• Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 461
    Student Enrollment: 345
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 95%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 53%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1990
  • PRINCIPAL:
    MeLinda Royer
  • CONTACT:
    4726 W Hwy 36
    Weston, ID 83286
    208-747-3764
    mroyer@westside202.com
Harold B Lee Elementary School
Weston, ID
Placing an emphasis on kindness instead of an emphasis on anti-bullying has changed our culture.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
We have a strong PTO and parents volunteer many hours each week to help deliver instruction, progress monitor, and work with individual students. Our community is very supportive of our school in every way.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
For the past several years we have put on a Hoe Down! Students, families, teachers, and community members come together for a fun night of dancing, dinner, and a silent auction. The entire community looks forward to the Hoe Down and supports it.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
My philosophy on school change/improvement is that we need as many individuals working in the system as possible to have a growth mindset. These individuals need to embrace change and be a team player. If you really want a school to improve, than everyone has got to be on board and positive about the changes that need to be made.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
1. Continue implementation of five new multi-age classrooms that are standards based.
2. Implement a newly purchased reading program while improving standardized test scores.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Multi-age classrooms.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
In the past three years we have implemented several multiage classrooms. Within the walls of these classrooms each student is taught on an individual level. Students stay with the same teacher for up to three years. Other benefits of this structure of classroom are: increased prosocial behavior, relationships among students, teachers, and parents are enriched as a result of working together for more than one year, developmentally appropriate practices, flexible grouping patterns for learning, structured environment, leadership skills, etc.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Our school district uses Title 1 funds to employ paraprofessionals. These individuals work with several students on their individual needs each day they come to work. We take an individualized approach to each student that is struggling to put a plan together and implement it to our best ability.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Much of our success is because we have employed very knowledgable curriculum specialists who work and teach with the teachers. Their are two sets of professionally trained eyes on each classroom. The teacher and the curriculum specialist work together and implement a plan to meet the needs of each individual classroom needs.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Data from progress monitoring, end of course assessments, and standardized tests is looked at and evaluated by teachers, principals, and curriculum teachers on a regular basis. Decisions about curriculum are made after the analysis of data. This is done on a monthly meeting with the, curriculum specialists, principal and grade level teachers and a yearly basis on the district level.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
In the past few years, we have had a school theme centered around kindness that. The teachers have put on skits, performed a dancing drum routine, and other various activities to help encourage kids to be kind. Our character education class pulls in the kindness theme each week as kids rotate through that class. The emphasis on kindness instead of an emphasis on anti-bullying has changed our culture. It has made a difference. Kids are becoming more aware of others around them and how their interactions impact each other.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 461
    Student Enrollment: 345
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 95%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 53%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1990
  • PRINCIPAL:
    MeLinda Royer
  • CONTACT:
    4726 W Hwy 36
    Weston, ID 83286
    208-747-3764
    mroyer@westside202.com