• Category 1

    Selected in 2020

  • Grades: 1 - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 16,937
    Student Enrollment: 25
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 17.5%
    White/Caucasian: 66.9%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 12.7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:13
    % Reduced Lunch: 99.9%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1961
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rondi Vaughn
  • CONTACT:
    986 State Highway AA
    Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
    573-785-4392
    rondivaughn@pb.k12.mo.us
Lake Road Elementary School
Poplar Bluff, MO
We thrive on having positive behavior supports, a collaborative mindset of both the students and teachers, and a drive to accept nothing less than the highest level of achievement."

Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Lake Road elementary is in partnership with the Bright Futures Council that has strengthened the ties to our community. The Bright Futures Council includes local businesses, churches, civic organizations, parents, and interested community members. They assist us in providing resources for our students and families in need. Through the partnership with Bright Futures we are able to have Club Days. These are bimonthly activities that give students the opportunity to choose clubs based on their interests. Many of our students do not have the resources to participate in these activities outside of this program. Some of these interests were held outside of the physical school building. Students were welcomed into other schools in our district and community facilities throughout Poplar Bluff. These experiences and relationships for our students were made possible with the support from our Bright Futures Council and its members.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Lake Road developed a shared mission that guides us daily. “It is our fundamental purpose to develop students who are leaders of their own learning by creating a nurturing environment that promotes a growth mindset through problem solving and exploration in order to be successful in life.” We are a collective team and function as a whole addressing the ever changing environment of education. We must constantly look for opportunities to better our understanding of education and continue to evolve to the changes with our student population and future generations of learners. We feel it is a priority to constantly evaluate our current practices for effectiveness. We set high expectations for ourselves and for our students. We believe that with the right tools and mindset, students can rise to the challenge and be successful.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
As we navigate the unknowns of our current situation with Covid, we are truly committed to the importance of student engagement and teacher development. We are including STEM lessons in our curriculum. This has been a long time goal to continue to develop more units in our curriculum to allow for inquiry based learning in these areas. Teacher development is another top goal for the next school year. We have several teachers with less than three years of experience. Peer coaching is an important component in this process. Lesson studies are another component that we are using that will integral in peer coaching.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Lake Road is a high performing Professional Learning Community (PLC) with a common mission and vision. These shared beliefs act as a compass helping us set our path and keep our focus. We are committed to utilizing researched based practices such as peer coaching and data based decision making to build teacher efficacy and impact. Building teacher efficacy has been the single most important factor of our school.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
It is very difficult to define just one program that has helped to have positive effects on student achievement. Lake Road implemented Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in 2011. This implementation has allowed staff to create a positive culture that is focused on student learning and their successes. With the decrease in behavior issues, teachers and students are practicing a growth mindset where students feel safe to take risks. Learning is the focus and celebrations take place daily, recognizing behavioral and academic successes. Each day begins with a positive attitude and greeting where students are ushered into a community based classroom. This implementation has fostered a great positive effect on our student achievement by targeting the behavior and student expectations.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Our ESEA funds are allocated to multiple areas to help fully support our intervention efforts. RTI funds for the salaries of intervention teachers have been integral in helping to close the achievement gap of many students. Instructional technology purchased such as iReady and Chromebook carts have also been crucial in helping to support intervention teachers and regular classroom teachers. These funds also provide professional development opportunities for our staff.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Lake Road is committed to building teacher efficacy. We utilize professional development and collaboration to provide ongoing training and learning for our staff. We have focused on team building with multiple opportunities for leadership. Teams for PBIS, CKH, Leadership, and Data share their learning with grade levels. District provided monthly collaboration days allowing professional development to be customized to meet the needs of the teachers in our building. Collaboration in our school plays a huge role in improving teaching and student learning. Through the implementation of Genius Rounds, mentor programs, and our practice of having an open-door policy, our main goal is to focus on student learning. By collaborating with others, we are able to provide the best instruction possible to ensure our students reach their full potential.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Lake Road follows the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) process. We constantly are looking at the “4 Essential Questions”: What do we want students to know? How are we going to get them there? What do we do when they already know it? What will we do when they are not getting it? We gather this critical data from benchmark assessments and common formative assessments(CFAs). Support staff and classroom teachers look closely at the data to find the best plan of action for our students. Teachers are involved in monitoring student progress, reteaching, and assessing to ensure mastery of all. This also leads to defining students’ misconceptions and the best instructional practices within each unit. Data discussions happen consistently within each grade level meeting. Students are also active in setting goals based on the data from the CFAs. By setting their own goals students are empowered to be leaders of their own learning. Data is a part of our everyday conversations.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
The culture of Lake Road thrives on having positive behavior supports, a collaborative mindset of both the students and teachers, and a drive to accept nothing less than the highest level of achievement. If there is a challenge, we find a solution that allows us to best meet the needs of our students. We have implemented Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) with fidelity. We develop relationships with our students and staff that impact our culture in a positive way.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2020

  • Grades: 1 - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 16,937
    Student Enrollment: 25
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 17.5%
    White/Caucasian: 66.9%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 12.7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:13
    % Reduced Lunch: 99.9%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1961
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rondi Vaughn
  • CONTACT:
    986 State Highway AA
    Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
    573-785-4392
    rondivaughn@pb.k12.mo.us