HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-2006-Hastings-rpt-draft2005 -2006
Maria Hastings School
Improvement Plan
10 �
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page I
Goal #1 Implementing Open Circle and
Positive Behavior Management
decreasing bullying behavior
increasing mutually supportive behavior,
implementation of the Open Circle Curriculum.
Background:
What is Open Circle?
In the fall of 2005, Maria Hastings will be implementing the Open Circle Curriculum, a
comprehensive social competency program that supports elementary school children in
developing the social and emotional skills needed to be good learners and to form
healthy, positive relationships with people throughout their lives. Open Circle is based at
the Stone Center at the Wellesley Centers for Women Wellesley College. LEF grants
and the Hastings PTA will fund a series of staff trainings for the 2005/2006 School year.
There will also be a parent evening training. Another important parent/school link is a
letter for families, included in the Open Circle Curriculum after every few lessons for
teachers to send home, that explains what concepts children are learning, the vocabulary
children are developing and homework assignments they may bring home. The letters
give parents ideas for ways that they can utilize Open Circle concepts at home. The letter
also suggests age- appropriate children's literature that parents can share with their
children. Teachers can personalize the newsletter, or photocopy it and send it out as it is.
See hLp: / /www.open- circle.org
Social Competency Programs already in place:
Hastings staff have synthesized several curricula to promote safety and social
competency. The counselors meet with each classroom during the year. Staff have
received training in the "responsive classroom" method. Teachers all work on positive
behavior reinforcement and tailor their social curricula to fit the children's abilities and
their own teaching style. This has led to an individualistic approach, lacking a consistent
vocabulary, expectations, and consequences within and across grades.
For parents to reinforce the good work done in school, they need to know the school's
approach and procedures. A description of efforts to address bullying behavior has been
written by the school council, working with the counselors, for use on the Hastings
website. The information will need to be updated once Open Circle is implemented, so
parents can understand and support that method at home.
Action items:
1. Implement Open Circle
a. Staff trainings for the 2005/2006 school year as part of professional staff
development. The first line teachers are scheduled for two trainings in the
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 2
fall and two trainings in the spring. A parent training will be schedule in
the Fall.
b. Communicate with parents through the classroom Open Circle letters.
c. Research the availability of the recommended children's literature in
the school and town library. Provide that list to the all the teachers so they
could communicate that with their parent Open Circe letter.
d. Provide a link to the www.open- eircle.org on the Maria Hastings Website
as a parent resource.
2. Coordinate and complement Open Circle with current Hastings approaches
a. Identify what is currently being done, including training programs,
curriculum, behavioral policies, and specific classroom procedures.
b. Develop a shared vision that will enable the staff to decide what policies
to keep, which are incompatible with Open Circle, and which need to be
modified. This could include a best practices study among teachers,
identifying gaps that Open Circle may not address; and a brainstorming
session.
c. Increase the amount of recess support and further define consequences.
3. Communicate with parents so they know what to expect, what to reinforce at
home, and how to react to different situations. Inform parents, in print and on the
website, of when to bring behavior issues to the attention of the school. Provide
resources to parents, so they can get help learning how to address difficult
behavior.
a. Some parents will receive Open Circle training in the fall.
b. The PTA could also organize Families First type parenting workshops.
c. Update Hastings website with description of Open Circle and explaining
Hastings policy. Links to resources & articles will be helpful.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 3
Goal #2: Improving Communication Between
Parents, Teachers and School Administration
Background:
A continued goal for the Maria Hastings School is to improve communication between
parents, teachers and school administration. The School Council identified the need for
increased communication concerning school policies and procedures, anti - bullying
curriculum and volunteerism policies within the school. School Council created the
following documents to improve communication:
- A Special Education Services Brochure that describes the special education
programs at Hastings.
- A Volunteer Hand -Book to help parent volunteers understand the role of
volunteers within the school.
- A Social Competency Information Summary for the Hastings website
As of June 2005, these documents have not been widely distributed to the Hastings Parent
Community due to low turnout at evening meetings. Other means to spread information
need to be devised.
In order to increase the amount of family participation in evening events, the PTA began
to provide pizza and childcare so that important parent meetings were better attended.
Actions:
The newly established Hastings List Serve will be used to communicate with the school
community about upcoming events and school policies. The list serve will enable
notification of last- minute changes and reduce the amount of paper that is sent home via
the classroom teacher.
In the fall, conduct training for parent volunteers who will be working in the
classrooms. The newly written Volunteer Handbook will provide guidance for these
training sessions.
The Special Education Services Brochure will be presented to the Hastings families so
that all parents understand the scope and depth of the Special Education services provided
at Hastings and the ways specialists help all children, including those not receiving direct
service. This brochure should be included as part of kindergarten orientation and for
families new to Hastings on an ongoing basis.
The Hastings Web -site will be used to communicate with the school community about
upcoming events and school policies. This year the Hastings Web Site was updated with
social competency information from the school. As the Open Circle curriculum is
implemented, the anti - bullying sections of the website will need to be updated.
Page 4
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals
Goal #3: Differentiating Instruction in
Mathematics
Background:
Work on differentiating instruction has been on -going for several years and is now taking
on new dimensions as we try to blend the demands of a more standardized curriculum
with the disparate needs of our population. The primary concern is for children who
need to learn more slowly or more rapidly than the expected average. The parent survey
from 2003 -2004 indicated a concern in providing appropriate challenge for all students
with particular attention to their readiness level and learning style.
School Council conducted a survey for both parents and students to understand the
strengths and needs of the school. Survey results indicated the continued need for work
on differentiation.
School Council will support the Hastings Staff as they continue to study and expand the
use of strategies for differentiating instruction in order to more effectively meet the needs
of the wide range of learners in our classrooms with particular focus on math.
Prior Initiatives:
Professional Development and the faculty classroom workshops listed in the 2003-
2004 School Improvement Plan.
During Faculty and Team meetings, teachers shared best practices on differentiating
instruction throughout the year.
Professional development focused on instructional strategies for differentiating
instruction in mathematics.
Weekly math club meets each morning for 4"' and 5`' grade students who are interested
in being challenged in mathematics.
The school has created a math closet that contains books and materials to enhance math
instruction.
Each year parents organize a parent math night for each grade level to teach families
new mathematical games that they can play at home.
The school has implemented alternative pilot math programs to differentiate learning
for all students.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 5
Actions:
The following next steps have been identified by the Hastings Community:
l.Grade level teams of teachers will work to modify the existing curriculum to
better suit the range of needs of children in math. Teachers will meet regularly to share
best practices and pilot effective methodologies.
2. Teachers and Administrators will work continue to work with parent
committees to augment efforts in the classroom around the math curriculum.
3. The school will also develop or expand academic clubs focusing on math.
Goal #4: School Improvement Goal:
Respecting and Understanding
Learning Differences
Goal: Promote sensitivity to and appreciation of all the learning differences within the
school community.
Background:
The Maria Hastings School needs to improve communication about what special
education services are available both at Hastings and district wide in Lexington. Staff,
parents and student education needs to continue in order to increase sensitivity to
different learning styles as well as provide an understanding as to the benefits to all
children of an inclusive learning environment.
Actions:
1. Finalize the Special Education brochure and get printed. Provide the
brochure to any parent of a child newly referred for services.
2. Ensure that the Special Education brochure becomes part of the Kindergarten
Orientation packet in the spring.
3. Provide disability awareness activities for staff. Encourage staff to try at
least one new activity with students.
4. Create a disability awareness resource notebook for teachers. Encourage
staff to submit ideas and activities.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 6
5. Provide one parent education opportunity on disability awareness. Special
attention must be made to respect confidentiality and avoid labeling. Goal is to help
parents see the school experience from the perspective of the children with disabilities.
6. Work with the Anti Bias Committee to ensure that at least one school -wide
activity (parents, children and staff) on disability awareness, different learning styles or
inclusion is hosted this year.
7. Hold at least one Faculty Meeting devoted to teachers sharing ideas related to
how they reach students with varied learning styles.
8. Provide general training and information to all staff (aides, tutors, lunch
room staff, specialists, secretarial staff) on the district wide special education program
(Intensive Learning Program, ILP) which is an integral part of the Hastings community.
9. Provide specific information /training /teaching strategies to classroom
teachers who have ILP students in their general education classroom.
Goal #5. Health
A) Improving School Lunch
B) Encouraging Physical Exercise
C) Improving Air Quality
A) Health: Improving School Lunch
Lunch Goals include:
Minimizing time in the food pick -up line
Improving the nutritional quality of food served
Making water available within the cafeteria
Finding a safe and hygienic solution for table clean -up
Continuing to improve the social atmosphere
Leaving the cafeteria without waiting in line
Background:
Currently, children line up according to their food selection. They can spend 10 minutes
in line, out of 20 -25 minutes total average lunch time. They then need to `inhale' their
lunch — or throw it out.
Nutritionally, big strides have been accomplished this year. Chartwells has incorporated
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 7
some of Hastings children's suggestions. A cross - Lexington PTA group of parents has
also been proactive in encouraging Chartwells to improve the nutritional quality of their
offerings.
Aides are worried that they cannot keep track of all the children going in and out of
the cafeteria. Children leave because they have forgotten something in class, or need to
use the restrooms or water fountain in the hall. They are supposed to let an aide know
when they are going and when they have returned, but some report to different aides, or
only report 1 out of the 2 instances.
Currently, the children clean the lunchroom tables with rags that they fish out and wring
with their bare hands from a bucket of increasingly dirty cleaning solution.
Bullying can easily occur in any school cafeteria due to limited numbers of aides
available.
Official policy is that children can go out to the playground in groups of six. However,
children are sometimes made to line up and wait till much larger groups are ready.
Action:
Develop plan to move lunch lines faster without an expensive renovation of the very
limited cafeteria space. Several meetings have been held with Chartwells representative,
Cathleen Higgins. Measures in 2005/6 that have been discussed include:
- Encouraging parents to sending their children to school with lunch tickets or
with exact change.
- Lunch tickets could be sold at school every Friday morning until 9am, in the
cafeteria, starting September 23rd, 2005 (checks only)
- Chartwells will make lunch tickets purchasable on the web. We need to educate
parents about the importance of lunch tickets
- We can keep working with Chartwells to provide a second, ticket -only line
Nutrition: Discussions need to be ongoing with Chartwells to promote good nutrition.
Keeping track of children: Research the feasibility of adding a water fountain, so
children have one less reason to leave the cafeteria.
Table Sanitation: Develop a safe way for the children to keep cleaning the tables. Work
with Chartwells, the aides, and the janitorial staff to find an adequate solution.
Pro - social environment: Provide Open Circle training to cafeteria supervisions and
research ways to increase the ratio of adults to kids (possibly with parent volunteers.
Preserving Playground time: Devise ways to insure that children can leave the cafeteria
as soon as they are done eating..
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals
Page 8
B.) Health: Encouraging Physical Activity
Goal: To create a school climate that encourages physical activity.
Background:
Physical education is understood to be essential to the emotional and physical growth of
Children. Children are currently given recess in the morning and after lunch.
Formal instruction in Physical Education is now twice a week. Additionally, before
school, the school gym is used by an early morning exercise program for 5" grade
students who sign up for it, and a small number of children play basketball on the
basketball court from 8:15 to 8:30.
Recess currently is supervised by recess aides who meet regularly with the school
counselors, and received training. Parent volunteers, called recess helpers, organize play
activities on the blacktop area to provide children with positive recess activities and
increase the ratio of adults available at recess.
The school has a policy that children are to be allowed outside if (with windchill) the
temperature is above 20 degrees, and the Principal makes the decision about outside
recess during cold, rainy or snowy weather. There is disagreement among the parent
community about the advisability of sending children outside and children are sometimes
sent to school with inadequate clothing for outside recess. Indoor recess is free choice
time, but it is hard to allow for physical discharge of energy inside the classroom. The
lack of indoor space and overcrowding make it difficult to provide opportunities for body
movement indoors.
Action:
- Parent education on outdoor recess (above 20 degrees) policy: The outside recess
guidelines could be posted on the website and inserted regularly in the school newsletter.
If parents know that their children will be outside, then it is their responsibility to send
their children adequately dressed to school. On the other hand, if children know that they
will have indoor recess, they would not need to burden themselves with useless, bulky
snow equipment
- Parent education from the Occupational Therapist and other staff on the value of
movement for physical and emotional health and ways to build it into the child's day,
including carrying backpacks, climbing stairs, and walking to school.
- Continuing support for the recess aides by highlighting and promoting programs such
as Recess Helpers, continuing meetings with counselors and the principal, and providing
training in the Open Circle program alongside other staff members.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 9
- Brainstorming morning exercise and obtaining more adult supervision to expand use
of the blacktop and playground areas.
- Promoting and expanding the recess helpers program.
C). Health: Air Quality -Tools for Schools (TFS)
Goal: To ensure a healthy (air quality) environment in our schools
Background:
Tools for Schools (TFS) is a preventative and proactive program that was developed by
the EPA to monitor and improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. TFS builds
awareness through the school community, focuses on low -cost, common sense solutions
& encourages careful resource planning. TFS promotes early detection and
management of IAQ issues so that costly emergency renovations and school closings can
be prevented.
TFS offers schools checklists, schedules, and information about solution to common air
quality problems. The initial evaluation is at no cost to the school.
In 1997 ATC Associates Inc. performed IAQ monitoring tests in the 9 Lexington schools.
It was a proactive evaluation of ventilating systems and to determine any presence of
airborne fungal spores.
In 1999, ATC Assoc. Inc. performed air quality assessment in the newer modules to
identify sources of reported odors and to assess the ventilation system. The results show
sub standard air quality with some suggestions for improvements. A small office room
was treated for mold, rugs were removed and teacher relocated. It is now used for
conferences and small meetings only.
Some specific problems:
- Extreme heat in the upstairs classroom during the hot season. It is been noted to be
85 degrees at 7:30 and already can reach 90 by the time the kids are present.
- Problems with rugs in classrooms. A particular teacher who has asthma and allergy
sensitivities has spent her own money every season for the purchase of "Tannic Acid " to
be sprinkled on the rugs to kill food sources for dust mites.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 10
Actions:
- Approval of program by the administration.
- TFS training will be set up for teachers, staff, custodians and
maintenance personnel . This can be done as a formal presentation on a
building day or less formally with a morning breakfast.
- Formation of an IAQ team in the school including nurses, custodians and
principal.
- Distribution and completion of IAQ checklist to staff
- Identification and prioritization of current and potential problems
- Development of plan for long term IAQ improvements.
Goal # 6 Safety and Parking
Goal: To continue to improve the drop off and pick -up procedures to ensure a safe,
yet welcoming environment to both students and parents. As we review these plans we
must keep in mind that the model is constantly changing to suit the staffing and space the
Hasting Community has to work with.
Background:
Morning Drop off 8:15 - 8:30 Children line up on the basketball court and are
picked up by teachers at 8:30. Four adults are on duty to supervise. There is no
supervision before 8:15. In the case of inclement weather, students proceed to the gym.
Current Drop off Issues:
1. Children arriving by bus are sometimes left unsupervised because they arrive
before 8:15.
2. Parents are dropping their children off assuming there is supervision, because
it is after 8:15. However, the supervisors are not always punctual. Some
parents who realize that there is no supervision will stay because they don't
want their children at risk.
3. As the weather improves, more children use the basketball court and the
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page I 1
teacher to student ratio doesn't seem adequate.
4. During inclement weather there is no visual communication indicating if
children should proceed to the cafeteria
The number of children, as well as the age spans; K -5 is overwhelming and
scary for the younger children.
6. After 8:30, Parents continue to park or double -park in front of the school,
blocking buses and cars that are trying to drop off children.
7. The younger children complain that the older kids will not share the basketball
court with them. They are also intimidated by the age and size difference.
Separate spaces would help.
Afternoon Pick -up Parents that are meeting their children can meet them in the
gym, at the lower exit or in front of the main entrance. Parents that need to park must
park behind the building from 3:05 -3:24 on the right hand side. All traffic behind the
school is one way. If parents are not coming into the school, drive along the front of the
building and stay in your car. Please do not double park. Parents may have to circle
around the block but it's important that the traffic flow keep moving. Encourage your
children to be waiting on the sidewalks.
Current Pick -up Issues:
1. Parents have adjusted to the new procedures, but some still interpret it as
though they are less welcome in the school.
2. Emergency Procedure: There is a crisis plan in place that is system wide, but
parents do no know the details of the emergency evacuation procedures.
Actions:
Drop off -
1. Review current procedure to ensure that the basketball court is adequate
space for the number of students being dropped off and consider ways to make
drop off less intimidating for the younger children. Consider other options;
behind the school, on the playground, separating k -2 and 3 -5, etc...
2. Review current staffing /child ratio and consider utilizing parent volunteers if
staffing constraints are an issue.
3. Implement a `Red Flag" system that indicates where children should
line up (in the cafeteria vs. the basketball court) such as is used by Bridge School.
School Improvement Council 2004/5 Goals Page 12