• Category 2

    Selected in 2013

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 58,893
    Student Enrollment: 384
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 89%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:21
    % Reduced Lunch: 54%
    % ELL Learners: 3%
    Founded: 1961
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rhonda McCarty
  • CONTACT:
    900 Avenue A NW
    Great Falls, MT 59404
    406-268-7145
    rhonda_mccarty@gfps.k12.mt.us
Valley View Elementary
Great Falls, MT
Lesson study is a practice designed to foster the importance of instruction while also understanding its critical impact on student learning. Instructional staff members participate in three rounds of lesson study each year.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
At Valley View Elementary, we commit to the philosophy that when a child comes to school, the whole family comes to school. We strive to honor the family as their child’s first teacher and recognize that the partnership between the home and school is integral to the child’s success. Decades of research show that when parents and teachers work together, kids do better both academically and socially. In order to know and understand our families we encourage home visits. During home visits, we gain parents’ trust, build rapport and provide information about school. Home visits provide school staff and families an opportunity to get to know one another in order to best support the child. To ensure professionalism, we require that staff participate in training before leading home visits. Initially, using title 1 funds, we contracted with a team from Sacramento to train our team. Throughout the training, we learned and practiced a model of home visitation, learned supporting research and learned how to manage barriers to home visits. The process of scheduling home visits begins at kindergarten registration in early May and continues during parent teacher conferences. This school year alone, our staff has already conducted nearly 70 home visits. At Valley View Elementary, we believe home visits have successfully strengthened ties to our community.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Valley View Elementary aspires to move 80% or more of our students to benchmark status as measured by MAPS and ISIP data.
Valley View Elementary aspires to utilize the RTI process to move tier 3 students from intense to strategic aspiring for an 80-15-5 data picture.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor in the success of our school is “teaming!” Our school is an exemplary example of people working together in the best interest of kids. Oftentimes, teaming is the result of formal planning, but moreover, teaming is the result of adults going above and beyond to help one another. All grade level teams have a shared planning time during the week allowing teachers to work in an uninterrupted setting to address standards, curriculum, assessments, lesson plans and student learning. Teachers in grades 4-6 also have a shared planning time with teachers teaching the same content. Content area teachers use this time to understand how standards and expectations spiral from grade level to grade level. Another example of teaming is evident through our parking lot and the honoring of parking spaces. Monthly, we take time to honor colleagues for contributions to student learning, team work, kids, and fun! Deserving colleagues are assigned designated parking spots with signs to commemorate their professionalism. Opportunities exist for students to contribute to the “team” as well. Our building engineers honor classrooms with a “Golden Dustpan” award to recognize their efforts in keeping our building clean and tidy. Daily, students participate in announcements sharing the vocabulary “word of the week” and student leadership information. On a less formal level, occasionally, before the students’ day begins, or shortly after the students’ day ends, a “Valley View…, Let’s Celebrate!” announcement will be made. During these impromptu celebrations, staff members take time to honor the work of others in what is called a “Valley View You are Awesome” celebration. Classrooms work as “teams” to achieve both academic and behavior goals. Favorite activities include schoolwide behavior-based football competitions and an annual reading challenge. At our school we enjoy working and learning together.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Ongoing professional development is integral to the success of our teaching and students’ learning. Lesson study is a practice designed to foster the importance of instruction while also understanding its critical impact on student learning. Instructional staff members participate in three rounds of lesson study each year. Each round, team partners work collaboratively to plan a lesson. Following, one team member agrees to teach the lesson while others observe students learning. Ideally, the focus is on student learning in response to instruction. Following the lesson, team members gather to debrief observations of students’ learning. Lesson study helps us stay focused on instruction by reinforcing the power of instruction and the importance of planning to meet students’ needs. Another professional practice used is Conversation Cafes. During Conversation Cafes, roving subs relieve groups of teachers in one hour increments to allow uninterrupted time for professional learning. Teachers appreciate the simplicity of walking down the hall to obtain professional development and the limited preparation needed to leave their class for only a short time. Teachers feel energized to walk away with a few teaching points opposed to a lengthy list typical of longer in-service sessions. Conversation Cafes are a manageable form of staff development for everyone involved. Finally, book clubs serve as an opportunity to promote professional development for little cost and the convenience of accommodating schedules of staff members. Typically, staff members are provided books, chapter deadlines, and the responsibility of engaging in an online discussion. Online discussions allow team members to comment at a convenient time while also engaging in ongoing written dialogue. Rewards provide fun and motivation. All in all, professional development will always be a continued need in schools, at Valley View; we strive to provide ongoing professional development that is cost effective, time effective, and teacher friendly.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Valley View Elementary is a data driven school that systematically uses data to inform decision making. In order to use data effectively, our school relies on a Response to Intervention system. Our assessment plan is designed to gather data at the schoolwide, grade level, classroom, and individual student levels. Assessments include benchmark monitoring, screeners, formative and summative opportunities. Instruction is organized using a tiered approach. All students receive core or tier 1 instruction for both math and ELA from their classroom teacher. Additionally, all students receive tier 2 intervention in a group with other students needing similar skill support. Monthly, intervention teams review intervention data and collaborate to determine how to best meet students’ needs. Our most challenged students receive tier 3 instruction in a one on one setting designed to address individual needs. Progress monitoring data is used to understand the effectiveness of tier 3 intervention. Data days are facilitated in the fall, winter, and spring to facilitate a continuous improvement cycle and ensure positive student achievement. All in all, data drives our school and the work we do!
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2013

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 58,893
    Student Enrollment: 384
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 89%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0.1%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:21
    % Reduced Lunch: 54%
    % ELL Learners: 3%
    Founded: 1961
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Rhonda McCarty
  • CONTACT:
    900 Avenue A NW
    Great Falls, MT 59404
    406-268-7145
    rhonda_mccarty@gfps.k12.mt.us