LITTLETON, MASSACHUSETTS

School Improvement Plan

School: SHAKER LANE SCHOOL

Plan Duration: July 2005-June2008

Team Members/Titles/Signature

Name Title Signature

Karen Anderson Teacher _____________________________________

Jo-Ann Dery Parent _____________________________________

Mary Dugan Parent _____________________________________

Richard Faherty Principal _____________________________________

Nancy Marrese Teacher _____________________________________

Robert O’Neill Parent _____________________________________

Kelly Rogers Community Representative _____________________________________

School Mission (Aligned with

District Strategic Plan)

The Shaker Lane School, serving grades Nursery through Grade Two, is the critical first stage of a child’s educational experience in the Littleton school community. As such, our primary goal is to provide a secure, inviting, success-oriented environment that meets the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical needs of the whole child at his or her level of development. We believe in challenging every child and providing them with the opportunity and encouragement to reach the next stage in their academic development. In addition to encouraging optimum academic achievement, this supportive atmosphere also advocates human values that develop social awareness and mutual respect in our global society.

To support every child’s quest for knowledge, our curriculum, founded on sound educational research, is developmentally appropriate and based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. We believe that a hands-on, interdisciplinary instructional approach is essential in fostering a life-long love of learning. Additionally, we know that the high standards of accomplishment we set for the children must be matched by the high expectations we establish for ourselves.

Finally, we strive to provide each child the opportunity to interact positively with peers and adults, to respect and share ideas, and to develop a positive self-esteem. The interdependence of students, parents, teachers, and community is essential for the achievement of educational excellence in our child-centered school. We maintain an open-mind, open door, and open heart spirit at the Shaker Lane School.

WHATEVER IT TAKES, WE WILL LEARN

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING

LANGUAGE ARTS

(For Each Goal)

MEASUREABLE SCHOOL

GOALS:

Measure A - Percentage of students who score 18 or above at the end of first grade will increase as measured by the DRA reading assessment.

Measure B - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 50^th percentile in reading will increase as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test.

Measure C - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 75^th percentile in reading will increase as measured by the Stanford

Achievement Test.

Measure D - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 90^th percentile in reading will increase as measured by the Stanford

Achievement Test.

Measure E – Establish baseline performance levels for writing.

SuBackground

Data (Justification for this goal as a school priority):

READING

DRA results for Grade 1 Students over a three year period

Performance Level	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005
Level 18 or above	70%	73%	76%

Stanford Achievement Test Score for Grade 2 students over a three year period

Performance Level	2002-2003	2003-2004*	2004-2005
Exceeds 50^th Percentile	83%	86%	83%
Exceeds 75^th Percentile	60%	57%	57%
Exceeds 90^th Percentile	37%	35%	35%

*In 2003-2004 an updated version of the Stanford Test was administered. This same version will be used in future years.

Interpretation (What data indicate a pattern? What data indicate an area on which to focus? What do the data suggest?)

READING

· There has been a slight increase in the percentage of grade one students who are reading at a DRA level of 18 or above

· During the three-year period, second grade students have performed relatively consistently on the Reading Portion of the SAT.

· Student performance on the Reading Vocabulary portion of the SAT continues to be a relatively weak area among second grade students, while Reading Comprehension is a relative strength

· Staff needs to continue to closely examine current strategies for teaching vocabulary

· To ensure that we meet the goals of 98% of students meeting or exceeding the 50%ile, the School Improvement Plan outlines strategies for intervention at all grade levels for the students not meeting this goal.

WRITING

· Throughout the district, student performance in answering open-response questions has been targeted as an area of need in all curriculum areas.

· This school year (2004-2005), grade level writing prompts have been introduced and are/will be administered at all grade levels.

· Open response questions will be developed and included in unit and end of year assessments in math. Using a rubric, these responses will be scored and serve as the baseline of student performance.

· After implementation of writing assessments and there is baseline data indicating student performance, proficiency targets must be established.

· Further staff training and professional development may be necessary.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR SHAKER LANE SCHOOL DATE: JULY 2005

DISTRICT GOAL	Create and implement a challenging and comprehensive Pre-K—12 curriculum that meets the needs of all students and is consistent across grade levels.
MEASUREABLE SCHOOL GOALS	Measure A - By June, 2008, 90% of first grade students will score 18 or above at the end of the academic year as measured by the DRA reading assessment.
	Measure B: By June, 2008, of second grade students will meet or exceed the 50^th percentile in Reading as measured by the GRADE.
	Measure C: By June, 2008, of second grade students will meet or exceed the 75^th percentile in Reading as measured by the GRADE.
	Measure D: By June, 2008, of will meet or exceed the 90^th percentile in Reading as measured by the GRADE
	Measure E: Student performance on writing assessment will improve
SUCCESS INDICATORS (Measures, assessment tools)	Increase in the percentage of students scoring at a level 18 or above on the DRA at the end of grade one. Increase in the percentages of students scoring at the 50^th, 75^th and 90^th percentiles on the Reading portion of the GRADE at the end of grade two. Increase in the average score of grade level writing assessments.
ANNUAL TARGETS (3 years)	2005-2006(target) 2006-2007(target) 2007-2008(target) Measure A 80% 85% 90% Measure B Establish Baseline Measure C Establish Baseline Measure D Establish Baseline Measure E Grade 1 – 83%, Grade 2-92% Continue collection of baseline data

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING

(For Each Goal)

MATHEMATICS

MEASUREABLE SCHOOL

GOALS:

Measure A - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 50^th percentile in Math will increase as measured by the G-MADE

Measure B - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 75^th percentile in Math will increase as measured by the G-MADE

Measure C - Percentage of second grade students who meet or exceed the 90^th percentile in Math will increase as measured by the G-MADE

Measures D and E – Percentage of grade 1 and 2 students scoring 85% or above will increase as measured by the year end Math Assessment

Measure F – Establish baseline performance levels for answering open ended questions in Math.

Su Background

Data (Justification for this goal as a school priority):

Stanford Achievement Test Score for Grade 2 students over a three year period

Performance Level	2002-2003	2003-2004*	2004-2005
Exceeds 50^th Percentile	88%	85%	83%
Exceeds 75^th Percentile	71%	61%	57%
Exceeds 90^th Percentile	47%	24%	31%

*In 2003-2004 an updated version of the Stanford Test was administered. This same version will be used in future years.

End of Year Math Assessment

	Baseline – 2003-2004	2004-2005
Grade 1	87% scored at 85 % or above	87% scored at 85 % or above
Grade 2	68% scored at 85% or above	67% scored at 85% or above

Interpretation (What data indicate a pattern? What data indicate an area on which to focus? What do the data suggest?)

· The End of the Year Assessments include Open-Response questions.

· Currently there is no standardized Math Assessment given in grade 1.

· Data from MCAS tests informs us that continued students need more on-going practice in answering open response questions.

· We need to continue to research the strengths and weaknesses of the Everyday Math Program and implement changes if necessary.

· Continued professional development in Math is necessary.

· Continued and on-going analysis of assessment results is necessary.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR SHAKER LANE SCHOOL DATE: JULY 2005

DISTRICT GOAL	Create and implement a challenging and comprehensive Pre-K—12 curriculum that meets the needs of all students and is consistent across grade levels.
MEASUREABLE SCHOOL GOALS	Measure A: By June, 2008, of second grade students will meet or exceed the 50^th percentile in Math as measured by the G-MADE
	Measure B: By June, 2008, of second grade students will meet or exceed the 75^th percentile in Math as measured by the G-MADE
	Measure C: By June, 2008, of second grade students will meet or exceed the 90^th percentile in Math as measured by the G-MADE
	Measure D: By June, 2008, 100% of first grade students will score 85% or above on the grade 1 Math Assessment
	Measure E: By June, 2008, 90% of second grade students will score 85% or above on the grade 2 Math Assessment
	Measure F: Student performance on open-ended questions will improve (baseline to be established after data is collected in Spring, 2005)
SUCCESS INDICATORS (Measures, assessment tools)	Increase in the percentages of students scoring at the 50^th, 75^th and 90^th percentiles on the Math portion of the Stanford Achievement Test at the end of grade two. Increase in the average score of grade level writing assessments.
ANNUAL TARGETS (3 years)- Stanford Achievement Test	2005-2006(target) 2006-2007(target) 2007-2008(target) Measure A Collect Baseline Data Measure B Collect Baseline Data Measure C Collect Baseline Data
ANNUAL TARGETS – End of Year Math Assessment	Measure D 93% 96% 100% Measure E 80% 85% 90% Measure F Collect Baseline Data Collect Baseline Data

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR SHAKER LANE SCHOOL DATE: JULY 2005

Strategy In what general ways can you move key elements of the problem in order to achieve the school goal?	Activities (Action Plan) What will occur in order to accomplish the strategy and reach the school goal?	Success Indicator(s) What measure(s) will be used to determine the success of this strategy?	Timeline Start/ End Date What is the time frame for implementation of the key action?	Person Responsible Who is primarily responsible for coordinating the key action?	Professional Development What do staff or families need to know and be able to do to ensure the achievement of this goal?	Cost/ Resources What existing resources can be redirected? What “new” resources are needed? How will they be acquired?
Reading Curriculum Development	Continue work with Literacy Specialist and Literacy Team investigating best practices for reading instruction and conduct site visits to districts with high achieving test results Analyze best practices from other districts and research and make recommendations for supplementary instructional materials	Site visits conducted Recommendations made	Winter/Spring 2005 Winter/Spring 2005	M. Packer/ R.Faherty /N.Gastafson M. Packer/ R.Faherty /N.Gastafson	Allocate time Allocate time/Possible Professional Development	Substitutes Professional Development funding
Writing Curriculum Development	Continue work with Literacy Specialist and Literacy Team investigating best practices for writing instruction and conduct site visits to districts with high achieving test results Develop four writing prompts to be administered at the beginning of each school year and the end of each trimester	Site visits conducted Writing Prompts developed	Winter/Spring 2005 Winter/Spring 2005	Rich Faherty PLT Rich Faherty PLT	Allocate Time Allocate Time	Substitutes Professional Development funding
Math Curriculum Development	Provide teachers with data on student performance in, standardized, unit and year end assessments as well as MCAS data analysis and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in student performance Provide staff with time to review and discuss the data	Data provided to staff Data provided to staff	2004/2005 school year and on- going On-going	Rich Faherty and Nancy Gustafson Rich Faherty Nancy Gustafson, Professional Learning Teams	Allocate time Allocate time	Professional Development time Professional Development time
Strategy In what general ways can you move key elements of the problem in order to achieve the school goal?	Activities (Action Plan) What will occur in order to accomplish the strategy and reach the school goal?	Success Indicator(s) What measure(s) will be used to determine the success of this strategy?	Timeline Start/ End Date What is the time frame for implementation of the key action?	Person Responsible Who is primarily responsible for coordinating the key action?	Professional Development What do staff or families need to know and be able to do to ensure the achievement of this goal?	Cost/ Resources What existing resources can be redirected? What “new” resources are needed? How will they be acquired?
Math Curriculum Development	Identify students in need of remediation and enrichment and based on information create flexible groupings for instruction