Annual Report to the Public

December 1, 2008

(To fulfill Colorado’s Accreditation and No Child Left Behind Reporting Requirements)

District Improvement Plan Progress Report

Goal #1:

The District will maintain a 90% or higher graduation rate.

Objectives:

The District plans to maintain its current graduation rate of 100%.

Implementation:

Staff and administration will closely monitor the progress of all seniors.  Juniors and seniors who are determined to be “at-risk” based on teacher, parent, and counselor referrals will receive additional career and school counseling to ensure that they finish high school.  Parents will be contacted and will be an integral part of the process.  Meetings will occur among the student, parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators as deemed necessary.

Results/Status of Goal:

100% of all seniors graduated in 2008.  At the present time, all 2009 seniors are on schedule for graduation.

Goal #2:

The District will maintain a dropout rate below 5%.

Objectives:

The District plans to maintain a 0% dropout rate.

Implementation:

Dropout rates will be examined by May 15^th of each year.  Staff and administration will continue to monitor the progress of all students.  Students who are determined to be “at-risk” by teacher, parent, or counselor referrals will receive addition career and school counseling to ensure that they finish high school.  Parents will be contacted and will be an integral part of the process.  Meetings will occur among the student, parents, teachers, counselor, and administrators as deemed necessary.  “At-risk” students will receive additional academic support via Title I, RtI, Special Education programs, peer tutoring, and individual teacher assistance during study hall.

Results/Status of Goal:

The dropout rate for 2008 was “0.”  All students are currently making sufficient progress toward their goal of graduation.  All student data is being examined by all staff on a minimum quarterly basis, more frequently as deemed necessary.

Goal #3:

The District will achieve and maintain a 95% or higher attendance rate, and a truancy rate of less than 5% per class period.

Objectives:

The Pritchett School District had a 95.2% attendance rate in the elementary school, a 91.0% attendance rate in the middle school, and a 94.1% attendance rate in the high school for the 2007-2008 school year. The district plans to achieve and maintain

a 95% or higher attendance rate in all three schools for 2008-2009.

Implementation:

Each year the administration and Accountability Committee will review district attendance at the end of each quarter.  Students attendance will continue to be closely monitored by staff and administration on a daily basis. 

The district will implement a new attendance policy that will report student absences by period at the middle school and high school levels.  New district policy will require contact with parents for any absence to be excused.  After 6 absences per semester, absences may become unexcused without proper documentation and administrative approval.  Whenever students are absent, parents will be contacted by the district office before noon on that day.

Students who miss more than 10 unexcused absences may be denied credit for the academic year.

Good attendance will be rewarded with grade incentives at the end of each semester.  The grade incentive plan has already been drafted and approved by the board of education.

Results/Status of Goal:

Absences in the first quarter for the elementary school are consistent with what they were during the first quarter of 2007-2008.  However, the elementary school did not have the same attendance issues as the middle school and high school.  Absences at the middle school and high school are down 17.7% during the first quarter as compared to last year.

Goal #4:

Parents and community members will be an integral part of the education process and school district, and will be part of the problem-solving team utilized in Response to Intervention.

Objectives:

The majority of parents within the Pritchett School District are very involved with the school district.  However, community involvement is not as great.  Involvement should center around academic endeavors, as well as extracurricular events such as ballgames and music programs.

The goal of the District is to improve the working relationship among teachers, parents, community members, and administration, by maintaining better communication between the district and community. 

In addition, the District will maintain an “open door” policy which encourages concerned citizens to offer their opinions and services to the district.  The district will also involve the parents of struggling students in problem-solving efforts as outlined by the District Response to Intervention protocol.

Implementation:

The District will continue to host community centered activities such as potlucks, VIP lunches at the cafeteria, barbeques, family movie/game nights, and the Halloween Carnival and Hay Ride.

To encourage community member attendance, District staff and volunteers will call community members and personally invite them to attend scheduled events.  Signs and  advertisements will be placed in the local newspapers announcing school events.

At the beginning of the year, an interest survey was conducted to see what community members might be interested in volunteering.  This information will be kept in the District office so that all staff have access to it throughout the year.  A log will be kept for visitors who come to school events or visit their student’s classroom.

Finally, District staff and administration will contact parents in person to schedule problem-solving team meetings and remind them to attend. Parents who attend problem-solving team meetings will participate actively, and will sign resulting intervention plans.

Results/Status of Goal:

So far this year, the District has hosted its annual Back to School Barbeque, Halloween Hay Ride.  In addition, a ski trip is being planned for February.

Interest surveys have been completed and returned to the District office by many parents and community members.  Teachers have been made aware of the list of volunteers and are accessing that information as desired. 

Parents have also been contacted, as necessary, to attend problem solving team meetings as part of Response to Intervention.  Parental attendance, to date, is 90%.

Goal #5:

100% of all third grade students will read at grade level by the end of their third grade year.

Objectives:

100% of the third graders at Pritchett School District read at grade level in 2008, as determined by the CSAP reading assessment.  The Pritchett School District plans to maintain 100% third grade reading proficiency in 2009.

Implementation:

K-3 students will be give the WRAT assessment quarterly to determine reading level.  CSAP and NWEA assessment data will also be used to determine reading level in grades 3-5.  Data will be analyzed longitudinally.  The DIBELS assessment will be used in grades K-5 to monitor student reading level.  Data will be analyzed longitudinally. 

Students who are in need of remediation will follow district RtI protocol, and will be provided with interventions.  Students who are reading below grade level will be eligible for Title I assistance, and will be placed on an Individual Literacy Plan (ILP).  Students will participate in the Book-It Program to encourage independent reading, and foster a positive attitude toward reading.

Results/Status of Goal:

Students have been given NWEA, WRAT, and DIBELS assessments according to the District assessment calendar.  Students who are below grade level have been placed on ILPs.  The Response to Intervention protocol is being followed for all students reading below grade level.

NWEA, WRAT, and CSAP data will be evaluated as the data becomes available.  DIBELS data is being continuously reviewed to monitor student progress.  At-risk students are progressing satisfactorily to date, and the District is on track for meeting this goal.

Goal #6:

Pritchett School District will strive to improve CSAP performance in all content areas such that students who scored unsatisfactory or partially proficient on the 2008 CSAP will move to the next proficiency level on the 2009 CSAP assessment.

Objectives:

The Pritchett School District did meet AYP in 2008.  In order to continue to meet AYP, the district must improve reading, math, and writing proficiency levels as stated above.

Implementation:

Student progress in meeting proficiency goals will be measured by the CSAP assessment. 

Student progress in all CSAP tested content areas will be closely monitored by staff and administration through district assessments, NWEA, and CSAP assessments.  Student data will be reviewed by the entire staff at quarterly data reviews.

All students reading below grade level will be placed on an ILP (including secondary students).  In addition, 30 minute reading class will be required for all students reading below grade level at the secondary level.

Staff members will be encouraged to attend professional development and inservice training in the area of reading/writing instruction, reading across the curriculum, math instruction, science instruction, with a focus on Response to Intervention.  Staff who choose to attend training on days when school is not in session will receive a stipend from the District.

Staff members will be required to file an approved professional development plan with district administration by September 2, 2008.  The plan will be reviewed annually on September 30 and May 31.

Student data will be analyzed at least quarterly, a problem-solving team will meet, and appropriate interventions will be implemented as per the District RtI protocol.

Results/Status of Goal:

The District has held its first quarterly data day.  In addition, several Problem Solving Team meetings have been held.  Individual student achievement goals have been set by teachers and students, and reviewed by District administration.

Assessment Data

Colorado’s state assessment system includes three different types of assessments to measure student achievement.  The main assessment used in the state is the CSAP, which assesses students in reading, writing, and math standards in grades 3 through 10.  The CSAP science assessment is also given in 5^th, 8^th, and 10^th grade.  The second assessment available is for students in third and fourth grade who are receiving instruction in Spanish.  The Lectura is the Spanish reading version of the CSAP and the Escritura is the Spanish writing version of the CSAP.  These assessments are scored with the following ratings:  Unsatisfactory (student is not demonstrating knowledge of the content standards), Partially Proficient (student is beginning to demonstrate knowledge on the standards), Proficient (student is meeting the standards), Advanced (student is above and beyond the standards), and No Score (the student was unable to complete the test).  The third assessment, the CSAPA (CSAP Alternate), is available for use with students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.  It is used to assess reading, writing, math, and science content knowledge.  Only about 1% of students in Colorado take the CSAPA.

The following tables our district and schools’ results from the various assessments.  Please note that due to small class sizes, data could not be disaggregated into subgroups and grade levels.  All data is reported at the district level for each content area.

Please note: In 2007 the Colorado State Board of Education adopted new model content standards for science. The 2008 CSAP Science results are not comparable to earlier results because they test new standards.

District Results:  Reading

District Results:  Writing

District Results:  Math

District Results:  Science

Growth Data

Colorado’s Growth Model provides a way for educators to understand how much growth a student made from on CSAP administration to the next.  The Growth Model Compares each student’s performance to students in the same grade throughout Colorado who had similar CSAP scores in past years, and calculates a Student Growth Percentile.  If a student grew as much or more than 60% of his/her peers, the student would have a 60^th Growth Percentile.  Below are the Growth Diagnostic Summaries for Pritchett School District RE-3.  Due to low student numbers, not all cohort data could be reported.

Accountability Data

The Colorado state law requires all districts to be accredited by the Department of Education.  Each district is also required to accredit all of its schools.  Additionally, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determinations and Highly Qualified Teacher information are requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  The following data shows how our district is doing in relation to these measures.

Status of School Accreditation in Pritchett District RE-3

Schools can be recommended for any of the following accreditation status designation using criteria detailed in the district’s accreditation contract.  The number and identity of schools in each accreditation category as established by the district:

No Child Left Behind Measures

Adequate Yearly Progress

Elementary School Level Data:

*Confidence Intervals Used

Middle School Level Data:

*Confidence Intervals Used

High School Level Data:

*Confidence Intervals Used

Status of School Improvement in the District

If Title I schools do not make AYP for two consecutive years, in the same content area, they are placed on School Improvement.  No schools in Pritchett School District RE-3 have been placed on School Improvement.

Teacher Data:

**7.1% of teachers in the district were teaching on an emergency license during 2007-2008.

* No schools in district at this poverty level.

¹ Schools are ranked from highest to lowest based on their free and reduced lunch eligibility counts.  High-poverty schools are the 25% of schools with the highest poverty rate.

² Low-Poverty schools are the 25% of schools with the lowest poverty rate, as measured by free and reduced lunch eligibility.

Post-Secondary Readiness Data:

Due to the small number of students enrolled in courses, the number and percent of students enrolled in post-secondary courses cannot be reported.  The District does not offer IB or advanced placement courses.  Dual credit courses are available to students through Lamar Community College. 

In addition, District ACT results cannot be reported due to limited student numbers.  The district is pleased that 100% of all students graduated in 2007-2008.  Also, there were no dropouts during the 2007-2008 school year.

Graduation requirements for Pritchett High School are as follows:

Required credits/courses

Graduation Requirements

Credits                         Area                                                     Specific Courses

4                                  English (Language Arts)              Composition          2 units

                                                                                                Literature               .5 unit

                                                                                                Speech                   .5 unit

                                                                                                Reading                 .5 unit

                                                                  Elective                 .5 unit

4                                  Mathematics                                        Algebra 1                1 unit

                                                                                                Courses at a higher level

                                                                                                   than Algebra I      2 units

4                                 Science  (4 years of Vo-Ag may substitute for 1 credit of science)

3                                  Social Studies                                     Civics (American Govt.)  1 unit

                                                                                                U. S. History                 1 unit

                                                                                                Electives                        1 unit

1                                  Physical Education

½                                 Health

½                                 General Business

1                                  Computer Skills                                  

6                                  Electives

24                                Total

Other Data:

As reported on the state SAR, Pritchett School District had daily attendance rates of 95.2% in the elementary school, 91.0% in the middle school, and 94.1% in the high school for the 2007-2008 academic year.  Overall daily attendance for the district was 94.3%

Pritchett School District RE-3 does provide a safe and civil learning environment, and reported only 1 code of conduct violation in 2007-2008 at the high school level, 2 at the middle school level, and none at the elementary level.  No students were expelled from any school in the district during the 2007-2008 school year, and only 3 received suspension as reported on the School Accountability Reports (SAR).

The district takes pride in its participation in civic programs such as Jump Rope for Heart, the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Math-a-Thon, Christmas caroling, and visiting the local nursing home during the holidays. 

Pritchett School District also boasts having installed a new computer network in 2007-2008.  Ten new laptop computers, three new desktop units, and two new servers were purchased and installed.  Much of the money and labor needed for this project was donated through grants and a partnership with students and faculty at Otero Junior College.