
•teaching and learning based on the approved state curriculum,
•use of research-based instructional strategies,
•opportunities provided for all students to achieve,
•established partnerships with parents, families, and the community,
•implementation of sustained research-based professional development, and
•innovation and modeling for other schools.
Selected schools are recognized in one of two categories. Schools in Category I are
recognized for showing a high level of sustained student achievement. Schools in
Category II are recognized for making significant progress in closing the achievement
gap between student groups.
Since 1996, North Carolina has recognized Title I schools through this program,
sponsored by the National Title I Association. Each year two North Carolina schools are
recognized at the national level as well as the local level.
More stories, information, and resources about the program are available on the web at
www.ncpublicschools.org/program-monitoring/distinguished/.
NC National Title I Distinguished Schools Advisory Council 2011-2013
Co-chaired by:
Dr. Cindy Goodman, principal, Laurel Hill Elementary School, Scotland County Schools
Sherry Schliesser, principal, Kingswood Elementary School, Wake County Schools
Members:
Danny Ellis, pastor, St. Paul Baptist Church, Halifax County
Chris Hill, director, NC Justice Center
Debra Horton, executive director, NC PTA
Elizabeth Lynch, principal, South End Elementary School, Rockingham County Schools
Scottie Penn, curriculum and instructional coach, South End Elementary School,
Rockingham County Schools
Beverly Roberts, director, NC PIRC
Lyle Shaw, Title I director, Scotland County Schools
Alana Warren, Title I director, Cumberland County Schools
Pam Wooten, media coordinator, District 7 Elementary School, Cumberland County Schools
Yvonne Perry, NCDPI Title I Distinguished Schools consultant
November 2011
Welcome to a celebration of North Carolina’s 2011 Title I
Distinguished Schools.
We are recognizing these schools and their stories as part of the
vision we have where state and federal program professionals learn
from each other and join hands in working with some of our most
vulnerable children.
An average of 60 percent of these schools’ students come from
economically disadvantaged families. But the teams at these
schools approach their work with energy, focus, and innovation
rather than being defeated by the obstacles presented. The results
are schools where expectations are high and students are meeting
those expectations.
NC National Title 1 Distinguished School
for Sustained Achievement
Laurel Hill Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2011 Title 1 Distinguished Schools
Nominees FOR SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT
Cane River Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Poverty is a small, tidy word that splinters into hundreds of impacts,
each requiring persistence, commitment, and the synergistic power
of more than the sum of a school’s parts to effectively address. Some
parts-to-whole themes from these schools’ stories are staffs who:
Cape Hatteras Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
• analyze data, but teach and care for the whole student;
Rock Ridge Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
• set specific measurable goals, but build a team spirit and positive
climate for the whole school;
Shoals Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ephesus Road Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Lawsonville Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
• talk about “our” students, not “my” students.
Union Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Are these schools where they want to be? No. But they have built
effective programs and child-centered responses rather than “hoping
it doesn’t happen again” when:
NC National Title 1 Distinguished School
for Closing the Achievement Gap
• a child shows up for school late and hungry,
Kingswood Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
• attendance zones change and new students bring different needs
than last year’s staff training focus,
2011 Title 1 Distinguished Schools
Nominees FOR CLOSING THE
ACHIEVEMENT GAP
• a student doesn’t respond to the first three interventions for
learning the sounds connected with letters,
• a teacher has only two-thirds of the class for the entire school year.
The classroom doors opened in these schools because, at least for
them, the job was bigger than they could manage alone. In these
school communities, school leaders, teachers, support staff,
parents, and community partners aren’t doing business as usual.
They are joining with students in the learning process and working
hard to do something new.
That’s a mindful approach and a commitment to growth that we can
learn from. I invite you to take a look at these distinguished schools
and to consider accepting the challenge of joining them.
Sincerely,
Charlotte N. Hughes, M.Ed
Director of Federal Programs and Support Division
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Butler Avenue Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
College Park Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Davenport Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Elmhurst Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Lindley Park Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Spindale Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Tabor City Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover
Top photo: Union Elementary students in
Shallotte, NC, develop leadership skills in
activities such as producing “Dolphins on Air,”
a 7-minute daily newscast (page 11).
Cover art: Painting ceiling tiles and handprints
on the wall are PBIS incentives at Kingswood
Elementary in Cary, NC (pages 12-14).
2011
2011 NC national Title I Distinguished school sustained student achievement
NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Laurel Hill Elementary
2011 NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Scotland County Schools / 11340 Old Wire Road / Laurel Hill, NC 28351 / 910.462.2111
Dr. Cindy Goodman, Principal (currently Jonathan McRae) / Dr. Lyle Shaw, Title I Director
Rick Stout, Superintendent
Website: www.scsnc.org
2012
Community: Laurel Hill Elementary, across
the street from a cotton field, is in a poor, rural
district that leads the state in unemployment at
17.7% and was ranked 15th among the nation’s
100 school districts reporting the highest rates
of extreme child poverty in a 2010 report,
“Children in Extreme Poverty in the South and
Nation,” published by The Southern Education
Foundation, based on 2008 data.
Enrollment: 479 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 72% economically
NC
NATIONAL TITLE
I 20% black, 20%
disadvantaged,
58% white,
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
American Indian, 18% students with disabilities
Number of Students Per Teacher: 12.6
Dr. Cindy Goodman
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 38.1
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $9,633
School Founding Date: 1923 (Laurel Hill School)
Age of School Building: Laurel Hill, a 12-yearold clean, bright facility, is a point of pride in the
community. Special attention is given to upkeep
so that the school can maintain carpeted areas
(counter to district policy due to the sandy
environment) for more personal, quieter areas.
Plans for the $10,000 Award:
Laurel Hill intends to expand its literacy and cultural
enrichment program launched last summer when
60 students worked with certified teachers twice
a week around different themes featuring field
trips. Books were added to the students’ home
libraries and transportation was provided.
2012 NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 3
(Dr. Goodman was principal from 2002-03 until
December 2010 when she was named Scotland
County Schools’ assistant superintendent for
instructional services.)
Student Mobility Rate: 14%
Nine years ago when Cindy
Goodman came to Laurel Hill as
principal, the school was ranked
5th of 9 elementary schools in
the district with “mediocre”
student achievement. The staff
was complacent about student
test scores, classes were selfcontained, and teachers worked
in silos.
Adequate Yearly Progress results in 2002-03 revealed a
30-some point gap in reading and math proficiency
between “all students” and “students with disabilities”
and kept the school from making AYP.
At that time, the school’s exceptional children were
served in two self-contained classes spanning three
grades. “Those teachers were struggling with the school’s
most at-risk kids...,” says Dr. Goodman. “We had a
school-wide talk about how we saw our children and that
they were all our children.”
Dr. Goodman led her staff in setting high expectations for
all students and working hard as a team to meet those
expectations. “When I came here, I realized that maybe
the expectations weren’t high enough. So what we’ve
tried to do through the years is just create a culture of
high expectations for our students, for our staff, for the
leadership and even for parents.”
Today Laurel Hill Elementary, still a rural, high-poverty
school, has done something many educators say can’t be
done – closed the achievement gap between its diverse
student groups, including students with disabilities, to
seven or fewer percentage points and significantly
increased overall student proficiency in reading and math.
2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 15%
Teacher Profile: Over 40 percent of the school’s
teachers have master’s degrees and 13 are nationally
board certified.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report
Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress reports, the National
Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
Block Scheduling, Inclusion, Teamwork
Changing to block scheduling for reading and math instruction
in grades 3-5 and collaborative co-teaching (general education
and special education teachers) for all grades was key to Laurel
Hill’s inclusion model for exceptional children.
During the morning block time, students are taught in small
groups broken into six instructional levels based on their skills
and performance (not labels). Teachers rotate between the
groups. Those working with the lower-achieving groups
co-teach with a special education colleague. Teachers working
with the higher-achieving groups offer enrichment. Students
move among the leveled groups in a fluid manner based on
feedback obtained from six- and nine-week benchmark tests in
that subject.
“I’ve never had to solicit teachers to teach the lower level
groups,” Dr. Goodman says. “It is not uncommon at all for a
teacher to say to me, ‘I want the low block again next year.
You better not take my kids away from me.’ That is so
rewarding for me.” Dr. Goodman carefully matches classroom and special education
co-teachers by strengths and personalities and teachers on
both sides of the exceptional children/general education divide
make extra efforts to collaborate. EC teachers participate in
grade-level planning sessions so that they can be true partners
in classroom co-teaching. All students in the classrooms
benefit from the set of strategies that EC teachers bring.
Teachers in grades 3-5 divide responsibilities for preparing and
teaching reading, math, science, or social studies according to
their areas of strength. Library, art, music, computer, and
physical education classes, or “specials,” are taught after the
reading/math block. During “specials,” grade-level teams meet
to review the curriculum, analyze student achievement data,
plan instruction, brainstorm ideas, and develop strategies.
Part-time reading and math facilitators meet with teachers weekly to discuss
student progress and plan instruction. Substitute teachers are hired (with Title I
funds) for half-day planning sessions each semester so that grade-level teams
can work together with curriculum facilitators and exceptional children teachers.
“What’s different about Laurel Hill is the relentless drive to help every single
child,” says kindergarten teacher Leslie Knauss. “If someone in your classroom
is struggling and you try a strategy and it’s not successful, then you go digging.
… You can collaborate with the EC specialists, the facilitators, the guidance
counselors. Everybody’s working together to find an answer for each child….”
Once the school schedule changed so that all teachers owned all the students
on a grade level and teachers were working hard across subject areas and
student ability levels during common planning times, the school’s culture
began to change.
“What you value, what you talk about becomes your
school’s culture,” Dr. Goodman says.
Teacher Kathi Webster works with her 3rd graders
on a reading lesson. Higher order questioning
that forces students to think at a deeper level is
part of schoolwide practice that began several
years ago.
The school won Blue Ribbon School distinction by the US Department of
Education in 2006 for its success in closing the achievement gap between
regular and special education students.
“In other school districts, we would send a student to the office to turn in the
morning student count for lunch,” says exceptional children teacher Towanda
Smith. “Here at Laurel Hill, cafeteria workers come to your classroom to pick
that up and that is five minutes that you’re not taken away from a child who
needs to be in the classroom...”
Third grade teacher Susan Smart, a 21-year veteran teacher and Laurel Hill
newcomer, says, “Teachers are working; students are working. There aren’t
any students sitting off to the side, not engaged. Everybody’s involved. …
The children’s education drives the entire program here.”
Core Instruction and More Teamwork
Nine years ago, Dr. Goodman found “serious, serious holes” in instruction
according to the NC Standard Course of Study. Scheduling common planning
times helped fill the holes and set expectations about what is taught and when.
Dr. Goodman supported teachers’ teamwork by attending meetings; getting
materials, teacher coaches, and facilitators; organizing planning sessions and
training; and recruiting strong teachers to fit grade-level team needs.
In 2008, Laurel Hill was one of 15 schools that won a NC Real D.E.A.L. award for
excellent teacher working conditions and outstanding student achievement. By
then, the instruction had moved from holes to hills and weekly goals and daily
class schedules were posted outside each classroom. Grade-level teachers
teach the same unit at the same time. “One of the reasons Laurel Hill has been so successful is that there is a real
strong teaming approach to running the school,” Dr. Goodman says. In addition
to getting all students on the same team (blended classrooms) and teachers
collaborating across grade levels and subject areas, she makes it clear that she
is on the team, a player.
Dr. Goodman visits each classroom each day. “At first, the teachers would pause
and look at me. One teacher actually asked me if she could help me. I remember
that comment because it was such a shift in thinking. It’s one thing to be in a
classroom and to be seen, but it’s another thing to confront what you need to in
order to improve instruction,” Dr. Goodman says. “So if I go into a classroom
and I’m not sure if there’s learning taking place…, the next step is having a
conversation with the teacher. So you have to care enough to be honest and I’m
very direct. I think I owe that to my staff. I certainly owe it to the students.”
PE teacher Jordan Reilly conducts sessions on
bike safety and riding in the bus parking lot for
5th graders. The school’s 10-year-old bike fleet is
still in excellent condition, although Reilly is
seeking funding for bikes with training wheels so
it will be easier to handle classes with multiple
“hands on” learners. Reilly is cognizant that he
has his students for only four hours a week and
that his district exceeds the state average in
childhood obesity and the life expectancy rate of
72 years is below the state and national average.
He offers instruction in “Dance, Dance
Revolution” and other fun fitness activities to
encourage lifelong healthy habits.
Continued next page
3
Student Support
Each year, about 10 percent of Laurel Hill’s students are referred to the Student
Services Management Team as being at risk of falling behind academically.
The team, made up of an administrator, the school counselor, and classroom
teachers, offers strategies, support, and suggestions.
The school counselor and social worker conduct weekly “lunch bunch” student
meetings to focus on areas of need such as behavior, attendance, test anxiety,
and poor work habits.
Staff wanted a casual day where jeans could be
worn, so Dr. Goodman negotiated. The deal:
Staff could wear jeans as long as they are
accompanied by official Laurel Hill clothing of
some sort. The announcement came with Laurel
Hill shirts for the entire staff as a surprise gift
from her. “As small as it sounds, it started the
process of building a team that takes pride in
the school,” she says. The school’s apparel line
now includes a variety of fleece vests, knit
shirts, and khaki pants.
Student Achievement
• Exceptional children exceed state
targets for all students on state
achievement tests
• High Growth school for 8 consecutive
years, ABCs
• 2006 Blue Ribbon School, US
Department of Education
• Adequate Yearly Progress from
2003-04 to 2010-11
100
80
86.8
85.4
70
60
“I’m a big believer that kids love structure, standards, and rules and knowing
what’s expected of them,” says Dr. Goodman. “If you reinforce children so that
they know that they are going to get all the attention they need and want for
appropriate things, the culture changes.”
74.6
62.8
50
40
2007-08
2008-09
Math
Laurel Hill’s student-centered approach is evident outside the classroom.
Physical education teacher Jordan Reilly instructs all 4th graders in swimming
and water safety at a local college’s swimming pool. Bike riding and safety is
the 5th grade rite of passage. Reilly tackles these ambitious projects with PE
students trained in behavior expectations and “code.” Games such as “Ships
and Sailors” (instructions in “Resources”) drill students in quick responses.
“I don’t have time for much explanation,” Reilly says. “But if I say, ‘Four people
eating,’ by the third week, all the students are gathered facing each other in
groups of four, ready for the activity. If I see a safety or behavior issue, ‘Captain’s
Coming’ (where all students stand at attention) handles it.”
Dr. Goodman greets students by name each morning before school. Doors open
at 7:30 before school starts at 8 a.m. and parents can come for unannounced
visits with teachers and administrators during this time. Students showing up on
time for school with their daily planners –signed by parents – is expected
behavior at this point.
>95
>95
Laurel Hill’s Child and Family Support Team, funded by a NC Department of Health
and Human Services grant, helps families address learning barriers with a focus on
student attendance. The team, comprised of a full-time nurse and a full-time social
worker, made 230 home visits in 2009-10. Nurse Kim Adams sees her job as
keeping the students in school, if at all possible. “A lot of times, kids come in and
they just need a little bit of TLC. They might just need some breakfast.… So I get
them some food,” Adams says. “We have a lot of parents who know that, no
matter what comes up, they can call the school and ask for us.”
A Team on Time and in Place
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
Guidance counselor Anne Caudill brings a combination lock and large eyeglasses
in red, blue, yellow, and green during one lunch bunch meeting last spring to
humorously deliver a serious message: When it comes to end-of-grade testing,
you have the power to unlock your attitude and see the process in a new way.
(Her lesson plan is in “Resources.”)
2009-10
Reading
The message is, “This [school] is important,” says Dr. Goodman. “The seas part for
students when they walk through this front door. Our students get a lot of attention
from teachers. We’re sending the message that this is serious, this is your job.”
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students
in the tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011
were selected when 2009-10 student
achievement data was the most
recent available.
4
All
Students
White
Economically American Students with
Black Disadvantaged Indian
Disabilities
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
90.3
>95
80
86.5
87
**
Reading 2008-09 % proficient with growth
87
88.6
**
87.5
86.5
79.5
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
68.1
76.3
56.1
62.7
53.1
67.5
Reading 2002-03 % proficient
80.5
82.7
76
74.8
78.6
48.2
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
>95
>95
>95
>95
>95
**
Math 2008-09 % proficient with growth
>95
>95
**
>95
>95
90.9
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
91.5
92.6
85.4
91.3
>93.9
87.5
Math 2002-03 % proficient
86.9
90.1
77.3
83.2
89.3
58.9
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Cane River Middle
Yancey County Schools / 1128 Cane River School Road / Burnsville, NC 28714 / 828.682.2202
Alton Robinson, Principal / Jeanne Tyner, Title I Director / Dr. Tom Little, Superintendent
Website: www.crms.yanceync.net
Community: High-spirited, well-rounded
middle school students along with
40 knowledgeable, caring staff members
comprise the Cane River Middle
School family.
Enrollment: 233 / Grade Levels: 6-8
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 91.4% white,
59% economically disadvantaged, 17%
students with disabilities, 5.6% Hispanic,
3% black, 3% limited English proficient
Number of Students Per Teacher: 11.2
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 20.8
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $9,845
Age of School Building: The school was
built in 1958 as a high school and became a
middle school in 1976.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 3
Teacher Turnover Rate: 4%
Barriers to Student Learning: Harsh
winters in Yancey County break the routine
of learning and teaching.
Cane River Middle School’s 2011-12 Student
Council meets with sponsor Kelly Boone,
the school’s 2011-12 Teacher of the Year.
Cane River Middle students take pride in
themselves and their school.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• A supplemental instructional model emphasizes enrichment, reinforcement, and
remediation for all 6th and 7th grade learners and selected 8th grade learners.
The initiative addresses reducing transitional stress from elementary to middle
school, cementing basic skills, and internalizing skills for success in high-level
courses. Student achievement data and input from teachers, parents, and the
student ensure quality, student-specific instructional strategies. Small class sizes
help as well.
• Partnership with 4-H provides opportunities for after-school instructional
activities. The school follows best-practice tutoring strategies taught by highly
qualified staff (mostly retired, content-area teachers).
• The schedule at Cane River Middle provides time for extensive collaboration and
integrated curriculum among staff. Core subject teachers are responsible for one
subject for only one particular grade level in their 70-minute block classes.
Teachers have twice daily planning – once with grade-level team members and
an additional time with subject area peers.
• Over the past two years, the school’s math teachers have participated in
Partners In Math, a professional development activity with middle school math
teachers in the building and throughout the county. The resulting collaborations
have enriched the school’s classrooms and improved instruction for students.
• The implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) and
staff Olweus training (a bullying prevention program) has created a safe
environment at Cane River Middle.
Mrs. Watt’s 7th grade language arts
students got into character as “greasers” to
enhance their reading of “The Outsiders.”
Throughout the novel’s unit, students
reviewed the effects of literary elements on
the text, examined how peer relationships
can affect who they are or will become by
comparing their experiences with those of
the characters, and wrote about it. They also
held a classroom debate to seal the fate of a
character convicted of a crime, completed a
web quest on life in the 1960’s, and explored
music from the time period and how it
connected with different social groups in
the novel.
100
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
80
Student Achievement
• High Growth Honor School of Excellence for 2010-11, ABCs
70
• High Growth School of Distinction for 2008-09, 2009-10, ABCs
60
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
All
Students
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 % proficient with growth
84.9
88.4
78.9
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
66.1
67.2
56.9
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
90.4
90.4
89.4
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
78.6
78.6
75.4
2
92.1
90.9
85.3
81.6
78.4
65.9
50
40
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when 2009-10
student achievement data was the most recent available.
5
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Cape Hatteras Elementary
Dare County Schools / P.O. Box 989, 47500 Middle Ridge Trail / Buxton, NC 27920 / 252.995.6196
Sherry Couch, Principal / Judith Hornbeck, Title I Director / Dr. Sue Burgess, Superintendent
Website: http://che.darecountyschoolsonline.com
Community: Cape Hatteras Elementary
School, in the village of Buxton, serves
students from the 6 villages of Hatteras Island.
The school community, which is isolated
geographically with no reliable road to the
mainland, plays a major role in the education
of its students.
Enrollment: 275 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 82.5% white, 55.6%
economically disadvantaged, 15% students
with disabilities, 13.1% Hispanic, 6% limited
English proficient, 3.3% black, 1.1% Asian
Number of Students Per Teacher: 13.7
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 20
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $10,885
Recent Changes in Students Served:
Beginning in 2007-08, Pre-K was added to
the school, serving 18 at-risk children from
Hatteras Island. The school sees a drop in
enrollment around Thanksgiving after many
local businesses close for the season and an
increase after Easter when area businesses
reopen.
School Founding Date: June 30, 1997
Age of School Building: 9 years
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 5%
Barriers to Student Learning: The school’s
opening for 2011-12 was delayed 9 days due
to Hurricane Irene. Fifteen students and a
teacher are displaced because of the storm’s
damage to their homes. Approximately 82%
of students and staff suffered property
damage and Hatteras Island’s unemployment
rate spiked to 12.8% due to the physical
destruction of businesses and the fiscal loss
of tourist dollars.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Teachers meet in a common planning time to plan lessons, create and analyze
formative assessments, and form small, flexible student groups for differentiation.
At weekly grade-level meetings, teachers meet to discuss cross-curricular units
and individual student’s needs.
• The staff reads weekly, research-based articles and meets for monthly
professional development sessions that, for the past two years, have focused on
Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) to address the learning needs
of the growing number of English language learners as well as all children.
• The school has been a NC Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
Exemplar School for the past two years and serves as a model for schools
initiating PBIS.
• The school’s classrooms include student computers with internet connectivity, a
teacher laptop, a document camera, and a SmartPad. Labs containing interactive
whiteboards, projection units and printer/copiers facilitate learning in whole
groups. Skype and other internet programs help students communicate with
classrooms outside the county and state.
• The school hosts parent, math, and technology evening programs to share best
practices, strategies to use at home, and what’s going on at school.
• The school hosts Jumpstart, a one- to two-week program before school starts,
to help prepare academically at-risk students for the new school year.
Author/illustrators visit to share experiences
and lead student workshops, paid for
through grants and donations. In recent
years, the school has hosted Brandon
Dorman (above), Brandon Mull, Michael P.
White, Gordon Korman, Ann Fearrington,
Audrey Penn, Suzanne Tate, Melinda Long,
and Mark Peter Hughes.
Student Achievement
High Growth each of the past 3 years in
reading and math, ABCs
High Growth School of Distinction for
2010-11, ABCs
Consistently meets all Adequate Yearly
Progress targets each year
100
90
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
40
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
80.7
85.6
69.6
63
64.5
**
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
90.8
94.2
82.1
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
93
93.5
**
>95
85.1
91.2
50
89.8
78.7
70
60
All
Students
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
80
• Members of the local Coast Guard tutor students and local high school students
mentor at-risk students.
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
6
Math Family Fun night gives parents a chance
to see their students at work in the school.
58.8
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when 2009-10
student achievement data was the most recent available.
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Ephesus Road Elementary
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools / 495 Ephesus Church Road / Chapel Hill, NC 27514 / 919.929.8715
Philip Holmes, Principal (currently Victoria Creamer)
Valerie Reinhardt, Title I Director (currently Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst)
Dr. Neil Pedersen, Superintendent (currently Dr. Tom Forcella)
Website: www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/Ephesus
Community: Ephesus is one of 10
elementary schools in the Chapel HillCarrboro City School District.
Enrollment: 430 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 46.8%
economically disadvantaged, 46%
white, 22% black, 19.8% academically or
intellectually gifted (AIG - identified and
nurtured), 17.9 % limited English proficient,
15% Hispanic, 11.9% students with
disabilities, 9% Asian, 8% multiracial
Number of Students Per Teacher: 10.6
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 40.6
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $10,605
School Founding Date: 1972
Age of School Building: 39 years
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years:
There have been 4 principals in the past
10 years; each served 3-4 years. The current
principal was the assistant principal at the
school for 3 years before changing roles.
Teacher Turnover Rate: 16%
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
A recent 1st grade literature study asked:
What might happen if you take the characters
from your story and magically transport them
to a new setting? Students modeled the
changes in their triangle dioramas (on the
school’s Web site).
Replicable Practices
• In 2010-11, Ephesus had 2.5 additional specialists to provide tiered support
according to the Responsiveness to Instruction (RtI) model. • Teachers meet weekly to collaborate in lesson planning, analyze data from
common assessments, and form flexible groups for differentiation with
remediation and extension in their professional learning communities (PLCs).
Student Achievement
Ephesus 4th and 5th graders usually meet
or exceed growth expectations set by the
ABCs in reading and math.
• The school provides literacy training for parents to explain the literacy
framework, model activities for home use, and to provide home resources.
Trained parents volunteer in the classroom during the literacy block.
• Ephesus is in its fourth year of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
implementation. The staff uses common language to address expectations
across all grade levels. Ephesus was recognized as an NC PBIS Exemplar School
for 2009-10.
• Ephesus has an interactive whiteboard system in every classroom, several
mobile laptop labs, iPads, iPods, document cameras, and other technology for
student use.
• The school’s AIG program functions as a full-service model whereby a full-time
AIG specialist collaborates with all PLCs to ensure that the classroom teachers
have the resources to meet the needs of all students. The AIG specialist provides
professional development in differentiation and the development of higher order
and critical thinking skills. Students work in flexible groups for most units of
study based upon pre-assessment data. This allows all students, identified as
gifted or not, to engage in enriching work when appropriate.
High Growth School of Distinction for
2010-11, ABCs
Consistently meets all Adequate Yearly
Progress targets each year
100
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
80
70
85.7
92.8
83.6
91.3
80.7
72.3
60
50
40
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
All
Students
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
83.9
93.1
63.2
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
76.9
91.5
44.4
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
93.8
95.0
86.8
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
88.5
>95
76.6
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement data was the most recent
available.
7
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Lawsonville Elementary
Stokes County Schools / 4611 NC 8 Highway North / Lawsonville, NC 27022 / 336.593.8284
Greg Ottaway, Principal / Myra Cox, Title I Director / Dr. Stewart Hobbs, Superintendent
Website: www.lawsonville.stokes.k12.nc.us
Community: Lawsonville Elementary is a
vision-driven, student-centered rural school
in the North Carolina foothills. The staff’s
philosophy is, “Once my student; always
my student.” Caring relationships are an
important aspect of education in a community
where education is valued.
Enrollment: 208 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 86.9% white,
47.2% economically disadvantaged,
15% students with disabilities, 9.5% Hispanic
Number of Students Per Teacher: 14.5
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 15.1
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,729
Recent Changes in Students Served:
Enrollment at Lawsonville has declined over
the past 5 years. The economy has played a
role in that as parents have moved out of the
district to find employment.
School Founding Date: 1870
Age of School Building: The oldest part of the
structure was built in 1958. The most recent
addition was built in 1975.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
(The current principal has been at the school
for 8 years.)
Teacher Turnover Rate: 6%
Barriers to Student Learning: According
to a study by the NC Center for Afterschool
Programs, based on 2000 data, only 49% of
adults aged 25 and above in Stokes County
hold a high school diploma or GED.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Staff share student achievement data and determine interventions to meet specific
student needs at bi-weekly teacher grade-level and Student Assistance Team
(SAT) meetings. The SAT, comprised of a K-2 teacher representative, a 3-5 teacher
representative, the exceptional children teacher, the speech/language therapist,
and the principal, provides teachers and parents with strategies and interventions
for struggling students. This team has been instrumental in decreasing the number
of referrals for the exceptional children program. Parents are invited and frequently
attend SAT meetings. Since the school has such positive parent/teacher relationships,
parents gladly accept intervention strategies that they can implement at home. The Student Assistance Team (top photo)
works to make sure each struggling student
gets matched with strategies that work.
Parent nights (middle and bottom photos)
are popular at Lawsonville Elementary.
• Frequent parent conferences supply parents with additional tools to assist in their
child’s learning at home.
• Teacher relationships with parents and students that develop during the early
years extend throughout the student’s academic career. A former student came by
recently to visit his 3rd grade teacher and tell her that he was about to become the
first in his family to graduate from high school.
• Small flexible reading groups meet students’ needs at their instructional level
and self-selected reading time strengthens reading on an independent level.
• Lawsonville Elementary exceeded Adequate Yearly Progress targets for
8 consecutive years while at the same time making High Growth, ABCs.
• Honor School of Excellence for 2010-11, ABCs
8
90
88.4
80
Student Achievement
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
100
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
70
94.7
93.3
80.7
79.8
63.6
60
50
All
Students
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
83.5
84.5
75.5
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
65.5
66.4
56.1
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
93.9
94.5
89.8
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
88.2
88.5
87.8
40
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement data was the most recent
available.
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Rock Ridge Elementary
Wilson County Schools / 6605 Rock Ridge School Rd. / Wilson, NC 27893 / 252.399.7955
Jennifer Lewis, Principal / Thomas Evans, Title I Director
Dr. Larry Price, Superintendent (currently Sean Bulson.)
Website: available from www.wilson.k12.nc.us/education
Community: The school is in a rural, tight-knit
community next door to a farm equipment store,
across from a church, 4 miles from a fast food
restaurant, and 8 miles west of Wilson. Many
of the staff are long-time community residents
who attended Rock Ridge.
Enrollment : 498 / Grade Levels: K-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 61.4% white, 45.4%
economically disadvantaged, 20.7% Hispanic,
17.5% black, 15% limited English proficient,
7% students with disabilities, 5% academically
or intellectually gifted (AIG)
Number of Students Per Teacher: 17.1
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 29.1
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $7,812
Recent Changes in Students Served: Three
years ago, the school had 600+ students until
100 were assigned to a new school. Enrollment is
growing again due to more migrant families and
commuters using US Route 264.
School Founding Date: 1883
Age of School Building: The gym was built in
1952; the auditorium in 1941. Both were part of the
old high school torn down in 2001 except for those
two areas. The main building was built in 2001.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 14% (The school has
8 initially-licensed teachers due to recent
retirements.)
Barriers to Student Learning: The economic
downturn increased the number of migrant
students who leave and return in the spring
because their families cannot find winter work.
Barriers include high student mobility rate,
language, poverty, and larger classes.
Student 1st grade authors get their photo
taken after writing a book.
Teacher Debbie Hancock checks her 5th
graders’ “Read to Succeed” folders to make
sure they’ve done their home reading.
Students made
banner art for last
year’s Football
Friday hosted with
Hunt High
School’s football
players and
cheerleaders who
were encouraging
keeping active.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress reports,
the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• The school supports “child centered”
• The school’s special area teachers (AIG,
technology where students use, manipulate,
resource, exceptional children, literacy,
and teach each other. Clicker devices,
and English as a second language) tutor
interactive whiteboards, digital and document
at-risk students to make sure they meet
cameras, and projectors are part of daily
academic growth expectations. Last year,
instruction.
African American males made tremendous
gains through targeted efforts. Special
• All teachers tutor at-risk students in grades
area teachers work in an inclusion model.
3-5 in reading and math after school in April.
• Teachers meet twice weekly to plan
• The art, music, and physical education
grade-level lessons with special area
teachers run a reading-based intervention
teachers, create and analyze assessments,
program before school each morning.
and form flexible groups that meet
• Parents participate in Accelerated Reader
individual student needs.
nights, K-2 reading and math nights, EOG
• The principal visits every classroom each
workshops, volunteering, and more.
morning and problems are confronted
• The school protects instructional time by not
early on. For instance, a Hispanic student
interrupting for announcements, setting firm
did not feel included by her white peers, so
parent visitation rules, strategic scheduling,
the guidance counselor led a class lesson
teaching and reinforcing expected behavior
on accepting differences (included in
through a character education program
“Resources”).
(AJ Rightway), and hosting curriculum• The staff receives on-going training in
based school assemblies.
Responsiveness to Instruction (RtI)
• Discipline matters are handled early and
strategies. The intervention team meets
often. For instance, bus discipline issues
weekly to brainstorm and make
escalated recently, so the principal modeled
recommendations for at-risk students and
bus behaviors that did and did not meet
to monitor intervention students.
expectations on morning TV announcements.
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
All
Students
Black
Hispanic
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
90.8
76.7
**
94.8
87.6
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
80.3
58.8
81.3
86.8
77.4
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
>95
88.4%
**
>95
92.4
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
94.6
86.3
>95
>95
93
Student Achievement
Honor School of Excellence or
Distinction with High Growth for
10 consecutive years, ABCs
Recognized by the Governor’s Office as
a Hallmark of Excellence School in 2002
100
90
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
93.9
91.1
91.4
80
70
89.4
80.6
77.6
60
50
40
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the
tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were
selected when 2009-10 student achievement
data was the most recent available.
9
2011 Title I Distinguished schools nominee sustained student achievement
Shoals Elementary
Surry County Schools / 1800 Shoals Road / Pinnacle, NC 27043 / 336.325.2518
Tracey Lewis, Principal / Brenda Whitaker, Title I Director / Dr. Ashley Hinson, Superintendent
Website: www.surry.k12.nc.us/ses/
Community: Shoals Elementary is located
at the foot of Pilot Mountain. At Shoals,
there is a sense of family, community, and
belonging. Faculty and staff go the extra
mile to make sure the students receive the
best education possible.
Enrollment: 283 / Grade Levels: K-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 91% white, 44.9%
economically disadvantaged, 6% students
with disabilities, 4.6% Hispanic, 3.1% black,
3% limited English proficient, 1.3% Asian
Number of Students Per Teacher: 18.2
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 13
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,265
Recent Changes in Students Served:
About 156 former Shoals Elementary
students began attending a new
elementary school in 2009-10.
School Founding Date: 1992
Age of School Building: 19 years
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 3
Barriers to Student Learning: A barrier
to student learning is decreased funding
resources. Due to the decrease in
enrollment affecting average daily
membership (ADM) and the budget cuts
from the state, the school’s budget has been
cut, forcing the staff to do more with less.
Shoals Elementary students are well rounded
with a wide variety of interests. Shoals
teachers and staff members strive to tailor
each student’s experiences, instruction, and
opportunities for optimal growth.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Shoals Elementary’s Battle of the Books team
is part of a school-wide initiative to improve
reading.
Replicable Practices
• Tutors are employed to help teachers offer small group instruction with
differentiation. Teacher assistants tutor and teach children in small groups and
remediate one-on-one in problem areas.
• Teachers meet during common planning times to collaborate lesson planning,
create and analyze formative assessments and other data, and form flexible
small groups for differentiation with remediation.
• The staff learns about ways to help students develop critical thinking skills for
the 21st century at monthly professional development meetings. In addition,
staff members attend innovative workshops to boost creativity and develop
technology skills.
• The staff incorporates CRISS (Creating Independence through Student-owned
Strategies) strategies in student lessons and learns about how to help students
read, write, and learn more effectively through on-going professional
development in the program. CRISS, developed in anticipation of the Common
Core State Standards, is being implemented in all Surry County schools.
• Shoals Elementary has been a NC Positive Behavior Intervention and Support
(PBIS) Exemplar School for the past two years and serves as a model for schools
initiating PBIS. Staff members are currently working on positive recognition in
each classroom.
• The school incorporates technology-supported “hands on” learning with
interactive whiteboard systems and multi-media projects created by each student
to display technology knowledge and academic understanding of the topic.
Student Achievement
Shoals Elementary faculty and staff
offer tailored experiences, instruction,
and opportunities to enable each student
to grow according to his or her unique
needs, abilities, and interests. Staff
members use all available resources to
guide students to think critically, to
develop understanding, to achieve
academically, and to acquire the skills
necessary for life. Honor School of Excellence for 2010-11,
ABCs
100
90
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
92.1
80
70
>95
94.8
83.4
81.7
72.8
60
50
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
10
All
Students
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
86.4
88.5
78.1
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
74.3
76.2
59.7
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
>95
>95
94.3
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
92.8
94.2
84.4
40
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement data was the most recent
available.
2011 Title
Distinguished
schools nominee
sustainedstudent
studentachievement
achievement
2011 INC
Title I Distinguished
school sustained
Union Elementary
Brunswick County Schools / 180 Union School Road, NW / Shallotte, NC 28459 / 336.325.2518
Vickie Smith, Principal / Pamela Collins, Title I Director (currently Patricia Rourk)
Dr. Edward Pruden, Superintendent
Website: accessible from www.bcswan.net
Community: Union is in a predominantly rural,
but quickly developing area (population
increase of 44% in the past decade) that is
becoming a suburb of both Wilmington and
Myrtle Beach. Area neighborhoods range from
golf and beach retirement communities to mobile
unit parks, where most of the residents with schoolage children live. The school’s slogan is, “The
sun is always shining at Union.”
Number of Students Per Teacher: 17.2
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 39
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $9,117
Recent Changes in Students Served: The school
isn’t serving as a School of Choice this year.
School Founding Date: 1951
Age of School Building: 60 years
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate in 2010: 3%
Barriers to Student Learning: A local economy
dependent on seasonal workers contributes
to a student mobility rate of 9.3%. The majority
of students are being raised by grandparents,
which presents challenges and celebrations.
Enrollment: 671 / Grade Levels: K-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 76.2% white, 53.4%
economically disadvantaged, 14.5% black,
14% limited English proficient 7.9% Hispanic,
6% students with disabilities, 1% Asian
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
A school with 850 people on site in a
60-year-old building with “tutoring cottages”
(modular units) poses challenges as budgets
are cut. (The school lost five positions and
gained an autistic self-contained class this
year. After much work, most classes remain
in the 23- to 24-student range.) Here are
Union strategies for remaining child-centered:
- Staggered staff schedules
- Multiple block schedules for different
grade level groups
- Grades 3-5 team teaching according to
academic subjects
- Staff willingness to meet after school
weekly
- A 45-minute intervention/enhancement
block where all instructional support staff
work with students in small, flexible groups
• Union’s 160 community, church, and
parent volunteers contribute in one-onone tutoring, classroom assistance, and
special projects such as building a beach
volleyball court, and leading a shark’s
tooth dig. Last year, volunteers logged
over 7,343 hours of service and 140 of the
volunteers, mostly retired educators,
volunteered several times a week from an
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
hour a day to all day. A part-time certified
teacher runs the volunteer program
(including scheduling, key fobs, and other
logistics) and the parent center, trains
volunteers, and plans parent night events.
Parents can check out educational games,
books on cds, and dvds on parenting issues
from the parent center.
• The PTO purchases much of the school’s
technology equipment (including 12 SMART
carts and SMART labs), runs the school’s
Dolphin Depot store, and hosts the fall
festival, which raises $7,000-8,000 annually.
The school’s Battle of the Books team won the
2011 county championship.
• Positive Behavior Intervention and Support
(PBIS) provides a school framework for
teaching appropriate behaviors and character
education. Students collect their chain full
of “dolphin tags” that they have earned for
behavior and academic achievements.
• The First Tee program engages students
in character-building activities through the
game of golf.
• Weekly professional learning community
and grade-level meetings address the
DuFour “big idea” questions, develop
questions for dialogue groups, and create
formative and benchmark assessments
through ClassScape.
• The staff develops professionally through
studies of Revised Blooms’ Taxonomy,
NCREADS, and Partners in Math.
• After-school committees work weekly on
pacing guides, Common Core State
Standards issues, PBIS, quarterly awards
days, and more.
• Students develop leadership skills through
managing the recycling program, displaying
the flag daily, and producing (announcing,
running camera and recording equipment,
• Students get a free T-shirt (paid for by the school
writing and editing scripts) a live, 7-minute
and the PTO) each year. The school’s slogan is
daily news broadcast (photo on page 1).
on the front and a list of corporate sponsors
(worth $11,700 this year) is on the back.
• Technology is a part of each student’s daily
learning through integrated use of laptops,
interactive pads and whiteboards, and
computer labs.
• Communities In Schools partners provide
extra classroom supplies, tutors, and mentors.
• Visiting artists, shows, and guest speakers
enrich and motivate students. Last year the
school hosted a traveling world art show that
inspired students to create multiple art mediums
normally outside of their comfort zone.
All
Students Black
89.8
***
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
93.4
84.6
Student Achievement
School of Distinction/High Growth for
2010, ABCs
100
90
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
92.3
83.9
87.2
80
87.2
85.7
70
60
67.8
50
40
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
Reading
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
70.6
45
74.3
58.4
Math
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
89.5
***
94.6
83.3
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
87
67.5
89
78.8
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when 2009-10
student achievement data was the most recent available.
11
2011
2011 NC national Title I Distinguished school Closing the Achievement Gap
NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Kingswood Elementary
2011 NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Wake County Schools / 200 East Johnson Street / Cary, NC 27513 / 919.460.3481
Sherry Schliesser, Principal / Willie Webb, Title I Director
Dr. Donna Hargens, Interim Superintendent (Current superintendent is Tony Tata.)
Website: http://kingswoodes.wcpss.net
2012
Community: High poverty neighborhood
school in the affluent town of Cary, near Raleigh
Enrollment: 367 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 55% economically
disadvantaged, 33% white, 26% Hispanic,
24% black, 20% limited English proficient,
13% students with disabilities, 10% Asian
There are 17-19 different languages spoken by
Kingswood students. The top three among Title I
students are English, Spanish, and Punjabi.
Number
of Students
NC
NATIONAL
TITLEPer
I Teacher: 12
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 30.3
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $7,886
School Founding Date: The original school,
built in 1954, was torn down in 2003.
Age of School Building: The current building is
7 years old.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 4; Sherry
Schliesser has been principal since January 2007.
Student Mobility: The student population is
transient with 62-79% of the students attending
for the entire school year. About one-third of
the school’s students arrive or leave mid-year.
Plans for the $10,000 Award:
The school plans to expand its technology to
facilitate its STEM model (science, technology,
engineering and math) focus through the use of
iPads and iPad carts and to purchase movable
interactive whiteboards for special education
by combining funds with an Americans With
Disabilities Act grant. Technology-supported
“hands on” learning with interactive whiteboard
systems, classroom response clicker devises,
Elmo digital display cameras, and projection units
help engage students at Kingswood.
2012 NC NATIONAL TITLE I
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
Teacher Turnover Rate: 22%
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
A fifth grader reads an essay about how getting ready to leave
Kingswood is like leaving home. After all, it’s where she learned to speak
English as a kindergartener and she occasionally calls her teacher “mom”.
An educator confides that once she didn’t believe that all children could
learn at grade level, but has seen enough change in students to be a
fervent champion for all of them. A mom tells how some simple dietary
suggestions from school staff regarding her son’s eating at home,
including breakfast, have played a part in the major transformations he
has experienced at Kingswood. These were just a few of the stories that
spilled out on a day that Kingswood was celebrating its designation as a
2011 National Title I Distinguished School.
When she came to Kingswood Elementary four years ago, Principal Sherry
Schliesser found a stagnant learning community for students and teachers.
“The culture here has changed to a place where teachers are learners and
they’re passionate about the difference they can make for their students,”
Schliesser says.
Fifth grader Jasmine Dabney read this essay
at the school’s celebration for its designation
as a 2011 National Title I Distinguished School.
What Kingswood Means to Me
Hi, my name is Jasmine. Kingswood Elementary
is like a nice, big house of learning. I’ve been at
this school since kindergarten and followed all
the way through to 5th grade. Every year that
I’ve been here at least twice in every grade I’ve
called my teachers mom. I’m surprised that I
haven’t called any of my classmates my
brothers and sisters. Kingswood is fun and
inviting. When I go to middle school I am going
to miss Kingswood like a three year old misses
its pacifier. So Kingswood being awarded the
National Title I Distinguished School makes
our school even more special.
12
Teacher training has focused on the Sheltered Instructional Operational Protocol
(SIOP) model initially devised for English language learners, but effective for
instructional planning for all students. “We’ve learned that students need to
know the content objectives and what they’ll be doing in order to master the
objectives,” she says.
Language development is another aspect of SIOP. “What we’ve found is
whether you’re an English language learner or not, there are confusions in
language. Unless you get those squared away at the beginning, your lesson’s
not going to be as successful,” Schliesser says. This practice works in tandem
with pioneering educator Robert Marzano’s higher level questioning, another
aspect of the Kingswood teachers’ training.
As a former classroom teacher, Shelley McCaslin, a 3-5 Title I teacher who has
been at Kingswood for 15 years, says, “I’ve felt more and more of a need to
build upon vocabulary. We use to assume that students knew some of these
basics. But there’s a true, true need to build upon vocabulary because if
students don’t have the vocabulary to start with, it’s really a struggle for them
to become engaged in the text and get any meaning from it.”
“Teachers at Kingswood with this
learning climate that we have, really
attach to positive behavior support
and they have learned everything there
is to know about it,” says Principal
Sherry Schliesser.
Handprints on the wall and painted ceiling
tiles throughout the school (and this
magazine) attest to the number of students
and whole classes experiencing success in
Kingswood’s PBIS program.
“Teachers plan their questions [to ask students in reading dialogue groups] in
advance and this is really critical because you forget to ask the questions that reach
the desired outcome,” Schliesser says.
Checking to see if teachers are asking quality questions that require students to
think, reflect challenging work, and prompt student interaction is part of Schliesser’s
regular walkthrough teacher observation process. When teachers fall into a default
mode of asking simple “knowing” questions, allow little time for student answers,
and remain addicted to the right answer, students become disengaged.
“Our teachers have done extensive study on different types of active engagement,”
says Schliesser. “We learned that teachers talk too much. We need to release the
independence, so that children are verbalizing the ideas rather than the teachers
telling them the ideas. If you are looking to extend a student, the types of questions
you ask help that student go in the direction you want him to go in.”
Sometimes students’ directions can be surprising. “When you dig into the student
data, then you can see trends over time,” says Schliesser. “At Kingswood, our Level
II’s (Students demonstrating inconsistent mastery of knowledge and skills who are
minimally prepared to be successful at the next grade level.) were progressing
nicely with good growth. Our Level IV’s (Students who consistently perform in a
superior manner clearly beyond that required to be proficient at grade-level work.)
were stagnant or even going backwards. We realized we were putting a lot of focus
on the students who didn’t know what they needed to know, but the students who
did were being worn down from boredom.”
Two years ago, the school began using some of its converted positions to support
interventions for each child, including Level IV’s. Beginning last year in Team Time,
teachers worked to extend the NC Standard Course of Study in both reading and
math to improve growth for Level IV students.
In Mindy Remington’s classroom, 2nd graders are taking turns at the front of the
class, dragging their fingers lightly on the interactive whiteboard to raise the
temperature on the thermometer. Will it get hot enough today (75 degrees) so that
Tommy’s mother will let him go swimming?
Meet a SIOP-embedded lesson using integrative technology and questioning that
goes beyond labeling to involve application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation –
all guided by a teacher who believes the students can do the work and is giving
enough pause to hear the response. That’s a golden moment at Kingswood that
Schliesser wants to become just the way they do life there.
A lot of pieces have to come together to make that happen. Classrooms are broken
down into small, flexible ability-leveled student groups. Teachers collaborate during
common planning on lessons, formative assessments, and strategies for
remediation and extension. Over 30 tutors and mentors work with students as well.
Continued next page
Principal Sherry Schliesser (left) and
2nd grade teacher Crystal Dempsey
look at students’ recently-created flow
maps used to tell a story in sequence.
The Kingswood staff is getting training
in Thinking Maps, developed by
Dr. David Hyerle, to use as visual
teaching tools with students. Thinking
Maps help students visually identify
the 8 thought process types and to
approach thinking in an organized
manner. “This will give our students
visuals to help process their thinking,
envelope everything that we’re doing
with SIOP, help our students in testtaking, and push all of our students
– regardless of their performance – to a
new level,” Schliesser says. Kingswood
students will learn to apply Thinking
Map strategies to non-academic
matters as well. “Instead of students
sitting there waiting to hear the
consequence for a poor decision in
their behavior, they can map out what
happened, identify the actions that led
to the inappropriate reaction, and draw
a new picture for tomorrow.”
The 8 maps and their correlating
thought processes are:
Circle Map - for defining in context
Tree Map - for classifying
Bubble Map - for describing
Double Bubble Map - for comparing
and contrasting
Flow Map - for sequencing
Multi-Flow Map - for cause and effect
Brace Map - for whole/part
relationships
Bridge Map - for analogies
13
“It really is a team effort and everyone’s good about jumping in,” says McCaslin.
“We don’t say, ‘Oh, these are your Title I students, take care of them.’ Or, ‘These
are your special ed students, take care of those.’ We really do all take ownership of all
the students.”
Implementation of the Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support (PBIS) model adds
additional school cohesion. “PBIS is the glue that
holds Kingswood together,” says Schliesser.
“We’re always practicing. PBIS is not something
that you do once and you’re done. Everyone talks
the PBIS language. I can ask a kindergartner,
‘How do you SWIM at Kingswood?’ and they’ll
tell me how you stay safe, work hard, be kind
and respectful (I’m kind and respectful.), and
manage your actions.” Kingswood has been a
NC PBIS exemplar school for the past two years
and serves as a model for schools initiating PBIS.
Kingswood doesn’t need a lot of
money to provide PBIS incentives for
students. Students earn tickets for
positive behavior. Tickets can be
redeemed for prizes such as these:
5 tickets: FISH bowl item
15 tickets: FISH bowl item
30 tickets: Bring in a “Show and Tell”
or “Switch seats for one class period”
or “Lunch with a buddy in your grade”
or “Help a teacher of your choice for 15
minutes”
50 tickets: Help in pre-K, 15 minutes
on computer, basketball with Mrs.
Lewis, Mr. Case, or Ms. Sherry, or
lunch with your teacher
75 tickets: Help in the media center
or climb on the rock climbing wall in
the gym (photo above) or help
Professor Achieve
100 tickets: Take a classroom book of
your choice home, food pass (Coupons
are donated from various restaurants.),
paint your handprint on the wall, activity
pass (Coupons are donated from
bowling alleys and other businesses.)
100
80
83.0
60
84.8
70.3
Below are a couple of examples of before and after higher level question stems
Kingswood teachers are using in the classroom.
Before: Why were the founders of the Constitution important?
After: What criteria would you use to assess the importance of the founders of the Constitution?
Before: Because isopods breathe through organs similar to gills, what is important for them to have?
After: How can you compare the breathing apparatus of isopods in relation to the gills of a fish?
Overall students’ reading proficiency (calculated with growth) increased
20 percentage points from 2007-08 to 2009-10 even though the number of students
with limited English proficiency increased during that time as well.
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
62.1
50
40
“If 21 percent of our students aren’t proficient, what do we need to do to get up
over that 80 percent mark?” asks Schliesser. “We will continue to work on growth,
that’s our vision here at Kingswood. But my personal vision is that we’ll find a way
to bring children who are two grade levels behind up to grade level proficiency.
We’ve got to.”
Met growth standards for the past 5 years; High Growth for 3 of those 5 years, ABCs
77.5
72.6
70
Perhaps an even truer indicator of school success is a discontented principal and
teachers and staff who want more for their students. Recently, the school added
after-school sessions and a summer program.
Student Achievement
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
For demonstrating positive behavior, students earn tickets that can be redeemed
for a trek on the school’s rock climbing wall or a chance to shoot hoops with the
principal. Whole class positive behavior can tally scores for the ultimate privilege
and school rite of passage – painting a ceiling tile (photo above and cover).
A glance upward in the hallways can attest to the success of previous classes.
All
Students
White
Black
83.9
90.6
82.6
73
64
84.8
38.5
42.5
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
88.8
>95
80.4
81.1
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
76.7
87.9
65.4
64.4
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
Economically
Disadvantaged
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when 2009-10 student achievement data
was the most recent available.
14
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
Butler Avenue Elementary
Clinton City Schools / 301 Butler Avenue / Clinton, NC 28328 / 910.592.2629
Vanessa Brown, Principal / Terrace Miller, Title I Director
Dr. Michael Basham, Superintendent
Website: http://butleravenue.nc.ccs.schoolinsites.com
Community: Butler Avenue Elementary,
located in the small, historic town of
Clinton, upholds a proud heritage of growth
and excellence for all students. Teachers
connect students with technology to
strengthen instruction in all subject areas.
Enrollment: 558 / Grade Levels: 2-3
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 70.5% economically
disadvantaged, 36.2% black, 28.7% white,
22.5% Hispanic, 15.9% limited English
proficient, 6.8% students with disabilities,
2.3% American Indian
Number of Students Per Teacher: 16.1
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 34.6
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $9,198
Recent Changes in Students Served:
Students served changed from grades 3-5
to grades 2-3 in August 2008.
School Founding Date: June 28, 1960
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 4
Teacher Turnover Rate: 3%
Barriers to Student Learning: The school is
working on ways to further involve parents.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Administrators and teacher leaders attended the Elementary Turnaround
Schools Institute 2008, which resulted in the implementation of a master
schedule that revolutionized the school’s day.
• Using data, students are identified and placed in flexible groups for 45 minutes
of intervention and/or enrichment daily. This allows students to receive
intervention services without missing important classroom instruction.
• Teachers meet in a common planning time to collaborate in lesson planning,
to create and analyze formative assessments, and to form flexible small groups
for differentiation with remediation and extension.
Butler Avenue School’s motto is “ Learn to
Read, Read to Learn.” School staff is committed
to making sure that each 3rd grader leaves with
the skills and tools necessary to be successful
at the next level.
Student Achievement
High Growth, 2007-2010 ABCs
• Monthly half-day training targets differentiation and working with English
language learners and struggling readers.
• Butler Avenue is immersed in the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support
(PBIS) philosophy. The staff uses common language to address expectations
across all grade levels, such as, “Be a Horse” (school mascot): (H)onest,
(O)rderly, (R)espectful, (S)afe, (E)ngaged.
100
93.8
90
• The school uses the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model.
• Technology supports “hands on” learning with interactive whiteboard systems.
• The technology instructional facilitator conducts weekly training sessions that
correlate technologies with the curriculum.
• The 21st Century afterschool program provides three hours per day of tutorials
and extracurricular activities.
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
86.1
80
75.4
70
67.8
63.9
60
50
40
49.1
2007-08
2008-09
Math
All
Students
Black
Hispanic
White
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
75.8
72.8
67.7
89.7
69.8
63.8
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
52.5
37.9
43.2
72.2
39.6
**
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
94.1
92.2
>95
>95
93.3
94.8
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
76.2
64.5
76.8
87.1
69.1
**
2009-10
Reading
Economically Limited English
Disadvantaged
Proficient
1 Subgroups with 40 or more
students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for
2011 were selected when 2009-10
student achievement data was
the most recent available.
15
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
College Park Elementary
New Hanover County Schools / 5001 Oriole Drive / Wilmington, NC 28403 / 910.350.2058
Maria Greene, Principal / Emma Jackson, Title I Director / Dr. Tim Markley, Superintendent
Website: www.nhcs.net/cpark
Community: College Park Elementary,
home of the “Can-Do Kids,” is committed
to a team approach to individualizing student
achievement. Each student has a game plan
that targets his/her academic and behavioral
performance.
Enrollment: 370 / Grade Levels: K-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 70.5% economically
disadvantaged, 41.4% black, 40% white,
15.1% Hispanic, 15% students with
disabilities, 8% multi-racial, 2.2% Asian,
1.4% American Indian
Number of Students Per Teacher: 12.1
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 30.5
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,777
School Founding Date: 1964
Age of School Building: 47 years old
Teacher Turnover Rate: 9%
Barriers to Student Learning: The majority of
students live with one parent or grandparent in
low-income housing.
A renewed focus on competition is highlighted
at monthly assemblies celebrating reading
and math gains and productivity for individual
students and classroom achievements to
show that the Can-Do-Kids can achieve!
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School
Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics
reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• The school improvement team uses data from student academic achievement,
attendance, discipline, and surveys, and an evaluation of school processes to
drive College Park’s “game plan” and to ensure that school goals align with
classroom practice.
• The school improvement team designs structures to ensure a well-organized
learning environment. The master schedule includes large blocks of instructional
time, teacher planning time, and a student intervention block.
Parents are informed about student progress
through teacher- and student-led portfolio
conferences. Students show off what they’ve
learned and take ownership of their education.
The school surveys its parents and students
frequently. A sample of survey results and
more are in “Resources”.
• Common formative assessments give students the opportunity to communicate
mastery of objectives, a sense of empowerment, and accountability.
• Clearly-defined routines and high expectations of behavior assure smooth
transitions throughout the instructional day. Uniform dress supports an emphasis
on academics.
• Resource teachers, classroom teachers, and teaching assistants instruct targeted
students in small groups throughout the day in all subjects.
• The professional learning team meets weekly to discuss student progress
monitoring data, choose interventions for students as indicated by curriculumbased measurements, and provide
Proficiency Percentages
changes in the interventions over time.
in Reading and Math
The team uses the Responsiveness to
100
Instruction (RtI) problem-solving
90
model when looking at opportunities
88.1
and interventions for at-risk students.
80
82.7
• The school’s administrators and
79.1
70
curriculum specialist make regular
71.5
69.8
classroom walkthroughs checking for
60
student engagement, an evident
50
content objective, supports given to
53.1
students to help them access the
40
objective, and students’ expected
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
response.
Math
Reading
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
16
All
Students
Black
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
85.9
79.6
91.5
83
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
57.9
38.3
70.9
43
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
92.3
87.8
>95
90.4
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
78
57.4
86.1
72.1
Student Achievement
High Growth School of Distinction for
2009-10, 2010-11 ABCs
High Growth for the past 4 years, ABCs
Significantly closed the achievement gap
between white and black students over
the past 3 years. The black/white
achievement gap in reading was 32.6
points in 2007-08 and dropped to 11.9
points by 2009-10. The gap in math
dropped from 28.7 points in 2007-08 to
7.2 percentage points in 2009-10.
For 2011-12, College Park is targeting male
minority students’ reading achievement by
placing at-risk students in mentoring
programs and homogenous small groups.
Using research-based strategies, lessons,
and resources to engage these students, the
school team plans to close the black/white
achievement gap in reading even further.
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement data was the most recent
available.
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
Davenport Elementary
Caldwell County Schools / 901 College Avenue, SW / Lenoir, NC 28645 / 828.754.6941
Julia Curry, Principal / Lesa Widener, Title I Director / Dr. Steve Stone, Superintendent
Website: accessible from http://caldwellschools.com
Community: Located on the Highway 321
corridor midway between Charlotte and
Boone, Lenoir is rich in natural beauty
and boasts a strong tradition in the visual
and performing arts. The city of 18,200
is struggling with the closing of multiple
furniture and textile plants.
Enrollment: 512 / Grade Levels: K-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics:
59.6% economically disadvantaged,
53% white, 28.5% black, 17.7% Hispanic,
14% limited English proficient, 10% students
with disabilities
About half (40-50%) of the school’s
students are enrolled through transfer
applications. Out-of-district students
can apply to attend in order to receive
specialized instruction in the A+ Arts
Integration program.
Number of Students Per Teacher: 15.7
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 32.9
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $7,863
Recent Changes in Students Served:
The economically disadvantaged population
has grown from 52% in 2005 to 61% in 2011.
The Hispanic population has grown from
15% in 2005 to 23% in 2011. Overall school
population has grown from 446 students in
2005 to 541 in 2011.
School Founding Date: The site began as
the historic Davenport Women’s College
in 1859. Central Elementary School was
established in 1927 and moved into the
college building in 1947, changing its name
to Davenport Elementary.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 6%
Barriers to Student Learning: Within the
school’s district are three low-income
housing complexes and a women’s shelter
home, which present the school with a
challenging increase of transient and
homeless students.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory forms the basis of each student’s
education plan. Multiple intelligence tests, developed by school staff, are used to
survey K-3 students and an online test is used for 4th and 5th graders and staff.
Most struggling learners are both auditory and kinesthetic, surveying strong in
music, body, and intrapersonal realms of the multiple intelligences. Incorporation
of literacy stations during the 90-minute uninterrupted literacy block, and
implementation of the Math Investigations program have guided teachers in
utilizing more auditory and kinesthetic methods for addressing the struggling
learner. The focus on Multiple Intelligence is used for academic interventions as
well, in agreement with the school’s mission to “teach the way children learn…”
The A+ Program of Arts Integration, which
targets both literary and math skills, includes
violin music theory, Zumba for Kids, drumming,
MIDI piano music theory, and after-school
student/parent Suzuki violin lessons for 2011-12.
Student Achievement
Davenport Elementary is a pilot school of
the nationally-recognized A+ Program of
Arts Integration and one of 25 A+ schools in
North Carolina selected to receive a grant
from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the
Arts. The program’s philosophy is to use
the arts across the curriculum as support
for preferred styles of learning, based on
Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple
Intelligences. The program views the arts
as fundamental to how teachers teach and
how students learn in all subjects.
High Growth, NC School of Distinction for
2010-11, ABCs
100
• PEAK Program (Physical Education Adventures for Kids)
• Daily intervention/enrichment block and common planning time for all
teaching teams
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
• Implementation of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model
• Implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) model
80
88.6
80.2
70
60
92.5
81.0
75.5
64.4
50
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
All
Students
Black
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
84.3
72
>95
77.2
64
41.1
73.3
46.9
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
94.9
90
>95
91.9
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
80.2
62.5
87.7
66.9
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
40
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
Math
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested
grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected
when 2009-10 student achievement data was the most
recent available.
17
2011 Title I Distinguished
2011 NCschools
Title I Distinguished
Nominee Closing
school
theClosing
Achievement
the Achievement
Gap
Gap
Elmhurst Elementary
Pitt County Schools / 1815 Berkley Road / Greenville, NC 27858 / 252.756.0180
Donna Gillam, Principal / Sylvia Mizzelle, Title I Director / Dr. Beverly Reep, Superintendent
Website: http://elmhurstschool.weebly.com/
Community: Elmhurst Elementary, near the
main entrance to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
at East Carolina University (ECU), serves
students from families of diverse educational
backgrounds. The school has a strong PTA
and receives vast support from interns,
practicum students, ECU professors, parents,
and community volunteers. Elmhurst was
recognized as having the greatest increase in
Title I parent involvement for 2009-10.
Enrollment: 352 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 65.3% black, 58.5%
economically disadvantaged, 27.8% white,
16% students with disabilities, 3.7% Hispanic,
3% Asian, 2% limited English proficient
Number of Students Per Teacher: 13
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 27
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,295
Recent Changes in Students Served:
Due to student reassignment, approximately
300 new students joined 100 returning students
in August 2006. A sharp decrease in May 2007
AYP/ABC testing results followed, but test
scores steadily increased in 2008-2010. Again
in 2010, students were reassigned and the
school welcomed new students for 2011-12.
School Founding Date: September 1955
Age of School Building: 56
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 3
(11 since 1955)
Teacher Turnover Rate: 21%
Teacher Profile: 17 have been teaching for
more than 10 years; 6 hold advanced degrees;
and 6 teachers and administrators have national
board certification
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• The school offers flexible, small groups for student differentiation with 12-15
interns each year, 3 year-long tutors, and 10 additional tutors hired each spring
to assist with small group instruction, tutoring, and mentoring. • Teachers collaborate in lesson planning, create assessments, analyze student
data, and plan grade level/content area differentiated instruction during
common planning times.
• School staff members read and discuss research-based articles and publications
(listed in “Resources”) to have greater impact on student growth and
achievement. Recent and ongoing areas of study include: Sheltered Instruction
Observation Protocol (SIOP), Thinking Maps, and Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.
• The school began Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) training and
planning in February 2008, which has helped to improve the school climate and
raise behavioral expectations. For 2007-08, there were 116 out-of-school
suspensions; for 2008-09 (training/planning year), there were 77; and for 2009-10
(initial implementation year), there were 47 as there were for 2010-11.
Elmhurst Elementary means family.
Five current Elmhurst teachers went to school
there and four of them had or have their
children at Elmhurst. Josh Walker, a 5th grader,
interviewed the teaching alumni.
Interview with
Chase Dutton,
exceptional
children teacher
I get to work here
and I also went to
school here! I
attended Elmhurst
from 1984-86 for
kindergarten and 1st grade. My dad walked
me to class on my first day of kindergarten to
Room 13. I now teach in Room 10.
… My memories are rather filmstrip-like….
I remember loving the rainy days coming to
class in the winter when it was still almost dark.
All the windows would fog up and my teacher
would turn the lamps on and we could watch
the rain through the foggy windows while we
got ready for school to start. It was always a
welcoming place.… Many times in the years
I’ve worked here, the mornings were dreary and
cold. The same windows still fog up and …I turn
on my lights and welcome in my students. What was different? Obviously, the
technology! I saw my first computer at
Elmhurst. I still remember the green blinking
text and the great big floppy disks.
See all of Josh’s interviews in “Resources.”
• The school uses technology in the classroom as a tool for student engagement.
100
Student Achievement
• Students’ math and reading end-of-grade scores increased by 23 percentage
points from 2007-08 to 2009-10.
• While student proficiency increased, the gap between white and black students’
reading scores narrowed from 60.7 points in 2007-08 to 34.4 points in 2009-10.
The gap between white and black students’ math scores narrowed from 52.9 in
2007-08 to 21.6 in 2009-10.
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
All
Students
Black
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
72.5
58.2
92.6
57.8
48
22.4
83.1
18.7
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
84.3
73.4
>95
72.3
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
66.2
42.1
>95
44
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
18
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
81.2
80
70.9
70
60
50
40
66.1
57.6
52.0
43.0
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement data was the most recent
available.
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
Lindley Park Elementary
Asheboro City Schools / 312 Cliff Road / Asheboro, NC 27203 / 336.625.6226
Robin T. Harris, Principal / Dr. Dot Harper, Title I Director (currently Jennifer Smith)
Dr. Diane Frost, Superintendent
Website: accessible from http://caldwellschools.com
Community: Lindley Park has several
community partners including the NC Zoo,
Central Boys and Girls Club, UNC-Greensboro,
and faith-based organizations.
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 30.4
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,866
Recent Changes in Students Served: Student
assignment changes as a result of redistricting,
School of Choice status receiving students who
have opted out of their assigned schools, nearby
homeless shelter which has increased the
homeless student population
Enrollment: 454 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 67.2% economically
disadvantaged, 38.3% white, 36.3% black,
24.4% Hispanic, 21.38% limited English
proficient, 5.9% students with disabilities
School Founding Date: January 24, 1954
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 3
Number of Students Per Teacher: 15
Teacher Turnover Rate: 6%
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress reports,
the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Teachers collaborate in lesson planning,
create and analyze formative assessments,
and form flexible small groups for
differentiation with remediation and
extension in their common planning time.
pulled out to go to another classroom so
that core curriculum is not missed.
• Students engage in “hands on” learning
with interactive whiteboard systems, Elmo
digital display camera, and projection units.
• A 30-minute intervention/enrichment block
provides further intervention outside of the
core instruction. Leveled intervention
groups help students gain skills in deficit
areas. Students receiving enrichment
services take part in Junior Great Books,
math and science projects, presentations,
interviews, and other extension activities.
• The staff reads monthly research-based
scholarly articles and books (listed in
“Resources”) to prepare for professional
development sessions during the curricular
component of staff meetings. The readings
help staff obtain more culturally-relevant
instruction and close achievement gaps.
• The staff uses common Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support (PBIS) language
to address behavior expectations across all
grade levels.
• Through co-teaching and collaboration,
more English language learners and special
needs students are getting the same
instruction and extra support from two
highly qualified teachers in a regular
education environment. The students prefer
these instructional models versus being
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
• Students are encouraged to read a
minimum of one book for each of the 11
weeks during summer break. Students
choose a book within their Lexile range
and are given 10 printable take-home
books from the online, leveled reading
program, Reading A-Z. Almost half of the
students completed the readings and
assigned activities in summer 2011 and
received an incentive award. Fewer
students drop reading/comprehension
levels as a result of this program.
• Students can participate in afterschool
clubs each week with staff and communitysponsored activities. Clubs are established
for students based on student survey
results at the beginning of the year.
• A part-time parent outreach specialist
provides individualized student support
and works with community-school
partners to help meet family needs.
Off-campus mini-workshops are provided
at a satellite site each month to engage
families that lack transportation to all of
the school-based events.
Student Achievement
Achievement gaps have decreased
between black and white students and
Hispanic and white students.
The school has met all of its Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) targets for the
past three years.
School of Distinction for 2010-11, ABCs
High Growth school for the past 5
years, ABCs Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
100
90
85.3
80
82.4
76.5
70
65.8
60
50
40
65.6
51.2
2007-08
2008-09
Math
All
Students
Black
Hispanic
White
Economically Limited English
Disadvantaged
Proficient
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
69.7
52.7
67.4
83.3
64.9
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
55.9
37.5
45
70.7
42.6
**
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
90.5
76.4
>95
>95
88.5
>95
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
82.6
62.5
87.5
87.9
75
**
62.5
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more
students in the tested grades
reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools
for 2011 were selected when
2009-10 student achievement
data was the most recent
available.
19
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
Spindale Elementary
Rutherford County Schools / 161 North Oak St / Spindale, NC 28160 / 828.286.2861
Angel King, Principal / Janice Baynard, Title I Director / Dr. Janet Mason, Superintendent
Website: http://ses.rcsnc.org
Community: Spindale Elementary is nestled in
the heart of Spindale, a town of 4,022, within
walking distance of Main Street restaurants,
the public library, and police and fire stations.
Enrollment: 494 / Grade Levels: PreK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 79.6% economically
disadvantaged, 58.9% white, 36.6% black,
13.1% students with disabilities, 4.3%
academically or intellectually gifted (AIG),
3.4% Hispanic, 2% limited English proficient
Number of Students Per Teacher: 17.5
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 28.2
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $8,706
Recent Changes in Students Served: None
School Founding Date: 1937
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 9%
Student Mobility Rate: 39%
Barriers to Student Learning: School families
move frequently within the county. The four
textile plants have closed and unemployment
rates are over 16%. According to a study by the
NC Center for Afterschool Programs, based
on 2000 data, only 70% of Rutherford County
adults hold a high school diploma or GED.
A family enjoys lunch at the 4th grade
parent luncheon.
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Grade-level teams use daily common
planning times to analyze student
assessment data along with other
measures. Teachers meet regularly to
discuss student groups for remedial and
enrichment activities while collaborating
on research-based lesson plans.
district pays a supplement to a teacher to
oversee all parent involvement activities.)
• An on-site Communities in Schools (CIS)
coordinator collaborates with the staff to
meet student needs, primarily through
mentoring and backpack food programs.
Students not meeting grade-level standards
• Reading and math “Power Up” instructional
are eligible for a CIS mentor. As of May
blocks are integrated into daily schedules
2010, 46 students were taking home food
to provide varied instructional methods
backpacks every Friday so they arrive ready
and targeted interventions matched to
to learn on Monday. Through a local church
specific students. Title I assistants and
partnership, over 35 students are paired
part-time tutors provide additional support.
with a lunch buddy mentor each year.
• The Responsiveness to Instruction (RtI)
• All classrooms are equipped with
problem-solving team, which includes
interactive whiteboards and document
the school psychologist, school counselor,
cameras and teachers continually receive
exceptional children teachers, speech
training in the use of technology to
and language therapists, principal, and
maximize instruction. Wireless learning
grade-level representatives, meets after
response clicker devices, flip cameras,
school weekly to develop and monitor
webcams, and a fully-equipped computer
RtI plans for students needing more
lab, laptop lab, and mini-lab are used to
intensive interventions. increase student engagement.
• School-wide behavior expectations
• Parents are informed about student progress
are posted, taught, modeled, and
and school information daily through a
encouraged as part of the Positive
Homework Hotline, student homework
Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
planners, teacher newsletters and memos,
program “Bee Your Best”.
and an automated calling system. Monthly
grade-level parent luncheons, a summer
• A Family Involvement Coordinator
learning fair held in May, and a welloversees parent learning activities such as
equipped parent resource room help to
curriculum nights and the parent resource
strengthen relationships with families.
room. (Each individual school in the
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
20
All
Students
Black
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
70.6
60
77.1
66.3
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
51.6
44.3
53.4
46.1
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
81
73.8
81.4
79.3
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
82.8
75.7
84.7
77.6
Students celebrate their “Cool & Classy”
designation at one of the PBIS six-week
assemblies.
Student Achievement
High Growth School of Progress for
three consecutive years, ABCs
Met 17 of 17 Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) target goals for the
past 4 years
NC Positive Behavior Intervention
and Support (PBIS) model school
for 2008-2010; PBIS Exemplar School
for 2010-11
100
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
90
80
70
84.7
76.7
67.8
60
50
40
78.0
61.2
50.0
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested
grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected
when 2009-10 student achievement data was the most
recent available.
2011 Title I Distinguished schools Nominee Closing the Achievement Gap
Tabor City Elementary
Columbus County Schools / 203 Stake Road / Tabor City, NC 28463 / 910.653.3618
Wendell Duncan, Principal / Kenwood Royal, Title I Director
Dr. Dan Strickland, Superintendent (currently Alan Faulk)
Website: under construction
Community: Tabor City Elementary
students come from Tabor City, population
2,563, and surrounding rural areas.
Enrollment: 552 / Grade Levels: PK-5
School Schedule: Traditional
Student Demographics: 75.5% economically
disadvantaged, 52% white, 43.3% black,
3.8% Hispanic
Number of Students Per Teacher: 17.3
Total Full Time “Equivalent” Teachers: 32
Per Pupil Spending in the District: $9,151
Recent Changes in Students Served: The
Hispanic population is growing, although
the overall school population is diminishing.
School Founding Date: Mt. Tabor School
was founded in 1870. It evolved into what is
now Tabor City Elementary.
Age of School Buildings: There are 5
buildings on the school’s campus serving
students in different grade spans. The
buildings were constructed in the 1920’s
through the 1970’s. The most recent and
extensive remodeling was in 2001.
Number of Principals in Past 10 Years: 2
Teacher Turnover Rate: 6%
Barriers to Student Learning: The
socioeconomic status of the majority
of the student population, the lack of
extracurricular activities in the community,
the transient nature of the student
population, and the community’s high
unemployment rate are barriers.
Student Achievement
Information was compiled from 2009-10 NC School Report Cards, NCDPI Adequate Yearly Progress
reports, the National Center for Education Statistics reports, and the school.
Replicable Practices
• Partnership organizations are vital to students’ success. Faith-based
organizations provide meals for students. Business community, parent, and
grandparent volunteers help with tutoring, fundraising, and assisting in the
classroom. Parents participate in math, reading, and technology education
nights. Plans are underway to increase parent participation further.
• Professional development focuses on the core curriculum, high yield strategies
using Bloom’s questioning stems, literacy tools, data usage strategies, and
notebook training.
• Professional Learning Communities build capability among teachers and help
them to grow in instructional practices further enhanced through peer
observation. TeachScape electronic walkthrough evaluations allow sharable
documentation of best practices.
• Math Investigations and the Houghton Mifflin reading program are used by
students across grade levels. Early Success, Soar to Success, and Road to the
Code are part of the ‘Breakfast Club’ intervention program. Other instructional
technology programs used are Success Maker Enterprise and Waterford Early
Reading and Math.
• All classrooms have interactive boards, document cameras, and several
computers.
• Quarterly benchmark assessments are created through ClassScape.
The upward trend in student achievement
has been accomplished by staff devotion
to core curriculum goals, intervention
strategies, differentiated instruction, and
targeting at-risk students.
Teachers are making a paradigm shift from
“my” students to “our” students. Common
assessments (phonics inventories, fluency
checks, running records, and DIBELS
[Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills])
are used to identify the gaps in learning
among the students. It is no longer the lower
grades’ job to teach the basics, but the entire
school staffs’. Intervention times engage all
teachers, teacher assistants, counselors, and
lab managers in helping children across all
grade levels catch up on basic skills. 100
90
80
70
60
• The Alert Now program helps to keep parents informed.
Proficiency Percentages
in Reading and Math
68.8
58.8
50
Student Subgroup1
Proficiency Percentages
All
Students
Black
White
Economically
Disadvantaged
70
54.6
82.7
61.4
Reading 2007-08 % proficient with growth
47.8
32
60
40.7
Math 2009-10 % proficient with growth
79.8
70.1
86.6
74.3
Math 2007-08 % proficient with growth
64
48
74.8
59.3
Reading 2009-10 2 % proficient with growth
40
75.7
67.6
53.1
44.6
2007-08
2008-09
Math
2009-10
Reading
1 Subgroups with 40 or more students in the tested
grades reported.
2 Title I Distinguished Schools for 2011 were selected
when 2009-10 student achievement data was the most
recent available.
21
resources
The resources listed immediately below are common to several schools. Other resources, lessons, and tools specific to a
school are listed by school name. In addition, some schools shared recent staff reading lists.
21st Century Community Learning Center funds assist schools,
local education agencies (LEAs), and faith- or community-based
organizations to provide before school, afterschool, and summer
services through the establishment of 21st Century Community
Learning Center programs. For 2011-12, there will be no Request
for Proposals (RFPs).
Professional Learning Communities at school engage in a variety
of activities including sharing a vision, working and learning
collaboratively, visiting and observing other classrooms, and
participating in shared decision making.
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/21cclc/
America’s Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program for
students in grades 3-12.
Reading A to Z is an online, leveled reading program, which
provides differentiated reading that includes questions for
comprehension. Teachers use this resource to monitor student
progress in reading.
http://www.battleofthebooks.org/
http://www.readinga-z.com/
Communities in Schools - Partnership with Communities in
Schools of Rutherford County
http://www.rutherfordcis.org/
Renaissance Learning Programs offers Accelerated Reader and
Math and English in a Flash, educational software with progress
monitoring tools.
http://www.cisnc.org/
http://www.renlearn.com
ClassScape is an online assessment system enabling teachers
to monitor student performance on N.C. Standard Course of
Study goals and objectives. Teachers can build their own
customized assessments or use ClassScape’s prepackaged tests
to assess individual student and/or class performance on
specific objectives at any point during the year.
Responsiveness to Instruction (RtI) and the NC Problem Solving
Model is a process that includes a systematic analysis of a
student’s behavior or academic difficulties to provide the
foundation for a planned, systematic set of interventions. These
interventions are then monitored and evaluated to determine
effectiveness, also as a part of the problem-solving process.
http://www.classscape.org/ClassScape3/
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/responsiveness/
rtimaterials/
DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills) are a set of
procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early
(K-6) literacy skills. They are designed to be short (one minute)
fluency measures used for regular monitoring. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/
Elmo digital display camera and projection units are like
overhead projectors, but can project color and threedimensional objects as well as pages from textbooks or work
from students. They offer an easy way to show real-time
processes and to engage students in those processes.
http://www.elmousa.com
http://www.elmousa.com/files/ShowMeGreatLessons!.pdf
Florida Center for Reading Research provides lessons for
progress monitoring of reading skills.
Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model for
instruction helps teachers plan and deliver lessons that allow
English language learners – and all students – to learn lesson
content objectives, background knowledge, and key vocabulary
before a lesson is taught and provides opportunities for active
student engagement.
http://www.siopinstitute.net/
SMART Boards are electronic, interactive whiteboards in the front
of a classroom. Students can interact using Classroom Response
Systems (CRS or clickers) devices, much like a television remote
control, to answer questions posed by an instructor or take a quiz
or formative assessment. A projector displays a computer’s video
output on the whiteboard, which then acts as a large touch screen.
The user’s finger drags objects around the screen or switches panels.
http://www.fcrr.org/
Teachers create and exchange lessons, such as those found at
Junior Great Books is a reading program that helps young
readers develop early literacy skills.
http://exchange.smarttech.com/.
http://www.greatbooks.org/
Thinking Maps help students visually identify the 8 thought
process types and approach thinking in an organized manner.
Math Investigations is a K-5 math curriculum.
www.mapthemind.com/thinkingmaps/thinkingmaps.html
http://investigations.terc.edu/
www.thinkingmaps.org
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) is a model of
behavioral interventions that promotes a respect for each child
academically, socially, and emotionally.
Voyager Programs (Passport Reading and Voyager Math) are K-5
intervention programs.
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/positivebehavior/
http://www.pbis.org/
22
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/resources/proflearn/
http://www.voyagerlearning.com
Cane River Middle
Olweus training is a bullying prevention program.
http://olweus.org/public/bullying_prevention_training_info.page
Elmhurst Elementary
28 Strategies for Differentiated Instruction, Pitt County Schools
www.pitt.k12.nc.us/198710424122320697/site/default.asp
4-H in Yancey County
http://yancey.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=youth4h
Below are more interviews of teachers who were students at
Elmhurst by 5th grader Josh Walker.
Cape Hatteras Elementary
Easy CBM K-8 Progress Monitoring system is an enhanced district
assessment system designed by researchers at the University of
Oregon as an integral part of a Response to Intervention Program.
www.easycbm.com
College Park Elementary
College Park surveys its parents and students frequently.
Below are partial results from a 2009-10 parent survey where
288 out of 398 parents, 72%, responded.
Wanda Williams, kindergarten teacher
I went here from 1963-69
for grades 1-6. My first
class was some place
on the 1st grade wing.
I was in and out of all of
those rooms 1-4. My
room number currently
is 13. My favorite
memory … was being
in chorus. Something that has always been here is that picture
of Mrs. Wolfe (the first principal here) that is in the front lobby
right beside the front doors.
Yes
No
Are you aware that College Park receives Title 1
funds from the federal government due to the
socio-economic status of our student population?
203
86
Do you feel the added staff, free books and
instructional materials purchased with Title 1 funds
have benefited your child?
268
10
Parent workshops were held this year. Did you
attend any workshops such as Pastries for Parents,
Family Fun Math Night, Pajama Party Literacy Night
or Student Led Conference Night?
182
102
If so, were these events beneficial? How?
183
21
As a teacher, I remember one year on field day the students
were allowed to throw a pie in my face. Another good memory
was dressing up like the Blues Brothers for the talent show. …
Elmhurst will always be a great place to teach and learn together. Were these Parent events held at a convenient time
and place?
224
27
Carol Johnson Perry, AIG teacher
Have you been given clear information concerning
your child’s school performance through weekly
newsletters and class-work, report cards, state and
local test results, and parent conferences?
270
6
Have you been invited to participate in volunteer
activities such as School Improvement team and
PTA activities?
253
32
Ronnie Goodall, PE teacher
A few of the open-ended responses about student-led
conferences on Parent Nights are below.
“The events helped me keep up with what my kids are learning.”
“Student led conferences allowed me to see exactly what my child
is doing at school.”
“They provided me with techniques to use when helping my
children with homework.”
“These conferences allowed me to observe my child in her school
environment instead of just hearing her talk about it at home.”
“I think it’s good for the students to see how well the school and
parents come together to support one another as a whole.”
“I learned how to better help my children to cope with school.”
“The conference made us aware of school expectations.”
“It allowed me to be able to see the progress made throughout the
school year.”
“It gave my child the opportunity to tell me how she was doing and
what she planned on doing to improve.”
“It lets our kids know that school is important and that we care.”
“Student led conferences are great to allow our children to take
ownership of their own education.”
“It gave my child a chance to show off what he is learning.”
“It gave me an opportunity to interact one-on-one with my child’s teachers.”
“It’s fun for the children as well as informative for parents.”
I was a student here from 1965-69. I do not remember my
room numbers back then but now I am all around the school –
inside, outside, cafeteria, hallways, and breezeways. I teach
PE everywhere. I attended Elmhurst
from kindergarten
through 5th grade
(1975-1981). I had to
move … when Pitt
County Schools
redistricted. My first
year attending Elmhurst,
I was in a kindergarten/
1st grade combination class in room number 11. I now teach in
room number 6. My daughter is in kindergarten this year in a
kindergarten/1st grade combination class. Isn’t that weird?
Carla Wainwright
I attended Elmhurst as a 1st and 2nd grader in 1967-69. My
room was in mobile unit #1 as a 1st grader and mobile unit # 2
as a 2nd grader. Now I teach in room #14. My favorite memories about Elmhurst…. I have so many! One
memory is being very upset as a 2nd grader because I lost a
ladybug stickpin that my mom had let me wear on my shirt. …
Judy Bell, my 2nd grade teacher, held me in her lap and
consoled me. She asked the custodian to let us check the piles
of trash before she scooped them into the trash can. Another
good memory is receiving a phone call from Dr. Joe Nelson
asking me to come start a classroom up at Elmhurst in the
exceptional children’s program. … Not only did I return, but five
years later my youngest son, Dylan, began kindergarten here. It
was very cool because my former 2nd grade teacher, Judy Bell,
ended up being Dylan’s 1st grade teacher. 23
resources
Davenport Elementary
The A+ Program of Arts Integration is a school program funded
by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.
http://aplus-schools.ncdcr.gov/
Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences is a learning
styles model that offers a way to understand and explain
people’s preferred ways to learn and develop.
http://aplus-schools.uncg.edu/multipleintelligences.pdf
Multiple Intelligence Survey:
www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences
Laurel Hill Elementary
Classroom Walkthroughs
Laurel Hill Elementary uses Teachscape’s “Look Fors”
http://www.teachscape.com/classroom-walkthrough/
Dr. Goodman’s Unofficial Classroom Observation List
Is the schedule posted outside the classroom for what
students will be learning that day?
Is the teacher teaching what is on the schedule?
Is there evidence that the students know what they
are supposed to be learning?
Is there eye contact between teachers and students?
Are students engaged?
Are students “hiding” in coats?
Do any of the students have their heads down on the
desk? If so, what is the teacher doing about it?
Is quality student work evident in the classroom?
Are essential questions written on the board?
Are the teachers asking questions requiring higher
order thinking?
Ships and Sailors
Contributed by Jordan Reilly, PE teacher at Laurel Hill Elementary
This activity is an aerobic version of “Simon Says” which
focuses on classroom management, listening skills, and getting
into groups quickly. At any point during the year a teacher
should be able to yell out “Captain’s Coming” and the students
should freeze or “4 People Rowing” if groups of 4 are needed for
the next activity. Use this activity as the first activity for each
class for the first 3 weeks of school and intermittently
throughout the school year, starting with only the first half of the
commands the first time, and adding more each time. Setup: No equipment is needed. After the activity has been
taught, students spread out in the gym facing the teacher. The
teacher calls out a command, and immediately counts down
from 5 (counting for only ** commands). Any time there is an
error, like some students do not get into the appropriately-sized
group before the countdown ends, or there are too many or too
few students in a group, they are “out” and must run 1 lap
before coming back into the game. To end the activity, start a
“SPEED ROUND” where students are taken out of the game
instead of running a lap when they make an error to determine
the winner of the activity. (It may be 1 or 2 students.)
Commands: (Teacher calls out)
Ships! – Students run to their right (teacher’s left)
Sailors! – Students run to their left (teacher’s right)
Hit the Deck! – Students drop to their stomachs.
Man Overboard!** – Students pair up, one lying down and the
other standing over the feet. If more than one person is standing
over the student lying, then the one closest to the feet is safe.
3 People Rowing!** – Three students sitting in a line rowing.
They may sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat if they would like.
4 People Eating!** – Four students sitting in a circle, facing the
center, pretending to eat.
TITANIC!** – Five students standing in a circle, one foot in the
middle, one finger up and they say “ICEBERG” one time.
Typhoon! – One spin and a “WHOO!”
Seasick! – Students pretend to throw up
Child and Family Support Teams work in local schools to help
students succeed in the classroom and have stable lives with
permanent families.
Dolphin! – Students lie on stomach and lift legs and head at the
same time while making a dolphin noise.
www.ncdhhs.gov/childandfamilyteams/contacts.htm
Shiver Me Timbers! – Students grab their arms and shiver like
they are freezing.
Guidance Counselor’s Lunch Bunch Lessons
Anne M. Caudill, M.Ed., N.B.C.T., Laurel Hill Elementary school
counselor, modified her “Attitude” lesson from Creative
Approaches for Counseling Individual Children by Diane Senn.
Contact Anne Caudill at acaudill@scotland.k12.nc.us or
910.462.2111.
“Exceptional Children Performing Exceptionally Well:
A Conversation with Principal Cindy Goodman”, posted
February 18, 2010, by Learning First Alliance
www.learningfirst.org/stories/LaurelHill
2006 Blue Ribbon Schools, posted in 2006, US Department of
Education
www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2006/profiles/laurel-hill.pdf
24
Walk the Plank! – Three steps, a jump, and a splashing sound.
THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMAND:
CAPTAIN’S COMING! – Students freeze and salute. There is no
moving or talking when the Captain is coming. Even if the teacher
yells out “HIT THE DECK!” the students may not move again until
they hear “AT EASE!” Use this command to try to see who is
being a good listener.
Shoals Elementary
Creating Independence through Student owned Strategies
(CRISS) is a professional development program designed to help
all students read, write, and learn more effectively.
www.projectCRISS.com/
www.projectCRISS.com/pdf_files/ClassrmPres_Samples.pdf
www.mvrhs.org/eel/caruthers/linkforallteachers/index.html
The Bookshelf
College Park Elementary
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies
for Increasing Student Achievement by Robert Marzano
Learning is fun for
Rock Ridge Elementary
students.
Seven Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey (This book was so
important to the school because the students never imagine
themselves as leaders. That is why the school has implemented
the habits.)
Rock Ridge Elementary
Elmhurst Elementary
Lauren Ruiz, Rock Ridge school counselor, modified her
“Tolerance” lesson from More Lively Lessons for Classroom
Sessions by Rosanne Sheritz Sartori and Small Group Counseling
for Children by Diane Senn. Contact Lauren Ruiz at lauren.ruiz@
mail.wilson.k12.nc.us or 252-399-7955.
Engaging the Eye Generation-Visual Literacy for the K-5 Classroom
by Johanna Riddle
Rock Ridge Elementary School
Walk Through Form
Teacher:____________________________ Subject:____________________
Observer:_____________________
Beginning
Middle
Date:________________
Time:_________
End
Critical Thinking (revised Bloom’s Taxonomy):
____ Remembering
____ Understanding
____ Applying
____ Analyzing
____ Evaluating
____ Creating
Comments: _________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
_______________________________
Grouping Procedures: (circle)
Technology Usage: (circle)
Whole
Teacher
Small
Student
Partners
No Technology
Centers
Individual
Suggestions:_________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Teacher Response______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Teacher Signature__________________________
Spindale Elementary
Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP) benchmark
assessments are computerized adaptive assessment tools.
www.nwea.org
Union Elementary
Dufour’s questioning used in professional learning communities
includes:
• What do we want each student to learn?
• How will we know when each student has learned it?
• How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in
learning?
The mission of The First Tee of Brunswick County is to help build
character in young people through the game of golf.
www.thefirstteebrunswickcounty.org
Union Elementary’s popular Web site, accessible from
http://www.bcswan.net/, features several videos produced using
free Animoto software available at http://animoto.com/.
Closing the RTI Gap-Why Poverty and Culture Count
by Donna Walker Tileston
When Actions Speak Louder than Words-Understanding the
Challenging Behaviors of Young Children with Disabilities
by Kim Davis and Susan D. Dixon
Growing Readers-Units of Study in the Primary Classroom
by Kathy Collins
The Next Step in Guided Reading-Focused Assessments and
Targeted Lessons for Helping Every Student Become a Better
Reader by Jan Richardson
Teaching Digital Natives-Partnering for Real Learning
by Marc Prensky. Lindley Park Elementary
Denton, Paula, & Kriete, Roxann. (2000). The First six weeks of
school. Turner Falls: Northeast Foundation for Children.
Wood, Chip. (2007). Yardsticks. Turner Falls: Northeast Foundation
for Children
Zion, S., (2009). Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms:
a Model of Intentional Professional Development. University
of Colorado Denver, Center for Culturally Responsive Urban
Education.
Milner, R. (2003). Teacher Reflection and Race in Cultural Contexts:
History, Meanings, and Methods in Teaching. Theory into Practice
42(3), 173-180.
Haberman, Martin. (2005). Star teachers: The ideology and best
practice of effective teachers of diverse children and youth in
poverty. Lafayette: 2005
DuFour, Richard, & Eaker, Robert. (1998). Professional learning
communities at work. Bloomington: Solution Tree.
Gurian, Michael, & Ballew, Arlette. (2003). The Boys and girls learn
differently. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1994). The Dreamkeepers. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Rock Ridge Elementary
How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton
Last year, the school staff read this book to focus on student and
staff success instead of taking a deficit/discipline approach. The
book also helped the staff focus on filling each other’s buckets to
create a positive environment, which has a powerful effect on
school culture and learning outcomes. This year, the guidance
counselor is teaching Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol
McCloud to the students during guidance time. The entire school
promotes filling a bucket!
25
NORTH CAROLINA’S NATIONAL TITLE I DISTINGUISHED SCHOOLS
2011
Laurel Hill Elementary, Scotland County
Kingswood Elementary, Wake County
2002
Arthur W. Edwards Elementary, Craven County
Englewood Elementary, Nash-Rocky Mount
2010
District 7 Elementary, Cumberland County
South End Elementary, Rockingham County
2001
Freedom Trail Elementary, Avery County
Waccamaw Elementary, Brunswick County
East Elementary, Kings Mountain, Cleveland County
Carthage Elementary, Moore County
2009
First Flight Elementary, Dare County
Forestville Road Elementary, Wake County
2008
Morehead City Primary, Carteret County
Longview Elementary, Hickory Public Schools
2007
A.B. Combs Elementary, Wake County
Eastover-Central Elementary,
Cumberland County
2006
Clearmont Elementary, Yancey County
St. Stephens Elementary, Catawba County
2005
Rutherford College Elementary, Burke County
W.M. Irvin Elementary, Cabarrus County
2004
Lockhart Elementary, Wake County
Hunter Elementary, Guilford County 2003
Atlantic Elementary, Carteret County
2000
Beech Mountain Elementary, Avery County
Goldsboro Middle, Wayne County
Hoffman Elementary, Richmond County
Walnut Elementary, Madison County
1999
Baskerville Elementary, Nash-Rocky Mount
Reidsville Intermediate, Rockingham County
Zebulon Elementary, Wake County
1998
J. Glenn Edwards Elementary, Lee County
Bolton Elementary, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Woodfin Elementary, Buncombe County
1997
Sheep-Harney Elementary, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank
Fairplains Elementary, Wilkes County
1996
Chadbourn Elementary, Columbus County
NC Association of Compensatory Education
Executive Committee 2011
Kelly Hales
President
Marion Bish
Vice President
Kay GreshamTreasurer
Lyle ShawSecretary
Terry Sledge
Past President
Kenwood Royal Parliamentarian
District Representatives
District 1 Chair Sylvia Mizzelle
Pitt County Schools
Vice Chair
Clemen Marcum
Nash-Rocky Mount Schools
District 2 Chair
Vice Chair
Sandy Carlaccini
Craven County Schools
Pam Westbrook
Sampson County Schools
District 3 Chair
Vice Chair
Jean Maness
Alamance-Burlington Schools
Cindy Price
Allegany County Schools
District 4 Chair
Vice Chair
Fred Trantham
Haywood County Schools
Thad Howie
Lincoln County Schools
Committee Chairpersons
Nominating
Robin Boddie-Haggins
Legislative
Helen Adams
Mary Lee Moore
Constitution
Abbott Hunsucker
Kenwood Royal
Golden Circle
Judy Dunlap
Time and Place
Paula Sanchez
Historical
Abbott Hunsucker
Budget
Kay Gresham
Program
Marion Bish
Kelly Hales
Newsletter
Beverly Lashley
Distinguished Schools Yvonne Perry
Recognition
NCDPI Representatives Yvonne Perry
Rhonda Muhammad
Donna Brown
More information on the Title I Distinguished Schools program is on the Web at
www.ncpublicschools.org/program-monitoring.