• Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 4,608
    Student Enrollment: 550
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 26%
    White/Caucasian: 51%
    Hispanic: 12%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 10%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 52%
    % ELL Learners: 7%
    Founded: 1978
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Karen Marx
  • CONTACT:
    100 Buckingham Road
    Berlin, MD 21811
    410-632-5300
    ktmarx@mail.worcester.k12.md.us
Buckingham Elementary School
Berlin, MD
Our philosophy of school improvement focuses on teachers and students alike.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Our Literacy Event, “One School, One Book,” is a phenomenal example that exemplifies family involvement. Every student read a common novel, “The Lemonade War” and raised money to fight childhood cancer. Our students and families participated in “Penny Wars!” BES Families were asked to bring in pennies to donate for their class. They could also bring in silver coins to put into the collections of other classes to take away from their pennies collected.
This was a very spirited class competition, bringing our entire school community together on behalf of a tremendously important cause. It was heart warming that a school community with a 52% FARMS population able to give their all in support of our collective goal. BES Families proudly raised $2,855.00 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. This wonderful event brought together the love of reading and the desire to help others, and embodies what we aim to foster at BES, where our school slogan is, “Together for Success!”
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
The most successful activity Buckingham Elementary School offers to strengthen ties to the community is our CARE Academies After School Program, funded through a Maryland 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant. Both teachers and local community organizations partner to teach our sessions. MD Coastal Bays, University of MD Extension/4H, Nike, Ocean City Art League, and Baked Desserts are just a few of our community partners. Let’s Dance, Lego Robotics, Coding, K-Kids, and Brain Games are examples of the sessions offered. With the help of these partnerships, we are able to provide students a variety of academic, enrichment, service learning, creative arts, and technology activities to enhance their learning.
A unique aspect of our academy is when we invite parents to come in to observe their children learning at an event called, “Lights On!” This event culminates each session highlighting the successes of our community partnerships through student presentations and performances.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Our philosophy of school improvement focuses on teachers and students alike. For students, it means having the best expectations of oneself, being ready to learn, showing respect, and working together toward successful accomplishments. This is demonstrated each day as our students recite our school motto:
I am Buckingham!
I am a Respectful Student!
I promise to:
Be ready to learn,
Expect the BEST of myself,
Show respect
Together for Success at BES!!

For teachers, it means creating partnerships to create life-long learners and productive citizens. Our philosophy is results-oriented, focused on what our teachers are teaching, what are students are learning, and an environment that is most conducive to that success. Through collaborative teams and daily Professional Learning Communities (PLC), teachers are continuously sharing ideas, analyzing data, and making instructional decisions to drive instruction. This collaborative process ensures each student’s success.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Goal #1 is to increase the academic and behavioral performance of students being disproportionately affected. Our School Improvement Goal this year was to reduce the percentage of office and bus referrals that all students receive, particularly African American males and/or Special Education students by at least 10%. With the addition of our BES Behavior Intervention Team, we have made strides with these groups and we anticipate continuous improvement as we prioritize this as a goal for the next school year.

Goal #2 is to refine our Tier 1 instruction for all students partnered with our RtI process in order to move those students scoring at Level 3 on Grade 3 and 4 PARCC Assessments. These students who are “Approaching” grade level standard mastery should be a focus of classroom teachers in order to individually address these students’ needs and move them into meeting or exceeding grade level standards.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The success of BES is our vision to communicate, collaborate, and support one another as “Team BES”. We make it a priority to provide support for teachers and support staff through appropriate staffing allocations as well as to communicate and collaborate among all school stakeholders.

Our Literacy and Math Coaches are an integral part of instructional leadership. Resource Teachers, in grades 1-4, are responsible for monitoring the progress of students, being data analysts, interventionists, and co-teaching collaboratively with classroom teachers. They facilitate the RtI process at each grade level.

Classroom Teachers begin their school year developing vital relationships with both their students and parents through newsletters, parent conferences, open houses, phone calls/email, and agendas. At a school wide level, BES communicates via our website, weekly “Bucky Bulletin” digital newsletter, and social media.

Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
Response to Intervention (RtI) has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement. BES implemented RtI to address academic performance three years ago, and the data reflects growth. Less than 18% of our Grade 3 and 4 students performed at a Level 1 or 2 (Reading and Math) on PARCC 2017 Assessments. When formative assessment data shows a student struggling, the student is monitored, and the RtI process begins. Students, not showing improvement during small group instruction, enter into an Evidence-Based Intervention. Progress is monitored weekly and reviewed quarterly by our BES Intervention Team. This group works collaboratively to brainstorm solutions to guide students’ academic progress.

We also implemented a behavioral component of RtI led by our BES Behavior Intervention Team that addresses students displaying challenging behaviors. These students are monitored and provided interventions to decrease behaviors and increase academic performance.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title 1 provides additional faculty at Buckingham Elementary, including a Math Coach, a Literacy Coach, a Reading and Math Resource Teacher, and an Educational Assistant. These individuals are vital in providing additional co-teaching support needed to meet the individual needs of all students.

Title 1 also funds programs and materials for our core instruction including Writer’s Workshop and ARC’s 100 Book Challenge. Title 1 has provided technology for our school, including iPad carts, and SMART boards, allowing students in Grades 1-4 to have their own technology device. Funds have been used to provide substitutes for our School Intervention Meetings, allowing teachers time to collaborate about individual student progress. Our Parental Involvement Events/Activities are used to provide materials and refreshments that draw parents into support their child’s academic achievement. Finally, books are often provided for families, either through a variety of events and activities.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
BES provides effective professional development in the areas of Literacy and Mathematics. Our district provides a consultant for Writer’s Workshop that has been the foundation for our writing program that provides an opportunity for teachers to immerse themselves in the program and models the philosophy of Writer’s Workshop. Our Literacy Coach supplements professional development delivered during weekly PLC Meetings. Additionally, a consultant from the American Reading Company has begun a similar model for supporting the 100 Book Challenge in Kindergarten for independent reading. In the area of Math, Dr. John Tapper has provided professional development regarding Math Menu, a differentiation model for all classrooms. Our Mathematics Coach also participates in PLC Meetings each week, supporting teachers in their instruction. Finally, Educational Assistants receive monthly professional development in the areas of academic achievement and behavioral supports to build their capacity.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Instructional decisions at Buckingham Elementary School are based upon student data that is used to inform daily changes to our instructional programs and practices. It is our belief that all students should have equitable access to the educational process; therefore, data is continuously analyzed through a disaggregated lens to identify achievement gaps in terms of gender, race, socioeconomics, and educational services. Just as data is analyzed school-wide, it is also examined in each individual classroom. Each grade level team works collaboratively to identify the individual needs of students and utilize the Response to Intervention (RtI) Process to tailor their instruction to fill the gaps and increase student learning. Teachers rely on formative and summative assessment data gathered at regular intervals to determine skills that have been learned and standards that still need to be revisited and mastered. Students also examine data and establish their own learning goals.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
At Buckingham Elementary School, our school culture is one of continuous communication and collaboration among faculty members about curriculum, instruction, and assessment that has created a shared responsibility for student learning. This accountability and shared responsibility expands within and among grade levels, and curricular areas, replacing a culture of isolation. A Professional Learning Community has been constructed in which teachers cannot help but become curious, life-long learners (just like our students), continuously reflecting upon and refining their roles in the classroom. We have found that when teachers and students value and commit to our mission and philosophy, which is aligned with the strategies and practices implemented in the school, everyone succeeds. Instructional practices in the classroom are strengthened and student academic achievement increases, thus creating a culture of learning and growing together.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 4,608
    Student Enrollment: 550
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 26%
    White/Caucasian: 51%
    Hispanic: 12%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 10%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 52%
    % ELL Learners: 7%
    Founded: 1978
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Karen Marx
  • CONTACT:
    100 Buckingham Road
    Berlin, MD 21811
    410-632-5300
    ktmarx@mail.worcester.k12.md.us