• Category 1

    Selected in 2016

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 7,400
    Student Enrollment: 460
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 91%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1.5%
    Other: 3.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 40%
    % ELL Learners: 0.2%
    Founded: 2000
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Mat Johnston
  • CONTACT:
    117 Green Belt Drive
    Belgrade, MT 59714
    406-924-2036
    mjohnston@belgradeschools.com
Ridge View Elementary
Belgrade, MT
Embracing the PLC philosophy has created an atmosphere that is tight and loose. We have tight expectations for student achievement and provide teachers the freedom to be innovative and take risks.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Ridge View has participated, over the past three years, in the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project. Each summer, the kindergarten teachers schedule time to meet with every incoming kindergarten student and their families. This is done away from the school and at the convenience of the parents. Goals and dreams of the parents are discussed with the teacher and has been surveyed with tremendous success! Parents and students enter kindergarten with much less anxiety which leads to a very positive start for an educational career.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Ridge View has a very active Parent Teacher Council (PTC). They sponsor many events throughout the year to involve families and promote active participation in the school. Our PTC hosts a family BBQ/Fun Run every fall followed by movie nights, carnivals, dances, pumpkin carving nights and a holiday bazaar/craft fair. They also sponsor a "Tree of Giving" during the Christmas holiday season which provides community members the opportunity to help those families in need. We also have a school wide food drive for the local food bank.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Embracing the PLC philosophy has created an atmosphere that is loose and tight. We have tight expectations for student achievement. Data is monitored and we make adjustments where and when needed to ensure all students are achieving at the highest level possible. Teachers, however, are provided the freedom to be innovative and take risks. We, as a district, have set the learning target and we allow the teachers the freedom to reach that goal in the most effective way possible for their students.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
The first goal for the next school year is to provide more professional development for teachers to focus on getting the students who struggle academically to proficient at grade level standards while pushing those proficient students to a higher level of thinking.
The second goal for next school year is to continue to develop an organizational culture that is built on mutual respect and commitment. Students are the focus every day for us and teachers need the support and encouragement to develop into the best instructors possible.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
It is very difficult to define one single most important factor. There are so many moving parts that define who we are as a school that are vital to the success of our students. Above all it boils down to the idea that if it is for the development of the students, let's do everything we can to make it happen.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The greatest positive effect on student achievement comes from quality classroom instruction. Teachers are expected to use high levels of student engagement, combined with a deep understanding of content, to close those achievement gaps as efficiently as possible. When students are demonstrating difficulty with grade level standards, we then prescribe targeted interventions to develop foundational skills necessary to progress to proficiency. Professional development is provided for teachers and support staff to target quality instructional strategies.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title I funds are crucial to provide assistance in targeting student needs. We utilize Title I funding for personnel and materials that will help us with specific interventions and classroom assistance. Students with the highest need are identified through our data collection process. We diagnose their deficiencies and prescribe interventions to close their achievement gaps. Professional development opportunities are also partially funded through Title funds which allows us to provide the best possible education we can to our students.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Working closely with other schools in the district we have incorporated a true PLC atmosphere. Collaborating with other administrators to begin the process of moving to standards based instruction and reporting has created deep discussions among teachers about instructional best practices. District wide, we also participate in math instructional professional development that aligns with the standards based initiative.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Data is a starting point when determining student decisions. We want all of our students to be as successful as possible. Testing data, coming from universal screeners and targeted assessments, combined with teacher input helps us diagnose and prescribe an instructional program that is targeted for each student. The data we gather helps us determine the instructional entry point we need to focus on. Students are then monitored on their progress and adjustments are made when necessary.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Ridge View Elementary has worked hard to improve our culture by relying on the Professional Learning Communities philosophy. Teachers are encouraged to be innovative with their instruction to create atmospheres that promote risk taking. We don't want our students to be fearful of failure but instead be courageous in attempting new concepts. We promote teamwork, collaboration and respect from staff and students alike. The teachers have embraced the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, known in Montana as MBI (Montana Behavior Initiative), with a high level of enthusiasm. When we combine Response to Intervention initiatives with MBI, we develop a system that becomes a part of who we are. The Ridge View Way.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2016

  • Grades: k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 7,400
    Student Enrollment: 460
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 91%
    Hispanic: 4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 1.5%
    Other: 3.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 40%
    % ELL Learners: 0.2%
    Founded: 2000
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Mat Johnston
  • CONTACT:
    117 Green Belt Drive
    Belgrade, MT 59714
    406-924-2036
    mjohnston@belgradeschools.com