• Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: pre k - 8
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 0
    Student Enrollment: 110
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 73%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 6%
    Other: 19%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 46.4%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1963
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Conrad Woodhead
  • CONTACT:
    34215 Sterling Highway
    Anchor Point, AK 99556
    907-235-8671
    cwoodhead@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Chapman School
Anchor Point, AK
The best educators we remember, either the ones we have had or the ones we have worked with, all have one defining characteristic; an innate sense of stewardship. Experience says that you cannot teach this. For that reason, it is more than just a job for those teachers. Chapman’s staff is filled with stewards.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Chapman School utilizes Title I to involve families in their child’s education and to ensure continued success and improvement for their child. It supports a variety of parent engagement activities and quarterly family activities.

For our Title I pre-k, family activities are developmentally focused and activities are provided for parents to replicate at home. Parents are involved in planning these activities, ensuring ownership in the product and learning that takes place. The continuation of this skill practice is encouraged through summer backpacks that contain flashcards, scissors and cutting activities, and a skill based activity book.

For our K-2 Title I reading families, family activities are reading strategy based. The Title I teacher is able to demonstrate reading and comprehension strategies that can be used at home when parents are working with their child. This encourages consistency in reading expectations whether a child is at school or at home.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Chapman School is the main educational option for students in the small unincorporated town of Anchor Point, Alaska, located on the Kenai Peninsula. In order to provide relevant exposure to educational opportunities and develop the tools for students necessary to become successful in any environment, Chapman School relies heavily on community partnerships to make these opportunities possible. Through an overall school emphasis on creating these partnerships, coupled with intentional goals built into the school’s improvement plan, they have allowed Chapman School to cultivate and sustain a robust learning environment in an otherwise resource limited community. The emphasis on our community’s young people, along with strong parent support, staff buy-in, and eager to learn students, has allowed Chapman School to develop into a benchmark for tailoring instruction to meet the needs of each student.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
The best educators we remember, either the ones we have had or the ones we have worked with, all have one defining characteristic; an innate sense of stewardship. Experience says that you cannot teach this. The reasons for going into the profession makes it more than just a job for those teachers. Chapman’s staff is filled with stewards. Examples of selflessness can be seen every day from Chapman School’s staff. This characteristic lays the basis for many leadership opportunities for each of our teachers.

What drives our staff the most is a mission to change the perception that somehow our education system is inadequate. Chapman has extraordinary educators that together, have made some of the highest gains in Alaska. Our “kid first” approach and attention to transparency and communication are paying off. This approach has consistently created a high level of buy-in from all stakeholders.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Chapman School utilizes a detailed process for developing school wide goals each year. During this year’s process, two main goals were identified; attendance and community partnerships.

The attendance goal was explicitly developed due to the attendance identifier in Alaska’s Department of Education’s utilization of the Alaska School Performance Index (ASPI), the State’s accountability system for public schools. The system utilizes a (5) star rating system, using the following indicators: academic achievement, school progress, and attendance rate for K-8 schools. Chapman School recognizes the need for attendance to be 93% or higher in order to garner enough points to be considered 5 star.

Chapman School also has a community partnership goal. Located in Anchor Point, Alaska, a small unincorporated town with limited resources and traditionally high rates of poverty, Chapman School relies heavily on these partnerships to provide strong and relevant learning.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Chapman School’s success is a recipe of many different ingredients; not one more important than the next. It’s difficult to attribute the school’s success to a specific program, when really, it’s a multitude of factors. From our Title I programs, our high level of technology, our programmatic staffing, our intervention processes, our special services folks, our teachers, and support staff, they are all equally important in ensuring the success we share as a school community.”

Among all of these, having a dedicated staff is vital to ensuring student success. What drives our staff the most is a mission to change the perception that somehow our education system is inadequate. Chapman has extraordinary educators and together, have made some of the highest gains in the state. Our “kid first” approach and attention to transparency and communication are paying off. This approach has consistently created a high level of buy-in from all stakeholders.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
At Chapman School, our Title I Pre-k feeds into our Kindergarten program, providing early intervention services to these students, which essentially is a year sooner than they would otherwise receive. Academically, intervention is provided very early in the year, and in many cases, students reach the average range and are exited from intervention and Title I reading services by the end of the school year. Chapman School has created a philosophy that focuses strongly on intervention in grades K-3. Further analysis of data shows that Intervention programs in Chapman School focus strongly on K-2 in the content areas of reading and math. Our reading numbers are higher because we have the added benefit of Title I reading groups in addition to intervention support. When comparing the Intervention numbers of grades K-2 compared to grades 3-8, it is clear that most students narrowed the gap by 3rd grade (due to the benefits of early intervention) and are performing in the average range.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Chapman School utilizes Title I funds for two separate learning opportunities: pre-k and Title I reading supports. Funds are also used to support the school’s efforts towards parent and family involvement in their child’s education.
Their Title I pre-k program was among the first of its kind in our district. It began as one of five pilot programs in 2009 and has become a model for other schools in our district. This program is the only source of early intervention in the community and is the only early learning opportunity for students prior to attending Kindergarten.

Chapman School’s Title I reading program provides early reading interventions for struggling readers in K-2. The Title I teacher and interventionists work together to track student data, create strategic groupings, and communicate with families. Both work closely with classroom teachers and students to track progress and student generated graphing and recording of progress and goals.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Professional Development is a cornerstone of developing effective instructional strategies at Chapman School. Each teacher has participated in substantial professional development opportunities during their tenure. Designated collaboration times developed by a school leadership team, ensures that professional development opportunities are relevant and effective.

Apart from each teacher’s materials-specific trainings, all teachers have been trained in the Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching. All current teachers have also taken part in multiple on-site trainings in utilizing online and app-based tools for our school's grant-funded one-to-one iPod and iPad program. Thanks to our extensive training, we have been able to provide more differentiated learning opportunities for students and increase engagement through interactive online learning tools.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Chapman School utilizes district-adopted programs and curriculum to form a foundation of quality core material. Our philosophy of Intervention has developed into focusing supports for grades K-3 in an effort to help decrease the learning gap between student groups, using data-based decision making for all students. Data is used for intervention placements and decisions are made by the intervention team. The team determines who will provide each intervention and how progress will be monitored weekly. All students at Chapman take part in progress monitoring in math and writing twice per month and follow-up meetings are held by the I-Team 6 weeks after each data day. The team looks at the data and talks with the teacher about whether or not the intervention is working and if any changes need to be made. Generally, most students who receive intervention in the school begin to close the gap with their peers and their performance moves into the average range.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Chapman School has embraced a collaborative approach throughout its stakeholder base to create learning initiatives, for examining areas of emphasis, and in developing priorities. These opportunities have led to a school culture that has created a “kids first” mentality. The culture has led to an attitude shared by all staff members that each student will be taught with an equal level of caring and pride.

The best educators we remember, either the ones we have had or the ones we have worked with, all have one defining characteristic; an innate sense of stewardship. Chapman School’s staff is filled with stewards. Examples of selflessness can be seen every day; a characteristic that lays the basis for the overall culture at Chapman School.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: pre k - 8
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 0
    Student Enrollment: 110
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 73%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 6%
    Other: 19%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 46.4%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1963
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Conrad Woodhead
  • CONTACT:
    34215 Sterling Highway
    Anchor Point, AK 99556
    907-235-8671
    cwoodhead@kpbsd.k12.ak.us