Webster School
School Improvement Plan
Section II Improvement Plan Abstract
Describe key characteristics of the school and school district, including the number of schools in the district, grade levels, enrollment, and the communities the school services.
The Manchester School District is the state’s largest and oldest school system. The District is comprised of fifteen elementary schools, including a developmental preschool, four middle schools, three fully accredited high schools, a regional vocational/technical school, and a program of adult education. The District serves more than 17,250 students and employs 1,700 faculty and staff.
The District offers a wide range of programs. The English as a Second Language program serves more than 1,500 students who, as immigrants or refugees, are non-English proficient.
Webster School is located in Manchester’s north end. Webster has approximately 500 students in grades kindergarten through grade 5 housed in two connected buildings. We service a diverse student population that includes students from nineteen different countries who speak fourteen different languages. Additionally, Webster services non-English speaking students from Manchester in magnet classrooms. Webster also has an Emotionally Handicapped Special Education Program. This program consists of self-contained classrooms for grades kindergarten through grade five. Webster is a non - Title I school.
Identify the improvement plan’s focus by describing the areas in which the school did not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two years.
According to NECAP data, Webster had areas of weakness in Language Arts and Mathematics towards (AYP) in 2005. Our disaggregated data shows that students with disabilities and socially economically disadvantaged students, as a subgroup, did not make AYP in mathematics and Language Arts.
Overview of the underlying or “root cause” issues identified as most likely affecting student achievement.
-The underlying or “root cause” issues identified by the staff as most likely affecting student achievement at Webster School are:
-All staff does not share a clear and shared focus developed from common beliefs and values.
-There is not enough collaboration and communication including teamwork among teachers across all grades and with other staff.
The activities and strategies to be implemented over the next two years to improve student achievement in the areas described above.
The Webster School Improvement Committee has identified several strategies (objectives) and activities to improved student achievement in Mathematics over the next two years.
-All school staff will be able to articulate the common vision.
-All staff will study test results and establish a plan to attack areas of weakness.
-All staff will be consistent and purposeful in cross-grade level conversations that result in an alignment of the curriculum within and among the content areas.
Activities planned to implement the above objectives:
-School vision will be displayed on all written communications intra and inter-school related.
-During the first faculty meeting, the vision statement will be shared, discussed and reviewed with staff.
-Grade level teams will score math trimester tests.
-Review individual, grade level, and school assessment scores from NECAP.
-Cross grade level meetings to investigate effective instructional strategies which are related to areas of weakness.
The Webster School Improvement Committee has identified several strategies (objectives) and activities to improved student achievement in Language Arts over the next two years.
-All school staff will be able to articulate the common vision.
-All staff will study test results and establish a plan to attack areas of weakness.
-All staff will be consistent and purposeful in cross-grade level conversations that result in an alignment of the curriculum within and among the content areas.
Activities planned to implement the above objectives:
-School vision will be displayed on all written communications intra and inter-school related.
-During the first faculty meeting, the vision statement will be shared, discussed and reviewed with staff.
-Grade level teams will score writing samples.
-Review individual, grade level, and school assessment scores from NECAP.
-Cross grade level meetings to investigate effective instructional strategies which are related to areas of weakness.
These objectives and activities will be on-going from September 2007 through June 2009.