Norton Elementary
&
Middle School
School Improvement Plan
2013-2014
Norton Elementary & Middle School
Vision Statement
Our vision is to be leaders of Nurturing Excellence and Motivating Success in ALL
learners that have been entrusted into our care at NEMS.
Norton Elementary & Middle School Mission Statement
The faculty and staff of Norton Elementary & Middle School, in partnership with
our community and with the support of the students’ families, will strive to provide
an equal opportunity for each child to acquire knowledge, skills, values, and
attitudes needed to become productive citizens.

Our Staff Believes…
All children are unique individuals who can learn and achieve.

Students learn in a variety of ways from developmentally appropriate
activities which enhance learning at all levels.

All students deserve an equal opportunity to acquire knowledge, skills,
values and attitudes needed to become productive citizens.

Students learn best when they have a supportive family environment and a
safe school environment.

Students, parents, paraprofessionals, teachers, administrators and the
community share the responsibility for educational success.
School Profile
I.
History
Constructed in 1971, Norton Elementary School was built on
approximately 19 acres on East Park Avenue. Originally built with an openspace design, a major renovation was completed to add partitions that allowed
better separation of classes in 1979. In 2009, Norton Elementary and Middle
School experienced an extensive $7.5 million renovation. This renovation
provided the school with a new administrative wing, a new gymnasium, a new
library and additional classrooms that now provide students, teachers and
administrators a state of the art facility. Other important aspects of the
renovation are enhanced safety features and increased means of energy
efficiency.
II.
Enrollment
Presently, Norton Elementary and Middle School serves 548 students in
pre-kindergarten through seventh grade. There has been a decrease in students
since this time last year. The enrollment is as follows:
Grade Level
Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade
7th Grade
Enrollment
16
64
62
69
67
77
63
51
63
Norton Elementary and Middle School
Improvement Plan 2013-2014
Overview of Targeted Goals
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Meet the Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) in Reading.
Increase performance in SOL testing in the area of Mathematics.
Maintain attendance of students to continue to meet the AMO objective of
95%.
Create guidance programs to reach all students with whole group and
individual meeting times.
Increase parent involvement and community support.
Academic Goal #1
Core Academic Area- Reading
All students will achieve the annual measurable objective (AMO) of 69% on the
Virginia Standards of Learning assessment in the spring of 2014.
 The subgroup “Students with Disabilities” will achieve the AMO of 42% on
the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLS) assessment in the spring of 2014.
 The subgroup “Economically Disadvantaged” will achieve the AMO of 59%
on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment in the spring of 2014.
Strategies for Goal #1
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Use a proactive approach for instruction by incorporating the 2010 English
curriculum framework at all grade levels.
Improve collaboration between inclusion and regular education teachers to
expand student achievement.
 Hold grade level/departmental meetings with inclusion teachers present.
 Coordinate lesson plans.
 Use Training /Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) to provide
professional development on differentiation and inclusion.
 Incorporate Professional Learning Community activities faculty meetings
(focused topics for small group discussion).
Analyze PALS assessment as benchmarks for primary grades and
Interactive Achievement (IA) for intermediate/middle grades.
Writing will continue to be an integral part of the reading process. The
Student Treasures Writing Project will continue in first – third grade and be
implemented with fourth grade.
Academic Goal #2
Core Academic Area-Math
All students will achieve annual measurable objective of 66% on the SOL
assessment in the spring of 2014.
 The subgroup “Students with Disabilities” will achieve the AMO of 49%
on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLS) assessment in the spring of
2014.
 The subgroup “Economically Disadvantaged” will achieve the AMO of
59% on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment in the spring of
2014.
Strategies for Goal #2
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Utilize all available data (SOL, IA, IXL Math and teacher-made
assessments) in conjunction with the SOL curriculum framework for
improvement of instruction.
Emphasize use of common terminology and instructional strategies that
have a strong influence on student achievement (Marzano, 2007,
Classroom Instruction that Works).
Using available resources, improve differentiation and inclusion
techniques to address varied levels of performance.
Implement IXL Math, provide opportunities for application of targeted
categories:
 Computation and Estimation
 Probability, Statistics, Patterns Functions and Algebra
 Number and Number Sense
 Measurement and Geometry
Goal #3 Academic Goal
Non Core Academic Area- Guidance
Implementation of classroom guidance for all students and small group/individual
counseling sessions. Student/Teacher surveys will be conducted in May, 2014 to
evaluate the success of the guidance implementation.
Strategies For Goal # 3:
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Focus the Olweus Anti-Bullying program in classroom guidance
to address bullying across all grade levels.
Provide character building lessons for all students in the classroom
setting.
Incorporate community service projects led by the guidance counselor to
enrich program.
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Implement a school wide discipline plan with “buy in” from all faculty
and staff. The guidance counselor will provide intervention for students
within the plan on an individual/group level.
Goal # 4
Attendance Goal
Students will maintain attendance of 95% to meet the annual measurable objective
goal by May 2014.
Strategies for Goal # 4:
 Maintain coordination of truancy issues between school and truancy officer.
 Improve incentive program for achieving attendance goals each six weeks.
 Ice cream sundae party
 Prizes
 Popcorn party
 Student achievement discounts provided by local businesses
 Extra recreational activity
 Pizza party
 Maintain daily call logs and input of absence explanations using Power
School.
Goal #5
Parental Involvement Goal
Increase communication in school community and parental involvement during the
school year 2013-14. Documentation will be kept to evaluate the level of
involvement.
Strategies for Goal #5
 Encourage use of Parent Portal by teachers and parents.
 Increase distribution of communications through multi-media.
 Provide opportunities for community support and parental presence in the
school setting.
 Open House (2 x year)
 “Munch and Mingle” event
 PTA meetings (every other month)
 Fall Festival
 Appalachian Heritage Days
 Community Service Projects (Breast Cancer Awareness, Canned Food Drive,
support families at Christmas, senior citizen activities, MEOC Campaign)
 Establish a program that will utilize the green houses in coordination with
the Extension Agency and the Lenowisco Health District.