• Category 1

    Selected in 2016

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 10,281
    Student Enrollment: 272
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 98%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 51%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1967
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Matthew Brown
  • CONTACT:
    421 S Mitchell St
    Cadillac, MI 49601
    231-876-5100
    matthew.brown@cadillac.k12.mi.us
Forest View Elementary School
Cadillac, MI
Every student and adult are held to high expectations of excellence.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.

Forest View has worked hard to ensure families are involved and engaged in school. In collaboration with our parent teacher organization, we have monthly events that encourage family participation. We believe that fun and educational activities that involve families lead to a positive and strong learning community. Through Title I, we use family nights, and family”Lunch and Learn” to engage families during the school day. Through our parent advisory committee and parent organization we involve families through activities such as a Homecoming Celebration, Talent Show, Secret Santa Shop, Daddy/Daughter Dance, Mother/Son event, Family Fun Night and much more.
Our parent advisory committee meets bi-annually to look at ways to engage families. Each year we review past practices and brainstorm new strategies to keep families involved and engaged. It is truly our belief that the more families that are involved, the greater success students will have.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Probably the single greatest initiative that our school focuses on and is working to sustain is communication. Our parent communication begins during summer vacation with a classroom letter to welcome students and families to their child’s classroom. The communication then continues to develop at our annual open house prior to our first day of school. Our open house night helps create a positive family atmosphere and friendly evening as a picnic dinner is provided. Parents see our school as welcoming, nurturing and a friendly place to visit. Communication with families continues throughout the year through weekly teacher updates. Teachers use newsletters, blogs, websites and/or emails that best fit the needs of their parents. Teachers also use positive office referrals, celebration postcards and positive phone calls to keep parents involved.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.

Our philosophy of school improvement is a team approach in which staff has ownership. Setting high expectations for all groups of participants and holding them accountable is a key to sustained improvement. We have focused a great deal of our change and improvement around best practices. We have focused on student goals and scales as well as on students tracking their progress. These student focused goals along with specific ELA building goals have helped us increase our overall student performance.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our top goals are to continue to improve our small group instruction and close reading across content areas. We will also continue to focus on having students track their progress and use student friendly goals and scales as part of best practices.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor in our school success that others could and should replicate is accountability. Every student and adult are held to high expectations of excellence. There is a common vision for all students to meet these expectations and all adults hold each other and students accountable to this standard. Without expectations and a common vision students will shrink to the level of demand. We use weekly school wide student meetings to recognize student accomplishments as well as to discuss areas for improvement. A growth mindset has been the building focus during these meetings.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
Our focus on PLC's and grade level teams has had a substantial impact on student achievement. District level PLC’s meet in large grade level teams to review and analyze their data. The team goes through an instructional learning cycle (ILC) monthly to review formative assessments, set goals and develop scales to ensure all students are accountable. Within our building, teachers use PLC's to plan and target instruction. Student groups are differentiated to allow for teachers and paraprofessionals to deliver Leveled Literacy Instruction (LLI.) LLI has helped our struggling students close the achievement gap by focusing small group interventions on reading and writing. We also use i-Ready from Curriculum Associates to provide instruction at individual student levels. The individual student prescription allows them to work at their independent level and differentiates for all learners. I-Ready has also helped us track and monitor student growth.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
.Title I funds have been used to provide a part time instructional coach and full time LLI paraprofessional. Title I funds have also been used to purchase LLI materials to support our struggling learners. Outside instruction,funds have been used to host family engagement events like our "Lunch and Learn." Through our “Lunch and Learn” we were able to reach over 70% of our K-1 parents and teach them common vocabulary and reading strategies that help facilitate the emergent reader.
Title I funds were also used to purchase i-Ready instruction. I-Ready has allowed us to track and monitor individual student growth. i-Ready diagnostic helps teachers understand student performance. Based on the diagnostic results, i-Ready instruction provides individualized online targeted instruction to meet each student’s unique needs.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
We have transitioned to more job embedded professional development. Helping teachers in their current position and reality is helping transform our practice.
*Our district focus is on Marzano’s best practices in teaching and learning. Teachers and administrators have used key strategies to help facilitate and guide student achievement.
* Job embedded coaching - An instructional coach has been implemented to help focus teachers on their individual needs in the classroom. Coaches also help ensure that school improvement goals are focused and driven.
*Curriculum review through Instructional Learning Teams.
* Professional Learning Communities that function according to common expectations. The grade level PLC’s are using the instructional learning cycle protocol to make changes and drive instruction and achievement.
*Small group instruction
*Close and critical reading in all content areas
* Math phases of fluency
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.

Forest View Elementary uses student data to drive instruction and make instructional shifts. Our district uses benchmarking periods three times a year to review building, classroom and student data. From this data we make decisions to put our resources in the highest areas of need. Teachers also have fluid groups in their classroom to allow for student grouping and flexibility. The fluid movement in and out of small groups allows teachers to continually differentiate for all students.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
At Forest View, all students are held to high expectations. The belief that all students can and will learn are fundamental. The relatively small size of our building allows our school community to personalize learning. Our school culture has been molded from positive relationships and communication between families and school. The caring and positive attitude has created a trusting relationship between home and school. Forest View has had a tradition of personalizing the growth and development of each and every student through support and love. It is an underlying understanding that we do anything and everything to ensure the physical and emotional safety of our students.

Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2016

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 10,281
    Student Enrollment: 272
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 98%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 51%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1967
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Matthew Brown
  • CONTACT:
    421 S Mitchell St
    Cadillac, MI 49601
    231-876-5100
    matthew.brown@cadillac.k12.mi.us