Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Index

Section 1:         Refer to the information on the following listed page numbers to determine how the school gives an overview of the preparation and organization to conduct the Guided Self Study:………………………………………………..……page 6-7

Section 2:         Narrative analysis of Accreditation Standards

                        (Component One) Refer to the information on the following listed page numbers to determine how the school meets all standards:

Beliefs and Missions……………………….………….…… page 8,124

                                    Governance and Leadership…………...…......pages 113 –117,125 -126

                                    Curriculum…………………………………………...pages 20,127 -128

                                    Instruction……………………………………………….…pages 27 -28

                                    Assessment and Evaluation……………….…………..pages 12 –15,129

                                    Resources……………………………….. ………pages 22 –23,130 -133

                                    Support Services for Student Learning……..…........pages121 – 122,134

                                    Stakeholder Communications and Relationships

         .................pages 17 – 18, 84 –86,135

                                    Citizenship……………………….……………………….……pages 136

                                    Continuous Process of Educational Improvement………....…..pages 137

Section 3:         Summary description of the improvement planning process (Component Two) Refer to the information on the following listed page numbers to determine how the school identifies, implements, and monitors an improvement process:

                                    Vision……………………………………….……………….……...page 8

                                    Profile………………………………………………………..…..pages 6-7

.

                                    Plan……………………………….……………………….….… appendix

                                    Results……………………………………………………….…...appendix

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Index

Section 4:         Summary of methods employed to provide for Quality Assurance (Component Three) Refer to the information on the following listed page numbers to determine how the school assures and demonstrates Quality Assurance:

A.     Instructional Integrity

Comprehensive Participation in Planning Process…...…....pages 10,20,45,47,50

Parental Involvement………………………………………pages 85,88-94,135

Teachers Involved in Decision Making ………………………...pages 113-117

.

Coordination and Integration of Plans……………………….......page 121-122

B.     Documentation of Results

Comprehensive Needs Assessment………………………………..pages 12-20

Instruction by Highly Qualified Staff………………….………..……….page 45

Parental Involvement…………………………...………pages 84-86,90,95,135

C.     Quality Assurance Overview

Planning Process……………………………………………………….page 10

Instruction by Highly Qualified Teachers…………………...……….…..page 45

Parental Involvement……………………..………………..pages 85,88-96,135

Coordination and Integration of Plans …………………….…….pages 121-122

 Boaz Intermediate School              

Title I Schoolwide Continuous

Improvement Plan

Table of Contents

                                                                                                                                                                                                Page #

      Profile:  Introduction to Boaz Intermediate School……………….…………………......….…...6

Boaz Intermediate School Mission Statement, Vision Statements, and Beliefs………….….........8

1.   The Planning Process…………………………………………………………………….....10

2.   Comprehensive Needs Assessment……………………………………………………....…12

3.   Instruction by Highly Qualified Teachers…………………………………………….......…45

4.   High Quality and On-Going Professional Development…………………………….........…47

5.     Strategies to Attract High Quality, Highly Qualified Teachers……………………….......…75
6.     Strategies to Increase Parental Involvement………………………………………............…84
7.     Parental Involvement Plan…………………………………………………………...…....…88
8.     Plans for Transition ……………………………………………………………….....…...  110
9.     Teachers Involved in Decision Making Process....………………...…………..…..….......  113

10.  Timely Assistance to Students Experiencing Difficulty……………...……….…….......…  119

11.  Coordination and Integration of Federal, State, and Local Services and Programs…..........  121

12.  Additional Plan Components…………………………………………………………........  124

13.  Appendix…………………………………………………………………………............…139

TITLE I

SCHOOLWIDE

CONTINUOUS

IMPROVEMENT

PLAN

Implementation Date

2003-2004

Revised Date

2006-2007

                                                      

Boaz Intermediate School

2006-2007

Introduction

(ARI) Alabama Reading Initiative-Cohort II (1999)

(PBS) Positive Behavioral Supports (2001-2005)

(AMSTI) Alabama Math, Science, Technology, Initiative (2006)

Boaz Intermediate School is the newest school facility for the Boaz City School System which began in August, 2004. We opened our school doors on January 3, 2003 as a member of the Marshall County Board of Education. Our school provides instruction for all students in grades 4 and 5 for the Boaz City Board of Education.

The student population at Boaz Intermediate is presently 326 students. Our data profiles indicate that just above fifty percent of our students are at the poverty level. This percentage is consistent with last year’s data. Our student membership, by ethnicity, shows our white population at 84.66% as our largest grouping and with our largest minority group being the Hispanic population at 10.74%. Our male population (180) exceeds our female population (146) by 34 students or six (6) percent. Our attendance rate for the past two years has been 96.6%. At the present time, our students attend at a 96.2% rate.

Boaz Intermediate School is a relatively new facility that is equipped with all the amenities for a top quality education. Spacious classrooms with internet access and computer access to a growing local network of computer programs enhance the education of all Boaz children. Our new outdoor science classroom, science labs, computer lab, guidance classroom, a choral suite, art classroom, our gymnasium and our cafetorium further enhance the education of all our students. Our library/media center meets the needs of every student and faculty member with many books, an automated software check-out system, and a modern professional library that is continually growing. Special Education and ELL classrooms are designed and equipped for our students with special needs. Our Gifted Education Resource program and classroom provides for instruction, group work and individual project areas necessary to enhance all learning for the other end of the resource spectrum. We use a large number of programs and activities to reach the increased needs for all of our diverse student populations. Technological programs across our curriculum provide further incentive for all students to become active learners and assist in the development of their skills and their skill use in becoming life long learners and productive citizens.

Our present teaching force has twenty-four professional members; twenty-female and four male. Eighty-four percent of our faculty has their Masters certification or AA. Our faculty averages 16.8 years experience, ranging from 4 years to 35 years experience. This faculty is truly dedicated to the education of all our students in Boaz and their ability to achieve the rigorous Alabama state standards.

The largest and most unsettling change at Boaz Intermediate School has been the constant change that has occurred in our faculty over the past three (3) years.  We have had seven (7) teacher changes that have affected both our fifth and fourth grade language arts departments.  Our main problem has been the training and review necessary for those teachers to teach composition writing in preparation for the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing (ADAW) each spring. We have reduced from four (4) teachers teaching language arts, down to three (3) teaching that subject area. Two of our teachers were transferred from the fourth grade to the fifth grade faculty.   We have also reduced to a single science teacher due to the loss of a teacher as a transfer brought about by our loss of students and teacher units over the past two years.   Continued professional development in the instructional aspects of composition writing and our new involvement in AMSTI, with its’ continued support,  has allowed our students to improve in writing and raise our ADAW holistic score from thirty-four (34) to seventy-four (74) percent over the past three (3) years.  This represents a forty (40) percent increase over that period of time.

Our students have continued to show improvement on the ARMT test over the last two years with scores of 93% and 94% on the fourth grade reading test and grades of 86% and 90% on fifth grade reading assessments.  The math portion of that assessment shows our fourth grade scores as 83% and 87% and with our fifth grade students improving eight (8) percent from 77% to 85% over the past two years. Our students SAT scores remain in the sixth stanine area with averages in all subtest within the 60-75 % range.  This has been a constant over the past ten years.

Our student population is more diverse now than ever before.   We presently have fourteen languages spoken as the home language in the homes of several of our students. The problems that are presented due to this are numerous.  Conversations with parents, calls to their home, conversation during parent / teacher conferences, and bus or travel problems that occur pertaining to school are just a few.  Our students seem to pick up the English language much faster than their parents and many times have to serve as translators between teachers or administrators and the parents.  This is a problem created simply by growing pains.  Our hopes are that our varied programs continue to grow and provide answers for these types of problems that possibly create interruptions in the educational environment or learning process for any student at Boaz Intermediate School.

Boaz Intermediate School

Mission Statement

“Every child shall learn when everyone works together to facilitate the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth of our students at Boaz Intermediate School.”

Vision Statement

Boaz Intermediate School will serve as a learning center that provides an environment fostering life-long student learning through the collaboration of all stakeholders.  We strive to effectively promote student instruction that nurtures all students mentally, physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and morally.  A concerted effort by all involved will insure that every child will reach his or her maximum potential.

Beliefs

We believe…

… our educational environment must be conducive to learning.

…our curriculum must prepare children to function in a diverse,

    ever changing society.

…the purpose of education is to facilitate the development of each 

    child to his/her potential.

…the responsibility for the development of each child must be

    shared by all stakeholders.

The Boaz Intermediate School’s   Title I   Schoolwide  Continuous Improvement Plan (SWP)  is located in our school media center for review.  Boaz Intermediate encourages all parents or guardians to take an active role in the decisions and programs that affects each student’s academic and social development.

PLANNING PROCESS PARTICIPATION

The planning process at Boaz Intermediate began during the spring and summer months of 2006 as our state assessment results became available and we had revised our 2005-2006 School Improvement Plan review and summation.  Our teachers, the counselor, the instructional coach, and the principal began to study this data and to assess our results. The Boaz City School System has purchased TestTrax which compiles all data sources and provides student, classroom, grade, teacher, and overall school results for us to use.  It also provides a means of finding those areas in instruction or in our curriculum that might need to be addressed. All results provide insight into our varied student needs and allows us to determine how to provide for those needs and also, for proper student placement.  The first semester of our instructional year, the fall of 2006, was used to compile our schoolwide planning process and to develop and revise the schoolwide plan.

The members of our BIS Instructional Leadership Team also serve as our Title I Advisory Council.  New teachers are rotated on this committee annually to provide equity and of course, new thoughts and ideas.  Several parents serve on this committee and have been involved in our annual compilation of data and results and with the consistent revision for our present 2006-2007

schoolwide plan.  Some members dealt with the revision and realignment of our plan.  Several members dealt with various performance data sources used to conduct our comprehensive needs assessment and review.  Other members of our committee worked on revising or typing our final product as it is now.

At the end of the 2006-2007 school term, the Instructional Leadership Team will begin our annual review, to assess and break down all data sources as they become available from the State Department of Education. We will then document our successes and growing spaces to see if we have actually met our set goals.  Upon completion of our 2006-2007 results, assignments will be made and a new committee process starts for the 2007-2008 school year.

Committee Members:

John Beck------------------------------------------------------------------------Principal

Kathy Hutchens------------------------------------------------------------------Counselor

Kristi Hopper--------------------------------------------------------------------Instructional Specialist

Lisa Shell------------------------------------------------------------------------Teacher (Co-Chair)

Harolyn Roberts----------------------------------------------------------------Teacher (Co-Chair)

Stacey Nevels-------------------------------------------------------------------Teacher

Marty Hatley---------------------------------------------------------------------ELL

Johnnie McDaniel---------------------------------------------------------------Teacher

Carol Mullinax------------------------------------------------------------------Teacher

Sharon Burke--------------------------------------------------------------------Title I

Kelly Adams---------------------------------------------------------------------Parent

Catherine Alexander-------------------------------------------------------------Parent

Brandy Patterson-----------------------------------------------------------------Parent

Kari Holland---------------------------------------------------------------------Parent

BOAZ INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

2006-2007

The administration and faculty at Boaz Intermediate School use a variety of data sources to assess and evaluate student performance and to determine the educational goals necessary for student improvement and growth.   Our main goal annually is to help all students meet and exceed those the challenging academic standards set by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE).

The data sources used to analyze and summarize strengths and growing spaces to compile Boaz Intermediate’s comprehensive needs assessment includes:

• Student Academic Needs
• Teacher, Administration, and Staff Needs
• Student Attendance
• Teacher Attendance
• Transiency
• In School and Out-of-School Suspensions
• Parents’ Perceptions of Programs and Service
• At-Risk
• Curriculum
• Students Health Issues, School Safety and Other Issues related to Well-Being

Student Academic Needs

Student performance data for the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10, Tenth Edition) is the only nationally norm/criterion-referenced achievement data relevant to Boaz Intermediate School.  Over the past several years, our students have consistently averaged more than ten (10) percentile points above the national average in all subject areas as well as the total battery.  The 2005-06 SAT-10 results show our combined student National Individual Percentages ranging fifteen (15) to twenty-three (23) percentage points above the national average in all subtests but one, Reading Vocabulary.  Our combined score exceeded the national average by ten (10) percentile points.  The fifth grade Reading Vocabulary score of fifty-eight (58%) was our lowest subtest score. The combined Partial Battery scores for both grades yielded a mean-average of sixty-seven (67%) percent for this testing period.  Comparison between our achievement and ability levels indicates that our students generally score consistently higher than other students with similar abilities. Instructional aides, high school ambassadors in reading, instructional computer programs, and after-school tutoring through our 21^st Century Extended Day offer added assistance to those students with difficulty in learning and meeting the state standards.

The addition of Success Maker, an individualized computer program for students, will provide added instruction and review for student learning and will assist in increasing student scores on future testing.

Further SAT review from TestTrax and our disaggregated data is provided on the Task Two worksheet provided through the ALSDE DEVELOPMENT GUIDE for Data-Driven School Improvement Plans.  Student results for the subgroups in which we are concerned, Reading, Language, Math, and Science, indicate the following:

• Males average below our females in Reading (7%) and in Language (8%) but exceeded the females by (1%) on both the Math and Science subtest.                                                                                                    
• Our poverty lunch group consistently lags behind in all the subgroups as shown below:    

Math and Language (17%), Reading (16%), and Science (15%).

·        Our largest minority group, the Hispanics, trail our general population scores  in Science (32%), Language (27%), Reading (25%), and Math (24%).

• Our largest areas of weakness rest in our Special Education student group. 

Their scores improved over last years results in Math (+16%), Language (+15%),  

and Reading (+7%).  Only the area of Science (4%), showed further negative    

results. Even with these very prominent increases shown, our Special Education

population continues to maintain our lowest percentages of success.                         

The Special Education students trail our general education students in every area:  Reading (49%), Science (48%), Language (42%), and Math (32%).  This population will be constantly addressed in all subject areas to provide each student a chance for success.

The Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT) is a criterion referenced assessment built around Alabama Standards and courses of study. The 2005-06 results indicate that in reading, 94% of our fourth grade and 90% of our fifth grade and incoming third grader students met or exceeded state standards (Level III/IV).  In mathematics, 87% of our fourth grade, 85% of our fifth grade students, and 89% of our incoming third grade met or exceeded state standards.  Our fourth grade comparison indicates a 9% increase in reading and a 4% increase in math over the last three years scores.  Our fifth grade scores indicate a 4% increase in reading scores and a 9% increase in their math scores over their two years of testing.  Corley’s third grade, our fourth graders in 2006-07, showed an increase of 7% to a score of 90% in reading and has maintained an average of 89% over the past two (2) years in math.  The review of our TestTrax analysis of disaggregated ARMT data continues to indicate that our male students (37) were found to be most prevalent in Level I and in Level II scoring which partially meets state standards.  This number also includes our Hispanic (8) and special education (5) males in that total number of thirty-seven (37). These are also the same groups that were found on the deficient levels in our SAT-10 testing results. The location of this group is important because a concentrated effort in those areas where these students are deficient could bring the majority of these students up into Level III or IV (meeting or exceeding State Standards).  This is a continuation of the same pattern we saw in our SAT data review.

Our school administers the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing to all eligible fifth grade students.  This measures student writing abilities in the following modes of writing: narrative, descriptive, and expository.  Our focused holistic mean average increased +.18 from 2004-05 to a score of (5.32) in 2005-06.  This resulted from increased scores in the narrative mode (5.65) and in the descriptive mode (5.13).  Our students also raised the Holistic Composition score for students meeting or exceeding Academic Content Standards (ACS) to 74%, a  +7% increase over our 2005-06 score of 67%. This 74% score results in a +24% increase over the 2003-04 score of 50% from two years ago.

Our students showed a decrease of (13%) in the descriptive mode for students meeting state standards. The Task 4 worksheet results show that writing mechanics  and grammar usage continue to be our lowest areas of student performance.

The Task 5 ADAW worksheet conclusions show that male students closed their gap between the females in Levels III and IV in all areas with differences ranging from 15% to 26 % or an average difference of (18%).  The percentage of students meeting state standards in 2005-06 for both groups increased by 5% over last year’s totals.  Our Hispanic scores placed the following percentages of students in Levels I and II (partially meeting state standards): (61%) in Holistic composition, (67%) in Writing Mechanics, and (+72%) in Grammar Usage and Sentence Formation.  Our Hispanic Holistic scores fall (-40%) behind the scores of our white population, a decrease of (-24%) from last year. Our poverty students increased their scores in writing mechanics and sentence formation in Levels III and IV by 7% in both areas and remained even with last years scores in Holistic Composition and grammar usage with 63% and 42% in those levels.  The largest gaps fall between our English Proficient and our Limited –English Proficient (LEP) students.  In Holistic composition, 77% of our LEP students failed to meet state standards. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of that total is found in Level II where students partially meet those standards and provide us with an area of concentration for 2006-07.  The same situation exists with their analytical scores as 83% failed to achieve set state standards, but 71% of those same students partially met those state standards.

The DIBELS (Dynamics Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) Benchmark Assessment for oral reading fluency is administered three times each year. Students are given one minute passages to read. As the student reads, the test administrator marks miscues made during reading. After one minute, the test administrator counts the number of words read and subtracts the number of miscues. This number is the number of words correct and is the score for that passage. The student is asked to read two more timed passages. When the three scores have been taken, the test administrator keeps the middle score. This score is the benchmark assessment result score.

This test is used to determine which students will need reading intervention and to analyze the nature of miscues made by each student when reading. Last year (2005-2006), fourth grade started the year with 59% at or above the initial benchmark (93 words correct per minute) and ended the year with 78% at or above the final benchmark (118 words correct per minute). This illustrates a 19% increase of students reaching benchmark status over the year. Fifth grade started the year with 68% at or above the initial benchmark (104 words per minute) and ended the year with 82% at or above the initial benchmark (124 words correct per minute). This shows a 14% increase.

These results also provide the administration with valuable information. This information is used to predict which students will need reading intervention during the next school year and enable those students to be placed in the proper classrooms to receive reading intervention. After further analysis of our data and data from Corley Elementary, it has been determined that twenty-four (24) fourth grade students and fourteen (14) fifth grade students will need intensive intervention using Voyager Passport program in a small group setting during the 2006-2007 school year.

Boaz Intermediate and Boaz City Schools use the WIDA Consortium Access for ELL to test English language proficiency in language content areas for our ELL students.  This test is mandated by the Alabama State Department of Education to be given at the end of each year.  There are six proficiency levels measuring ELL student abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing.  Students in Levels 1, 2, 3 are in need of accommodations necessary for success in the classroom and are serviced daily with ELL instruction.  Level 4 is the level where students begin to function in the classroom without any accommodations or modifications. Level 5 and 6 students are in the monitoring process, which leads to exiting the program after passing all the criteria. Writing was the lowest scoring component with 36% of fourth grade students scoring level four or higher. Fifth grade writing scores show that 19% scored level four or higher. Reading scores indicate the fourth grade scored 55% on level four or higher, while fifth grade had 45% on level four or higher. The fourth grade had 82% of the students to make a level four or higher on the speaking portion and 64% on the listening portion. The fifth grade scored 69% on the speaking portion and 81% on the listening. This data is used so that our teachers are aware of individual student’s strength or weakness and to be used for comparison purposes from year to year, measuring progress, both individually and by grade level.

The Student School Climate Survey for 2005-06 indicates that our students are very pleased to attend Boaz Intermediate School.  One area that stood out as a problem dealt with students not having a great deal to do with determining disciplinary rules and major disciplinary actions.  Students do have input in classroom rules with their teacher.  We are presently in our sixth year using PBS supports and discipline, at this time, is not an area of any concern. Our PBS School Disciplinary Action form sent to the state department showed twenty-five (25) office referrals involving only 17 students rendering five (5) corporal punishments and two (2) suspensions for the 2005-2006 school year.  Our discipline numbers have continued to decrease each year with methods gleaned from PBS instructions and devoted professional development in-service.

Faculty Needs

Our teachers and staff are very dedicated to their profession.  They strive to promote effective student instruction, creating an environment fostering life-long student learning.  We believe that the purpose of education is to facilitate the development of every child to reach their potential.  Our work is based on the premise that student and school success is directly related to teacher performance in the classroom.  PEPE results, the use of highly qualified and very competent teachers, student assessment results, AYP results, varied surveys, and professional development are used to insure quality classroom performance and instruction.

The Professional Education Performance Evaluation (PEPE) is the tool used to evaluate our teachers.  Teachers are rotated on a three (3) year cycle which includes a full evaluation and two years of professional development planning.  The principal is responsible for conducting the interview, observing and scoring this evaluation tool. The principal and teacher meet in conference to discuss and determine the competencies and indicators that need the most improvement.  The PEPE data obtained from our ESR’s and PDP teacher discussions provided insight into those competencies and indicators that showed need for improvement and that directly affected our teaching performance at BIS.  After study, we have concluded that a continued need for improvement in both professional knowledge and skills (Competency 7.0 and Indicator 7-1) and the assessment of student performance (Competency 3.0) were areas where our faculty exhibited the greatest need for concentration.  These are both high profile areas as the majority of our faculty are involved in AMSTI (13) training over the next two years and continued participation in ARI (21) and Voyager Passport (12) training during this school year.  The use of TestTrax  to analyze student assessments and each individual teacher’s classroom performances by both the administration and individual teachers play into the need for a concentration in Competency  3.0 dealing with the assessment of student performances.  Teachers will also participate and lead guided book studies and select article discussions during the year as a means for continued professional development and improvement throughout the year.

Ninety-six percent (96%) or twenty-four members of our teaching staff for 2006-07 are Highly Qualified Teachers under the No Child Left Behind Act.  The one exception is our art teacher who is waiting on state confirmation upon completion of his requirements for HOUSSE. The added time is due to his prolonged military service in Iraq over the past several years. This faculty averages 16.8 years of experience, with teaching experience ranging from 4 years to thirty-five years.  Eighty-four percent (84%) of our faculty have a master’s degree or a higher level degree in related educational areas.

Student Assessment Results indicated a faculty need for staff development for intervention strategies and differentiated instruction to better serve the needs of the students served by both our special education and English Language Learners programs.  Results also show that our male students continue to trail our female students in the majority of our assessment results but exceeded the females in both math and science by a very small margin.

Student academic assessment reports are provided at the beginning of the year for parent and teacher use.  Teachers discuss this report with parents to insure their understanding of their child’s test results and point out both strengths and weaknesses.  Copies of both State Report Cards and SAT results are posted at the beginning of the school year to provide parental knowledge of how our school is performing.  The principal provides and discusses with the faculty both individual class reports and grade reports pertinent to class decision making.  The administration works closely with faculty and staff to meet the determined needs of any at-risk students.  The close and prompt analysis of all student performance data provides insight into all available resources or programs that serve the needs of all students attending Boaz Intermediate School.

According to our School Status report based on our data from 2005-06, all of our Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals were met.  Boaz Intermediate School met 13 goals of the 13 possible and received the maximum score of 100.

Our faculty and staff responded favorably in the Faculty School Climate Survey.  From 25 completed surveys, the results indicate that the majority of our faculty feels that our school is a safe and secure teaching environment and that they receive support from the school administrators.  Our faculty looks upon BIS as a clean, well-maintained campus with attractive buildings and grounds.  They feel that the building has adequate workspace for both students and teachers.  The survey shows that 20% (6) of our faculty and staff feel that students did not have any input into school decisions and that our older teachers do not act as mentors to help less experienced teachers.  Four percent (4%) (1) of our faculty feels that we do not have an adequate number of up-to-date computers and appropriate computer software to meet instructional needs. We feel that this has been remedied with the purchase and use of the Success Maker program in our computer lab.

Prioritized Needs

High-quality, effective, scientifically research-based professional activities are used to meet the needs of our teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals in the Boaz City Schools and at Boaz Intermediate. This Comprehensive Needs Assessment provides insights in determining what teacher needs are to be addressed to enable students to meet or exceed set state standards. Our needs are based on student academic needs, prevalent “at-risk” factors, instructional strategies, reform strategies, curriculum, and faculty needs.

The following needs are addressed in our professional development plan for the 2006-2007 school year: 

• New instructional methods and teaching strategies for differentiated and

hands-on instruction through AMSTI and their instructional support necessary

or meeting the needs of all students in math and science.

• Support and technical consultation from the Voyager Learning Systems for 

continued implementation of the Passport Reading Intervention Program.

• Support from the Alabama Reading Initiative for continued improvement in

reading, writing, and language arts instruction.

• Book studies providing professional growth and instruction focused on  

instructional strategies.

Boaz City School System requirements for professional development include a total of twenty five (25) hours of professional educational training each year. An electronic STI-PD file is maintained by the Instructional Specialist at BIS. Files are also kept by the principal and each individual teacher to maintain awareness of each teacher’s status. Each file contains certificates, documentation, and other papers pertinent to ensure that their professional development is active and consistent with their PDP objectives for the year.

The teacher’s evaluation process ensures that professional development plans are ongoing and enables each teacher to set and reach their goals as they strive for excellence. This process enables teachers and administrators to target strengths and weaknesses for faculty instructional improvement.

Boaz City School System provides an annual calendar of many workshops, professional meetings, training sessions, and other educational programs that enable teachers to maintain a level of excellence. Many of these will be included in our school plan.

Parents Perceptions of School Programs and Services

Our parents’ perceptions of school programs and services were best represented on the 2005-06 School Parents Needs Survey of twenty statements.  There were eight items on the survey that all parents agreed or strongly agreed with for the statement made.  These included positive support and encouragement in school; school provides a stimulating learning environment; that our rules, regulations, and policies are reasonable and administered fairly; and that BIS expects quality work of their child.  All parents indicated that they were satisfied with our school and that their children benefited from our activity classes (art, music, library, computer and guidance).  Some parents (3%) disagreed with the statement concerning our school promoting parent-teacher communication.  Four percent (4%) of our parents indicated that they were not being informed of their child’s academic progress. The majority of parents (99%) indicated that they supported their child’s learning at home and that their level of education and literacy was adequate for active participation in their child’s education.  Parents also indicated their level of education as follows: five percent (5%) had some high school; thirty-three percent (33%) graduated from high school; thirty three percent (33%) had completed some college; eighteen percent (18%) finished a four year college degree; and eleven percent (11%) had finished graduate school.

Our Parent School Climate Survey for 2005-2006 showed that parents are pleased with the overall attitude and discipline involved in their child’s activities.  Parents are shown to be eager to volunteer to serve on committees, assist in projects or other schoolwide activities.  This survey shows parents feel our school is a good, safe place for their children and that our standards are high for both faculty and students.  Some parents (thirty-seven percent) were concerned that they were unable to provide input on school matters that affected them in the decision-making process.

Student Attendance

Attendance records are evaluated to determine if a student’s attendance has an impact upon his or her learning.  Our data does not exhibit student attendance as a problem at this time as we maintained a 97% attendance average as shown on our Alabama AYP Accountability - School Status Report for 2005-06.  The homeroom teachers and principal’s office monitor individual problems concerning student attendance and contact parents as needed.  The Boaz City Schools Early Warning program is very essential in controlling student absenteeism and tardiness and maintaining a constant control during the school year.

Faculty/Staff Attendance

The Boaz Intermediate School Faculty and Staff used 205.5 days for sickness, 62 days for personal leave, and 65.5 days for professional development use during the 2005-2006 school year.  This provides the faculty with a 93.88 % attendance rate for the year.  Two (2) members of our faculty used a total of 87 of the sick days for medical treatments and for maternity use. This represented 32.5% of our annual sick leave use. This increased number of days resulted in our percentage falling slightly below our annual goal of 95%.

Transiency

The homerooms and class sizes during the 2005-06 year at Boaz Intermediate School were based on 322 students.  There were 34 students who enrolled after the first day of school and 33 students who withdrew prior to the last day of school enrollment.  Sixteen (16) of these students were common to both list and failed to finish the school year with us.  This gives Boaz Intermediate School a 10.56 % level of transiency during the year.

Discipline

Discipline referrals are also analyzed to determine any particular areas of concern.  Our participation in PBS with its reports and our cumulative reports continue to indicate that discipline is not and has not been a big deterrent of our program at Boaz Intermediate School.  Seventeen (17) students, fifteen boys and two girls, and twenty-five (25) discipline referrals were sent to the principal’s office in 2005-06.  Five (5) boys received corporal punishment and two boys received suspensions for theft.

In-School and Out-Of-School Suspension or

Assignment to Alternative Settings

Our School Incident Report (SIR) report shows two (2) two-day suspensions in 2005-06 for stealing from other students and five (5) students receiving corporal punishment.   Those suspended were given a choice of corporal punishment or suspension during their principal’s conference and after a parental call,  the students’ parents  chose  to  remove  them  from school.

 These actions required a total of seven (7) separate SIR reports to be filed with the Alabama State Department of Education.

Prevalence of “At-Risk” Factors among Students

A student’s acceptance in the free/reduced meals program by the Boaz Child Nutrition program is a main indicator of the poverty level of our students at Boaz Intermediate School.  This is an indicator that will assist in identifying “at-risk” students.  In 2006-07, 50.2% of our students have qualified and are considered economically disadvantaged or “at-risk”.  We also have 8.86% of our students were determined to be English Language Learners (ELL) and “at-risk” in Limited English Proficiency.

We presently have 29 ELL students enrolled at Boaz Intermediate School.  Our ELL population consists of students from Asian Pacific, Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Norway. We presently have students coming from families speaking fourteen (14) different languages as their home language. As students enroll at Boaz Intermediate School, a Home Language Survey is completed and signed by a parent.  The completed survey must indicate that the native language is not English.  If not English, the student will then be evaluated for the ELL Program.  After qualifying procedures such as notification of the parents and parental permission to test, the student’s English Language proficiency will be evaluated using the WIDA ACCESS screener.  Parents are notified of the evaluation results and their students qualifying status and are invited to attend the ELL Committee Placement Meeting, at which that committee will make their recommendation, based on ACCESS results, as to student placement.   

Students at Boaz Intermediate School are also determined “at-risk” as a result of DIBELS testing.  Last year, 2005-06, our DIBELS Beginning Benchmark showed that our fourth grade had 41% of our students at-risk.  Our fifth grade scores showed 32% at-risk.  Our intervention program provided much improvement with our students as we lowered our “at-risk” percentage to 22% and 18% “at-risk” respectively.  In the fourth grade, 11.3% were at some risk, leaving only 10.7% considered fully “at-risk”.  In the fifth grade, 12% was at some risk with the remaining 6% considered to be “at-risk.” 

As our third year of Voyager begins in 2006-07, we find that the percentage of students at benchmark in DIBELS (ORF-Oral Reading Fluency) in the fourth grade increased  +19% over last year to 78% and our fifth grade increased by  +14% to 82%.  We feel that these marks show a very substantial growth increase as both grades ended with 71% and 68% of our students at benchmark at the end of the previous school year, 2004-2005.

Our Building Base Student Support Team (BBSST), met monthly during the 2005-06 school year.  Our team consisted of the principal, guidance counselor, instructional specialist and our classroom teachers.  BBSST met on twenty-one (21) referrals during the year.  Of those referrals, six(6) brought about testing for possible placement into special education services and three(3) students qualified for those services.  Many students received classroom help and extra accommodations as recommended by this committee.  Teachers were given strategies, techniques, and other plans to use in their instruction to help alleviate some of the occurring problems.  Some students were referred for counseling services and possible peer tutoring.

Curriculum

Boaz Intermediate School’s curriculum is based on the Alabama’s State Courses of Study.  These courses of study include:  English Language Arts, Math, Science and Health, Social Studies, Art, Music, Physical Education, Technology, Guidance, and Library/Media curriculum based on Alabama State Department standards (Literacy Partners).

The instructional materials used at Boaz Intermediate School include text books adopted from the state textbook adoption list, the Voyager Passport program used for reading intervention,  and technology programs such as SuccessMaker, Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, STAR Reading and  STAR Math Testing, and Math Facts in a Flash.

Boaz Intermediate School has incorporated scientifically based research to allow development of both instructional and reform strategies to be used by highly qualified teachers within their classrooms.  ARI strategies are used and evaluated periodically to ensure the success of the strategies being used in both areas of reading and writing. Teachers now use strategies learned from AMSTI to enhance learning in both math and science classrooms. Math strategies are developed from the study of previous STAR Math results and the results from ARMT and SAT-10 disaggregated data to enhance the instructional methods used by math teachers. Information gathered by participants from AMSTI this past summer will only enhance the instruction and gathering of information in both math and science classrooms and will provide the use of more hands-on learning in both curricular areas. The Mendez Program is a program used to provide instruction to meet required standards in both of the Science/Health and Guidance curriculums.

Boaz Intermediate School students are given opportunities for extended learning through various programs offered after school by the 21^st Century Community Learning Grant.  Gifted classes are offered to further challenge the above average students.  Special education classes extend the learning activities and experiences to our special needs population.  Limited English speaking students’ needs are addressed through our ELL classes, intervention opportunities, and inclusion into the regular classroom.

Learning opportunities are also extended through speakers, programs, fieldtrips, and other experiences at school.  We feel it is very important to relate student learning to life.  After all, our job as teachers is to produce educated students that are ready to enter the social world of adulthood and become good citizens for our community.

Student Health Issues , School Safety and Other Issues

Boaz Intermediate School has a registered nurse on campus and has access to two other registered nurses, on an as needed basis, to address any student health issues.  They provide yearly training on medical and health issues to faculty and staff members.  Our nurses also ensure that a health management plan is in place for students with varied health concerns such as asthma, diabetes, and other medical conditions.  They also provide health screenings for students in such areas as scoliosis, hearing, and vision.

The well-being of every Boaz Intermediate School student and staff member is a primary concern.  Our guidance counselor is available to discuss academic, career, personal, and social issues.  Research-based programs like the Mendez Program are used to address issues such as drugs, peer pressure, goal setting, decision-making, etc.  Speakers address subjects such as bullying, child abuse, anger management, drug awareness, and puberty.

Staff health concerns are addressed through health screenings provided by on-staff registered nurses and through the Marshall County Health Department.  These screenings include bone-density tests, flu shots, wellness screenings, and other programs dealing with nutrition and weight loss.

School Safety issues are updated and practiced throughout the year.  A Crisis Plan Book ensures that faculty and staff members are aware of procedures during circumstances that may endanger students.  Committees are in place to develop and update plans of action.

School wide safety drills provide the proper implementation of safety procedures needed to train students how to react in an emergency situation.  These drills include fire, severe weather, and lock down situations.  All classrooms have posted copies of fire and severe weather drills for immediate use.

The safety and well being of every student is a concern to our staff and faculty.  All steps are taken to insure their safety.  Annually, teachers are assigned monitoring duties in our hallways, our car drop off area, and in the front to load and unload our students from the buses.  This provides an adult for most situations where danger or injury is a distinct possibility for a child.  Our faculty and staff are very concerned with these assignments.

Boaz Intermediate School provides breakfast and lunch for all students and staff members.  This program ensures that the proper nutritional needs are met.  Free and reduced breakfast and lunch are offered for students meeting appropriate federal guidelines.

Another area of safety for Boaz Intermediate School is the compliance with the state regulations for using the two science labs. Checklist and inventories are updated annually and are on file to insure safety for all involved.

The PRIDE Survey was administered to our 335 students at BIS.  The students surveyed were 48.7% fourth grade students and 51.3% fifth grade students. The survey brought insight to the faculty of the knowledge of Boaz Intermediate School students of the harmful affects of drugs and how attainable they are to them as children. When asked if they thought tobacco was harmful to a person’s health, 84.6% of fourth graders and 92.4% of fifth graders responded with yes.  One of the most important questions posed on the questionnaire is how easy it is for students to get tobacco.  It showed that 25.8% of our fourth graders and 33.1% of our fifth graders responded that tobacco is easily assessable to them.  This response tells us that our students have ways to obtain tobacco but they also know that it is harmful to them as well.  When asked if it is permissible for kids their age to use tobacco, 99.4% of the fourth grade population replied with no and 98.8% of the fifth graders also answered no. Many other categories such as alcohol and marijuana were included in the survey as well as risk factors and attitudes.   The survey identified student levels of drug use, violence, and other related behaviors as areas of concern.  Parents and faculty indicated that they felt that our school was a safe place for students to learn and that they that drugs to be very harmful.  The easy attainability of drugs was of greatest concern of the adult population as well as the concern for the use of the peer-pressure factor on students in making the proper drug use decision.

Resources Targeting Specific Student Groups

Resources used at Boaz Intermediate School include an all encompassing program which targets specific groups.  Some of the programs used at Boaz Intermediate School include:

·        Migrant- Migrant students are identified by professionals in 5 schools.  All new students enrolling in the Boaz City Schools for the first time are requested to fill in an Agriculture Survey which helps to identify migrant families.  The system recruiter visits the home to complete the certificate of eligibility.  The Boaz City School system is currently using a program MIS 2000 (Migrant Information System) developed for the transfer of Migrant student records that enables the tracking of these students.  The children are served through a coordination of local, state, and federal programs.  Scientifically based research programs will be utilized in order for these students to obtain high standards and will be selected for service on the same basis as all other children.

·        Homeless- Homeless children are identified by professionals in our 5 schools, the City of Boaz churches, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Boaz City Schools is currently making application for federal funding for homeless education.

·        Immigrant-Immigrant children are identified using registration cards and the Home Language Survey.  The needs of the immigrant children are met by first identifying the level of English proficiency.  An essential component of the immigrant program is the language development program for the children led by a certified ELL teacher and a translator and the inclusion of the highly effective Voyager Passport intervention program used in classroom instruction.  The Rosetta Stone program has been an effective intervention for several years prior to the initiation of the Voyager Passport Program.  Select students use Rosetta Stone as a supplemental practice when necessary. Student needs are met through the coordination of local, state, and federal programs.

·        Limited English Proficient- LEP children are identified using the registration forms and the Home Language Survey.  The children are administered an English Proficiency assessment to identify the level of English.  An ELL teacher or translator assists the child when the child has additional needs.  It is a goal of the Boaz City Board of Education to maintain high expectations of LEP identified students.  It is important to provide an English Language Program for the students or a program that places students in situations they are likely to encounter in the real world and providing opportunities for them to explore, experiment, and resolve the dilemmas confronting them.  A technology driven computer program, Rosetta Stone, enhances the LEP student’s curriculum to provide and accomplish this goal. The children are served through a coordination of local, state, and federal programs.  Scientifically Based Research programs will be utilized in order for these students to obtain high standards and will be selected for service on the basis as all other children  An exhaustive narrative of services provided is included in the Title III portion of this consolidated application.

·        Neglected- Neglected children are identified by professionals in 5 schools, churches in Marshall County, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Boaz City Schools is currently making application for federal funding for homeless education which if awarded will significantly assist our effort with neglected children that are also homeless.

·        Delinquent- Delinquent children are identified by professionals in 5 schools, churches in Marshall County, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Attendance records also assist in determining delinquent children.

(Annual School Improvement Plan – SIP)

Schoolwide Reform Strategies to Meet State Content Standards on the Proficient and Advanced Levels of Student Academic Achievement

In developing schoolwide reform strategies for Boaz Intermediate School, our main concerns are taken from performance data.  Providing opportunities for all students to achieve proficient and advanced academic levels by means of effective instructional strategies is our main goal for students.

We are presently using Voyager Passport as a way to reach targeted at-risk students.  This is accomplished through small group instruction.  Facets of this program include Targeted Word Study, Fluency, Comprehension and Vocabulary, and VIP Assessment.

Boaz Intermediate teachers provide for ongoing progress monitoring using the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Assessment.  Since oral reading fluency is a true predictor of success on high stake assessments,   we feel this is very important for every child’s success now and for the future.  Students with deficits are progress monitored weekly or bi-weekly according to the severity of their deficit.

In the area of reading, several additions have been made in order to strengthen and ensure reading progress.  In addition to Voyager Passport Program, we also use the Harcourt Reading Series which enables us to utilize a complimentary Intervention Plan that correlates with the grade level series.  This program allows teachers to connect intervention strategies to on-grade level work so that it is more meaningful to the students.

As an Alabama Reading Initiative Cohort II School, we have gone through two weeks of strategic methods training and another week of recertification in reading practices.  Many other reform strategies are being continued at Boaz Intermediate School.  Reading and Math Renaissance practices and STAR testing are in place.  Our students continually receive double and triple exposure to Pearson’s new digital computer program, SuccessMaker,  in both reading and math,  for review and practice of course of study objectives and ARMT/SAT objectives for test review. There are many select in-house professional development opportunities available for teachers in language arts with our instructional specialist, and math and science opportunities, with our visiting AMSTI specialist that provide new strategies and teaching methods, in addition to the furnished supplies needed for student activities in the science laboratory and the math classroom.

Implementation of Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Math, and STAR testing is constantly being updated and enhanced to provide the best program for our students.  Training for specialized teachers is ongoing as well.  Renaissance’s STAR Testing provide an insight into each students ability level and starting point for reading and math when necessary.

Other strategies that teachers use throughout our school to enhance our curriculum and provide reform include the following:

·          DOL – Daily Oral Language

·          DOM – Daily Oral Math

·          Power Writing Strategies

·          Graphic Organizers

·          Study Strategies

·          Success Maker Computer Assessment program

·          Checklists and Portfolios

·          Computer Programs that are coordinated with curriculum needs

Services Provided to Migrant, Limited-English Proficient, Homeless, Economically Disadvantaged, and Neglected/Delinquent Students

Services to these varied groups are enhanced at Boaz Intermediate School by a part time ELL teacher, a full time Title I aide with use of the computer lab and a part time Spanish/English interpreter for both students and parents.

Resources and services used at Boaz Intermediate School include an all encompassing program which targets specific groups.  Some of the programs used at Boaz Intermediate School include:

·        Migrant- Migrant students are identified by professionals in 5 schools.  All new students enrolling in the Boaz City Schools for the first time are requested to fill in an Agriculture Survey which helps to identify migrant families.  The system recruiter visits the home to complete the certificate of eligibility.  The Boaz City School system is currently using a program MIS 2000 (Migrant Information System) developed for the transfer of Migrant student records that enables the tracking of these students.  The children are served through a coordination of local, state, and federal programs.  Scientifically based research programs will be utilized in order for these students to obtain high standards and will be selected for service on the same basis as all other children.

·        Homeless- Homeless children are identified by professionals in 5 schools, churches in Boaz City, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Boaz City Schools is currently making application for federal funding for homeless education.

·        Immigrant-Immigrant children are identified using registration cards and the Home Language Survey.  The needs of the immigrant children are met by first identifying the level of English proficiency.  An essential component of the immigrant program is the language development program for the children led by a certified ELL teacher and a translator and the inclusion of the highly effective Voyager Passport intervention program used in classroom instruction.  The Rosetta Stone program has been an effective intervention for several years prior to the initiation of the Voyager Passport Program.  Select students use Rosetta Stone as a supplemental practice as necessary. Student needs are met through the coordination of local, state and federal programs that are afforded to our school.

·        Limited English Proficient- LEP children are identified using the registration forms and the Home Language Survey.  The children are administered an English Proficiency assessment to identify the level of English.  An ELL teacher or translator assists the child when the child has additional needs.  It is a goal of the Boaz City Board of Education to maintain high expectations of LEP identified students.  It is important to provide an English Language Program for the students or a program that places students in situations they are likely to encounter in the real world and providing opportunities for them to explore, experiment, and resolve the dilemmas confronting them.  A technology driven program, Rosetta Stone, enhances the LEP student’s curriculum to provide and accomplish this goal. The children are served through a coordination of local, state, and federal programs.  Scientifically Based Research programs will be utilized in order for these students to obtain high standards and will be selected for service on the basis as all other children  An exhaustive narrative of services provided is included in the Title III portion of this consolidated application.

·        Neglected- Neglected children are identified by professionals in 5 schools, churches in Marshall County, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Boaz City Schools is currently making application for federal funding for homeless education which if awarded will significantly assist our effort with neglected children that are also homeless.

·        Delinquent- Delinquent children are identified by professionals in 5 schools, churches in Marshall County, the United Way First Call for Help, Human Resources and other agencies in Marshall County.  When additional help is needed, Title I and other at-risk programs are utilized to meet this need.  Attendance records also assist in determining delinquent children.

Effective Methods and Instructional Strategies That Are Scientifically Based Research and Strengthen the Core Academic Program

Boaz Intermediate teachers implement effective methods and instructional strategies that include daily small group instruction, differentiated instruction, Voyager Learning System’s Passport Intervention Program, Harcourt’s Complimentary Intervention Plan, Renaissance Learning’s’ Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math programs. These programs and strategies are all based on scientifically based research and strengthen the core academic program in our school.

Effective Methods and Strategies Based on

Scientifically Based Research That Increase the Amount and

Quality of Learning Time

There are several scientifically based methods and Schoolwide instructional strategies used at Boaz Intermediate School to insure an increased amount of quality learning time.  We have an extended two hours and thirty minutes (2:30) Language Arts block that provides an extensive period of time for small group instruction, reading, grammar, spelling, and composition writing.  We use a one hour and fifteen minute (1:15) period of time for teaching mathematics.  We use inclusion with our special needs students with the Special Education teacher teaching small groups in conjunction with the regular classroom teacher in both Language Arts and Math.  This allows us to minimize the amount of time the special needs students are away from the classroom and normal daily activities.  Our Twenty-first Century extended day offers tutoring and other varied activities for after school hour’s instruction.

Effective Methods and Strategies Based on Scientifically Based Research for Meeting the Educational Needs of

Historically Underserved Population

Boaz Intermediate School addresses the needs of all students in our school through research based methods and varied instructional strategies.  These include Voyager’s Passport Intervention reading instruction, small group instruction, DIBEL’s progress monitoring, tutoring in Math or Reading with our Title I aide as needed, assistance from our part-time interpreter with our limited English proficient students and parents, and a grade-level clustering of both special needs and ELL students to maximize the classroom benefit of our Special Education teacher and our ELL teacher or Interpreter.  We utilize our high school ambassadors for additional classroom support in the form of tutoring and reading partners.  Our Title I aide will do subject specific review and direct practice with students that are struggling outside of their normal classroom activities.  We also used carefully prescreened adult mentors with our at-risk students that need a guiding hand and a pat-on-the-back or just social interaction with a new friend.  Every student at Boaz Intermediate School has access to our computer lab and media center on a daily basis.  They receive weekly instruction in art, music, and guidance.  Our counselor schedule allows for individual conferences as needed for students that are facing problems at school or at home.

Boaz Intermediate School is a Cohort II member of the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) and pilot member of the Positive Behavioral Supports ( PBS) Initiative.  These state initiatives are scientifically research based and were implemented through consistent reform strategies learned in their training.  Improvement plans such as Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) the Alabama Continuums School Improvement Plan, the state Technology Plan and the Library Enhancement Plan are implemented with consistent reform strategies.

Boaz Intermediate School determines and analyzes data from varied sources to determine if identified student needs for all students have been met.  We use our assessment data from ARMT, SAT10, ADAW, and WIDA with the Test Trax  program and the many analysis it provides,  to combine sources concerning data and analyze it at the end of the year and during the year for comparative purposes on students, student groupings and even teachers.  We then compare beginning and final test scores to determine the areas that must addressed and continued the next year to address students and teacher needs.

The last source of reform strategies that are used by our teachers are those strategies provided through the Lee vs. Macon Intervention Strategies.  All teachers were trained in the effective use of these strategies for use in their classroom.  We keep several copies of these strategies available at school for teacher use.

Boaz Intermediate School

2006-2007

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GOALS

1.    The number of students from the poverty subgroup in grades 4 & 5 performing at Level III or above on the math section of the Alabama Reading & Math Test (ARMT) will increase by three (3) percent for the 2006-2007 school year.

2.    The percent of students from the free/reduced lunch group in grades 4 & 5 achieving Level III or IV on the reading section of the Alabama Reading & Math Test (ARMT) will increase by three (3) percent.

3.    The number of students in the male subgroup     achieving Level III or IV and meeting state standards will increase by four (4) percent on the total holistic score of the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing (ADAW).