• Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 481
    Student Enrollment: 299
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.4%
    White/Caucasian: 97.8%
    Hispanic: 0.9%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0.9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 43%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1972
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lori Hermann
  • CONTACT:
    311 N Church Street
    Chrisney, IN 47611
    812-937-2400 ext. 7
    lhermann@nspencer.k12.in.us
Chrisney Elementary School
Chrisney, IN
Change is inevitable and there is always room for improvement.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
We kick off every school year with a Back to School night. We welcome our students and their families to come in and explore their classroom, try out their seat, and meet their teacher. Parent teacher conferences are held a month after school starts which gives the parent and teacher the opportunity to discuss student data and to address any questions or concerns at that time. Parents are always welcome in our school and many take the opportunity to come have lunch with their children. We have an active parent organization which provides support to our school in many different ways.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
It is difficult to say one activity has strengthened our community ties, rather it is a combination of many different community organizations and stakeholders coming together to provide any necessity our students need. Local churches keep a stocked food pantry at our school and backpacks are sent home on Fridays to those in need. Churches and community members donate clothes and toiletries to be distributed as needed. A community bank sponsors a health fair for our families. This provides information about local resources. We have an individual that comes in weekly to teach kids how to play chess. Our partnership with the Welborn Foundation-Upgrade has provided a community walking trail on our school property that connects to a town walking trail. We have hosted several 5Ks to involve community members and parents. Our community partners are key to having students who are well taken care of and ready to learn when they come to school.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Change is inevitable and there is always room for improvement. We strive daily to empower well rounded students to be the best they can be. We acknowledge the need to educate the whole child and continue to support them on their educational journey. We use our professional development time to continue to educate ourselves and make improvements.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our school’s first goal is to expand the idea of data driven instruction across more content areas. Another would be to improve student writing. This goal will address all types of writing across the content areas.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor in the success of our school is the implementation of data driven instruction. We use data to discern students’ strengths and weaknesses. This allows educators to be intentional in focusing on student weaknesses to help close the gaps in individual student learning.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement and closing achievement gaps is the implementation of multi-grade level guided reading. We have a 60 minute block of time where every teacher becomes a reading teacher. We start by looking at data for all students in grades K-3 and 4-6 and identifying strengths and weaknesses. Then, we group the students according to their educational profile to best meet their needs. Groups of 5-6 students are met with and delivered additional instruction/remediation. New data is collected monthly and groups are adjusted as needed.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
ESEA funds are used for staffing. It is important to have dedicated individuals that are all working towards a common goal. With the additional support, we are able to provide very targeted small groups during reading and math remediation. We also use the funds to have a retired licensed teacher do our ELA progress monitoring. This provides consistency across all grade levels and allows teachers to continue their normal instruction.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
The critical professional development activities that have improved our teaching and student learning is our monthly and weekly study groups. They provide time for the administrators to train the staff in the disaggregation of data. Book studies have also provided additional insight in the importance of various academic standards and the need to educate the whole child.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Data has always been a driving force in the success of our school. Daily, weekly, and monthly data is reviewed by all stakeholders, regularly, and by identifying student strengths and weaknesses, we are able to be very intentional in our instruction.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school culture is based on demonstrating kindness, facilitating relationships, and sharing trust. We hold a morning gathering where all students start their day by celebrating successes, learning about character traits, and sending birthday wishes. Monthly, we recognize one student from each classroom that has demonstrated the character trait of the month. Quarterly, we identify those who are succeeding or improving academically. This information is also shared in our weekly newsletter and on social media.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 481
    Student Enrollment: 299
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.4%
    White/Caucasian: 97.8%
    Hispanic: 0.9%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0.9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 43%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1972
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lori Hermann
  • CONTACT:
    311 N Church Street
    Chrisney, IN 47611
    812-937-2400 ext. 7
    lhermann@nspencer.k12.in.us