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2002-2003: AYP English Language Arts
2002-2003: AYP Math
Introduction The staff at Merced Elementary School attribute their student achievement to a focused and shared mission, good communication between teachers and parents, district support, and a faculty who understand the importance of using student data to continuously improve teaching and learning. Assessment & Accountability Merced's principal, Marjorie Miller, has spent a lot of time helping teachers feel comfortable using data to drive instruction. Through schoolwide staff development sessions, grade level meetings, and professional readings, teachers have moved beyond the point where they might feel embarrassed about sharing their student work with colleagues and now look forward to and appreciate the feedback they receive from their peers. Teachers meet four times a month, usually in grade level teams, to disaggregate data, evaluate assessments, and use that information to plan instruction. Students throughout the West Covina Unified School District take a language arts assessment three times a year and a writing assessment every quarter. Teachers from each school gather together at the district office to calibrate their evaluations and score student work, building a consensual view of what constitutes quality student work. The Merced teachers then come back and share the results and the process with their colleagues. Merced also contracts with DataWorks, an educational research company which collects then analyzes both student achievement and teaching process data. DataWorks disaggregates all of Merced's multiple measures by subgroups. In addition, Merced participated in a curriculum calibration with DataWorks, where teachers submit a week's worth of student work, including both class work and homework. Analyzing this, DataWorks determines the percentage of assignments that were on grade level, average grade level of instruction, breadth of coverage of the various content strands and the source of work (e.g. textbook, commercial worksheets, teacher created, etc.). The staff at Merced use the results at grade level and whole staff meetings to improve their instruction. Finally, the district has been using standards-based report cards since 1998. Staff at Merced see this as an opportunity to help parents and students better understand standards and what it takes for a student to be proficient. Next year, the district will be using electronic standards-based report cards. Standards-based Curriculum & Instruction Key to the instructional program at Merced is consistency. At their weekly grade level meetings, teachers plan instruction that's aligned with the standards according to agreed upon assessments of quality performance. This way, students throughout a grade level are receiving the same instruction and homework with the same expectations every day. Grade level teams also meet periodically with other grade levels to ensure articulation throughout the school. Students at Merced receive 90-minute blocks each of literacy and mathematics instruction daily. They also receive an additional 30 minutes of language arts and mathematics during Multiple Activities Time (MAT). In MAT, students are grouped by ability at each grade level, and a different grade level teacher takes each group. In addition to the district adopted, state board approved textbooks, staff at Merced Elementary use Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math. Parents, students, and teachers are all very enthusiastic about these programs. As a supplement to the writing program, teachers use Writing Up a Storm. Merced places strong emphasis on differentiated instruction within the classroom. For students who are still struggling to meet standards, Merced offers a before and after school program, taught by certificated teachers with a focus on literacy and some mathematics instruction. All teachers at Merced have either a Bilingual, Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) credential or a Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) credential, and many of the teachers and classified staff are bilingual. Merced Teachers use Into English and provide English Language Development (ELD) instruction for more than 30 minutes daily. In addition to the English Language Development instruction during the regular school day, the before school program is geared to ELD. Merced also has a home reading program for students whose first language is Spanish, called Zampaletras. This program has books, tapes, and activities in both English and Spanish which go home weekly in a Zampaletras backpack. Each week throughout the year, students return the materials and exchange them for the next set. Professional Development Focused professional development is essential to achieving schoolwide goals in curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Merced. At the beginning of the school year, one districtwide staff development day and two school-based days focus on data analysis, which is used to plan the professional development for the year. Merced school staff bank time, add instructional minutes to each day, so that Wednesdays are early-release days. One Wednesday a month is a schoolwide professional development meeting and the other three are grade level meetings. These sessions are the foundation for the schoolwide alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Leadership & Management Principal Miller spends one to two hours in classrooms every day. It is often difficult for principals to make time in their busy schedules to get into classrooms, but Miller knows this daily contact with teachers and students is essential to the success of Merced. The Merced school leadership team consists of the principal, a team leader from each grade level, and the Title I teacher. Once issues are discussed within the leadership team, some decisions are brought back to grade levels or the whole staff. Miller makes some decisions after receiving input from the leadership team. School Culture Merced's schoolwide program on character education contributes greatly to the positive school culture. Every month, the school focuses on a different character trait, basic human qualities needed in our society. Perseverance, for example, might start with Helen Keller. Throughout the month, students read and write about her, watch a movie of her life, write an autobiography about overcoming a problem, create a skit or write a song. Even families are invited to participate with home activities about perseverance. The trait is discussed by students, teachers, and principal at an assembly. At the end of each month teachers choose students who exemplify this trait to be recognized at the assembly. Additionally, for the last three years Merced staff have used an anti-bullying program called "Steps to Respect." In K-3, the program teaches students how to interact appropriately with peers and adults, focuses on respect for self and others, and teaches students how to recognize problems and use problem-solving strategies. In grades 3-5 the program focuses on helping students and parents recognize bullying actions and patterns and how to deal with those situations. A common vocabulary is built and a common plan to address problems is put into place. This focus has led to a 30 percent decrease in students who are sent to the principal's office. Parents & Community Regular contact with parents and students has become an embedded part of the culture. Teachers call home frequently to check in with parents and touch base when parents are picking up their children after school. The school also offers parent education classes focused on parenting skills taught by a Spanish-speaking classified staff member. In addition, parents at Merced are very involved in the PTA. This school profile was created in 2003. Achievement and demographic data through 2003 are included. Permission to Use Resources SchoolsMovingUp, a WestEd initiative, invites you to use our resources in your work. For uses that involve reproduction of more than one copy of the resource, please submit the online permission request form. We will reply immediately once we know your intended reproduction needs. All reproductions of the resource must include a full citation of the WestEd copyright. |
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