• Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 24,523
    Student Enrollment: 239
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 4%
    White/Caucasian: 53%
    Hispanic: 30%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 3%
    Other: 9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 64.4%
    % ELL Learners: 10.9%
    Founded: 1959
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Angie Baumann
  • CONTACT:
    1703 Phillip Avenue
    Norfolk, NE 68701
    402-644-2561
    angiebaumann@npsne.org
Westside Elementary School
Norfolk, NE
As principal, I work to inspire drive and ambition in my teachers, creating the best environment for student learning. I set high expectations for all staff and students and encourage collaboration in all aspects of education.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Family involvement enhances student learning at Westside Elementary School. Our website provides parents with up to date information, calendars, photos and more. Teachers send home newsletters, communicate with parents, invite them into the classroom, and meet during our monthly FAST parent meetings. We hold family events, such as Family Reading Night, Prime Time Reading, Westside Carnival, and Grandparent’s Day. SAT days are utilized to team plan for the success of individual students. Students have access to academic programs at home, such as IXL, Xtra Math, Wonders and Spelling City. Community partnerships are vital to student learning as well. Families receive support through the Professional Partners Program and the Madison County Juvenile Services Center. The Backpack Program and Blessings in a Backpack provides over 80 weekend food bags for our students through the entire school year, along with winter coats, hats and gloves.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Westside Elementary provides a welcoming environment, which strengthens our ties to the community. We invite community members into our building to be guest readers, speakers and have a variety of classroom/community partnerships. Our students benefit from the Backpack Program and Blessings in a Backpack, which also brings volunteers into the building to help with coat distributions. Community members support our annual fundraiser, carnival, family reading nights and our Grandparent's Day Luncheon. A variety of parents and volunteers support Westside each week and assist in numerous ways, including participation in our parent group. The staff at Westside Elementary realize the benefits of working with the community to provide our students with a well-rounded education and to prepare them to pursue their goals for the future!
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Although change isn't always easy, it can be necessary in order to change outcomes. If data is present that shows we are not being successful, we need to change our approach. The Westside staff has worked together to look at our areas of weakness to determine where change needs to be made. Instructional Rounds have been implemented, in order to provide staff with opportunities for growth and positive interactions. Students needs are always first and staff are committed to changing in order to increase student learning. Any change must be an investment from the administrators, teachers, students and parents. Team decisions are made, implemented and reviewed by all stakeholders. Westside staff use their weekly PLC meetings to review data, focusing on improvements and areas that need changed. Goals are set for individual and groups of students and data is continually reviewed.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our top goals for next year include an increase in testing scores, with a detailed action plan. Of course, we always want to see our scores increase, but it's what we do everyday to help those scores increase that make the difference. The staff is focused on their own Smart Goals, while also having the students set personal goals, too. We will continue to review our data at weekly PLC meetings, sharing relevant information with parents. Interventions will be provided and documented, changing with the needs of the students. Curriculum alignment will continue and be utilized to improve instruction. Students will be recognized for the successes and efforts in the areas of math and reading at monthly assemblies.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor of the success at Westside Elementary School is the teamwork that happens everyday. The staff is dedicated to the students and each other, working to ensure the success of the students. As a team, the staff is willing to change what isn't working and embraces the change with a positive attitude. Communication has increased and the staff is willing to listen to new ideas and move forward in order to best serve our students. The flexibility and compassion that the staff demonstrates are top notch!
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
Westside Elementary has begun to strengthen our reading intervention plan and delivery. The continual collection of data and regrouping, for reading intervention groups, ensures a strong positive effect on student achievement and closing gaps. Data is the driving force behind our intervention groups. Scheduling has been changed to allow for numerous adults, teachers and paraprofessionals, to be available for each grade level’s intervention time. Being able to work with smaller groups of children, all focused on their individual needs, has made a greater impact on student achievement than working with larger groups all focused on the same skill. With student learning being the center of our interventions, students are assessed every six weeks and regrouped as needed. This also allows staff to really understand the strengths and weaknesses in student learning, while developing relationships with those students.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
The Title 1 program is involved in the understanding of our district curriculum. The teachers provide support and intervention to our struggling students. They are involved in our reading intervention groups at all grade levels. The Title 1 teachers hold school-wide parent nights and meetings to promote parental involvement and to educate parents. Our Title 1 teachers participate in PLC meetings and discuss data and make curricular decisions based on that data. One of our Title 1 teachers is on our building SAT team and participates in monthly meetings, giving suggestions for ways our students can be successful. She also coordinates our after school homework room and assists students daily with homework completion. Our Title 1 teachers collaborate with our ELL and Special Education teachers, to team plan how to best serve our students.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Westside Elementary School follows guidelines set by our district in holding weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings. During these PLC’s our staff has the opportunity to discuss data and students successes and struggles. They also collaborate with teachers across the district. All teachers implement APL teaching strategies in their classrooms, with continual and refreshing of skills. Norfolk Public Schools provides ongoing professional development days for staff and opportunities for curriculum development. Certified staff are offered opportunities to attend professional workshops for professional improvement on particular skills or areas. Staff sets SMART goals based on areas of improvement in instruction. These improvements happen because of positive conversations with administration.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
The staff uses data to make instructional decisions, resulting in improved student performance. Data from district and state assessments show significant growth. Staff look at possible gaps in our curriculum, based on assessment data and work in teams to fill any gaps. Teachers look at data at all grade levels to plan reading intervention groups based on student needs. Data is evaluated on a 6 week basis. The data is taken from multiple sources and professional learning occurs through data and curricular decisions. Goal setting is done by both students and staff in a variety of curricular areas. Students are given homework as deemed appropriate by the grade level teachers and that data is used for instructional decisions and interventions.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our positive school culture allows staff and students to have significant opportunities to learn. As principal, I work to inspire drive and ambition in my teachers, creating the best environment for student learning. I set high expectations for all staff and students and encourage collaboration in all aspects of education. The caring staff is proactive and meets weekly, to look at data and make decisions about the success of students. During PLC meetings, the Westside staff is willing to collaborate and try new strategies to strengthen academics and promote positive behaviors. Teachers are present in the hallways and greet students every morning, also walking outside with them every day at dismissal. Students are provided with incentives such as time with a college basketball team, duct taping the principal to the wall, seeing a pie thrown in the face of their teacher and daily prize opportunities for being a Bucket Filler or passing AR quizzes.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 24,523
    Student Enrollment: 239
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 4%
    White/Caucasian: 53%
    Hispanic: 30%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 3%
    Other: 9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 64.4%
    % ELL Learners: 10.9%
    Founded: 1959
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Angie Baumann
  • CONTACT:
    1703 Phillip Avenue
    Norfolk, NE 68701
    402-644-2561
    angiebaumann@npsne.org