Flagler County School District Dr. TC Culver, Principal 5545 Belle Terre Pkwy Palm Coast, FL 32137-3847 Document Generated On February 6, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 8
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1
Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Belle Terre Elementary (BTES) is located in the City of Palm Coast in Flagler County, Florida. Flagler County is located mid-way between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. BTES has, like many schools around the nation, endured many substantive changes due to economy. Unlike the school's initial round of accreditation five years ago, our county has transformed from the fastest growing county in the nation, to a county that has been battered by the effects of the economic downturn. In an area significantly affected by the failing economy, Palm Coast has led the state in unemployment for the last three years. According to the City of Palm Coast, the unemployment rate for August 2012 was 12.2% compared to a state level of 9%. On the 2010 U.S census 11.9% of families in Flagler County are below the poverty line. That is a 2.1% increase in the number of families below the poverty line. Flagler County School District is the largest employer in Flagler County. The education budget continues to be cut at the state level and the revenues generated locally continue to decline as property values decelerate and foreclosures increase. As budgets are cut, parents are asked to donate more to schools and classrooms, but without sufficient income, many parents find it difficult to assist. If parents are employed, many are single families with a guardian who works more than one job leading to more latchkey kids and less academic support at home. Because of the economic hardships being felt around the county, BTES has also seen its free and reduced lunch rate increase from 23% to an astounding (62%), making it eligible for Title 1; however, due to budgetary restraints, BTES has not been awarded the funding to compensate for its increase in much needed services for its community. Additionally, with the increasing number of students in transition (14 to 24 during the 2011-2012 school), our faculty needs to continue to grow in our understanding of students in transition. We need to find ways to better understand and meet the needs of this population. Professional development was offered to the entire faculty during September of 2012, and the administrative staff will continue to look for additional ways to educate the staff on students in transition. The diversity of the student population is as follows: Total enrollment: 1346, 866 students equaling 64% White; _168 students equaling 13% Black; 198 students equaling 15% Hispanic; 79 students equaling 1% Asian; 8 student equaling >1% Indian, and 69 students equaling 1% multi-racial. 192 students equaling 14% are disabled, 68 students equaling 1% are English Language Learners. The average attendance rate last year was 95%. Students arrive daily by walking, car, and bus. Currently there are 15 district buses, 3 shuttle buses and 4 special needs buses transporting students to and from school. BTES has one (1) principal and three (2) assistant principals. All administrators are fully certified and have extensive experience with school reform. Other school-wide personnel include: three (3) guidance counselors, one (1) reading coach, one (1) Multi-Tiered System of Support Specialist, one (1) ESOL aide, one (1) media specialists, one (1) media paraprofessional, one (1) time-out/in-school suspension teacher. There is one(1) school psychologist, one (1) speech teacher, a part-time staffing specialist and one (1) school nurse. BTES has (9) seven Special Area Teachers, seven (7) Self-Contained Spec. Ed. Teachers, six (6) teachers servicing Varying Exceptionalities, one (1) servicing Physically Impaired, one (1) teacher servicing high functioning Autistic students. There are (2) two gifted consult only teachers and (6) six Special Education Inclusion Resource teachers. For General Education classes, BTES houses: Kindergarten: (10) ten, First Grade: (9) nine, Second Grade: (9) nine, Third Grade: (9) nine, Fourth Grade: (9) nine, Fifth Grade: (9) nine, Sixth Grade: (11) eleven and (15) paraprofessionals. There are (12) twelve support personnel, (10) ten custodial staff and (11) cafeteria staff. Of our current employees, (54) Page 2
fifty four faculty members hold a Bachelors Degree, (37) thirty seven have a Masters Degree, and (2) two hold Doctorate Degrees. Page 3
School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. embraces the belief that all children will learn. It is our goal to increase student achievement by providing collaborative efforts that integrate both traditional and innovative approaches to education in a positive school environment while encouraging confidence and self-esteem within all students; involving parents, community, and school staff. BELIEFS: We believe that we will become an internationally competitive school system when we direct our varied resources, talents, dollars, and skills in a manner that is consistent with our beliefs. Belief #1: We believe that the academic culture provided to students will be of the highest caliber when every decision is made on the basis of what is best for student achievement. Belief #2: We believe all students will learn and excel when provided with authentically engaging work based on high standards that is given in a risk-free environment. Believe #3: We believe in order to provide an internationally competitive education to all students that teamwork, open communications, honesty, and trust must be a part of all working relationships. Belief #4: We believe that all our educators teachers, support staff, administrators, and School Board members have special talents and strengths that have a positive impact on student achievement. Educators are encouraged to pursue continual professional development and model life-long learning. Belief #5: We believe that parents are an integral part of student's success. Working together parents, students, community members, and teachers will provide the level of support that is necessary for students to reach their maximum potential. At Belle Terre, our mission and expectations for every student and member of our staff is embodied through the phrase, "BTES, Where Excellence is the Norm, not the Exception", which is posted throughout every classroom and on the lips of every member of our school community. It is through our beliefs and missions that we embrace everyday as a learning opportunity for all. BTES offers many programs that create an atmosphere conducive to learning and emphasize the importance of community. Some of these unique programs include: *Discover Learning *Families Using Reading Strategies *Families Building Better Readers *Math Olympics *Publix Math Night *ARISS Page 4
*Rough Readers *S.T.E.A.M. Expo *Core M.T.S.S. *Paperless ipad classrooms *Digital Text Books: Discovery Learning Science and Pearson Math *Positive Behavioral Support Committee *Mentoring Program *After School AllStar tutoring program *FCAT Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays *Archery Club *Future Problem Solvers These are just a few of the wonderful opportunities students have at Belle Terre to enhance and further their learning experiences. (Please visit our electronic folder entitled????) Page 5
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. Executive Summary tab Areas of notable achievement and improvement over the last three years. In an effort to better prepare students for 21st century learning, BTES is moving forward towards STEAM education. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts, and Math. STEAM education attempts to transform the typical teacher-centered classroom by encouraging a curriculum that is driven by problem-solving, discovery, exploratory learning, and requiring students to actively engage a situation in order to find a solution. BTES was the first school in the Flagler district to host its very own STEM (now known as STEAM) fair during the 2011-2012 school year. With more than a thousand participants, this was a huge success for our school and a large step toward greater STEM involvement for our school and community. Another area of notable achievement that ties directly to improvement over the last three years is our school wide intensive immediate intervention and instruction (iii). Every child is provided with 30 minutes of enrichment activities, which focus on complex non-fiction text or integrated math and science performance tasks. Teachers have been trained, and implement the comprehension instruction sequence through NEFEC's Team Read initiative, which includes directed note taking, generating questions and shared inquiry discussion. Students demonstrating advanced skills in both reading and math are provided with 30 minutes daily of enrichment activities which include novel studies, non-fiction text and integrated performance tasks. Computer labs are utilized to provide students with individualized student specific remedial and accelerated instruction using programs like Kids College, a web based program, providing students with individualized student specific remedial and accelerated instruction. Students scoring a level 2 or 3 on the FCAT are invited to FCAT Saturday School, which offers targeted instruction in sunshine state standards. This program is teacher directed and runs for nine weeks prior to FCAT administration each year. Students scoring below the 20th percentile rank and scoring a level one on FCAT are invited to attend After School All Star tutoring or Morning Remediation, which provides small group direct instruction. Another area tied to improvement for the school as a whole includes monthly progress monitoring meetings which are held with the teacher, reading coach, guidance counselor, and a member from administration. Students identified by various assessments to be in need of supports are immediately placed in the RTI process based on data. Teachers are engaging in ongoing item analysis of our weekly and theme reading assessments, which allows the identification of the weakest areas, collaboration with colleagues, and identifying patterns and trends in student answer choices. This process is to encourage reflective planning, and re-teaching of skills when needed. Administration and staff continuously review student data, and collegial conversations are encouraged to ensure instruction is meeting the needs of the students. BTES has a strong commitment to technology and preparing 21st century learners. We are equipped with two technology labs that are open to classes where students are taught various skills using computers. These classrooms are also used as extensions to the regular classroom by supporting curriculum related projects through the use of technology. The school has a 21st century learning environment equipped with tools used to encourage large group collaboration with the integration of technology. Students have the ability to collaborate with other classmates on a school based level, allowing them to confront and solve complex challenged based projects, as a team, while absorbing crucial, lifelong techniques that will be used in and outside of the classroom. The lab uses only digital renders of student work in Page 6
place of tangible paper versions and items are dispersed through shared drives as opposed to handouts. If handwriting is a factor required, a stylus and digital tablet will be provided. Our second state of the art, next generation, paperless, group collaborated lab is our "Sandbox." A cousin to the "evolve" lab, this lab focuses on encouraging collaboration as well as promoting personal perseverance while maintaining "green wise" obligation. A third and fourth learning lab was introduced this year with a continued "green wise" obligation. These two paperless classrooms are equipped with one Mac ipad for every student. All textbooks are online, and very little paper is used in these two labs. Additionally, by allowing more creativity through note taking via the ipad, our team has seen an increase in the level of student engagement in these two classrooms and a decrease in discipline issues. BTES has also been featured as part of the Apple Learning Tour for the last few years. Page 7
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. As a newly appointed principal who has been assigned to a school that is already a successful "A" school, my focus is to enhance the educationally productive practices that are already in place. My goal is to have a very strong relationship with our community stakeholders, and also to elevate the level of committment between our faculty, staff and students, pushing them stronger, higher and faster. My vision for is divided into five main focal points and they are as follows: 1. Each student succeeding: A major part of our work will focus on making sure each student succeeds. Our curriculum, instructional practices and intervention programs are all designed to enhance student success. The commitment of our staff to support each student is central to their achievement. 2. Each student connecting: Teacher relationships with students, co-curricular activities, student celebrations, the Student Assistance Program, the Student Success Team, our Counselor, and Outreach Consultant are essential to ensure that each student is connected with our school. I believe that the more students connect with the adults in our school, the greater likelihood of their success. 3. All staff working together in a Professional Learning Community: Teachers working together to promote their professional learning is crucial in supporting student achievement. Our Professional Learning Community is characterized by a shared mission, vision, and values; collective inquiry, collaborative teams, action orientation and experimentation; results orientation; and continuous improvement. 4. Changing the school's climate: All teachers are committed to the challenges that we face daily in promoting school pride and student success. "Excellence is the Norm; Not the Exception!" 5. Technology: At BTES we are committed to being a model school that showcases advances in instructional technology that can be emulated throughout the state of Florida. Page 8