Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Kaitlin Gagen
Comprehensive School Assessment
Arizona State University
PPE 310
January 27, 2016
Dr. Lineberry

Assessment Results

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Overall Grade: F
During School: 20%
Let's get to work. The school day is the critical time for implementing the Active & Healthy Schools Program, which can
benefit students, teachers and staff. Let's look at some steps for improving your Active & Healthy score during the school
day.

Curriculum: 60%
Looking good in some key areas. Keep up the great work!

Recess / Lunch: 25%

Let's get to work. A few simple changes can encourage students to choose healthy foods over sugary snacks, which will
increase your Active & Healthy score and help students get more out of school.

After School: 20%

Let's get to work. Take a look at a few simple changes your school can make to help create an Active & Healthy environment,
both at school and at home.

According to the School Assessment tool, Shepherd Junior High has a 60% in
Curriculum, while the second highest score is in Recess/Lunch with a 25%. I believe my
school received a high score in curriculum because PE goes over healthy habits for one of their
units. For Recess/ Lunch, my school provides healthy options during lunch, such as a fruit and
salad bar. We do not give our kids a recess outside of their lunch time. The school also does not
have posters that encourage healthy eating and exercise habits. My two lowest scores were under
After School and During School with both of them scoring a 20%.
For after school programs, I know my school has after school basketball, football,
volleyball, and other sports to get the kids involved. The worry I have with this is that there are
no after school activity programs for students who are not interested in actual sports. During

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

school, the kids are walking from class to class for seven different periods. The students are up
and moving, but they are not considered brain breaks. I witness kids walk and run to their next
class which is a form of exercise. During class, my teacher expects the students to be sitting and
listening during the lesson. Yet, when the kids work on a project, the students are not chained to
their chairs.
For my school, it would benefit the students if a policy was put into place that started
school 10 minutes earlier so that there could be a school wide push to get movement into all
students lives. There is not enough time in the schedule for students to have brain breaks. The
schedule is full of classes that are only 50 minutes long so the teachers struggle to fit in all the
content throughout the year. An extra 10 minutes of school would give students the chance to
exercise and get the rest of the school getting up and active. If this was implemented, it would
show students that exercise is important to everyone, even the teachers and other staff. The staff
would also be healthier, which would result in less teacher absences and more time for the
students to learn from their own teacher instead of a substitute.
I am aware that it would cost because teachers would need to be paid for that extra 10
minutes, but it would pay itself off when the teachers are absent less and the school doesnt have
to pay for as many substitutes. Substitutes are also unaware of the content the students are
currently learning and therefore, can hold back the classroom from going on to the next topic. I
know my teacher is aware that substitutes cannot always do what is left for the students to
accomplish. Having less substitutes is a cheaper and better decision for our children. This way,
they can get the best education that they can from the professionals who were trained to teach it.
Another thing I could help promote at my school is healthy eating and exercise habits by
hanging motivational posters around the school. I know that seeing a celebrity eating a healthy

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

meal does affect what kids eat. I believe that it would cost little to nothing to hang some posters
around the school that portray football players, tennis players, and softball players, among other
athletes eating fruit and vegetables. I would also change the environment by talking to my
principal about the snack options in the vending machine and seeing if we could exchange some
of the food for healthier options. An example would be to substitute regular potato chips for oven
baked ones. Even this small change can make a world of difference on our impressionable
students. I believe that if I enacted these changes that the students would start picking the
healthier option both at school and at home.
To begin making these changes in my school, I would start by talking to my mentor
teacher and seeing if she would be willing to help me enact these changes into the school. I
would then start talking to the cafeteria workers and see their thoughts on what is being served to
the students and what they would change if they were able to. From there, I would start
compiling what I hear the staff say about the schools health and fitness program and I would
approach the principal and ask her to hear me out. I would re-introduce myself to the principal
and tell her about the health class I am currently taking through ASU. I would then explain that
one of the things I have been focusing on lately is the health and wellness at her school and how
it affects the students and their test scores. I would then explain my idea to hang motivational
posters about how to eat healthy and exercise featuring some of the students favorite athletes
and other celebrities. Then I would go on to see if this would be possible to implement at her
school and that I would be willing to help make it happen with her.
As for adding 10 extra minutes to school, I would have to gather many statistics and have
my evidence for how it would pay for itself if off if the principal decided to change the start time
of the day. Although I know that this seems very difficult to achieve, I would also strive to come

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

to an agreement with my principal for a few minutes of each day to be dedicated to a higher level
of exercise than normal. I would show the principal the amount of physical activity each student
is getting daily and weekly and how much five minutes a day would help each student achieve
more success in the classroom and in their lives. I would like to have Shepherds principal
consider what I am proposing and make it into something she can actually implement in her
school. If I could open the conversation between us and start a healthy push with her, I would
feel that it would make a world of difference in her students lives.
Lastly, I would like to get my community involved by sending home surveys about what
parents would like to see at the school to make their children healthier. Getting the parents
involved in this way makes them feel included and a part of the community and in control of
their own student's education. I would also have a survey passed out to administration to see
what their thought are on the students health education. I want there to be a comment section
where everyone can suggest activities or ideas to help make the student body be healthy with
both food and exercise.
This information will help me with my Signature assignment because it gives me a good
idea on where my school has its weaknesses and its strengths. I now know what I need to focus
on in order to make the biggest impact at my school. I understand that the school environment
has a lot to do with student achievement. I know I am capable of dissecting my school and
studying what they do in order to make the students be healthier and happier.

Information
My school is Shepherd Junior High in the Mesa school district and it is open
enrollment for the public. Shepherd is a title 1 school in a suburban area that

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

teaches 7th and 8th grade students. The average class size is around 28 students,
but I could not find the proportion of ELLS. This information was not available online
and my mentor teacher also had difficulty finding the answer to this question. The
school has received an A rating and is currently in the process of receiving an A+
rating by having the school inspected for the appropriate teaching methods and
environment.
The school does get some community involvement when they are recruiting
new students or showing off their current students at Show off Shepherd which
brings the community together to see what the students have accomplished
recently. There is a high attendance rate of 95% according to Az Report Cards. The
teachers are currently being challenged by the district to lose weight in order to
inspire the students to make healthier decisions along with their teachers. The
student body consists of 67% white, 23% Hispanic, and 3% African American
according to School Digger. As reported in School Digger, there is approximately 42%
of the student body on free or reduced lunch. The demographics of the community
are mostly white at 87% according to the United States Zip Codes website. The
state test score for the AZ Merit was 42% proficiency in mathematics and a 34%
proficiency in English Language Arts according to School Digger.

Retrieved from http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/85205/#stats

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Retrieved from http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/85205/#stats

References

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Stats and Demographics for the 85205 ZIP Code (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2016, from
http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/85205/#stats
Shepherd Junior High. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2016, from www.schooldigger.com
Shepherd Junior High. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2016, from
http://www.mpsaz.org/shepherd
(n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2016, from
https://azreportcards.com/AcademicIndicators/Indicators

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

PPE 310 Healthy and Active Schools, Assessment and School Context

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

Criter
ia
Assess
ment

SCOR
E:

Exemplary: Points (5)

School
Conte
xt
/Writi
ng
Style

SCOR
E:

Proficient: Points (3)

A minimum of 2
strengths and 2
weaknesses were
described
Assessment was
completed online and
posted to your EPortfolio
A direct link was
placed at the end of
your document to the
assignment in your EPortfolio
Suggestions to
improve school
policies were clearly
stated
At least 2 suggestions
to engage stakeholders
were provided

School context
contained detailed
information on
grade levels
% free/reduced lunch
enrollment,
proportion ELLs
average class size
urban/rural/suburban,
ethnic makeup
state test scores
AYP status
All of the following
are listed in the file
document name
submitted
Lastname.firstname.as
signment#.course#
This rubric was added
to the last page of the
document submitted
Your document was in
APA 6.0 format,
including cover page,
body and reference
section with no errors

10

Unsatisfactory: Points
(1)

A minimum of 1
strength and 1
weakness was
described
Suggestions to
improve school
policies were stated
but lacked sufficient
detail
At least 1 suggestion
to engage stakeholders
was provided
Assessment was
completed online and
not in your E-Portfolio
A link was provided to
your E-Portfolio to this
assignment, however it
wasnt a direct link to
this assignment

School context
contained some
detailed information
on
grade levels
% free/reduced lunch
enrollment,
proportion ELLs
average class size
urban/rural/suburban,
ethnic makeup
state test scores
AYP status
Most of the following
are listed in the file
document name
submitted
Lastname.firstname.as
signment#.course#
This rubric was added
but not at the end of
the document
submitted
Document was in
APA, however errors
were found in
formatting of the
sections

Assessment was not

completed online or
in your E-Portfolio
No direct link was
provided to this
assignment in your
E-Portfolio
Strengths and
weaknesses were
not, or poorly
described
Suggestions to
improve school
policies were not
stated
No suggestions to
engage stakeholders
were provided

School context
contained little
detailed information
on
grade levels
% free/reduced lunch
enrollment,
proportion ELLs
average class size
urban/rural/suburban
,
ethnic makeup
state test scores
AYP status
Few of the following
are listed in the file
document name
submitted
Lastname.firstname.a
ssignment#.course#
This rubric was not
added to the
document submitted
APA was not used