Data…Means Knowing Our Students
I just finished three days of individual data conversations with each primary teacher from Swansfield. What an amazing process! Our primary teachers shared data related to math, while our intermediate teachers will share data focusing on reading. Data as we called it consisted of actual assessment data (numbers/percentages), notes from group work, student checklist results, and/or student work samples. Each teacher brought the data they felt highlighted their students. Boy do they know their students!
It was amazing to listen as first grade shared work samples and determined the next instructional steps to move their children forward. Within their math classes they identified needs that each student had and what they needed to reteach. Kindergarten has been using a checklist on individual labels to record the objectives and how each student has performed during class. Second grade showcased assessment data and anadotal records of their students. Together the assessments and the notes combined to paint a picture of each individual student.
Please know that the Swansfield teachers truly know your children and are collaborating to determine the best instructional focus. I couldn’t be happier with the knowledge our teachers possess about the learning needs of each student at Swansfield! Your children are in GREAT hands!
Giving Thanks!
Thanksgiving is a time to give THANKS! I’m thankful for our school!
A school where parents and teachers work together to support children!
A school where parents encourage their children to keep learning!
A school where the staff is committed to the success of ALL children!
A school where teachers are willing to continually learn new techniques to support children!
A school that reaches out to support those within our community! (We provided 55 full turkey dinners for Thanksgiving to our community!)
I am THANKFUL for everyone associated with Swansfield! A school where EXCELLENCE Happens!
What Motivates Homework Completion?
Today, I spent time with our PTA executive board discussing the following question…
“What motivates a child to complete homework?
Is it just the desire to do what’s asked? Is it the desire to please the teacher? Is it the desire not to miss recess, one consequence students receive if they don’t complete their homework? Is it something else….. We welcome your thoughts!
New PTA format a SUCCESS!
Wow, I just returned from the second PTA meeting of the year! What a difference a year makes! I’m a huge fan of the new format! It encourages all who attend a PTA meeting to actually participate. Each month/six weeks the PTA starts their meetings with a guiding question or guiding topic.
Last month: What is the purpose of the PTA?
This month: How can a mentoring programs for parents be utilized?
The insightful comments, multiple suggestions, and overall deep thinking was inspiring to me for sure. I look forward to seeing how the PTA will use this information as they continue to guarantee that Excellence Truly Starts at Swansfield! The PTA is a major part of reaching EXCELLENCE! Please join us on November 18th at 6:30pm.
School Improvement Team Sept. Meeting Wrap-up
Celebrations were in the air at our September School Improvement Team (SIT) meeting. We spent most of the meeting analyzing the 2008 Maryland State Assessment results. The staff was excited to discuss the students’ results. As a school we have continued to make steady growth in both reading and math. Clearly there are areas and groups of students we need to focus upon. Our goal is to target each student and provide the support/intervention they need to be a successful learner. We believe this approach will show results both the local and state assessments. Visit www.mdreportcard.org to look at the scores more closely.
Each meeting time is spent identifying any ISSUES and/or CONCERNS that the team should address. One suggestion was to change the name of the food our students can purchase after lunch from “snack” to “dessert”. Anther suggestion was to provide more professional development for our IA’s in the same research based practices our teachers utilize.
What ISSUES and/or CONCERNS do you want our SIT team to address?
Extra Intervention Teachers Make a Difference!
Supporting students who could benefit from small group differentiated instruction is an expectation at Swansfield! We have the benefit of 3 Reading Specialist and 3.5 Title I Intervention teachers who are able to work with our students. How do they support your children? We are able to provide additional direct instruction for all BELOW level students and many ON level students.
As a parent you may have received a letter sharing that your child will receive intervention support from either a reading specialist or a Title I teacher. If your child is on grade level, I’m sure you received a shock! You may have received this letter due to a low MSA score or Stanford 10 score, or due to a low post test. The good news is that with so much support we are able to provide additional instructional support!
Just know that if your child receives added intervention support it is because we believe they would benefit from this support. We will continue to use data and classroom performance in making these decisions!
Extra Intervention Teachers Make a Difference!
Will we read it….paper or online?
Change a position or policy and you quickly find who’s listening!
We decided, in collaboration with the PTA, to make an effort to reduce the amount of paper we send home each week. For four years, parents have said that there is too much paper sent home and our Instructional Assistants have said there is too much paper that needs to be filed in each Monday Folder. So after discussion with the PTA, it was decided that for the first quarter we would go paperless as best we could and determine the impact.
The process we decided upon was to send a weekly email via eschoolnewsletter listing what documents are newly posted on the school’s website (ses.hcpss.org). Additionally, we are sending home a request for a paper copy of the documents if a family does not have regular access to the internet. Yes, we must rely on the parents either signing up for or sending in a tear off form to inform us as to their wishes. We have contacted Central Office and encouraged them to have all non-profit organizations post their documents to the HCPSS website, so that all parents can access these brochures and documents.
We will continue to monitor the success of going paperless. What other things should we consider? How else can we ensure that all families are reading the information that we are sending home? How else can we reduce the amount of paper we send home and the amount of time our IA’s spend in stuffing folders?
Our goal continues to be to ensure open communicate and we hope to do so by reducing our paper usage!
Off to a Great Start!
Two days into the 2008.2009 school year and we are off to the best start I’ve been part of at Swansfield. Why such a great start? We had 520 students who were eager to start school, our parents were excited to have their children back at school, and our staff celebrated the end of their vacations! During arrival and dismissal we had no traffic problems and all parents parked in actual parking spots! Thank you to everyone who continues to wait patiently for their child(ren) to be dismissed each afternoon.
Recess before lunch is the biggest schoolwide change and seems to be a hit! Having students burn off their energy prior to eating, will pay dividends for our students!
I know that when I walk the building each day, the students are focused and working hard within their classrooms! As I said, we are off to a GREAT start!
Full Strength and Almost Ready to Open for Business
My wish came true while I was on vacation! Well my wish for Swansfield came true, we were given three positions; a .5 preK position, a special educator, and an intermediate classroom position. For the first time in my five years as principal, we will have both a morning and afternoon preK class serving 40 students. The added special educator will allow us to meet the goals and objectives of our students who receive special services. Finally, by adding the extra classroom teacher we are able to have at least FOUR homeroom teachers in ALL grades at Swansfield. Both first and third will have five teachers.
The extra positions will mean that every homeroom will have fewer than 23 students per classroom. This has been the standard at Swansfield and I am a true believer that the smaller classrooms make a difference. Smaller homerooms allow teachers to better differentiate and to better know your children! Thus impacting student achievement.
When you talk to a Board of Education member, share the success of reduced class size at Swansfield! What has made a difference in your child’s education at Swansfield?
