• Category 1

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 650
    Student Enrollment: 67
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 97.5%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0.5%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:14
    % Reduced Lunch: 49%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1924
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Roxann Tietz
  • CONTACT:
    110 N West Street
    Elgin, ND 58533
    701-584-2374
    Roxann.Tietz@sendit.nodak.edu
Elgin-New Leipzig Elementary School
Elgin, ND
Our first goal is to increase our Reading scores. We want to make sure everyone is reading at or above grade level when they leave our building.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
We have been involved with the Gearing Up for Kindergarten program. Parents, up coming kindergarten students, kindergarten teacher and principal are involved. They meet once a week for 10 weeks. We spend 30 minutes each evening doing centers, 45 minutes with parents meeting together and kindergarten students meeting with their teacher, and 15 minutes at the library together. We also have an open house every fall and a Parent's and Grandparent's Day where they may spend a day in school with their child.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
As teachers, we provide a positive and safe environment that promotes lifelong learning to all individuals. We accomplish this by continuing our education through professional development, workshops, continuing education, and advanced technology. We believe that by furthering our education, we can better prepare our students for college and the outside workforce. We greet each student as he or she enters our classroom. We are a small school so we know our students' background, therefore we can provide the services they need. Our classrooms are more active. Research shows that active students are better learners.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our first goal is to increase our Reading scores. We want to make sure everyone is reading at or above grade level when they leave our building. Our second goal is to increase our Math scores. We want all our students to have good math sense and be able to use and describe numbers.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Our RTI (Response to Intervention) groups. We have set aside 30-60 minutes every day per classroom for students to work at their level or with skills they're missing.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
We provide opportunities for all students to achieve whether they are struggling students or high-flyers. In order to do this, we have set aside 30 minutes every day per classroom for students to work at their level or with skills they're missing.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
We use Title I funds to improve our student/teacher ratio. It allows our district to employ more staff and thereby implement more individualized or small group instruction. We use Title I funding to promote and use the Accelerated Reading Program and purchase books. We also have used Title I funds for an after school program and summer school.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Our district has embraced the implementation of sustained research-based professional development. Calendar days are reserved for in-service days. Some of the topics covered are student engagement, differentiated instruction, technology, and the best teaching practices. We have also done several book studies. Our staff has had the opportunity to attend workshops provided by the state or our regional educational cooperative. Several staff member also attend the State Reading, Math, and Title conferences.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
We gather data on our students at least three times a year from several sources. After each time, we meet as professional learning communities and make a data wall and discuss the findings. From that information our leveled groups are formed. Changes can be made to these groups as more data is gathered. We use progress-monitoring data to determine if the interventions are effective or need to be changed. We meet with our students to show them how they did on the assessments and help them set goals.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school mission statement is to provide a positive and safe environment that promotes lifelong learning to all individuals. As teachers, we have done research on colors that enhance a student's learning. As a result, we have painted our rooms to create a safe, homey feeling. New carpeting has been installed and lighting will be replaced by the end of the year. To insure life long learning to each and every student enrooled in our school we provide the following services: One-on-one Academic Improvement Time, Speech, Occupational Therapy, and Special Education. Other enhancement resources offered in our school are SICC (School Improvement Curriculum Council), RTI, Technology, Active Boards, and AR (Accelerated REading). We have a Spanish/German Teacher in our school who can provide services for ELL students if needed.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 650
    Student Enrollment: 67
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 97.5%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0.5%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:14
    % Reduced Lunch: 49%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1924
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Roxann Tietz
  • CONTACT:
    110 N West Street
    Elgin, ND 58533
    701-584-2374
    Roxann.Tietz@sendit.nodak.edu