Stearley Heights Elementary School

Stearley Heights Elementary School is accredited by NCA, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. School improvement is the continual process used by schools to improve student achievement.

There are multiple tasks associated with NCA accreditation. Schools must develop a school profile, which identifies school data. This data includes survey results, demographic information, and standardized testing data. This document is available for preview.

Using the data collected in the school profile, the community identifies student achievement areas that need improvement. Using this, two student performance goals are written. Below are SHES goals for school improvement.

After defining and writing goals, research based instructional strategies (interventions) are outlined to help students improve. Data is then collected every year to monitor the effectiveness of the interventions in reaching the goals. The information regarding the goals, interventions, staff development, and data on the progress SHES is making are all combined in a school improvement plan.

SHES has just entered a school improvement cycle. The new SIP plan is currently under way and will be available beginning Fall, '07.

Student Performance Goal #1:

All students will increase their ability to clarify or explain their thinking sequentially and clearly in an articulate manner in written text across all curricular areas.
The essence of this goal is laid out by defining clearly and articulate. Stearley Heights Elementary School defines clearly as having all grammar, syntax, and punctuation correct with sentences being complete thoughts. Stearley Heights Elementary School defines articulate is using suitable and varying vocabulary.

Student Performance Goal #2:

Students will use critical thinking to increase problem solving across all curricular areas.
The essence of problem solving for Stearley Heights Elementary School is a focus on the critical thinking skills. Specifically, these skills entail using available information to identify problems, organize and analyze data, apply knowledge, make decisions, solve problems, and evaluate solutions.

Intervention for GOAL 1:
6 + 1 Trait Writing

Brief Description: The 6+1 Trait Writing is a way for students and teachers to use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing. This also incorporates common expectations of what 'good' writing looks like. Teachers and students can use the 6+1 Trait model to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness as they continue to focus on improved writing. The intervention specifically focuses on six traits that indicate qualities of good writing:

Ideas (details, development, focus)
Organization (internal structure)
Voice (tone, style, purpose, and audience)
Word choice (precise language and phrasing)
Sentence fluency (correctness, rhythm, and cadence)
Conventions (mechanical correctness)
New one. . .presentation (handwriting, formatting, layout)

The traits are interrelated yet the criteria of each are distinct enough to allow for individual scoring of each trait.

Intervention for GOAL 2:
The Problem Solver (Four Step Problem Solving)

Brief Description: The Problem Solver is an instructional series that formally teaches the Four Step Problem Solving model developed by mathematician George Polya. It breaks down the first and last steps (understand the problem look back on the solution), but really focuses on the middle two steps (devise a plan and solve the problem). This series extends the instruction to include 10 different problem solving strategies, sample problems that might require these strategies, and different ways to utilize the strategies.