• Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,734
    Student Enrollment: 353
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 91%
    Hispanic: 3%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 3%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:10.4
    % Reduced Lunch: 23%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1916
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rob Pedersen
  • CONTACT:
    100 East Laurel Ave
    Plentywood, MT 59254
    406-765-1803
    pederr@plentywood.k12.mt.us
Plentywood 7-8
Plentywood, MT
We are very proud of our school and are always looking for ways to publicize this through the media. Professionalism is a priority in our school with not only our staff, but our students as well. School spirit is always a top priority and we have a lot of buy-in from our stakeholders.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
I would have to say that the most successful activity that our school has initiated to strengthen ties to our community has been our open house reading nights.

About four times a year, our staff hosts a Family Reading and Writing Night in which students and parents are invited to come to the school and spend some time reading together, attending reading and writing stations together, and participating in fun activities together that are tied to reading. We provide snacks as well!

We feel that these open house family nights have strengthened our ties with the community as well as strengthening the love for reading in the family unit!
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our top two goals in our school for next year are to continue on incorporating the Response to Intervention model into our middle and high school curriculum and to continue to make sure that our textbooks are properly aligned to the National Common Core Standards.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The Response to Intervention model has probably had the greatest positive effect on our student achievement in our school. We have seen a drop in Title I and Special Education referrals since we have incorporated this program into our elementary school. We have begun this initiative in our middle school as well.

We have set aside time in our schedule for our staff to work with leveled small student groups with reading and math interventions and extra assistance. We also use this time that is outside of the core curriculum instruction to challenge our benchmark students with enrichment activities. We regularly assess our students and group fluctuation and fidelity checks are standard. We regularly have program and grade-level meetings with our faculty which has really become another example of a professional learning community in our school culture.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
We utilize a lot of data in our decision making at our school. As part of our Response to Intervention program, our students are regularly assessed on their reading abilities with DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and on their mathematics abilities with the easy-CBM (Curriculum Based Measurement). These assessments drive our student leveled groups and movement between them. We also look at the STAR reading assessment from Renaissance Learning, core curriculum diagnostic assessments, and the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) assessments.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school culture is very important to our administration and faculty. We are very proud of our school and are always looking for ways to publicize this through the media. Professionalism is a priority in our school with not only our staff, but our students as well. School spirit is always a top priority and we have a lot of buy-in from our stakeholders.

Some unique things that we have incorporated in our school have been the CAT Ticket program where students can earn a chance at money drawings each semester based on their grades, attendance, and positive behavior, the B.U.G. (Bring Up Grades) Club which provides incentives for good grades each quarter, PHS Jobs which provide incentives to our students who interview and perform jobs around our school, and the Positive ("Paws-itive") Student Behavior program which recognizes students for being seen doing positive, nice actions for others.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: k - 12
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,734
    Student Enrollment: 353
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1%
    White/Caucasian: 91%
    Hispanic: 3%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 2%
    Native American: 3%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:10.4
    % Reduced Lunch: 23%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1916
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rob Pedersen
  • CONTACT:
    100 East Laurel Ave
    Plentywood, MT 59254
    406-765-1803
    pederr@plentywood.k12.mt.us