• Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 3
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 33,000
    Student Enrollment: 480
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 20%
    White/Caucasian: 58%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 17%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:21.8
    % Reduced Lunch: 68%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1928
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Cindy Schuyler
  • CONTACT:
    1500 Cherry Street
    Williamsport, PA 17701
    570-322-9731
    cschuyle@wasd.org
Cochran Primary School
Williamsport, PA
Recently, the Title teachers have moved their instructional focus from a remediation to a front-loaded previewing/acceleration model that supports and builds background before the content is delivered by the classroom teacher. This ensures a highly coordinated and aligned program to classroom expectations.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Cochran teachers embrace parent communication and involvement as critical to student success. As a Title I schoolwide program, there is a funded Title I parent coordinator who actively works and plans for Title I events that stress the priority of home and school working collaboratively Evening events are used to provide information to the parents and families that attend and are tied to a fun family activity. These are well attended and staff, students and families look forward to them.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
My philosophy of school change and improvement is that it is collaborative, on-going and focused. Working together, we identify and make necessary changes. With time and effort, improvement in delivery and interventions occur. Title I teachers are leaders in the RtII process, data collection, and delivery of focused interventions. This happens by actively participating with classroom teachers, creating lesson plans and delivering high-quality instruction.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The heart is teachers who work tirelessly with students daily to improve achievement. The use of instructional practices and strategies that are research-based such as core literacy instruction built on the foundation of the National Reading Panel combined a focus on with standards/eligible content, provides an instructional framework to ensure all students are achieving.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title I funds are used to provide Title teachers and a coach to help support our improvement efforts. Recently, the Title teachers have moved their instructional focus from a remediation to a front-loaded previewing/acceleration model that supports and builds background before the content is delivered by the classroom teacher. This ensures a highly coordinated and aligned program to classroom expectations. Title I teachers participate with their co-teachers in co-planning, progress monitoring, and data analysis, fully sharing the responsibility of student success.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Cochran teachers have the benefit of multiple professional development delivery options through daily Professional Learning Communities (PLC), job-embedded instructional coaching contact, and district and building in-service days. Teachers have time to collaborate daily and receive on-site professional support through their instructional coach, principal, and curriculum administrators at the district level, who all take a hands-on approach to the delivery of professional development.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Cochran Primary is a Keystone to Opportunity (KtO) school also known nationally as Striving Readers. Through KtO tools, a stronger data-driven culture is present and has truly created a data-driven decision- making process at every grade level leading to the state assessment at grade three. Teaching and learning are adjusted based on data informed by universal screening and progress monitoring tools and assessments. Students benefit from a well-defined Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) model where research-based tiered interventions are delivered daily.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school culture is one of diversity. We work hard at creating a schoolwide support system that makes kids feel safe while making them accountable at the same time. The school has positive school-wide behavior systems in-place that makes behavioral expectations clear to students and staff. This allows teachers to provide quality instruction. The school and district have invested resources, training time, and school-based coordinators to implement Olweus, an anti-bullying curriculum; Second Step, a classroom-based social skills program, and a full school implementation of Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) with a focus on building positive discipline and school climate.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 3
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 33,000
    Student Enrollment: 480
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 20%
    White/Caucasian: 58%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 17%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:21.8
    % Reduced Lunch: 68%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1928
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Cindy Schuyler
  • CONTACT:
    1500 Cherry Street
    Williamsport, PA 17701
    570-322-9731
    cschuyle@wasd.org