• Category 2

    Selected in 2019

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 16,482
    Student Enrollment: 210
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 15%
    White/Caucasian: 69%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 13%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 69.9%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Faith Mabe
  • CONTACT:
    900 Washington-Lee Drive
    Bristol, VA 24201
    276-821-5800
    fmabe@bvps.org
Washington-Lee Elementary School
Bristol, VA
Do What Kids Need
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Partnering with Communities In Schools (CIS) has had great impact on family involvement. Their work to meet families' needs has helped to create trust and strong relationships between our families and our school. CIS helps meet basic needs with food, clothing, assistance with housing, furniture and even jobs. CIS helps with connections to medical providers, assistance with paperwork for school, insurance, and acquiring needed documents i.e. birth certificates and immunizations. Our on-site coordinator leads our attendance initiative. She makes contact with families regarding attendance and works with individual students to encourage good attendance. She provides incentives and celebrations for their successes. She has established a Parent Honor Roll program where parents are celebrated and recognized when their children have good attendance, the parent attends school functions and completes a list of options that promote active involvement in their child's school experience.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
The most successful activity our school initiated to strengthen ties to our community is our Bearcat PRIDE afterschool program. This program is funded by a three-year 21st Century grant. Over half of our students attend the program. It is held Mon.- Thur. each week from 3:15 to 5:15. The program provides tutoring/enrichment, clubs such as: culinary arts, music (vocal and instrumental), Legos, gardening, drama, coding, fitness, etc., a third hot meal, field trips and family nights as well as family weekend field trips. Our family nights are sometimes stand alone with a one-night theme and other times in three-night series for important parent educational opportunities, ex. 2018-2019 ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and 2019-2010 Boundaries and Security (for electronic devices). Our program has participation of local churches, Girls Inc., local college athletic programs and education programs, Barter Theater, William King Arts Center, and Appalachian Sustainable Development.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Our philosophy is "Do What Kids Need." When we enroll a student, that student is given a school tour by established students who have been trained to conduct the tour and welcome new students. The new students also participate in a new student group with our school counselor. Assessments are administered so that we have guided reading levels for entry into small group instruction. Benchmark data is reviewed to identify gaps, if any, in academic areas. As we get to know students we work to provide social-emotional support when needed through therapeutic day treatment counselors, mentors and school counseling. Family needs are met through the efforts of our Communities In Schools On-Site Coordinator. We monitor our efforts through student data on assessments, attendance, as well as family satisfaction through personal interactions, i.e. phone conferences, parent/teacher conferences and principal contacts through phone calls and home visits.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Washington-Lee's top two goals for next year are:

1) Teaching students goal-setting skills/practices.Research shows that students setting goals improves both their motivation and achievement. It also supports the development of skills students need to be prepared for their future careers. Goal-setting is a vital practice that can benefit anyone with a dream or a vision for the future. Setting and achieving goals help children develop belief in themselves and self-confidence. Along with these benefits comes self-awareness that will benefit students as they plan their futures.
2) With our goal setting emphasis. We will also focus on career introduction and highlight skills needed for future career opportunities.
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 that others could replicate is responsiveness to students' needs. We have established strong partnerships with key community stakeholders to accomplish a high level of support for our students and families. We work hard at academics and social-emotional learning but also rely on local agencies to provide mental health support, resources for basic needs, enrichment opportunities and additional relational support. The local Housing Authority and local churches provide adults for our Reading Buddy Program. These folks show up every week to read with their assigned buddy. Churches provide food for our weekly snack pack distribution and food boxes for holidays. Our Christmas outreach is supported by the community to provide many children with clothes and toys at Christmas. Volunteers staff our annual book fairs and other school events. Look for opportunities to include others who want to be involved.
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 was Guided Reading. Guided Reading strategies allowed a deeper view of individual students’ reading abilities so that teachers could get to the root of students’ struggles. Individual assessment of students established each child’s reading level. Reading materials were purchased that enabled teachers to instruct every student on his/her individual level. The process incorporated small group instruction (on an instructional level) so that students could learn the underlying reading skills with an attainable text. Individual attention to reading strengths and areas for growth came from running records. Fluid movement through reading levels was achieved as students made progress so that pacing was determined by student growth. The ability to respond to individual students made reading a positive and personal experience for young readers. Standardized testing results showed an 11% growth in just one year.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title I funds are used to provide Support Staff: Pre-K aide, Literacy/Math Coaches, Interventionists and Paraprofessionals. In addition, supplemental materials such as phonics, word analysis and math resources are purchased. Professional development opportunities are also funded for Word Study courses, attendance at the State Reading Conference and Responsive Classroom training.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
All classroom teachers committed time to professional development (Four-day training in Responsive Classroom during the summer, monthly 90 minute professional development meetings on Responsive Classroom practices during the school year and annual book studies using Responsive Classroom resources). The knowledge gained enabled teachers to be more responsive to students’ emotional needs. This understanding prompted explicit teaching of social-emotional skills so that students were able to cope with stresses, communicate in social settings and regulate emotions. These skills enabled students to better manage the school environment and the school day so that they could benefit from the offered learning opportunities and build productive relationships within the classroom and school. These professional development efforts remain in place as teachers continue yearly book studies with discussions.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
The RTI pyramid for Washington-Lee initially indicated the need for diligent reshaping of classroom instruction beginning with identification of problems in practice. Data is analyzed not only to tier students but also to guide instructional efforts, to differentiate instruction and to tier interventions. It was necessary to begin aligning our curriculum with the Virginia Standards or Learning. Guided Reading was adopted. Math classes have adopted small group settings as a regular practice. Lesson objectives are clearly expressed and posted so that students understand the daily learning goals. Assignments and tasks are designed for student choice. While strategies are taught, students choose the method of solving math tasks. The most productive feature is the frequent, specific feedback given to students as they work. Regular observations and meetings with an instructional coach have positively impacted instructional practice.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our school culture is one of responsiveness. Attention to student needs, what is working and what isn't, is part of our practice. The beginning efforts to change culture were establishing a safe learning environment, instructing with sincerity and providing supervision that created a structured learning environment with clear expectations and procedures. Teachers are also intentional about student engagement in their lessons. We work as a team to ensure that both academic and social-emotional needs of students are met. We set high expectations for ourselves and our students. A five year plan has been followed to put key pieces in place for success. Year 1: establishing Safety, Sincerity and Supervision. Year 2: building Relationships Year 3: building Trust Year 4: building Hope Year 5: building Success.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2019

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 16,482
    Student Enrollment: 210
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 15%
    White/Caucasian: 69%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 13%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 69.9%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Faith Mabe
  • CONTACT:
    900 Washington-Lee Drive
    Bristol, VA 24201
    276-821-5800
    fmabe@bvps.org