• Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 32,549
    Student Enrollment: 730
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33.2%
    White/Caucasian: 33.5%
    Hispanic: 7.8%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.1%
    Asian: 19.4%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 5.9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:26
    % Reduced Lunch: 28%
    % ELL Learners: 9%
    Founded: 1994
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Norman Kennedy
  • CONTACT:
    101 Barrett Run Rd
    Newark, DE 19702
    302-454-4700 ext. 157
    norman.kennedy@christina.k12.de.us
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School
Newark, DE
Marshall Elementary is a Caring Community. Students work hard to support one another in the classroom and in the school. On any given day you will find 5th grade students assisting Kindergarten classes or a 4th grade student tutoring a first grader on sight words.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
-Student of the Month (monthly assemblies)
-Coffee with the Principal (monthly informal Q and A session)
-Weekly Parent Link phone system used to provide families with the weekly events and news
-Reading and Math Nights where teachers deliver strategies to parents to use at home
-Parent Advisory Council (monthly)
-PTA Meetings (monthly)
-A variety of PTA events
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Each month we hold a Student of the Month Celebration. Students are selected from each classroom. We hold an assembly and invite families into the school to watch their student receive recognition on the stage in front of their peers. The assembly brings in a lot of family members and also provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships from home to school.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
School change and improvement is driven by data at all levels. As principal I stay informed of school needs by a variety of formats including: analyzing assessment data, gather staff, student and parent survey results, talk with students, hold monthly morning coffee sessions with parents, and attend every PLC. All of this information is used to make well informed decisions and implement strategies to improve our school. This process is on-going and the data may shift quickly. Staying informed is key to school change and improvement.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
1. Increase the capacity to use the new social thinking curriculum The Zones of Regulation to support students and to teach expected behaviors. (We are learning the curriculum this year and together while implementing. Next year we will start with full implementation. This support the students especially those who have individual behavior plans. The Zones teach coping skills and provide alternatives for unexpected behavior. The common language for all staff is consistent.)
2. Increase the percentage of all students who meet proficiency on state assessments (Smarter Balanced). Specifically targeting our special education population and English Language Learners.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Targeted small group instruction that is flexible -meaning that it changes based on student need. Small group instruction is provided during the classroom ELA block and math block. In addition, grade levels have a daily Reading AND Math intervention block for 30 minutes each. The master schedule is created so that interventions do not overlap by grade level and the support staff can push in to each grade during the scheduled intervention time.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
Focused and targeted small group instruction is our greatest resource. Grade levels have a daily 30 minute reading and math intervention period outside of the daily instruction. During this time grade levels provide small group support working on precisely what students need. The teachers will switch students when necessary to provide the skill that is needed. In addition to intervention, teachers provide flexible grouping within the daily math and reading block. The small group instruction provides teachers the opportunity to work on a variety of levels and get a true understanding of student proficiency. Teachers are able to provide all students with level of challenge they need to succeed.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title 1 funding is used to support reading and math intervention by hiring support staff to deliver instruction. The support staff are trained with a variety of curriculum materials and provide service to Tier 2 and benchmark students while classroom teachers deliver intervention services to all Tier 3 students. In addition, Title 1 funds are used to host Reading nights where parents learn strategies to work with students at home.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Professional development activities are driven by student and teacher need. Again, analyzing data is the key. Daily classroom walkthroughs provide information for upcoming professional development sessions and provide a platform for delivering on the spot feedback to staff. Analyzing behavioral data may show a need to increase the level of positive strategies used across the school. Professional Learning Communities and after school faculty meetings are used for staff development. Some of the most recent activities include: learning and implementing a school wide social skills program called The Zones of Regulation, discovering ways to increase higher order questioning, creating ELA performance tasks, and identifying and learning new intervention materials. Professional development is evaluated by staff members for continued improvement and to identify upcoming topics/need.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Each grade level meets in a Professional Learning Community weekly in the principal's conference room. All grade level team members, support staff, and the principal are in attendance. The grade level team analyzes grade, classroom, and individual student data. We review norm referenced, district common assessments, and classroom level assessments. Most of the information is readily available in our online data system which helps to organize our data. Teams use the data for a variety of supports. Reading and math data is used to match a student with the appropriate daily reading or math intervention group based on the skill needed and the group size. Our district common assessments assist teams in preparing for our state assessment and allow us to gauge Common Core proficiency. Teams will often discuss individual students who may need additional services (challenge or remedial) to offer ideas and strategies. In addition, the teams review behavioral data to identify needs.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Marshall Elementary is a Caring Community. Students work hard to support one another in the classroom and in the school. On any given day you will find 5th grade students assisting Kindergarten classes or a 4th grade student tutoring a first grader on sight words. We often refer to ourselves as the Marshall Family and highlight that the class is a student's school family. Last year we implemented an incentive system where individual classrooms work together to receive compliments from other teachers based on school wide expectations. Once a classroom receives 30 compliments, the class gets to vote on the type of celebration they would like to have. Some examples include pajama day, technology day, and game day. This strengthens the bond within the classroom and increases the ability to work together.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2015

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 32,549
    Student Enrollment: 730
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33.2%
    White/Caucasian: 33.5%
    Hispanic: 7.8%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.1%
    Asian: 19.4%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 5.9%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:26
    % Reduced Lunch: 28%
    % ELL Learners: 9%
    Founded: 1994
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Norman Kennedy
  • CONTACT:
    101 Barrett Run Rd
    Newark, DE 19702
    302-454-4700 ext. 157
    norman.kennedy@christina.k12.de.us