Goal 1
 

School Name:   Dufferin Crescent Elementary
 

GOAL: 
Students and other members of the school community will feel they belong and that members of the school community relate to one another in positive, supportive ways.

As we create a Caring Community during the 2005-2006 year, the following areas will
be addressed.

· Students will learn to help others or set a good example for others
· Students will learn to get along with others
· Students will participate in activities outside the classroom as well as in class
· Students will feel that personnel at school care for them
· Students will be given opportunities to assume leadership roles
· Services will be in place to support individuals who are at risk of harm
· Discipline procedures are preventive and restorative where possible, rather than merely punitive

RATIONALE FOR SELECTING GOAL:
Data collected to analyze the programs implemented during the 2004-2005 year have positively impacted our school community.  The School Planning council analyzed data from the BC Ministry of Education Satisfaction Surveys, School Parent Surveys, Easy Discipline, Student Interviews and Diligent Dragon Tickets.

During the 2004-2005 school year, our community responded to issues documented in the Safe, Caring and Orderly School Guide and Framework Manuals, Ministry of Education.  We wrote a student handbook to clearly outline behavioural expectations.  A weekly assembly was added to our schedule.  These assemblies addressed behavioural targets and celebrated students success.

A noon hour supervisor handbook was also written.  This document provides clarity for supervisors regarding school expectations.  It also summarizes procedures.

Office referrals for recess misbehaviour has been reduced significantly.   Improved communication and clarity for both students and staff regarding behavioural expectations has been at the heart of the improvement.  Activities such as the games room, indoor dance and gym games, and increased counselling time at our school also positively addressed our concerns.  Students are actively engaging in games, are solving minor conflicts effectively and are seeking adult intervention when needed.

Behavioural issues during instructional time have increased.  This indicates a need to differentiate curriculum and to continue to support teachers as they design individual  and small groups programs to meet the diverse range of ability and experience exhibited by our students.  The number of students transferring to and from Dufferin Crescent is increasing.  Movement within our neighbourhood has impacted class team building, and school wide team building.  Rules and expectations have to be taught and retaught throughout the year to educate new students.

Analysis of the Easy Discipline Data for behaviours referred to the office were highest in the months of October, November, January and May.  Further analysis shows that almost all students referred tot he office were already designated as 117, 116 or 132.  This would indicate a need for more support staff, Counsellor, LA and EA to support student learning and to educate students regarding appropriate behaviours.

Student interviews provided insight into our environment and culture.  Student perceptions shifted from positive in Grade 4 and 5  to negative in Grade 6 and 7.  Misbehaviour data indicates defiance and disobedience at a much higher rate in Grade 6 and 7.  Students commented on the school’s history of athletics and competition.  Another area to note was students’ feelings about not being on the “teacher’s good list” and “never being able to get on the list”.

Satisfaction surveys indicate dissatisfaction in the school environment.  Our community is striving to develop an environment of attachment and belonging.  Many students are actively contributing to our school community in participate, leadership, performance and achievement.

This year we addressed:
· Clear expectations regarding student behaviour
1. Student handbook developed and implemented
2. Direct instruction given regarding playground, gymnasium, hallway and assembly behaviour
3. Redesign of the Diligent Dragon Ticket to reinforce caring and responsible behaviour
4. Bullying information pamphlet developed and distributed
5. Noon hour supervision handbook developed
6. Principal supervised daily to address the issue of “blind areas” on our large playground, thus increasing the supervisory staff to three

· Small group instruction
1. Resource room developed
2. Behaviour support educational assistant implemented
3. Guided reading and assessment support initiated by literacy lead position

· Partnerships with student community
1. Grade Six and Seven student leadership in classrooms
2. Buddy classes
3. Monitors for sign out and games room
4. Fine arts program including weekly, monthly and seasonal performance opportunities

· Mental health and emotional development education
1. FRIENDS for grade 5
2. Roots of Empathy for grade 1
3. Girl Talk for Grades 6 and 7
4. Sexuality Education for Grades 5,6,7
5. Focus on Bullying Program
· Staff Development

1. Non Violent Crisis Intervention Training
2. Boy Friendly Teaching session
3. Resiliency in Children-  Creating villages of attachment professional development

· Staff Support
1. Resource room-  Staffed with LA Teacher and EA
2. EA support for chronic health and behaviour
3. Literacy Lead-  .2-  assessment
4. Counsellor Increase-  .2
5. Librarian Increase-  .2
6. Noon activity worker-  three months, dance and senior boys’ games
 

DATA SOURCES USED IN ANALYSIS:

· Satisfaction Survey School Report
 

Question   Grade  Student Response- all or many times
2003 2004

Environment

Like school  Grade     4  85  61
                    Grade     7  61  24
 
Like what you learn 4  73  78
    7  65  40

Adults treat fairly 4  77  70
    7  55  40

Teachers care   4  85  67
    7  71  56
 
 
 
 

Safety

Feel Safe   4  81  81
    7  87  52

Know expectations 4  81  95
    7  96  56
 
 

· Parent Satisfaction Survey    2003  2004

Human and Social Development
Personal differences respected   85  62

School Environment
Staff treat students fairly    76  60
Teachers care     90  73
Included in decisions    57  47
Involved in SPC     62  50
Volunteer      24  20
Aware of goals     57  45
 
Safety
  Clear behavioural expectations   90  73

· Reinforcing good behaviour

1. Diligent Dragon Tickets

Category  Intermediate  Primary

Kindness  13%    4%
Patience  12%    3%
Responsibility 40%   53%
Respect   9%   12%
Sharing Work  3%   18%
Cooperation  16%    7%
Self Control   7%    4%
 
2. Principal’s Encouragement

3. STAR Awards
4. Student Celebration Program

· Easy Discipline Data

1. Referrals by Division

 Office Referrals Total  Referrals
Division One   31   61
Division Two  73   121
Division Three  6   5
Division Four  15   25
Division Five  10   11
Division Six   12   14
Division Seven  3   3

 
2. Summary of Misbehaviours

· Bullying

Month      Number
09      1
10      1
11      5
12      2
01      4
02      0
03      0
04      2
05      16

· Defiance and Disobedience

Month      Number
09      2
10      13
11      15
12      4
01      10
02      5
03      1
04      6
05 57

· Dishonesty

Month      Number
09      4
10      2
11      1
12      0
01      1
02      2
03      0
04      1
05 11

· Disruptive

Month      Number
09      0
10      3
11      1
12      2
01      1
02      2
03      1
04      3
05 13

· Swearing

Month      Number
09      6
10      9
11      6
12      0
01      5
02      2
03      0
04      2
05 30
 
 
 
 
 
 

· Rough Play

Month      Number
09      2
10      5
11      7
12      3
01      4
02      2
03      0
04      1
05 24

· Indifference

Month      Number
09      0
10      4
11      0
12      0
01      0
02      0
03      0
04      0
05 4

· Physical Aggression
 
Month      Number
09      2
10      9
11      8
12      5
01      2
02      7
03      1
04      1
05      35
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

· Other

Month      Number
09      0
10      4
11      3
12      1
01      4
02      9
03      1
04      9
05 34

3. Summary by Location
 

Location   Count  %

Class   22  32.4%
Gym    1  1.5%
Hallway    4  5.9%
Washroom  3  4.4%
Enroute    1  1.5%
Other   4   5.9%

· Student Group Interviews-  Themes
Safe Caring and Orderly Schools Guide

1. How safe do I feel at my school?  How welcome?  How much do I feel like I belong?
2. How would I describe the relationship between staff and students in our school?  Relationships among staff?  Relationships among students?
3. How would you describe our school culture?  How diverse is the culture?  How well does it welcome diversity?

Twenty students from Grades 4 to 7 were interviewed in groups of 6 or 7.  The groups were selected randomly and were of mixed gender.

Things that are good at Dufferin Crescent:

Play grounds
Equipment signout
Games room
Noon hour sponsors for dance and indoor games
An athletic school, for athletes
Teachers
Talent contest
Monday morning assemblies, especially soloists, speeches
Hot lunch
Spirit days
Capture the flag at recess
Dances
Concession
Math
Band, drama, art-  helps to get to know other kids
STAR awards
Bulletin boards with photos
Drama
Most students feel helped by teachers
Piano for O Canada better than recording

Suggestions made by students:
Add daily trivia and joke to announcements
Recess running club should allow walking as well
Teachers allow students to read aloud and to ask for a repeat of instruction in positive and supportive ways
Tetherball poles need supervision, some swearing and intimidation by older students
Neighbourhood unsafe, gates at back needed by More than Movies route
Safety announcements to be repeated more often
Spirits days to include, switcheroo day, backwards day, sock day
House teams for 4,5,6,7
Primary games separate
More PE
Older students take equipment away from students who have signed out
Teenagers on campus after school and on weekends
After school program
Tetherball tournaments
Fun fair
Swimming lessons
Hockey court needs full supervision
Good kids recognized only.  Taller and more muscular students get to help more.  Less athletic students left out of the game.  Winning is the goal.
More academic celebrations like sharing work at assemblies
Early dismissal  Friday
Games needed for intermediate classrooms for inside days
More supervision needed outside.
Students not bringing equipment back.
Girls washroom a gathering place
Senior students would be interested in setting up teaching buddies with primaries for outdoor games like four square and skipping
New kids feel lonely
Mixed reviews about changing teachers
Add cooking to activities offered

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE TARGET:

Satisfaction Surveys for Grades 4 and 7 will indicate improvement in the areas:

· Do you like school?
· Do adults in the school treat all students fairly?

Student satisfaction interviews will indicate that:

· Students are learning to help others and set a good example for others
· Students are learning to get along with others
· Students participate in activities outside the classroom as well as inclass
· Students feel  that personnel at school care for them
· Students are given opportunities to assume leadership roles

Staff Dialogue at Professional meetings will indicate that:

· Services are in place to support individuals who are at risk of harm
· Discipline procedures are preventive and restorative where possible, rather than merely punitive
· Students are enjoying and participating in class activities
· Students are successful in their learning
· Defiance and  disobedience are reduced in the classroom setting
· Support for students is evident by differentiated curriculum and staffing support within the classroom
 

FOCUSED ATTENTION ON (equity group(s)):

To narrow the gap between Grade Seven and Grade  Four responses  on the Satisfaction Survey regarding School Environment and School Safety.

DATA USED TO TRACE PROGRESS:

Easy Discipline Data
Ministry Satisfaction Surveys
Student Interviews
Staff Professional Dialogue
 

Goal 2
 

School Name:   Dufferin Crescent Elementary
 

GOAL:
To develop “thoughtful literacy” opportunities for students of Dufferin Crescent Elementary.  Thoughtful Literacy will require our readers to consider and discuss text; to understand the processes of reading; and to present their understanding to others.

Thoughtful Literacy will be based on SMART Reading.  This material will be new to all staff and will provide an exciting launch to differentiating curriculum in reading.  The literacy team will involve everyone on staff including teachers, educational assistants, specialist teachers, literacy lead, librarian and volunteers.
 
 

RATIONALE FOR SELECTING GOAL:

· Behavioural data shows that defiance and disobedience has increased in the classroom in upper intermediate years.
· A resource room was established this year to provide small group, individual instruction to fifteen students.  Students register at Dufferin Crescent from many other schools.  Their families move several times a year and literacy development has been hampered.  It is our hope to prevent the need for an intermediate intervention program by developing a thorough and transferrable early intervention guided reading program.
· Dufferin Crescent held Student Writing as a goal for five years.  The strength of progress made in this area will support our thoughtful literacy program.  Research shows reading and writing instruction lead to better student achievement in literacy.
· Inner City Funding will provide extra staffing to address the 6 T’s of Effective Reading Instruction:
1. Time
2. Texts
3. Teaching
4. Talk
5. Tasks
6. Aligning testing and teaching
· Our current goal in the development of Numeracy Skills is impacted by the literacy level of our students, particularly in higher level thought processes such as analysis, synthesis, and hypothesis.
· Whole class instruction does not address the diversity of learners in our classes.  The increase in defiance and disobedience during instructional time is recorded in Easy Discipline Data 2004-2005.  The needs of students is so diverse that a new instructional model must be designed.
· Dufferin Crescent will focus on small group instruction for Grades 1-4 so that we have literate and confident students by Grade 5.  Please note in the data the student transfer rates for our school.
· Primary students were assessed using Nelson Benchmarks for the first time ever at this school.  Using these levels, guided reading groups will be created.  Groups will focus on high success rather than difficult reading, leaving time for cognition and metacognitive strategies
· Resources supporting the new science IRP will provide groups with non fiction reading and reading for information strategies.
 
 
 

DATA SOURCES USED IN ANALYSIS:

· Decline in population  Year   Number Staff  Grade 7
2001  231  19  15%
2004  206  12  17%

· District Math Assessment
Grade 2-  twenty-one children

Part One-  multiple choice
2 children rated 4
11 children rated 3
5 children rated 2
1 child rated 1
2 were absent
 Part Two-  problems
       1 child rated 4
       8 children rated 3
       7 children rated 2
                 3 children rated 1
 
 
 
 
 

Grade 6-  nineteen children

Part One-  multiple choice
 1 child rated 4
 10 children rated 3
 6 children rated 2
 
Part Two-  problems
 0 children rated 4
 4 children rated 3
 11 children rated 2
 2 children rated 1
 

 
 
· Foundation Skills Assessment in Math

2003  2004  2005

Grade 4  88%

Grade 7  47%

· Report Card Marks for Math-  meeting minimum expectations
Kindergarten 92.9%
Grade one  94.4%
Grade two  90.5%
Grade three  93.3%
Grade four  95.7%
Grade five  100%
Grade six  94.4%

· Foundations Skills Assessment in Reading

2003  2004  2005

  Grade 4  85%

  Grade 7  57%

· Report Card Marks for Reading

Grade one  94.4%
Grade two  90.5%
Grade three  93.8%
Grade  four  91.3%
Grade five  100%
Grade six  100%

· Reading Nelson Benchmarks 2005-  Primary Grades-  by level

   Grade One Grade Two Grade Three
 Level 1
  2     1
  3 1
  4
  5
  6 1
  7 1
  8
  9   1
  10 2  1
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16 6  4
  17 1
  18 1  1
  19 1
  20     1
  21     1
  22
  23     2
  24 3
  25   3  1
  26   3
  27 1  3  4
  28     2
  29
  30   4  3
 

· Foundation Skills Assessment Reading-  trends over time
· Grade Four
2001 61% meeting or exceeding
2002 75% meeting or exceeding
2003 ,,
2004 ‘’
 

· Grade Seven
2001 77% meeting or exceeding
2002 70% meeting or exceeding
2003 a
2004 a

· Attendance
September 5.2%
October  5.9%
November 7.3%
December  7.2%
January  8.3%
February  8.3%
March  9.7%
April  8.1%
May  8.6%

· Admissions Report
52 student admissions and withdrawals were completed this year.
25 were withdrawals
27 were new registrations
 

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE TARGET

Students from grades one to three will receive extensive reading and writing instruction at their assessed benchmark level.  Instruction will be based on research, and SMART learning.

FOCUSED ATTENTION ON (equity group(s)):

Students in Grades 1,2 and 3

DATA USED TO TRACE PROGRESS:

· Nelson Benchmarks
· Foundation Skills Assessment 2006
· Report Card Marks Reading, Writing
· School Wide Write Results

SIGNATURES OF SCHOOL PLANNING COUNCIL MEMBERS:
 

Parent Name (Please Print):                                 Parent Signature:                             Date:
Parent Name (Please Print):                                 Parent Signature:                             Date:
Parent Name (Please Print):                                 Parent Signature:                             Date:
Principal(Please Print):                                         PrincipalSignature:                           Date:
Teacher(Please Print):                                          TeacherSignature:                           Date:
Student(Please Print)                                           Student(Signature):                          Date