Dower Elementary School Clover Park School District Lakewood, Washington

1. Dower Elementary SchoolClover Park School DistrictLakewood, Washington

3. Location • Lakewood, Washington • Suburban/Urban Area • South of Tacoma • Serves Fort Lewis Army Post • and McChord Airforce Base

4. Imagine a school….. • In which all children achieve… • That treats all children as gifted… • In which a whole school community develops a vision of its ideal school… • In which all members of the school community collaborate… • Where ideas count…

5. Population 298 Grades ECEAP – Five Gender – Male 58.1% Female 41.8% Free/Reduced 72.2% Demographics

6. Demographics, cont’d. • Ethnicity - American Indian – 1.5% - Asian – 9.0% - Black – 29.1% - Hispanic – 10.8% - White – 49.6%

7. Demographics, cont’d. • Special Education - Self Contained EBD – 4.3% - Resource – 12.2% • ELL - 10%

8. Why Change? • Our students needed help • Community was changing rapidly • We needed a way to involve our parents • We needed to increase student achievement in math, reading, language arts • In the last 9 years, we went from a community of homes to a community of apartments. • In the last 9 years, we went from less than 12% low income to over 70% low income.

9. What we did … • Ran a comprehensive needs assessment that involved staff, parents, community and students • Analyzed data and developed a school plan to address the identified needs • Researched best practices and developed a “Locally Developed Model” to address the specific needs of our learning community

10. “Locally Developed Model” Focus • Increase Student Achievement in Math • Increase Student Achievement in Reading • Increase Student Achievement in Language Arts • Increase Student Achievement in Technology • Increase Student Achievement through increased Parent Involvement

11. School Plan Goal • By June, 2007, students will achieve annual yearly progress as measured by the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning)

12. Strategies • Reading:Comprehensive program K-5 • ”Walk to Read” 1-5 • Small group instruction • Read Well K-1 • Trophies K, 2-5 • Read Naturally 2-5 • Scholastic Reading Counts

13. Strategies, cont’d. • Math: • Comprehensive program K-5 • Small group instruction • Investigations K-5 • Accelerated Math 1-5 • Math Facts in a Flash • Extended Response Math

14. Strategies, cont’d. • Writing:Comprehensive writing program • 6+1 Trait Writing • School-wide writing prompts 4 times/year • Peer editing through use of rubrics • School-wide journaling 1-5

15. Strategies, cont’d. • Technology: Comprehensive technology plan • Accelerated Math • Kidspiration/Inspiration 1-5 • Alpha smart • Type to Learn • Computer pods in every room

16. Parent Involvement: • Full time parent involvement coordinator • Parenting Classes • Attendance • Family Nights • Community Liaison (i.e.: food, clothing, power, homeless) • Tutor Training

17. Strategies, cont’d. • Instructional Facilitator: • Staff development on on-going basis • Support in reading, language arts and math • Data analysis on-going

18. Strategies, cont’d. • Interventions • Extended day program grades 2-5 • Individual Goal Plans for regular ed. students that are below grade level • Summer school K-5 • Student Assistance Teams • Homework Club

19. Strategies, cont’d. • Interventions • Good Morning Club • WASL/ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) Club • Parenting classes • All staff training in Ruby Payne • School Improvement Plan teams through Site-council for constant revision/data assessment

20. Assessments • Read Well - All first graders and struggling second graders • DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) - All first through third graders • WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning)- All third graders in reading and math; - All fourth graders in reading, writing, and math; - All fifth graders in reading, math and science

21. Assessments, cont’d. • STAR Math • All second through fifth graders every six to eight weeks • STAR Reading • All second through fifth graders every six to eight weeks • Investigations • All students

22. Assessments, cont’d. • Trophies - All students • Running Recordsa - All students • Math Facts in a Flash- All first through fifth • School-wide writing prompts- four times per year

23. Assessments, cont’d. • In 2002-2003, Dower was ranked number 1 out of 10 for comparable schools in WASL Math and 4 out of 10 in WASL reading based on 68.7% Free and Reduced information.

24. Data AnalysisWASL Trends

25. ITBS Trends

26. Data Analysis • Monthly site-council, staff and group meetings • Quarterly parent nights for data sharing • Parent conferences • Student assistant meetings twice a month • School Improvement Plan teams (one for each strategy)

27. Teacher commitment to increasing achievement for all students Teachers trained in working with children in poverty Data-driven school plan Staff longevity Principal longevity Why It Works For Us

28. Why It Works For Us, cont’d. • On-going staff development • Community Involvement • Site-based Management - Shared Decision Making - Resource Allocation

29. Lessons Learned • Everyone has to be committed to the notion that “Everything we do is for the kids” • It takes time to “grow” staff and programs • Parents need to be involved and understand programs

30. Lessons Learned, cont’d. • Don’t get discouraged when you don’t see immediate results • When scores fluctuate, know you have to change your strategies.

31. Questions?