Happy New Year Trailblazer Students and Families! January is time to begin anew, make new year resolutions, reflect upon the year behind us and set our sights on the many wonderful opportunities that the New Year may hold for us. Here at Banks we will continue our work in professional learning teams and our school improvement processes all in support of making gains towards high levels of student academic success and narrowing the achievement gap.
We will be reviewing midyear data at our January staff meeting. We will consider the areas where our students have made gains and growth, as well as look at areas that need additional support. Our grade levels will begin to plan for Team Time. If you are new family to Banks this year, you are in for a treat with Team Time. Team Time is a sacred time dedicated to the enrichment and remediation of skills for students. Grade levels will collaborate to identify student needs and plan activities for students to strengthen and deepen learning. Students may move into and out of classes on the grade level for instruction. This allows students to receive specific and direct instruction. Teachers will use student academic data to determine flexible, short term learning groups. Watch the Principal's Blog for more information regarding Team Time.
The New Year is also a time for refocus. The mission of Banks Road Elementary is to create a positive and collaborative learning community where students are prepared for success in the 21st Century. This mission is alive and well at Banks on a daily basis. If you haven't had the opportunity to volunteer in the classroom or attend an after school activity yet this year, please consider coming into the school this semester. Each classroom offers a distinct learning community where students are engaged in learning activities that embeds the value intrinsic learning, the integration of technology into instruction and student learning activities, as well as the communication skills our students need to effectively share their thinking and learning outcomes. We will continue to maintain the focus of our school mission in all that we do on a daily basis here at Banks.
Our school improvement goals will continued to be addressed by our committee groups bi-monthly and monthly depending on the committee. Our student achievement goal is to show 3-5% increase in growth with a focus on Limited English Proficient (LEP), Black and Students with Disabilities (SWD) as measured by the end of grade test. Additionally, BRES has a math goal where all subgroups of students will show a 5% increase in growth and all subgroups of students will meet their Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO's) as measured by the end of grade test.
Quarter 1 Data in Review gave our staff a starting point for instruction and directed the collective work we must do as a school to increase the reading skills of our students. Reading proficiency and math proficiency data was collected from report card data. We have compared report card proficiency scores along with the initial administration of the Case benchmark testing provided by the district. The Case benchmark tests are similar in nature to the end of grade tests students will take in June. It measures both objectives that have been taught and some objectives that have not been taught in the classroom. The Case benchmark tests are aligned with the new Common Core curriculum both in content and language.
Quarter 1 Report Card Proficiency for Reading is as follows:
Kindergarten and First Grade do not receive first quarter report cards. Mid-year data is coming shortly for these two grades.
Second Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 64.9% in Reading
Third Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 69.7% in Reading
Fourth Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 55.2% in Reading
Fifth Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 76.0% in Reading
Composite Reading Proficiency based on the Report Card Data: 66.0%
Comparison to the Initial Administration of the Reading Case Benchmark Test
Second Grade: Case is not administered in the Fall, but was administered in the Winter. Data coming soon.
Third Grade: Initial Case score fell at 57.6%
Fourth Grade: Initial Case score fell at 70.0%
Fifth Grade: Initial Case score fell at 81.1%
Composite Reading Case Benchmark Data: 69.1%
Quarter 1 Report card proficiency for Math is as follows:
Kindergarten and First Grade do not receive first quarter report cards. Mid-year report card proficiency data is coming shortly for these two grades.
Second Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 79.7%
Third Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 74.6%
Fourth Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 74.6%
Fifth Grade: Report card proficiency fell at 85.7%
Composite Math Proficiency based on the Report Card Data: 78.4%
Comparison to the Initial Administration of the Math Case Benchmark Test
Second Grade: Case is not administered in the Fall, but was administered in the Winter. Data coming soon.
Third Grade: Initial Case score fell at 59.7%
Fourth Grade: Initial Case score fell at 88.4%
Fifth Grade: Initial Case score fell at 79.3%
Composite Math Case Benchmark Data: 75.8%
Although the scores themselves are not representative to the actual score history of BRES achievement data, the trend of higher math scores in comparison to reading is apparent when comparing our past EOG scores. Math scores are traditionally higher than our reading scores. Knowing what we know about our data and getting to know our students for this new school year in first quarter coupled with the initial Case Benchmark data and report card data, teachers made plans of how to increase the reading support for our students. Additionally, the staff participated in the first several sessions of staff development focused on Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP.) I have shared information about SIOP with you before in the blog :). Teachers have already implemented recommendations for using "I can" statements in the classroom when presenting materials, directly teaching academic vocabulary and supporting student understanding by building background knowledge. Furthermore, the staff has participated in additional training on the Common Core curriculum.
We are working diligently here at BRES to ensure high academic achievement and will continue to do so into the New Year. We appreciate your partnership in the educational journey this school year. Happy New Year! Mrs. Graf