Winfield School Education Plan

Winfield School Education Plan 2008 - 2009/2010-2011 Introduction As in past years Winfield Elementary School's plan for 2008 - 2011 is a result of input from a variety of interested parties. These include students, parents, staff, Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and central office personnel. Planning Process Traditionally, monthly (PAC) meetings have been held at 3:45 p.m. on the first Monday of each school month. With the new executive’s timetable being more variable, the dates vary from one month to another. This has not proven to be a major problem, however, and they continue to be a source of productive input. There still are members who have difficulty making meetings regardless of the time the meetings are held. Our parents represent a variety of interests and provide a broad base from which to scrutinize, critique and offer possible alternative approaches, if desired, or reinforce existing ones. PAC again retained its identity and decided against being a council this past school year. Working with this concerned and involved group continues to be an enjoyable and beneficial part of the school year. Scheduling evening meetings posed some difficulty with the inclusion of student representatives who were committed to other activities. Information that emanates from Alberta Learning and Wetaskiwin Public Schools has been shared with administrators at monthly "principal's meetings". These meetings are entitled the College of School Administrators or COSA meeting. They form part of the day where the System Administration Team (SAT) meets as well. 1 Mission Statement: Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools' mission statement is “ Inspiring Students To Become the Best They Can Be”. Winfield School is committed to providing its students with an environment of safety, caring, and encouragement to ensure the attaining of the necessary skills for lifelong learning. Our goal remains one that develops individuals with academic and social skills who are honest, responsible citizens able to successfully meet the challenges of our changing society. The values that must be fostered and modeled by our staff include honesty, respect for others and self, compassion and empathy, trust, morality, and a strong sense of justice. Staff at Winfield Elementary School believes that in order to achieve the above:  Students need to work in a safe environment free from any put-downs, violence or harassment. Each student must have this feeling of security in our school and encourage others to provide the same for their fellow students. Everyone must realize that each student is an individual and brings his or her individual strengths to a situation and should be provided the opportunity to develop these strengths. Having the personal integrity to recognize differences in other people as strengths will foster greater tolerance and understanding. Students need a strong foundation of basic skills to experience success in junior high school and beyond. We must develop citizens who respect other cultural backgrounds and have a strong sense of justice and social values. We must utilize the support from Alberta Learning, Wetaskiwin Regional Board of Education, and our PAC.     2 School Profile: Winfield School is situated 75 km west of Wetaskiwin at the junction of highways 13 and 20. Primary means of living is based on farming and the oil industry. The past decade has seen a marked decline in the viability of the family farming in the Winfield area. Low commodity prices and exorbitant energy expenses have combined to cast a pall on the industry. Approximately 90% of our students ride the school bus. Winfield Elementary School became a separate entity in 1990 - 91school term with the formation of Buck Mountain Central School at Buck Lake. Our student population has continued to decline over for the past three years. We will continue the integration model which involves the inclusion of our special needs students into the regular classes. Our guidance and counselling position for 2008 – 2009 will be shared with Alder Flats and Buck Mountain. This will be an assignment of .2 for our school and will also include the services that are provided by Susan Grinder, our Family Liaison Worker. The position of Learning Support Teacher for the upcoming term will be a half time position and will be filled by Mrs. Cocke. Our speech language therapist for 2008- 2009 will again be Mrs. May Picardo with assistance from Mrs. Donna hare. Staff and students look forward to having these ladies with us again in 2008-09. We will have Mrs. Rylance as our full time secretary/librarian for 2008-2009. Winfield School is a central part of our students’ world as well as the people of the surrounding area. Some of the activities and events that occur on an annual basis include:         Fine Arts presentations by our PAC usually total four. Unplanned activities that may arise, are most often financed by our council as well so students reap the benefits. Bussing for Activity Day to Rabbit Hill and to bowling in March as well as swimming for the grades 4,5, and 6 and Moonwalkers visit in Red Deer for the grades 1,2, and 3 on the last day of June was picked up by our PAC. Kool Katz Gymnastics Club suspended their activities for the past two seasons after fifteen consecutive years because their instructor was on maternity leave. They have indicated they hope to start up again in the upcoming year. Winfield Public Library is open each Tuesday for past twelve years to provide services to both community and students. Annual track meet held last Friday in May provides opportunity for students from Alder Flats, Breton, and Winfield to participate in both a tabloid and competitive format Science Fair organized by Miss Keirle always eagerly anticipated by all students. Grade 5/6 basketball tournament between teams from Alder Flats and Winfield. Grade 5’s and 6’s put on annual Penny Carnival for rest of the students and any pre-schoolers within the community. 3     Public Library sponsors “Pysanka” contest for decorating Easter eggs under the very competent guidance of Miss Keirle and the kind assistance of Mrs. Goodkey Winfield Seniors Art Club gathers in community kitchen for its seventh year. Winfield students raised $5300.00 for the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation Winfield will continue to put out a yearbook at the end of each school year. Again we are grateful to Miss Keirle and Mrs. Rylance for all the work that they dedicate to this project. 4 School Program: Our program consists of approximately 992 hours of instruction per year. Student populations again dictate combining of classes for the 2008 – 2009 school year. These combinations will not be the same as they were for the 2007-2008 term. Class distribution will be Grade 1, Grade 2/3, Grade4, and Grade 5/6. Special needs students will again be integrated into the regular classroom environment and receive assistance from Mrs. Cocke and Subject allocation in minutes per week is. Gr. 1 Language Learning Mathematics Social Studies Science Health Physical Education Art Music Computer Literacy 559 387 172 172 43 129 86 86 86 Gr. 2 559 387 172 172 43 129 86 86 86 Gr. 3 559 387 172 172 43 129 86 86 86 Gr. 4 559 344 172 215 43 129 86 86 86 Gr. 5 516 344 172 258 43 129 86 86 86 Gr. 6 516 344 172 258 43 129 86 86 86 Student distribution from year to year changes and necessitates the changing of class combinations in order to maintain a "manageable number of students per classroom". Accommodating student numbers by juggling these combinations continues to be a concern because some students will miss modules in science and social studies. Projected combinations of classes will be fairly well distributed with the largest class being twenty-four students. Environmental Factors - Issues and Trends  The stability of our population at approximately 100 students over the past ten years continues to erode. Our projected enrolment for 2008-2009 is 79 students. ECS enrolments at this time do not appear to be over ten. Consideration by Plant and Facilities for more economic use of the space at Winfield Elementary included a look at possibly closing off some of the present area to school and public access in order to reduce the amount of work required by our custodian. Discussions concerning 5  the downsizing and upgrading could involve the designated space for school library and present music room.   The access road on the south side of the maintenance shop is still a problem during wet summer months. The soft texture of the road and the disintegrating pad creates a mess. Students again enjoyed the use of the Winfield Arena for skating. These ice times were graciously funded by our Recreation Board. Winfield enjoys being “tied in” to the high speed internet. We no longer require the tower to the east of the school. Second year of our AISI project involved “The Learning Cycle” integrating learning strategies and proven assessments procedures. The Accelerated Reading Program that was purchased in 2007 has now been a part of the language arts for two years.   Priorities:  Priorities for Winfield School this term will be the focus on effective writing skills and reader comprehension across the curriculum. As part of our AISI and Professional Development, effective application of learner outcomes for language arts will be applied to all subject areas. Teachers of all subject areas will display expectations in assignments and assessments that demonstrate agreement in what the standards are. Ms Young will continue as our AISI Lead Learner. This will again involve highlighting learner outcomes and applying the four components of the Wetaskiwin Regional Learning Cycle that is being developed across the region. We commend Ms Young’s enthusiasm and dedication to this project and know that the students and staff are definitely the beneficiaries of her efforts.  Maintain the current support staffing to provide necessary assistance to those students requiring more individual attention. Schedule assistants’ timetables to allow possible residual benefits for the most students. Financial restraints over the past three years and another decline in student population have placed a heavier burden on our classroom teachers with the total integration of identified special needs students in regular classes for the main academic subjects. Staff has handled this integration very well over the past four years and look forward to keeping it running successfully in the future. Staff and students become comfortable with the Crisis Response protocol developed in the spring of 2003. The installation of surveillance camera at the front door has increased our ability to monitor who is coming and going during the school day. Unfortunately with budget restraints this term, our Early Literacy program that was delivered by Mrs. Lyster will no longer be able to continue. We will definitely miss this program and we thank Mrs. Lyster to the terrific job she has done with our children over the past five years 6  Our Parent Advisory Group has completed the installation of our new playground and is currently working on the supplementary upgrade in the upcoming year. Students also enjoyed the new soccer goals generously donated by Mr. and Mrs. Neufeld. In 20072008. Accomplishments and Activities: Results of Provincial Achievement Exams 2007 Grade 3 Langauge Arts 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% %Accept able %Excellence Grade 3 Mathematics 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% %Accept able %Excellence Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province Grade 6 Language Arts 150% 100% 50% 0% %Accept able %Excellence Grade 6 Social Studies 150% Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province 100% 50% 0% %Acceptable %Excellence Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province Grade 6 Mathematics 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% %Acceptable %Excellence Grade 6 Science 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% %Accept able %Excellence Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province Winfield School W.R.P.S. Province 7 8 Goals, Strategies, Results, and Performance Measures: PROVINCIAL GOAL # 1- HIGH QUALITY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL Outcome: School meets the needs of all students. Measures:   To provide resources and PD opportunities for the implementation and retention of programs that will address the wide range of student needs and abilities. Latest survey indicates that 100% of staff are satisfied with the opportunities available Provide inservice opportunities for teachers that will change their competence to more effectively incorporate use of technology in their curriculum. Latest survey results indicate that 100% are satisfied with the availability of inservices, and 85% are comfortable with their ability to implement the ICT outcomes. This is an 18% increase in the comfort staff has with their technology expertise in the past year. Qualified and dedicated staff performing to support student achievement and feeling of self worth. Special Needs students continue to be an integral part of the regular classrooms. Mrs. Cocke will serve as the Key Contact teacher and will lead the team dealing with the special needs of our students. At the outset of this school year we will have four full time aids available to four classrooms. We hope that this configuration will effectively accommodate all the requirements for our students. Students surveyed indicating that they were satisfied that they have the skills to use information technology were: grade 4- 88%, grade 5 – 100%, and grade 6 – 96%. Students satisfied with their school overall were: grade 4- 94%, grade 5- 100%, grade 6- 96%. Develop sense of citizenship and the importance of being a positive contributor to society by doing as well as one can in all areas of learning.     .  OUTCOME: All students can participate in quality learning MEASURES:   Winfield staff engages in, and is always looking at ways to foster a safe and caring environment Parents responding to the latest survey indicated that 98% of parents are satisfied with the safe and caring character of our school. Our target is 100%. Of the parents responding to the latest survey, 98% indicated a rating of satisfactory with the overall education of their children. This reflects an increase of 16% over last year Again our target is 100%. This speaks well of the hard work done by our teachers and their assistants to make the integration approach to programming successful. Students reading at grade level at the end of the year: grade 1- 70%, grade 2- 67%, and grade 375%. Those who were receiving Early Literacy assistance with TA grade 1- 40%, grade 2- 27%. These indications are for reading only as this is the focus for these students in the program  9     Students writing at grade level at the end of the year: grade 1, 70%, grade 2- 73%, and grade 3- 75%. The students in this group would include those who are receiving Early Literacy intervention for their reading. Early Numeracy students achieving at grade level at the end of the year: grade 1- 90%, grade 287%, and grade 3- 92%. 100% 0f our ESL students are reading and writing at grade level. 100% of our students who are identified with special needs are accommodated 10 PROVINCIAL GOAL # 2 EXCELLENCE IN LEARNER OUTCOMES Outcomes: Students demonstrate high standards. Measures:  Our target for students achieving acceptable standard will continue to be 85% and standard of excellence will be 20% for the next three years. Knowing these are arbitrary targets depending on the abilities of any given class in any given year, we would be pleased if we attain or exceed these. Students display confidence in their abilities and provide examples of sound citizenship. Positive characteristics are recognized, formally and informally, by all staff members. Formal recognition in annual Awards Night ceremonies see between 85–90% of students being recognized for achievement in various categories including: academics, athletics, most improvement, merit, and citizenship.   . PROVINCIAL GOAL #3: HIGHLY RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE JURISDICTION Outcome: Improved results through effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders. Measures:   Latest survey shows the percentage of parents satisfied with the access and the quality of the information about their child’s progress was: 100% Parents of students with special needs indicated that 100% were satisfied with the access to services and the progress of their children in their programs. There is still the concern that total integration does not allow for the individual attention by the classroom teacher to those students who might benefit the most. All our special needs students are receiving the service they require. Turn around time for assessment following referrals is not the serious concern that it has been in the past. 100% of staff satisfied with opportunity for involvement and their level of involvement. 100% of School Council satisfied with the opportunity to be involved in the school activities.    Outcome: School demonstrates leadership and continuous improvement. Measures:     100% of staff indicated they feel they are well informed. 100% of parents indicated they felt well informed. 100% of parents feel the school has improved over the past three years. 100% of staff feels the school has improved over the past three years. 11 PROVINCIAL GOAL # 4: AISI PROJECTS BUILD CAPACITY Outcome: School staff undertakes innovative projects designed to build instructional and programming capacity. Measures:  100% of staff indicated their involvement in professional development activities has impacted their teaching practices. Target with this year focusing on High Yield Strategies as the next step in year three of the AISI Learning Cycle headed by Ms Young.  100% of staff satisfied process used to help maintain and improve their professional growth.  94% of students surveyed are satisfied with the variety of instructional approaches used by their teachers.  100% of parents surveyed were satisfied with the school’s process for improving the quality of education for students. This is an increase of 21% over last year.  2007 provincial achievement results indicating students that achieved acceptable standards were as follows: Mathematics 3- 89%, Language Arts 3- 94% Mathematics 6- 93%, Language Arts 6- 100%, Science 6- 100%, Social Studies 6- 86%  100% of staff were satisfied with their level of involvement  96% of parents were satisfied with the opportunities for them to be involved at our school. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN: The PD plan for the 2008-2009 school year will continue to focus on the continuation of he Learning Cycle as part of our three year AISI plan. We have transformed the Learner Outcome statements from the program of studies into student friendly “I Can” statements. In addition, we have completed 4 Marzano’s 9 High Yield Strategies. Winfield School has submitted a proposal for the installation of a SMARTboard (interactive white board) for the Grade 5/6 classroom. 12 BUDGET: The following is a brief outline of Winfield Elementary School’s Budget for 2008-2009. Any questions beyond the scope of this presentation may be answered by contacting the school. 2004-05 Projected SCHOOL: Winfield E.C.S. Division 1 Division 2 Total Division Division 1 SDG Division 2 SDG Total SDG Total Funded 38 41 79 6 3 9 70 Total 132,035 143,424 43,254 318,713 882 8,994 16,816 5,936 5,281 4,187 54,250 182,035 7,497 14,000 299,878 8,112 626,703 CODE: 3111 BASIC PROGRAM ALLOCATIONS Division 1 Division 2 Small School Supplement TOTAL BASIC FUNDING ALLOCATIONS SPECIAL PROGRAM ALLOCATIONS ESL Admin Allocation Counsellor Allocation Aboriginal (All) Native Education Project Distance Factor Instruction Materials Fee- K-6 Instruction Materials Fee: 7-9 Instruction Materials Fee- 10-12 December Allocation Mild and Moderate Severe Disabilities Key Contact Release Time AISI Program Allocations TOTAL SPECIAL PROGRAM ALLOCATIONS 32 38 116 Students Students Students X X X 4,126 3,774 373 $ 1 79 79 8 Students Students Students Students X X X X 882 114 213 742 79 Students Students Students X X X 53.00 63.00 78.00 $ $ $ OTHER SCHOOL REVENUE & INTERSCHOOL TRANSFERS SURPLUS/DEFICIT CARRIED FORWARD TOTAL SCHOOL RESOURCES Actual Projected 2003-04 2004-05 6.000 5.500 3.619 5.402 Expense Allocations Certificated Teachers Substitute Relief Support Staff Services, Contracts and Fees Program Expense Capital Contingency FTE FTE X $ 76,500 $ 420,750 176,237 13,932 15,784 TOTAL SCHOOL EXPENSE ALLOCATION 13 $ 626,703 Conclusion Many questions face parents and staff over the next few years regarding their children’s education. Our school building is scheduled for serious upgrading or modernization and many parents and community members have discussed what would be the best of the possible options. New school construction does have limitations when compared to what we already have in our old building. Declining enrolment has been a concern for the rural jurisdictions for quite some time now, and Winfield is definitely one school seriously affected by this. . 14