PLC3:TheBAES

AchievementinSchools
AreasofFocus

TraceCrossings

Irondale

Scores

Level1:Doesnotmeet
academiccontentstandards
Level2:Partiallymeets
academiccontentstandards
Level3:Meetsacademic
contentstandards
Level4:Exceedsacademic
contentstandards

Reading
AllStudents(20142015)
PercentTested:95.12%
LevelI:28.21
LevelII:20.51
LevelIII:23.08
LevelIV:28.21

AllStudents(20132014)
PercentTested:95.00%
LevelI:31.58
LevelII:17.54
LevelIII:34.21
LevelIV:16.67

Black(20142015)
PercentTested:36.59%
LevelI:50.00
LevelII:20.00
LevelIII:13.33
LevelIV:16.67
PercentinGroup:38.46%

Black(20132014)
PercentTested:35.83%
LevelI:39.53
LevelII:20.93
LevelIII:34.88
LevelIV:4.65

Level1:Doesnotmeet
academiccontentstandards
Level2:Partiallymeets
academiccontentstandards
Level3:Meetsacademic
contentstandards
Level4:Exceedsacademic
contentstandards

Reading
AllStudents(20142015)
PercentTested:98.45%
LevelI:34.65
LevelII:30.71
LevelIII:24.41
LevelIV:10.24

AllStudents(20132014)
PercentTested:96.85%
LevelI:43.09
LevelII:37.40
LevelIII:8.94
LevelIV:10.57

Black(20142015)
PercentTested:55.81%
LevelI:36.11
LevelII:33.33
LevelIII:18.06
LevelIV:12.50
PercentinGroup:56.69%

Black(20132014)
PercentTested:71.65%
LevelI:39.56
LevelII:38.46
LevelIII:9.89
LevelIV:12.09

PercentinGroup:37.72%

Hispanic(20142015)
PercentTested:12.20%
LevelI:60.00
LevelII:30.00
LevelIII:10.00
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:12.82%

Hispanic(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:75.00
LevelII:8.33
LevelIII:16.67
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:N/A

White(20142015)
PercentTested:36.59%
LevelI:<1
LevelII:23.33
LevelIII:33.33
LevelIV:43.33
PercentinGroup:38.46%

White(20132014)
PercentTested:35.83%
LevelI:16.28
LevelII:18.60
LevelIII:34.88
LevelIV:30.23
PercentinGroup:37.72%

Poverty(20142015)
PercentTested:42.68%
LevelI:57.14
LevelII:20.00
LevelIII:14.29
LevelIV:8.57

PercentinGroup:73.98%

Hispanic(20142015)
PercentTested:22.48%
LevelI:44.83
LevelII:20.69
LevelIII:24.14
LevelIV:10.34
PercentinGroup:22.83%

Hispanic(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:75.00
LevelII:25.00
LevelIII:<1
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:N/A

White(20142015)
PercentTested:15.50%
LevelI:20.00
LevelII:35.00
LevelIII:40.00
LevelIV:5.00
PercentinGroup:15.75%

White(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:35.71
LevelII:42.86
LevelIII:14.29
LevelIV:7.14
PercentinGroup:N/A

Poverty(20142015)
PercentTested:72.87%
LevelI:35.11
LevelII:30.85
LevelIII:26.60
LevelIV:7.45

PercentinGroup:44.87%

Poverty(20132014)
PercentTested:44.17%
LevelI:41.51
LevelII:24.53
LevelIII:26.42
LevelIV:7.55
PercentinGroup:46.49%

Math
AllStudents(20142015)
PercentTested:97.56%
LevelI:8.75
LevelII:38.75
LevelIII:32.50
LevelIV:20.00

AllStudents(20132014)
PercentTested:95.00%
LevelI:10.53
LevelII:35.96
LevelIII:43.86
LevelIV:9.65

Black(20142015)
PercentTested:36.59%
LevelI:6.67
LevelII:50.00
LevelIII:40.00
LevelIV:3.33
PercentinGroup:37.50%

Black(20132014)
PercentTested:35.83%
LevelI:11.63
LevelII:53.49
LevelIII:32.56
LevelIV:2.33
PercentinGroup:37.72%

PercentinGroup:74.02%

Poverty(20132014)
PercentTested:82.68%
LevelI:46.67
LevelII:39.05
LevelIII:5.71
LevelIV:8.57
PercentinGroup:85.37%

Math
AllStudents(20142015)
PercentTested:98.45%
LevelI:11.02
LevelII:51.97
LevelIII:33.07
LevelIV:3.94

AllStudents(20132014)
PercentTested:97.64%
LevelI:29.84
LevelII:57.26
LevelIII:8.06
LevelIV:4.84

Black(20142015)
PercentTested:55.81%
LevelI:12.50
LevelII:48.61
LevelIII:36.11
LevelIV:2.78
PercentinGroup:56.69

Black(20132014)
PercentTested:70.87%
LevelI:30.00
LevelII:57.78
LevelIII:8.89
LevelIV:3.33
PercentinGroup:72.58

Hispanic(20142015)
PercentTested:14.63%
LevelI:41.67
LevelII:41.67
LevelIII:16.67
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:15.00%

Hispanic(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:16.67
LevelII:33.33
LevelIII:50.00
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:N/A

White(20142015)
PercentTested:36.59%
LevelI:<1
LevelII:30.00
LevelIII:36.67
LevelIV:33.33
PercentinGroup:37.50%

White(20132014)
PercentTested:35.83%
LevelI:9.30
LevelII:25.58
LevelIII:53.49
LevelIV:11.63
PercentinGroup:37.72%

Poverty(20142015)
PercentTested:45.12%
LevelI:18.92
LevelII:54.05
LevelIII:27.03
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:46.25%

Hispanic(20142015)
PercentTested:22.48%
LevelI:10.34
LevelII:62.07
LevelIII:27.59
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:22.83%

Hispanic(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:33.33
LevelII:58.33
LevelIII:8.33
LevelIV:<1
PercentinGroup:N/A

White(20142015)
PercentTested:15.50%
LevelI:5.00
LevelII:55.00
LevelIII:30.00
LevelIV:10.00
PercentinGroup:15.75%

White(20132014)
PercentTested:NoData
LevelI:21.43
LevelII:57.14
LevelIII:7.14
LevelIV:14.29
PercentinGroup:N/A

Poverty(20142015)
PercentTested:72.87%
LevelI:14.89
LevelII:51.06
LevelIII:31.91
LevelIV:2.13
PercentinGroup:74.02%


Poverty(20132014)
PercentTested:44.17%
LevelI:9.43
LevelII:47.17
LevelIII:41.51
LevelIV:1.89
PercentinGroup:46.49%

Poverty(20132014)
PercentTested:83.46%
LevelI:31.13
LevelII:60.38
LevelIII:6.60
LevelIV:1.89
PercentinGroup:85.48%

Observations

Theteachersdonotgive
standardizedtestsuntiltheACT
Aspire.Theteachersarenot
informedofthestudentsability
onstandardizedtestsuntilthey
givethisassessment.Thereisa
heavyfocusonmathinthe
fourthgrade,butthereisnota
heavyfocusonreading.Dueto
this,thestudentsmightfall
behindonreadingscores.Oddly
enough,thescoresonwere
lowerthanreading.Theteachers
donotcollaborateasmuchin
thefourthgradeteam,sothe
studentsvaryintheirsubject
knowledge.

Irondaleplacedaheavy
emphasisontesting,butthis
couldhavebeenduetous
attendingduringthetesttime.
Theteacherswerefocusedon
preparingthestudents,butthey
didnotwanttoteachthetest.
Theteachersstruggledwith
math,becausetheACTaspireis
completelydifferentthantheir
mathcurriculum.Theteachers
usedreadingtextbookstoteach
reading.TheteachersuseARto
tracktheirreadinglevel.

Strengths/Weaknesses

Strengths:
Improvedtheoverallreading
scores.Thereisalarge
percentageofstudents
exceedingtheacademiccontent
standards.Focusontestingthis
yearandstartedusingiStation
formoreaccurateassessment.

Weaknesses:
Nostandardizedtestsbeforethe
ACTaspire,sotheteachersare
notsureaboutthestudents
preparationforthetest.The
mathscoreshaveloweredto
partiallymeetingtheacademic
contentstandards.

Strengths:
Encouragingatmosphereofthe
school.Theypreparedtheir
studentsfortests,duetotheir
heavyinfluenceontesting.The
whitestudentpopulationstest
scoreshavegreatlyimprovedto
alargerpercentmeetingthe
academiccontentstandardsin
mathandreading.

Weaknesses:
TheACTAspiredidnotmatch
thecurriculum.Thestudents
wereonmuchlowerlevels,so
theydidnotdowellonthemath
standardizedtests.

InitiativesforAchievement

Thefourthgradedoespractice
questionsfortheACTAspire

PositiveReinforcementand
Encouragement

ParentInvolvement

ParentVisitationSignUpsfor
newparentstocomeandvisit

Thereisasectionontheir
websitedevotedtoparents
calledParentInformationthat
includesthingslikeinformation
onPTO,theschoolyear
calendar,andContactUsIt
doesnthaveanythingabout
parentslearningthecurriculum
thoughlikethenewmath,etc.

ThereisanLEAParental
InvolvementPlanontheir
website.IthasGeneral
ExpectationsforHooverCity
Schools.Someofthose
expectationsinclude:
1.Inviteparentstoattend
planningmeetingstosolicit
parentideasandsuggestionsfor
improvingstudentacademic
achievementandschool
performance.
2.Surveyparentsannuallyto
gatherdatatoimprovetheLEA
plan
3.Theschooldistrictwillhave
theattitudethatparentsplayan
integralroleinassistingtheir
childslearning,areactively
involvedintheirchilds
educationatschool,etc.
4.Schoolswillhostavarietyof
parentmeetingsthroughoutthe
schoolyearincludingParent
Conferences,MathNight,
ReadingNight,Technology
Night,etc.

Theirmission:Inpartnership
withourparentsandour
community,ourmissionisto
providemeaningfuleducational
experienceswithinasafe,
disciplined,andcaring
environment.

Highlightsonwebsiteinclude
helpfularticlessuchas
CommonCoreMathisNot
Fuzzyinterestingarticleon
ournewmath

Theyaskparentstocompletea
surveytodeterminehowwell
Irondaleismeetingwiththeir
childrensneedsatschool.The
schoolwillsendacopyin
anotherlanguageifneeded,so
reachingouttoALLparents.

Ontheirwebsite,theyhavean
entiresectionforparentscalled
ParentResourcesthatincludes
CommonCoreFlipbooks.

AccountabilityResources

TheschoolusesGlobalScholar

ThestudentsdoAccelerated

totestthestudents.The
interventionteamusesthe
resourcetohelpcheckthe
studentsgrowthandlearning.
Theschoolalsohasincorporated
iStationthispastsemester.This
isamathprogramtomonitorthe
studentsprogress.The
interventionteamandteachers
usethistocheckthegrowthof
thestudents.
TitleITeamhasnoticedthatthe
middlegroundstudents
scoresweregoingdown.They
weresofocusedonupperand
lowerlevelstudentsoverthe
years,thatthemiddlestudents
hadlessattention.Their
initiativeistofocusbackonthe
middlestudentslearningand
skills.

Readingtestingthroughoutthe
year.Thiskeepstheteacher
knowledgeableofthestudent
readinglevels.Thestudentsalso
hadsummativereadingtests.
Theteachersusedworkbooksto
formativelyassessthemath.

SupportPersonnel

Principal
VicePrincipal
STEAMcoordinator

Principal

TeacherCollaboration

Weeklygradeteammeetings

Problemsolvingmeetingsonce
amonthtodiscussintervention

Problemsolvingteamsmonthly

IrondaleDataAnalysisandActionPlan

ThemajorityofthestudentsatIrondaleCommunitySchooldonotmeettheacademic
contentstandardsorpartiallymeetthecontentstandardsinbothreadingandmath.Thereisa
smallpercentageofstudentswhomeetorexceedthestandards.Overthepasttwoyears,Irondale
CommunitySchoolhasseensomegrowthinlevelsofreadingandmathhowever,themajority
ofthestudentsdonotmeetthecontentstandards.Therehasbeensignificantgrowthofstudents
inpovertyintheirreadingandmathlevels.Thelargestpercentageofstudentsfallbelowthe
standardsinreadingandpartiallymeetthestandardsinmath.Thisonlygivesasmallinsightto
theschool,andonemustexaminethebreakdownoftheyearsandlevelstobetterunderstandthe
data.
ThedatashowsadrasticimprovementinreadinglevelsofHispanicstudents,white
students,andstudentsinpovertytomeetthecontentstandards.Thisrevealsprogressandgrowth
oftheschoolandtheeducation.Thereisalargeimprovementofmathlevelsaswellofblack
students,whitestudents,andstudentsinpoverty.Whilethemajorityofstudentsstillfallbelow
theacademicstandards,thedatashowsgrowthandimprovement.Themostdrasticimprovement
inreadinglevelsoccurredinthewhitestudentsmovingfrompartiallymeetingthecontent
standardstomeetingthestandards.Inmathlevels,alargegroupofbothblackandwhitestudents
movedfrompartiallymeetingthestandardstomeetingthestandards.Hispanicstudents
experiencedthesmallestamountofgrowth,buttheystillmovedfromnotmeetingthestandards
topartiallymeetingthestandards.Althoughthestudentsarestillbelowthestandards,thedata
showsgreatgrowthinallareasofstudents.
WehavedevelopedanactionplanforbothreadingandmathatIrondale.Thisactionplan
shouldbeimplementedoverthenextthreeyearstoeventuallyhavethemajorityofthestudents

meetingthecontentstandards.WespecificallywilltargettheHispanicpopulationinboth
readingandmathandtheblackpopulationinreading.Webelievethisactionplanwillsucceed,
becausethereisasupportiveadministrationthatupholdsapositiveschoolenvironmentthatis
conducivetolearning.
Inmath,wewillincorporatemorestandardizedtestpracticethroughouttheyear.Wewill
requiretheteacherstoprogressmonitorthestudentsonceamonthtocheckforproblemareas.
Thesestandardizedtestpracticeproblemswillhelpthestudentsbecomemoreawarewiththe
wordingofACTAspiretests.Wewillnotencouragetheteacherstoteachforthetest,butthe
practicetestswillreduceanxietyofthestudentsaswellashelpthemknowwhattoexpectonthe
test.SpecificallyintheHispanicpopulation,wewillfocusonteachingthenecessaryvocabulary
forthetest.ManyoftheHispanicstudentsareinELLservices,sowewillgivethesesample
problemstotheELLteachertopracticewiththestudents.Ifthestudentsunderstandthe
vocabularyandhowtoaddresstheseproblems,webelievethattheywillachieveonthemath
test.Thestudentscometothirdgradewithlowmathscores.Ifwecanencourageteachersto
focusonthekeyconceptsnecessaryforfractionsbytheendofthirdgrade,webelievethe
studentswillexperiencegreatersuccessinmathinfourthandfifthgrade.Thethirdgrade
teachersshouldincorporatemoremathdailyintheclassroomtohelpthestudentsdevelopthe
necessarymathskills.
Inreading,wewilltargettheblackandHispanicpopulation.Thestudentsdosample
problemsthroughouttheyeartopreparethemforthetest.Thestudentswhostruggledonot
knowthenecessarybackgroundinformationforthesetestsortheterms.ManystudentsareELL
studentswhodonothavethevocabularynecessaryforthereadingtests.Weencouragethe

teacherstofocusononeskillweeklyinsmallgroupminilessonswiththestudents.Iftheteacher
willexplicitlyteachskillseachweektothestudents,thenthestudentswillhavesome
understandingoftheskill.Wealsowillrequiretheteacherstodomonthlyprogressmonitoring
overreadingpassagesandquestionswiththestudents.Eachmonth,thepassageandquestions
willreflecttheskillstaughtintheminilessonsduringthemonth.Thiswillgivetheteachera
betterunderstandingofwhatskillssheneedstoreteachandtowhichstudents.Thissmallgroup
workwillbenefitthestudentsaswell.FortheELLstudents,theteacherwillexplicitlyteachthe
necessaryvocabularyfortesting.TheclassroomteachersandELLteacherwillmeetmonthly
aftertheprogressmonitoringtodiscusshowtobestaddressthestudentsneedsinvocabulary
andreading.
Webelievethisactionplanwillhelpthereadingandmathscores.Byintenselyfocusing
onspecificskillsandprogressmonitoringmonthly,theteacherswillhaveagreater
understandingofthestudentsprogressandareasthatneedimprovement.Thisplanwillbe
implementedforthreeyears,andafterthethirdyearwillbereassessed.Ifthereisnogrowth,
thenwewilldiscussanotheractionplan.Inthreeyearsandwithspecificallytargetedgroups,the
studentsshouldbeabletomeettheacademiccontentstandards.

TraceCrossingsElementarySchoolDataAnalysisandActionPlan
ThemajorityofthestudentsatTraceCrossingsElementaryalsodonotmeetthe
academiccontentstandardsorpartiallymeetthecontentstandardsinbothreadingandmath.
Whilethereisasmallpercentageofstudentswhomeetorexceedthestandards,moststudents
testintoLevelIorLevelII.Inthepasttwoyears,TraceCrossingshasmadesignificant
improvementsintheirtestscores.However,themajorityofthestudentsstillarenotmeetingthe
thecontentstandards.Asawhole,thewhitepopulationhasahigherpercentageofthosewho
meettheacademiccontentstandardsorexceedthem.However,theBlack,Hispanic,andpoverty
groupsshowsignificantimprovementbetweenthisschoolyearandlast,inbothreadingand
math.Thelargestpercentageofstudentsfallbelowthestandardsinreadingandpartiallymeet
thestandardsinmath.Onceagain,thisonlygivesasmallinsighttotheschoolandtheirscores,
soonemustexaminethebreakdownoftheyearsandlevelstobetterunderstandthedata.
Thedatashowssignificantimprovementintestscoresfrom2013to2015.Overall,less
studentsfallintothedoesnotmeetcontentstandardscategory,andmorestudentsfallintothe
exceedscontentstandardcategory.Whilethereisstillmuchroomforgrowthandsuccess,the
datashowsprogressandimprovement.Thereisalargeimprovementinmathandreadinglevels
ofblackstudentsandHispanicstudents.Themostdrasticimprovementinreadinglevels
occurredintheblackstudentsmovingfrompartiallymeetingthecontentstandardstomeeting
thestandards.ThestudentsmadeincredibleimprovementsfromlevelIIItolevelIV.Thesameis
trueformath,exceptthattheHispanicgroupshowedamajorimprovementinthisarea.Overall,
however,theHispanicstudentsexperiencedthesmallestamountofgrowth,buttheystillmoved
fromnotmeetingthestandardstopartiallymeetingthestandards.Althoughthestudentsarestill

belowthestandards,thedatashowsgreatsamountofimprovementandprogressintheir
educationsystem.
Inordertoimprovethetestscores,wehavedevelopedaplanofactionforbothreading
andmathatTraceCrossingsElementary.Overthenextthreeyears,thisactionplanwillhelp
studentsmovefrompartiallymeetingthestandardstocompletelymeetingthestandards.Wewill
specificallytargettheHispanicandBlackpopulationinbothreadingandmath.Webelievethis
actionplanwillsucceed,becausethereisasupportiveadministrationwhoiscommittedtothe
continuedsuccessoftheirstudentsandthereareplentifulresourcestobeutilized.
Formath,thestudentswillbegineverygradewithastandardizedpreassessmentofwhat
theyknowandshouldknowcomingintothatgrade.Becausemathbuildsonbasicconceptsand
requiresastrongfoundationandnumbersense,itisimportanttotargettroubleareasfromthe
verystart.Oncetheteachersknowwhatareastoreviewandreteachfromtheyearbeforeorto
focusonforthatyear,theycanbetterhelptheirstudentssucceedandimprovetestscores.This
canincludereviewgamesandreviewactivities.Second,thestudentsweeklymathtestswillbe
intheformatoftheACTAspire,sothattheyarefamiliarwiththeformatandwordingofthe
test.TheirconceptsthattheyarelearningwillbeappliedtotheACTAspiretest,sothattheyare
notsurprisedbywhattheyencounterontestday.Beingfamiliarwiththeformattingandthe
wordingofthesentencewillallowthestudentsmoreopportunityforsuccessduringtherealtest.
ThestudentswillalsostartanACTAspireWordWall,wheretheyreviewmathvocabularythat
islikelytobeonthetest.Thevocabularywillhelpthemreviewcontent,aswellasgivetheman
advantagewhentesting.StudentswillalsouseiStationasanadditionalsupportfortheirmath
skills.ForHispanicstudents,specificallyELLstudents,theywillfocusmainlyonvocabulary

andapplyingthatvocabularytomathproblems.TheELLteacherwillworkwiththestudentson
vocabularyandapplication.TheclassroomteacherandELLteacherwillmeetatthebeginning
ofeveryweektodiscusslessonsandvocabularyfortheweek.Thesestrategieswillhelpstudents
toimprovetheirtestscores.
Forreading,thestudentswillfocusoncomprehension.Theteacherwillspendtime
highlightingdifferentcomprehensionstrategiesinvariousminilessons.Theseminilessonswill
coverstrategiessuchasvisualization,inferences,summarizing,anddeterminingimportance,
amongotherstrategies,andtheywillincludeformativeassessments.Thesedifferentstrategies
willgivethestudentsmultiplewaystocomprehendthematerial,andtheycanchoosewhich
strategyworksbestforthem,oruseavarietyofstrategieswhilereading.Comprehensionskills
andpracticewillhelpthestudentsimprovetheirreadingtestscores.Theteacherwillalsowork
withthestudentsontheiroverallreadingskills.Therewillbemonthlyprogressmonitoring
wherethestudentswillreadtotheteacher,andtheteacherwillassesstheirreadingandtheir
rate.Theywillmoveupindifficultyaccordingtolevelandskill.Thiswillbesimilartoa
runningrecord.Forstudentswhoarestruggling,theywillspendtimeinsmallgroupsworking
withtheteacher.ForELLstudents,theyneedbackgroundknowledgeandpracticewith
vocabulary.InordertoaccommodateELLstudents,theteacherwillcollaboratewiththeELL
teachertoprovidebackgroundknowledgeforthestudentsanddiscussthevocabularythey
shouldknow.TheELLteacherandclassroomteacherwillworktogethertocreatesimulations
forthestudentswheretheylearntousecommonvocabulary,likeagrocerystore,abank,a
shoppingmall,acafe,apostoffice,afarm,andahouse.TheELLstudentswillalsoreview

academicvocabularythattheywillneedtoknowwhentakingthetest.Thisactionplanfor
readingwillhelptoimprovethestudentsreadingscoresontheACTAspire.
Ingeneral,issuessuchattendanceandtardinessplayaroleinstudentsuccess,aswell.In
ordertoassurethatstudentsarecomingtoschoolandareontimeornotleavingearly,therewill
bemonthlyawards.Theseawardswillbedistributedbyclassandgradelevel.Theclassineach
gradelevelwiththeleastamountofabsencesandtheleastamountofcheckins/checkoutsatthe
endofeverymonthwillreceiveapizzaorsundaeparty.Onewaywewillencourageparental
involvement,whichisanotherkeyaspectofstudentsuccess,istoinvitetheparentsofthe
winningclasstoattendtheseparties.Thisencouragesparentalinvolvementandtellstheparents
thatwecareabouttheirstudentsandaboutthem.Thesesimpletaskswillhelptoshowthe
studentsthattheirattendanceisimportant,aswellastheirparentsattendance.
Webelievethisactionplanwillhelpthereadingandmathscores.Byintenselyfocusing
onskillssuchasvocabulary,basicskills,andcomprehension,aswellasconsistentlymonitoring
progress,theteacherswillhaveagreaterunderstandingofthestudentsprogressandareasthat
needimprovement.Thestudentswillbemorepreparedforthetest,andtheywillknowwhatto
expect.Thisplanwillbeimplementedforthreeyears,andafterthethirdyearwillbe
reevaluated.Ifthereisnogrowth,thenwewilldiscussanotheractionplan.Ifthereis
improvementinthetestscores,thenwewilladdtotheactionplantoensurethatgrowthstill
occurs.Inthreeyearsandwithspecificallytargetedgroups,thestudentsshouldbeabletomeet
theacademiccontentstandards.

DearparentsofIrondaleCommunitySchool,
Wearewritingyouthislettertoinformyouofourrecentlycollectedschooldatafrom
20142015.Wehaveexaminedthedatainreadingandmathandhavedevelopedanactionplan
toimplementoverthenextthreeyears.Thisactionplanwillhelpteachersassessandcheckfor
studentsgrowthinreadingandmathandbetterpreparethemfortheACTAspire.
IrondaleCommunitySchoolisaschoolfullofhardworkingteachers,students,and
administration.Weareproudofwhoweareandtheworkourstudentsandteachersdoevery
day.Knowingthis,wewanttocontinuetoimproveourschool.Bytargetingreadingandmath
anddevelopinganactionplan,webelievewecanachieveahigherpercentageofstudentswho
aremeetingtheacademicstandardsoftheirgrades.Wearesoproudofthestudentsprogress
overjustoneyear.Thepercentageofstudentswhometthemathstandardsfromtheacademic
year20132014wasbelowtenpercent.However,thepercentageofstudentswhometthemath
standardsfromtheacademicyear20142015wasaround30percent!Wearesopleasedtoshare
thisdata.Weseesimilarpercentagesforreadingscores.Thepercentageofstudentswhometthe
readingstandardsfrom20132014wasbelow10percent.However,thepercentageofstudents
whometthereadingstandardsfromtheacademicyear20142015wasaround20percent.We
knowthatthesepercentagesarestillbelowwhatwestrivefor,butwearepleasedwiththe
growthinjustoneyear.
Wewantedtosharethestrengthsandweaknessesthatwehaveseen.Sofar,ourgreatest
strengthisourvastimprovementinreadingandmathscores.Wehaveseentremendousgrowth
insomespecificpopulations.However,wehaveseensomegrowthinallstudentpopulations
towardsmeetingthestandards.Ouradministrationhasbeenverypositiveandencouragingwith
thestudents,andwebelievethatthestudentsknowthattheteachersandadministrationbelieve
inthem.Wehavenoticedthatwestillneedtoworkwithstudentswhoseprimarylanguageisnot
English,andweareworkingwithourEnglishLanguageteacherstoseehowtobestservethese
students.Wehavedevelopedathreeyearactionplantoaddresstheareasofweaknessto
improve.
Asparentsofourstudents,wehavesomespecificrequestsofyou.Readingandmathare
importantinallareasoflife.Weaskthatyouwouldspendtimeweeklysimplyreadingbooks
theybringfromschoolwithyourchild.Wealsoaskthatyouinvolveyourstudentsindailymath
suchascalculatingthebillorevensolvingmentalmathproblems.Byincorporatingthesetwo
subjectsintoyourlives,webelievethatthestudentswillunderstandtheimportanceofitand
practicetheskillsnecessaryforthesesubjects.
Thankyouinadvanceforyourpartnershipinhelpingyourchildren,
IrondaleCommunitySchool

DearparentsofTraceCrossingsElementarySchoolstudents,

Wearewritingyouthislettertoinformyouofourrecentlycollectedschooldatafrom
20142015.Wehaveexaminedthedatainreadingandmathandhavedevelopedanactionplan
toimplementoverthenextthreeyears.Thisactionplanwillhelpteachersassessandcheckfor
studentsgrowthinreadingandmathandbetterpreparethemfortheACTAspire.
TraceCrossingsElementarySchoolisincrediblyproudofitsstudentsandteachers.We
aresoproudofourteachersandtheworkthattheydowithyourchildren.Wealsoaresopleased
withourstudentssuccessesoverthepasttwoyears.Overthepasttwoyears,wehaveseenan
overallimprovementinthestudentstestscores.Althoughwestillhaveareasofimprovement,
weareverypleasedtoseethegrowthinreadingandmath.Wehavedecidedtotarget
specificallyreadingandmathoverthenextthreeyearstohelpstudentsmeettheacademic
standardsinbothreadingandmath.In20132014,15percentoftheoverallstudentsexceeded
theacademiccontentstandardsinreading.In20142015,28percentoftheoverallstudents
exceededtheacademiccontentstandardsinreading.Weareverypleasedwiththisgrowth
however,wewanttotargetthestudentswhoarebelowthecontentstandardstohelpthemmeet
them.In20132014,around40percentoftheoverallstudentsmettheacademiccontent
standardsinmath.In20142015,around30percentoftheoverallstudentsmettheacademic
contentstandardsinmath.Duetothisdifference,weareheavilyfocusingonmathoverthenext
threeyears.Whileouractionplanincludesreadingwithsomestudentpopulations,webelieve
thatweshouldfocusonmathforallstudents.Wewantthemajorityofourstudentstomeetthe
academiccontentstandardsinmathbytheendofthenextthreeyears.
Wewantedtoshareourstrengthsandweaknesseswithyoutokeepyouupdatedonour
progress.WeareaSTEAMpoweredschool,andwehavebeguntoincorporatemoreofthe
makermovementintheclassrooms.Webelievethiswillalsohelpthestudentsintheirmath
skills.Theadministrationisencouragingtheteacherstoincorporatetechnologyandengineering
frequentlyintheclassroom.Wearealsopleasedwiththeimprovementofourreadingprograms.
Thestudentshavereallythrivedontheinterventionwehavebeenabletoincorporatewiththe
Title1team.Thisteamhashelpedusreachallstudentsandpushthemfurtherintheireducation.
Ouractionplanwilladdresstheareasofweaknessthatwehaveseeninmathandencourage
practicetestsandpreparationmoreforthesestandardizedtests.Weareworkingtogetherasa
schoolfacultytoaddresstheneedsofyourchildren.
AsparentsofTraceCrossingsElementarySchoolstudents,weneedyourhelpaswell.
Ourbiggestrequestisthatyouwillworkwithyourstudentonmath.Workspecificallyon
multistepproblemsandmentalmath.Ourstudentshavebeenlearningtheseskillsatschool,but
theycontinuetheirlearningathome.Involveyourchildreninsolvingmathproblems.Wealso
askthatyoucheckthatyourstudentiscompletingthemathhomework.Bydoingthis,webelieve
thatyourchildrenwillbemoremotivatedinmath.
Thankyouinadvanceforyourpartnershipforhelpingourstudents,
TraceCrossingsElementarySchool

References

ALSDEHome.(n.d.).RetrievedMay09,2016,fromhttps://www.alsde.edu/#

IrondaleCommunity.(n.d.).RetrievedMay09,2016,fromhttp://irondalecom.jefcoed.com/

TraceCrossingsElementarySchool.(n.d.).RetrievedMay09,2016,from
http://tracecrossingselem.al.hce.schoolinsites.com/