• Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 56
    Student Enrollment: 158
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 7%
    White/Caucasian: 71%
    Hispanic: 7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 7%
    Other: 4%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 50%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1948
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Angie Jonasson
  • CONTACT:
    615 N25th Street
    Grand Forks, ND 58203
    701-746-2310
    ajonasson010@mygfschools.org
West Elementary School
Grand Forks, ND
We have a growth mindset focus and culture that spills over into everything we do!
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
School improvement and school change must come from a need. In our case, the needs of the students we work to educate daily were our focus. At West, ALL staff members have dedicated the past four years learning to better understand behavior, emotional regulation, social skills, and the effects of trauma on a child. By educating all staff members, we are now able to work as a team with the same guiding philosophy of what works for students.
Our learning changed how we view undesired behaviors. We now see behaviors as skills that a child is lacking. It is with that understanding that we can problem solve with a child through conversation, relationships, and specific teaching of skills. This school improvement came from a need; a need for our students to learn how to regulation emotions, how to be understanding of others, how to problem solve with or with out the help of an adult.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our focus goal for the next year will be to connect more with families. We hope to engage them in learning events where they, too, can begin to understand the behaviors of their children and how to help their children gain the skills they need emotionally and socially, in addition to academically.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
I believe that the single most important factor to our school’s success is our focus in recent years on social emotional learning and mental health awareness of students. We know from research and experience, that if a student is not emotionally ready to learn, they will not be able to grow and succeed. Therefore, we are putting that first for all students, and especially those that have risk factors or show a great need in this area. We make sure that they receive interventions not only in academics, but also in the areas of social, behavioral, and emotional learning. This includes problem solving WITH students about things instead of making decisions that are based solely on adult ideas. We also have a growth mindset focus and culture that spills over into everything we do!
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
All classroom teachers attended a summer institute this past summer regarding the new work of Jan Richardson and her Guided Reading model. Teachers came back energized and ready to implement that model that fall. In addition, the district has offered many classes regarding this guided reading model that teachers have chosen to attend on their own time. This powerful professional development has made teachers even stronger in this area of instruction. Grade level meetings where teachers meet across the district to collaborate and share ideas with new curriculum has also helped teachers grow in their instructional practices.

Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Teachers use data from several assessments to guide their instruction. Teachers meet bi-monthly to collaborate with others in the building (specialists) for guidance in how best to reach students, whether that be because some have not learned the material or some already know it. The data may change how teachers present the material to students - whole group, small group, one-one, etc.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Over the past three years, our school focus for staff and students has been on building our social-emotional learning. Staff have taken part in several professional learning modules and have implemented the Conscious Discipline model for effective self management, problem solving, and learning how our brain interprets our daily challenges. The past year we have also implemented the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (model by Dr Ross Greene) to effectively problem solve WITH students and base our social and emotional teaching on the lagging skills that students may have.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 56
    Student Enrollment: 158
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 7%
    White/Caucasian: 71%
    Hispanic: 7%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 7%
    Other: 4%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 50%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1948
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Angie Jonasson
  • CONTACT:
    615 N25th Street
    Grand Forks, ND 58203
    701-746-2310
    ajonasson010@mygfschools.org