• Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 11,649
    Student Enrollment: 410
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 12%
    White/Caucasian: 4%
    Hispanic: 49%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 24%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 11%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:30
    % Reduced Lunch: 76%
    % ELL Learners: 23%
    Founded: 1990
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lucy Salazar
  • CONTACT:
    1900 E. 21st Street
    Signal Hill, CA 90755
    562-858-5829
    lsalazar@lbschools.net
Alvarado Elementary School
Signal Hill, CA
We have created an atmosphere at Alvarado Elementary where “teaching is a public act.”
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
To close the achievement gap among ALL students, teachers need to have the structure of workshop teaching in place to differentiate their instruction, gather authentic assessment data and guide daily instruction. Workshop teaching offers direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice and has key components occur at two separate times of the day. It follows same sequence: Mini-lesson: During 10 min., students learn a (reading/writing) skill and strategy. Conferring/Independent Work Time: During this independent work time, the teacher confers with students, meeting them at their individual level. Mid-workshop Interruption: While students are working independently, teacher will “interrupt” class to highlight, reinforce or remind students of skills/strategies used by strong readers and writers. Share: At end of workshop time, class gathers on the rug to discuss and highlight the important work students engaged in that moves them towards becoming stronger readers and writers.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Alvarado engages all stakeholders for Title 1 use of funds: Leadership Team, School Site Council, English Language Advisory Committee, and entire Alvarado instructional staff. Using shared decision-making protocol, stakeholders are heard and needs of students are the priority. Alvarado uses funds to support the followings goals:
-improved attendance, coordination of interventions and case management of students with the support of a school counselor.
-improve students' reading levels by providing differentiated, small group instruction with a highly skilled teacher to re-teach, review or assist students in accessing previously taught curriculum.
-support the ELA needs of our English-language learners by providing after-school tutoring.
-provide written and oral translations for parents, community members and staff with the support of a bilingual office assistant.
-increase student engagement by reducing chronic absenteeism and provide access to district and outside health resources.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Alvarado uses a cycle of continuous improvement to address professional learning. Professional learning includes action steps and evidence of progress that aligns quality core instruction (Workshop teaching) and ongoing progress monitoring (aligning SMART goals and common assessments). The school year begins with an analysis of school-wide data, SMART goal development by grade levels and then teachers set individual SMART goals all aligned to school goals. Student work and metrics are reviewed 3 times to monitor progress and adjust teaching in response to data.
PD cycles include Data analysis from metrics agreed upon on SMART goals, collaborative planning of lesson and in preparation of peer visits, peer visits/Lesson study protocol to adjust future lessons, determine student outcomes to collect and analyze, looking at student work using a protocol of analysis based on teacher action plans and celebrations/school-wide articulation of signature practices.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Alvarado’s goal is to increase the number of students demonstrating reading proficiency.

This is accomplished by developing an explicit action plan and strategic steps ensuring teaching occurs at student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The action plan includes:
· Examination of the district and site-based common assessment data.
· Identify students that would benefit from additional instruction outside of Reading and Writing workshop time.
· Identify this additional instructional time as RtI (Response to Intervention) time and assign students to receive additional support from a highly trained teacher.
· Select common assessments to use as for Pre/Post data analysis.
· Schedule cycles to monitor the progress of students in each class 4 times per year.
· Examine of how anecdotal data from reading conferences drive instruction, relates to the designated line of growth/student, and forms of strategy groups.
· Each teacher develop an Action Plan for a strategic group of students.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
In order to maintain the high levels of professional learning, a model of sustainability of has been devised at Alvarado. Over the last decade, Alvarado has built a professional partnership with Cotsen Foundation- The Art of Teaching and has been designated as a demonstration school for Reading and Writing Workshop. The partnership has created an atmosphere at Alvarado Elementary where “teaching is a public act”. 7 times a year, outside eyes visit classrooms to participate and learn methodology aligned with workshop teaching. As a demonstration school, Alvarado’s advanced teaching staff design and present Reading and Writing Institutes. We have maintained our status as a teaching school and continue to be “leading practitioners" of the workshop methods from Teacher’s College. These teachers are committed to collaborating, studying, and creating content to support our site professional development needs and continued presentations as a demonstration school.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 11,649
    Student Enrollment: 410
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 12%
    White/Caucasian: 4%
    Hispanic: 49%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 24%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 11%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:30
    % Reduced Lunch: 76%
    % ELL Learners: 23%
    Founded: 1990
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lucy Salazar
  • CONTACT:
    1900 E. 21st Street
    Signal Hill, CA 90755
    562-858-5829
    lsalazar@lbschools.net