• Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: k - 6
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 17
    Student Enrollment: 642
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 5.1%
    White/Caucasian: 80.9%
    Hispanic: 7.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1.1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 5.3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 23.7%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1912
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brad Bentman
  • CONTACT:
    475 Kemp Road
    Pottstown, PA 19465
    610-469-5105
    bbentman@ojrsd.com
North Coventry Elementary School
Pottstown, PA
Our school norms are we respect ourselves, others, our school, and the environment.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
At NC we have many programs to help ensure that families are involved and valued as partners. Examples are: PTO, School Compact, Parent Education Nights, Newsletters for ELA and Math, and Before and After School Tutoring. During monthly PTO meetings a standing item in the Principal report includes updates regarding Title 1 programming.Title 1 parents are not only invited to attend the multitude of reading and mathematics events that occur at North Coventry. These events include the Title I Parent Meetings, Mathematics and Literacy Night, Book Swap, Read Across America, Winter Break Reading Challenge, Summer Reading Program, and Jump Start. Our Home School Compact is a living document. Parents are given the opportunity to revise annually it at the Title I parent meeting.
Diverse offerings for athletics and academics are offered. Intramural sports are offered each day, robotics club, OM, Reading Olympics, Homework Club, and Art Club to name a few.


Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
As part of the North Coventry Mission Statement we believe that the connection between home and school is critical for each child’s academic and social growth. Our mission states that, “We will develop positive relations with families and the community by supporting the work of the PTO and through our dedication to North Coventry Elementary School.”
The purpose of the PTO is to enhance and foster the educational experience at North Coventry Elementary School, to develop a closer connection between school and home by encouraging parental involvement, and to improve the environment at our school through volunteer and financial support. The PTO is a key partner in our Title 1 program as they support each initiative.
Each school year there are many school spirit initiatives. A few key events were: Tailgate Party, Winter Wonderland, and a playground initiative. The playground initiative generated a generous amount of money in order to provide a place of play, healing and excitement.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
School improvement must be an organized process used to ensure the success of all students, staff and community.Staff needs to consistently and continuously monitor progress and practices for improvement. This plan is a dynamic, living document. At NC, a plan was implemented in 2011 under new building leadership. This plan set the bar high and we worked hard to learn best practice and to ensure students were held accountable for achieving a minimum of a years growth. The plan included professional development for the staff, paraprofessionals and parents. Individual and team meetings became the norm, along with after school trainings. Task Force Groups were introduced as a way to foster ownership within the staff. The focus for each task force is centered around our Positive Behavior System and SWIS. We have the following task forces for 2018-2019; Social and Emotional Instructional, Family Involvement, PBIS Assemblies, PBIS Tier 2, and PBIS reinforcers for staff and students.

What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Develop Tier interventions for Behavior and Math

Continue the development of English Language Arts Core Curriculum and Tier Time

What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Scheduling and Utilization of Staff is the single most important factor. This process begins in the spring for the following school years schedule. The academic coach works with the learning support teachers to carefully analyze special education student needs. The next step is begin building class lists in order to create the opportunity for maximizing resources to meet student needs. The careful attention given to the building schedule allows all focus to be on student achievement.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The focus on the master schedule provided the opportunity to maximize the number of instructional minutes for English Language Arts and Math. These blocks of time are the catalysts for student achievement. Students have 120 minutes for English Language Arts and 90 minutes for Mathematics. During these times, learning support teachers, reading and math specialists, speech/language, and paraprofessionals are able to provide needed in-class supports. Building the schedule begins the spring prior by carefully examining student needs, special area schedules, allocated staffing and data. Integrating all paraprofessionals for student support versus clerical work has provided NC the ability to reach more students and connect with more families. Maintaining consistency with the implementation of Title 1 Reading and Math Support Programs is an important subgroup of the building schedule. The Title 1 schedules are generated by the Reading and Math specialists based on student needs.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
The ESEA federal funds are used to support our Title 1 Teachers and Academic Coach. Parent education, teacher and student materials/resources, and conferences are also funded through ESEA.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
The academic coach works with the Principal and curriculum supervisors to plan professional development using: learning walks, off-site trainings, the Intermediate Unit, and weekly whole faculty study groups to improve teaching and student learning. District initiatives and student data drive the professional development.
In 2012, professional development on co-teaching was the catalyst for improving focused and consistent teaching. The results demonstrated that students receiving the same language and expectations across settings improved their achievement. This is an area of on-going professional development to continue to hone these critical skills to benefit students.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Data is essential to our staff, as it is consistently used for decision making. There are three formal days designated for teams to come together and analyze observational and academic data. Daily grade level team meetings also provide opportunity to analyze data. The IST teacher leads each data meeting. The purpose is to generate discussion revolving around student growth and to plan for our English Language Arts Tier Groups. At the conclusion of each data meeting a chart is generated to note how many students are in Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3. From this chart, the teams are able to carefully monitor each student and his/her reading progress. Any modifications to foster student growth are generated and implemented immediately. It is an ongoing process. The May data meeting is utilized to form Tier Groups for the start of the next school year, when the students return in August, we are able to begin reading support quickly.

Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school norms are the heart of our school. These norms are evident throughout the school: we respect ourselves, others, our school, and the environment. Our culture is based on our beliefs;
We will purposefully plan our instruction rooted in high expectations resulting in all students meeting or exceeding one-year of academic growth in reading and math. We will develop systems and track data using School-Wide Information System. We will provide a student-centered school community environment that promotes a sense of belonging, school pride, and innovation while providing educational, social, emotional, and technical supports. We will consistently and purposefully promote and communicate our students’ achievements, talents, and creativity to our families and the NC Community.One of the most powerful ways to instill a positive culture and high achievement is through professional learning. Our plan continues to evolve over time, based on need and data. Building relationships is key.

Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: k - 6
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 17
    Student Enrollment: 642
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 5.1%
    White/Caucasian: 80.9%
    Hispanic: 7.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1.1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 5.3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 23.7%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1912
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brad Bentman
  • CONTACT:
    475 Kemp Road
    Pottstown, PA 19465
    610-469-5105
    bbentman@ojrsd.com