• Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 849
    Student Enrollment: 318
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.3%
    White/Caucasian: 95.3%
    Hispanic: 1.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 2.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:23
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 0.3%
    Founded: 1966
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Candice Jordan
  • CONTACT:
    23 Liberty Street
    Smithfield, PA 15478
    724-569-9570
    cjordon@agasd.org
Smithfield Elementary School
Smithfield, PA
At Smithfield Elementary, we celebrate success, foster collaboration, and continually seek new ideas to overcome obstacles.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Our school created a Christmas themed event held every November in our building. It's called "Holiday Hoopla" and creates anticipation in the community every year. The small borough of Smithfield becomes a flurry of excitement with parents, friends, and community members anxiously awaiting its arrival. During this event, thirty decorated Christmas trees, over eighty Chinese auction baskets, and at least one hundred individual prizes are raffled off. These items are donated by teachers, parents, community organizations, and local businesses. This activity has not only strengthened our community's ties, but also reinforced our sense of shared responsibility and ownership for our students and their success.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor influencing Smithfield Elementary's success must be attributed to our proactive school culture. Within this culture there is an unrelenting desire by all stakeholders to ensure the existence of a safe and nurturing environment, a genuine desire to collaborate and accept responsibility for the success of all students. These beliefs coupled with a shared vision formulates our educational philosophy and lays the foundation upon which our culture has been built and how Smithfield Elementary will continue to grow.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
As a Title I school, all funds are used to purchase supplemental programs and services to support our improvement efforts. Funding is used to provide kindergarten through second grade DIBELS Next assessments and third through fifth grade ELA and Math 4Sight assessments. A Connect to the Classroom tutor supports our RtII program and our improvement efforts through small group instruction that targets deficit skills. Accelerated Reader and IXL math programs provide additional support for all first through fifth grade students, while Study Island is used to supplement higher level reading application for third through fifth grade students. To strengthen our improvement efforts, a six day after school test preparation class is held prior to the PSSA for all third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Remaining available funds are used in support of our many parent involvement activities.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Data analysis is a powerful process used to help us make informed decisions to drive instructional change. It gives us required information to identify needs and areas of weakness as well as strengths, set and prioritize goals, plan interventions, evaluate progress, and ultimately improve student achievement. We realize that data is only as good as the questions we pose. Therefore, we seek to find what the data is telling us and how we need to change as a result of our findings. At Smithfield, we analyze demographics, attendance, student learning, school processes, and individual data. Results help us determine if we have met not only state expectations, but also specific goals set by the school.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
We began our cultural quest by identifying and defining what needed to be changed within our school and worked together to overcome resistance. We examined our culture through the eyes of our students to gain a better understanding of their perceptions and sought insight from parents and community members. We have an extensive school-wide plan based on a shared vision. We keep our focus on teaching and learning and parent involvement. Our culture encourages teachers to acquire new competencies based on student needs. At Smithfield Elementary, we celebrate success, foster collaboration, and continually seek new ideas to overcome obstacles. Best practice must remain common place and our educational commitment must be prioritized and our values shared.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 849
    Student Enrollment: 318
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.3%
    White/Caucasian: 95.3%
    Hispanic: 1.6%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 2.5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:23
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 0.3%
    Founded: 1966
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Candice Jordan
  • CONTACT:
    23 Liberty Street
    Smithfield, PA 15478
    724-569-9570
    cjordon@agasd.org