Elementary School Plan for Student Success
Ross Elementary School – 2015/16
Team Members:
Writing – Intermediate Teachers - D. Roy, S. Laird, D. Schellenberg, B. Lannigan, J. Johnson, S. Mah, L.Wood
Reading – Primary Teachers – K. Newcomb, T. Liaw, R. Jantz-Krahn, S. Foerster, C. Ulvild
School Context
Ross Elem Website
Ministry of Education
Inquiry Question(s)
How can we further increase meaning (inclusion of accurate information) in our student’s informational writing in the intermediate grades (47)?
How can we further improve primary reading results to meet the district target of all student meeting grade level expectations by end of grade
3?
Rationale
(Why are we doing this?)
(Please refer to school data)
For the past three years, writing has been identified as an area needing further improvement in the intermediate grades. This year’s fall
intermediate wide write revealed that in the area of informational writing, 50% of students in grades 4-7 are fully meeting or exceeding grade
level expectations in meaning. This increased to 65% of students in the spring intermediate write. However, overall we still have 33% of our
intermediate students minimally meeting expectations in informational writing. (Refer to School/IBLT data attached.) This is an areas we
would like to see further improvement. The 2014/15 school year was the first year our intermediate teachers started learning about and using
SMART Learning/Writing, which focuses on going deeper in student writing with excellent writing results, and align closely with the new
curriculum. Many Ross teachers are committed to using SMART Learning/Writing consistently to further boost writing achievement.
Improving the reading results in our primary students has been an ongoing focus. Our goal is to reach the district goal of all grade 3 students
meeting expectations in reading. According to our term #2 grade 3 reading results, 78 % are minimally meeting or better in reading. In our
year end PM Benchmark reading results,90 % of our grade 3 students were minimally meeting or better in reading. overall, 95% of our grade
1-3 students were minimally meeting or better. (Refer to school data attached.) In breaking it down to cohort groups our Ab Ed students were
slightly lower (92% minimally or better) and our ELL students were higher (100% minimally meeting or better). While we have worked to put
many reading interventions and supports in place, there is a need to continue in this important area of focus, with a continued emphasis on
supporting our Ab Ed students.
Strategies
Leadership/Teamwork
Professional Learning and/or Resources
Writing - Learning about different instructional strategies
to use when reading for information
Intermediate Teachers and some primary
Writing - SMART Learning, Genius Hour, Excellence in
Writing, Project Based Learning, Guided Writing, Kid Blog
Reading – Learning about and using literacy resources to
improve reading achievement
Primary teachers
Reading – Read Well, Guided Reading, Reading Power,
Literacy Interventions (Janet Mort), Pillars of Literacy
Improve student representation through the use of
technology and literacy
All Members
Laptops in the classroom, Ipads and ipods in the classroom
Improve student engagement through the assessment of
quality instruction.
Intermediate Teachers
Aligning the use of SMART Learning in classrooms through
collaborative observation and design of writing lessons
Engage parents in forums, workshops and afterschool
programs around student literacy and social/emotional
support
S. Laird; Connections staff (school YCW)
Afterschool and evening workshops
Progress and Impact (How do you know?) Over the course of the year, intermediate teachers have observed and used SMART Learning strategies. Data indicates an
increased performance across the intermediate grades. This year we hope to implement a more formal structure to support our students and to help them engage in
their learning on a more personalized level. In the area of primary reading, we have continued to provide programs and supports to provide students with greater
reading intervention and practice. Again we have seen some good results, but have yet to reach our goal of all grade 3 students minimally meeting or better.
Strategic Plan
Connections: Explain how your school goal aligns with any of the
strands from the District’s Strategic Plan, the Elementary Operation
Plan and/or the Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement.
Connections to the District Strategic Plan
• Excellence in teaching
• Excellence in leadership
• Flexibility & access to programs / services
• Ethical & innovative use of technology
• Parental & community engagement
Connections to the Elementary Operational Plan
• Excellence in Teaching: Comprehensive Early
Learning Plan.
• Excellence in Leadership: 3 Competencies,
Balanced Assessment RTI and Student Engagement.
• Programs that support Social and Emotional
Learning.
• Parental and Community Engagement in Schools.
• Learning Environments: Outdoor Learning, Nature K.
• Improved Instruction for diverse learners (ELL).
• Safe School Procedures, Practices, Interventions.
Connections to the Aboriginal Enhancement
Agreement.
• Increase student pride
• Increase reading scores
• Increase sense of belonging
• Increase graduation rates
-Intermediate teacher’s collaboration time, has allowed teachers to co-plan, implement and assess using common rubrics.
-All teaching staff (classroom, LSS and ELL) work together to differentiate learning for students. This is evidenced in IEP’s, AEP’s
and adaptation checklists.
-Technology is becoming more frequently used in the daily teaching of students. Communication among staff is coordinated
through email (Abbynet) and Abby-Connect. Students are learning to use technology as a tool to learn, and represent their
understanding.
-‘ Breakfast and More’, our before school ‘Connections’ program will be offered for eight weeks each term for students
requiring social/emotional support and connections
-Our parents are active members in our community through PAC meetings, school/community programs, school events at the
school, and engagement in daily classroom events – such as reading support in many primary classrooms.
-Regular/daily guided reading and other literacy interventions in primary classrooms; 0.5 EA to provide targeted intervention to
struggling readers; 0.2 LIF early reading intervention teacher (Language Assistance) to provide a targeted intervention to
struggling readers
-Regular Ab Ed Cultural presentations booked 1/month to provide cultural appreciation and pride
-0.1 Ab Ed teacher hired to provide targeted literacy intervention and support for ‘at risk’ Ab Ed students
-0.5 EA to support literacy initiatives (guided reading); about half or her literacy support time is ‘targetted’ to support Ab Ed
students