Expecting and Delivering Excellence in the Middle Grades

School Name: Hotchkiss K-8 School

School Location and Contact Information: Located on the beautiful Western Slope! Hotchkiss is located approximately 60 miles from Grand Junction and 80 miles from Gunnison. We are nested between the Grand Mesa and the Black Canyon. We are commonly called the North Fork Valley. Carrie Coats, Principal 465 Lorah Lane Hotchkiss, CO 81419 970-872-3325 or 970-250-4523 ccoats@deltaschools.com Hotchkiss Bulldogs!! School Demographics: We are a PreK-8 School with 403 students from the age of 4 to 14, with 83% white, and 15% Hispanic, 1% Black and 1% American Indian. Our mobility is 18% and our Free/Reduce lunch is 51% at this time.

School Achievements: (Data is based on 2010-2011 CSAP DATA)

HK8 School met 18 of the 20 CSAP targets. The targets not met were 3rd and 5th grade Writing. Our 3rd grade missed the target by 1 point and 5th grade missed the target by 4 points, however, this group of students grew by a positive (+) 14 points! Our focus grade level, (6th grade), were the only grade level to grow in all 3 core areas, reading (+4), writing (+14) and math (+13). This group of student had a 40% of growth in Reading, 63% growth in Writing and 79% growth in Math. In the areas of reading, writing, and math HK8 students have consistently scored well above the state average. 3rd Reading +8 3rd Math +24 3rd writing -1 4th Reading +20 4th Math +16 4th writing +11 5th Reading = 5th Math +15 5th writing -4 5th Science +3 6th Reading +15 6th Math +19 6th writing +7 7th Reading +17 7th Math +18 7th writing +21 8th Reading +5 8th Math +11 8th writing +12 8th Science +8

In the areas of reading, writing and math HK8 students have consistently scored well above the state average. We received the 2011 Commissioners Choice Award for Academic Excellence. HK8 culture continues to be the foundation of our success. We strongly believe in Hotchkiss Pride Be Proud of Who You Are and What You Do All The Time! Students in our culture feel comfortable, cared for, and they have the desire to succeed. As a school we keep this statement in embedded at all times as we strive for continued successes. We truly believe we educate locally so our students can achieve globally.

Please Share 2-3 concrete strategies that can be used by other middle schools to replicate your schools success. HK8 School has a solid foundation that is based upon Standard Based Education expectations. We have a good understanding of curriculum alignment, we have excellent PLC groups, we use our LEAD Team (Leading to Excellence in Achievement and Data) to guide our goals, and finally we positively give feedback in instruction to each another or to teams. Becoming an SBE school is a goal that HK8 has been working toward for many years. Last year, HK8 staff completed a 16-hour evening course on Standard Based Education and this year we are reflecting and refreshing on that information and moving toward the necessary steps of implementation. This course did aligned with the School Districts strategic plan. HK8 School is built upon our belief in our 3 Ps Passion, Purpose and Plan. We constantly ask ourselves, is what we are doing, support our PASSION (what is best for students)? Does it have a PURPOSE (that supports our passion)? If the answer is yes, we create our PLAN. Strategy #1 Student relationships Hotchkiss Pride Be Proud of Who You Are and What You Do - all the time! As a small middle school we are able to know and understand our students on a very personal level. This leads to our staff being able to identify what learning style is necessary for our students. Having 151 students in grades 6th-8th every student is well known and respected by all. The principal is actively engaged with all students at HK8. Many of these students she has had since kindergarten. Our homework policy allows for students to be more responsible for themselves as well as insuring that they are learning the concept. Our CAP Program (Child Advocacy Program) is extremely successful. Advisors meet with their CAP students everyday and have the same group of students for 2 years. Many of these relationships continue into high school. Teachers know their students data from our weekly PLC meetings. CAP teachers know their students extremely well and they keep up on the progress of their students. HK8 teachers have weekly student concern meetings with students and sometimes parents. Administration is involved with these meetings. HK8 hosts grade level breakfasts, where the teachers teach lessons from Ron Clarks 55 Essential books.

Weekly Ms. Coats, Principal meets with every 6th, 7th and 8th grader for Community of Caring Time (citizenship) where a weekly lesson is presented, usually from the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens or a lesson from her directly. We have a motto: As individual sticks we break easily, as a bundle of sticks we are unbreakable. Using this motto we have pulled together our parents, teachers and students. Every 6 weeks we have grade level family dinners with parents and students. At these dinners the students inform parents about what they are learning usually with a hands on activity. We have a variety of activities during this time frame.

Strategy #2 Flexible Scheduling Great things come in small packages! At HK8 we have eight, 6th-8th grade teachers that teach a variety of core and elective courses. We didnt want our small number of teachers to limited our students opportunity, therefore we had to be very creative and flexible with our scheduling. We also needed preserve our very valuable common PLC plan time. At HK8 96% of effective learning objectives are posted, unwrapped, revisited, assessed, and used in instruction in all classrooms daily, weekly and/or by quarter. Best instructional strategies are demonstrated to the staff by the staff monthly. Our PLC groups are formed around our 3 Cs Expectation of Communication, Collaboration, and Cooperation. PLC groups are our strength at HK8. Teams meet daily, weekly, and monthly. We focus on Team Focused Meetings (TFM), Data Focused Meetings (DFM) and Student Focused Meetings (SFM). Because we have a strong commitment to improvement as well as positive, trusting relationships, HK8 staff actively provides feedback to one another in PLC meetings. One period a day, we offer OFI/Study Skills/Enrichment Classes on Tuesdays/Thursday. Mondays/Wednesday/Fridays students are in their elective class i.e. Science in Action, Personal Finance, Cooking, and Spanish. We offer enrichment classes(T/Th) for students, woodworking, robots, and students participate in a program called RIVER WATCH. Opportunity For Improvement (OFI) classes (T/Th) are offered so students can get specific help in specific areas based on a body of evidence. We have block scheduling that allows for students to do interdisciplinary projects. We offer study skills hour during the day for students to get the necessary help. We offer Homework Helpers every Wednesday for students. Speech and Technology are required for 7th/8th graders. A Life Skills Class is required for all 6th graders. We often switch teachers rather than students. We are a staff that is flexible, dedicated and learners; therefore we constantly work together to do what is best academically, socially, and behaviorally for our HK8 students.

Strategy #3 Dynamic School Culture Failure is NOT an option at HK8, this is a commitment we fully value as staff. Our students, parents, staff and community work in partnership daily to create an environment that truly lives and breathes HOTCHKISS PRIDE! Every year we have an annual BBQ dinner for our parents. We have offered ELL Dinner Nights for our non-English speaking families. Our parents are actively involved in decision-making and the progress of their

child. We are in constant communication with parents regarding their childs learning/events that transpire at our school. Sharing and learning from one another is essential to our success. Many parents volunteer to participate in committee work for the school and school district. As a school we are very prideful and we are constantly holding each other and ourselves accountable for our school. We openly welcome challenges and work together for the betterment of our success. We support each other, help each other, and provide resources for one another. Students understand our expectations and follow them with Hotchkiss Pride! Our staff is one of the best in the state maybe in the nation! We have wonderful committees that dedicate their time unselfishly to the betterment of our school. Our staff motto is: Just another day in PARADISE. Regardless of the task that is given to us, we work diligently to overcome the situation. Our PIT (PARENT INVOLVEMENT TEAM) CREW members are PHENOMENAL! Our PIT Crew (Parent Involvement Team) is very active in our school and provides many avenues for involvement with our parents and students, i.e. Family Fun Nights monthly. Students work is always on display at HK8. We use the Fish Philosophy and students are recognized for their display of this philosophy. Our staff is perfect for this school. Some teachers were born and raised here in Hotchkiss and others have moved in and adjusted wonderfully. We are firm believers and supporters of our districts mission statement, Caring, Challenging, Learning Every Student, Every Day! We are not the keepers of the keys, our students know what is expected and they truly do work diligently to achieve improvement daily.

Staff, students, parents and community members understand the school motto of Hotchkiss Pride and it is felt constantly and daily at Hotchkiss K-8 School. Come and visit we would love to share our Hotchkiss Pride with you!