• Category 2

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 52,237
    Student Enrollment: 460
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 20.6%
    White/Caucasian: 54.8%
    Hispanic: 13.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2.4%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 8.6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20.9
    % Reduced Lunch: 35.1%
    % ELL Learners: 17.5%
    Founded: 1989
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Karie Mize
  • CONTACT:
    7866 E CR 100 S
    Avon, IN 46123
    317-544-6700
    kamize@avon-schools.org
Pine Tree Elementary School
Avon, IN
At Pine Tree we consistently use of “OUR” instead of “MY!”
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
We were fortunate to have 180 days of in-person learning during the 2020-2021 school year. During this time, we closed the gap in ELA for our free and reduced lunch students and closed the gap in Math for our special education students. We also celebrated a gap reduction between our ethnic groups. In 2019, there was a 39% difference between our highest and lowest performing ethnic groups. In 2021, it was reduced to 16%. During the school year, we also observed a 27% decrease in discipline referrals. What we were most proud of, however, was the positive shift in what the students reported themselves. Student perception of the overall social and learning climate of the school increased by 9%. Students reported feeling more physically and psychologically safe at school and their sense of belonging grew stronger. Although these numbers are a small part of our success story, we are incredibly proud of our school family for supporting one another during a very challenging school year.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
The implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) is by far the greatest contributing factor that promoted positive change at Pine Tree Elementary. Our work began during the 2018-2019 school year and started at the most foundational level: deconstructing the state standards and utilizing the IDOE standard frameworks to ensure that we had a comprehensive understanding of the intent of the standard, resources available, and special considerations for student groups. By working through each framework together in comprehensive teams and then aligning it with our curriculum, we had a clear and unified vision of the work ahead of us. By disaggregating our data by student groups, whether it be ELA or Math assessments, behavior incident data, or student self-reported social and emotional wellness, we were better able to meet students where they were and move them forward.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
This past school year, Pine Tree’s Title 1 funds were primarily focused on personnel, with a small portion supporting a targeted phonics and phonemic intervention program. Because the Principal, Instructional Coach, and Title 1 / ELL Teacher were all actively involved in K-4 weekly PLC meetings, these individuals were then able to hold bi-weekly PLC meetings with all instructional assistants. During these meetings, the PLC work of each grade level was summarized and individual student progression in the intervention program was discussed. Funding of a full time Title 1 / ELL Teacher also allowed for weekly co-planning and co-teaching with K-4 teachers. Because we were explicit and strategic in our vision, our focus, and our path to improve student learning, our staff/student partnership proved to be successful for all.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
During the 2020-2021 school year, school staff completed two culturally responsive book studies, both led by members of our School Leadership Team. As a staff, we knew that we could not help our students learn if we did not understand what underlying factors we needed to overcome. After the first book study that taught us about implicit bias and the effect it had on relationships, we then moved to the application component of our work to ensure that we remained diligent and vigilant in being more culturally and linguistically responsive in our teaching. We were then able to conduct data dives across all components of a child’s day to determine if our professional development activities were improving teaching and learning.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
There were two cultural shifts at Pine Tree. The first shift was the consistent use of “OUR” instead of “MY” when talking about students. Because of this consistent change in our thinking, the second cultural shift naturally happened... we, as adults, had a clearer understanding of our role in the overall success of the whole child. We were focused on the right things with one, unified voice. As a result, children soon discovered that every adult welcomed and valued them for who they were. The adults at Pine Tree would love every strength and every weakness brought into the classroom. And most importantly, our love for the students would be unconditional, whether it was on the student’s best day or their absolute worst.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
COVID, coupled with 180 days of in-person learning, presented unique challenges to our school family. With in-person options tabled for safety reasons, we found that simple adjustments could ensure families were involved in the school environment. Virtual back-to-school nights, virtual parent/teacher conferences, and virtual PTO meetings became the norm, and were sometimes better attended than the previous in-person format. Our Cultural Fair was held virtually, with great participation and was loads of fun for everyone. The community event that strengthened our school the most, however, was an event that took us TO our families: our Recreational Road Trips. These road trips took us into the neighborhoods after school to play games, do crafts, enjoy snacks, pass out free goodies, and have casual conversation with families. Although these trips were paused due to COVID, we are extremely excited to resume what we feel strengthened our school/community bond the most.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 52,237
    Student Enrollment: 460
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 20.6%
    White/Caucasian: 54.8%
    Hispanic: 13.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2.4%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 8.6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20.9
    % Reduced Lunch: 35.1%
    % ELL Learners: 17.5%
    Founded: 1989
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Karie Mize
  • CONTACT:
    7866 E CR 100 S
    Avon, IN 46123
    317-544-6700
    kamize@avon-schools.org