• Category 2

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 152,862
    Student Enrollment: 453
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33%
    White/Caucasian: 58%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0.1%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 2002
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Sara Carlson
  • CONTACT:
    5700 Fulton Mill Road
    Lizella, GA 31052
    478-779-4000
    sara.carlson@bcsdk12.net
Skyview Elementary School
Lizella, GA
Skyview’s school culture has a focus on increased learning and achievement for all.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Families are involved with helping and encouraging their children to read regularly. The program we use is Accelerated Reader for our 1st through 5th grade students. Students are expected to read both fiction and non-fiction books and articles within their Lexile level band. The expectation is that students will read 20 minutes each night. Students are expected to read and be assessed on two books every week. Our pre-K and kindergarten students participate in a program called Apple Munchers. Students are to read with parents and log 100 books over the course of the school year. Finally, we have students participate in Ticking for Fluency. An article on the student’s Lexile level is sent home on the Monday of each week. Parents will support their students by having their child read each evening for one minute. This activity is to build reading fluency.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
“Students Reading on Grade Level” is the priority in our district and this focus is our most successful activity.We use Accelerated Reader to set goals for students to read independently and for teachers to implement Guided Reading. A daily grade level intervention period is implemented where all available staff use differentiated targeted instruction based on data analysis of various assessments.Students reading on grade level will be college or career ready which is part of the district's vision.We host a Family Literacy Night where stations are used to share various reading strategies parents can use.Weekly recognition's reward student achievement.These include: students earning 85%+ on AR tests, students reading a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and high growth on STAR Reading and Math tests.Students graph and conference with teachers after assessments and keep a Data folder with academic/attendance data and goals.Parents are given a copy and this is the focus of conferences.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
The belief at Skyview is that nurturing a positive climate of high expectations is essential to the success of both the teachers and students. Supporting and acknowledging teachers and
students produces an atmosphere of appreciation. Teachers who feel appreciated work harder and support the efforts of the school. Students who feel loved, cared for, and challenged will work hard to meet the expectations and make their teachers and parents
proud of them. We feel that in order for students to be successful in all areas they need to be able to fluently read and comprehend on their grade level or higher. It is our goal to provide opportunities for students to reach that goal by encouraging reading, monitoring student growth in reading, and providing extra support for reading instruction.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our first goal is that all students will be engaged in differentiated reading instruction during the literacy block.The expectation is that by the end of the year, each student is reading within the grade level Lexile band. Our third – fifth grade students have the added expectation to score at the proficient or distinguished level as measured on the Georgia Milestones State Assessment. Our second goal is that all students will be able to solve problems using Mental Math Strategies.Teachers use the Number Talks approach at the beginning of each math lesson to build students capacity in this area. Additionally, the district’s expectation is for students to problem solve daily as part of the instructional math block.The premise is to provide students with daily problem solving experiences and practice using constructed responses in order to reach proficiency or distinguished level in the area of math as measured on the Georgia Milestones State Assessment and also to improve number sense.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single factor we attribute our success at Skyview to is our laser focus on reading instruction and student reading achievement. Students are encouraged to read two books each week and take Accelerated Reader (AR) tests. We monitor the student growth on the STAR reader assessment that is given every six weeks. We disaggregate the STAR data to inform planning and create groups for differentiation during both guided reading instruction and intervention periods at all grade levels. Students are to conference with their teacher, graph their growth, and set new goals for the next assessment. Weekly monitoring of students' mastery on AR tests and percent of fiction/ non-fiction tests is done by homeroom teachers. Students' progress towards meeting these goals
is celebrated weekly.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement has been our reading initiative. We use Accelerated Reader to encourage students reading within their Lexile reading band. Students are assessed every 6 weeks using STAR Reading.
After the assessment, teachers analyze their classroom data to inform instructional needs and create groups for both classroom instruction and intervention. The teachers meet during their grade level data team meeting to analyze student data and maintain
student progress cards for the data wall. As a school, we track our students reading and math growth using the STAR assessment. Each grade level is assigned a color and each student has a card. Cards are updated after each STAR assessment and placed on the
data wall. This measures students’ progress toward reaching grade level goals. Students are responsible for conferencing with their teacher and plotting their growth on a graph and creating a goal for the next assessment.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title I funds are used for an Academic Coach who supports teachers during weekly planning/data analysis sessions.This coach supports teachers in professional learning communities, monitors and provides resources for instruction, and provides support to new teachers.Funds are used for a Family Engagement Facilitator who works as a liaison between families and the school and provides activities and resources, including parent workshops and our Family Literacy Night.We used Title I funds to purchase books and supplies for learning games that parents made during Literacy Night to use at home.We purchase the Write Score program as an assessment tool to monitor reading and writing progress and to provide targeted writing resources for teachers.We provided two professional learning days for teachers to create common formative assessments and so that teachers can analyze data and plan for the upcoming year.Computers were purchased to enhance student learning with online resources.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
At Skyview, grade levels meet with an Academic Coach twice a week. One day is dedicated to analyzing various forms of student data and the second is to collaboratively plan for the next week. During this time professional development is offered in order to strengthen both reading and math instructional strategies. The first item of discussion is to ensure the standard, learning targets and learning task are in alignment. We work to ensure that tasks are rigorous enough to meet the requirements of the standard. We also network with our District Intervention Coach to support teachers with their instructional strategies. One strategy we focused on was teachers using a cold read weekly as an assessment. This provides students with an opportunity to practice reading strategies and to work to understand a grade level text independently. In the area of math our focus is on mental math activities. Teachers receive professional development on Number talk strategies and number sense.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
At Skyview, grade level teams meet weekly in their professional learning communities to analyze student data. Various types of data are analyzed to inform both classroom instruction and differentiation for small group classroom instruction and a grade level intervention period each day for all students. A data protocol has been put in place by our district and followed in analyzing summative assessments and district level content progress assessments in preparation of state testing. The various types of data analyzed
are STAR reading and math assessments, Progress assessments , grade level common formative assessments, and Write Score assessments which are given to 1st -5th grade students. We also analyze weekly Accelerated Reader reports where we monitor the percentage of students in each homeroom with 85% correct or higher on Accelerated Reader quizzes and we monitor the percentage of fiction and non-fiction texts read by each homeroom class.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Skyview’s school culture has a focus on increased learning and achievement for all – students, teachers, and administration. Professional Learning Communities are implemented to build the capacity of teachers and work to meet the diverse needs of
students. Every teacher in the building, along with the administrators, works collaboratively at focusing on improving teacher practices and student learning. One way I have changed the school culture is by celebrating the work and accomplishments of students and teachers. “When celebrations continually remind people of the purpose and priorities of their organizations, members are more likely to embrace the purpose and work toward agreed-on priorities” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, and Mattos, Learning by Doing, 2016). At Skyview, teachers and students are celebrated regularly for their accomplishments and growth especially in the area of reading. I respect the work of teachers that places the focus on the needs of students. .
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 152,862
    Student Enrollment: 453
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33%
    White/Caucasian: 58%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0.1%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 2002
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Sara Carlson
  • CONTACT:
    5700 Fulton Mill Road
    Lizella, GA 31052
    478-779-4000
    sara.carlson@bcsdk12.net