New Buffalo Elementary Annual  Education  Report  2016-­‐2017                                                             12291  Lubke  Road,  New  Buffalo  MI    49117    

 

   

NEW  BUFFALO   AREA  SCHOOLS   1112  E.  Clay  St.   New  Buffalo,  MI   49117-­‐1540     SUPERINTENDENT   (269)  469-­‐6010   ACCOUNTS  PAYABLE   (269)  469-­‐6011   BOOKKEEPER   (269)  469-­‐6012   Fax:    469-­‐3315    

HIGH  SCHOOL   (269)  469-­‐6001   Fax:  469-­‐2057   GUIDANCE   (269)  469-­‐6005     MIDDLE  SCHOOL   (269)  469-­‐6003   Fax:  469-­‐2057   GUIDANCE   (269)  469-­‐6007    

ELEMENTARY   SCHOOL   12291  Lubke  Rd.   New  Buffalo,  MI     49117   (269)  469-­‐6060   Fax:    469-­‐1870   GUIDANCE   (269)  469-­‐6067    

TECHNOLOGY   (269)  469-­‐6008   TRANSPORTATION   (269)  469-­‐6009   (269)  469-­‐6016   The Right Choice For Today’s Education

      27  January  2017       Dear  Parents  and  Community  Members:     We  are  pleased  to  present  you  with  the  Annual  Education  Report   (AER),  which  provides  key  information  on  the  2016-­‐2017   educational  progress  of  New  Buffalo  Elementary  School.    The  AER   addresses  the  complex  reporting  information  required  by  federal   and  state  laws.    The  school’s  report  contains  information  about   student  assessment,  accountability,  and  teacher  quality.    If  you   have  any  questions  about  the  AER,  please  contact  Principal  David   Kelly  for  assistance.         The  AER  is  available  for  you  to  review  electronically  by  visiting  the   following  website:      https://goo.gl/EYRiiS    ,  or  you  may  review  a   copy  in  the  main  office  at  your  child’s  school.

  For  the  2016-­‐17  year,  no  new  Priority  or  Focus  schools  were   named;  some  Priority  or  Focus  schools  did  exit  their  status   because  they  met  the  exit  criteria.  New  Reward  schools  were   identified  using  school  rankings  and  Beating  the  Odds  information.   A  Focus  school  is  one  that  has  a  large  achievement  gap  between   the  highest  and  lowest  achieving  30%  of  schools.  A  Priority  school   is  one  whose  achievement  and  growth  is  in  the  lowest  5%  of  all   schools  in  the  state.  A  Reward  school  is  one  that  has  achieved  one   or  more  of  the  following  distinctions:  top  5%  of  schools  on  the   Top-­‐to-­‐Bottom  School  Rankings,  top  5%  of  schools  making  the   greatest  gains  in  achievement  (improvement  metric),  or  “Beating   the  Odds”  by  outperforming  the  school’s  predicted  ranking  and/or   similar  schools.  Some  schools  are  not  identified  with  any  of  these   labels.  In  these  cases  no  label  is  given.     Our  school  has  not  been  given  one  of  these  labels.    In  looking  over   the  key  data  from  the  Combined  Report,  one  of  our  key  initiatives   will  be  to  focus  on  the  sub  groups:  bottom  30%  and  economically   disadvantaged.    We  are  very  close  to  being  proficient  in  both  sub   categories,  but  due  to  lower  class  sizes  (which  is  a  plus  in  today’s   school  setting)  a  class  of  40  could  have  4  students  not  proficient   and  it  is  shown  as  10%  of  the  students  do  not  meet  the  proficiency   mark  on  the  M-­‐STEP.        

New  Buffalo  Elementary  is  working  on  developing  a  cohesive  math  program  to  meet   our  growing  challenges.    Over  the  course  of  the  2014-­‐2017  school  years,  we  have  put   in  place  a  tier  1  program  using  EnVisions  mathematics  and  an  RTI  piece  (tier  2  and   3)  using  the  DELTA  math  program.    Staff  has  undergone  two  years  where  in-­‐service   and  training  has  been  provided.    We  have  also  enlisted  the  support  and  guidance  of   the  Berrien  RESA  consultants  which  quarterly  meets  with  staff  to  discuss  best   practices  and  math  progressions.    The  on  going  task  of  gathering  data  through  both   programs  and  looking  at  the  Annual  Measurable  Objectives  set  for  New  Buffalo   Elementary  by  way  of  the  M-­‐STEP  results  allows  our  staff  to  be  data  driven  in  our   process  of  developing  each  program.     We  continue  to  look  at  data  within  the  area  of  ELA  (reading  /writing).    Teacher   training  continues  to  be  a  focus  for  the  staff  in  order  to  be  better  instructors.     Teachers  are  currently  using  SMEKENS  training  across  ELA  along  with  Unlocking  the   Reading  Code  training  in  reading  development  and  language  acquisition.         New  Buffalo  Elementary  student  assignment  process  is  two-­‐fold:  1.)  Students  must   be  at  grade  level  in  reading  and  math  for  promotion.  Students  not  meeting  this  must   have  a  CST  (Child  Study  Team)  in  progress  or  receiving  the  necessary  Tier  II   instruction.  2.)  Students  are  placed  into  the  next  grade  level  with  a  meeting  with   parents  if  the  child  has  not  received  summer  intervention  or  has  shown  significant   regression  after  the  Fall  Benchmark  assessments  in  math  and  reading  (DELTA  /   DIBELs).     The  New  Buffalo  Elementary  School  Improvement  Plan  is  in  the  implementation   phase  this  year.  We  have  changed  our  activity  within  math  with  the  provision  of   DELTA  Math.  This  allows  for  better  data  driven  decision  to  be  made  and  allows  for   the  direct  instruction  needed  to  close  the  gaps.  Other  areas  within  the  SIP  are  as   follows:  phonological  development  and  writing  quality.  The  goal  of  phonological   development  contends  that  all  students  will  improve  their  ability  in  phonics.  The  goal   of  writing  quality  seeks  to  increase  all  students’  ability  in  process  writing.  Through   each  goal,  measures  of  improvement  include  benchmark  assessment,  data  analysis,   progress  monitoring,  professional  development,  response  to  intervention,  through   professional  learning  community  and  child  study  teams  which  seek  to  meet  the   needs  of  every  student  by  examining  student  work.     Through  benchmark  testing,  progress  monitoring,  and  the  RTI  process  we  implement   several  assessments  outside  of  the  state  achievement  test  (M-­‐STEP),  which  is  given   annually.  New  Buffalo  Elementary  implements  DIBELs  NEXT  (Dynamic  Indicators  of   Basic  Early  Literacy  Skills),  DRA2  (Developmental  Reading  Assessment),  and  DELTA   Math  (assessing  early  numeracy  and  computational  math  skills  of  students  from   kindergarten  to  fifth  grade).  Assessment  results  allows  for  a  targeted  approach  to   each  students’  needs,  while  continuing  to  build  upon  core  content.     To  learn  more  about  the  curriculum  offered  at  New  Buffalo  Elementary  (K-­‐5)  parents   and  community  members  can  access  information  at  www.michigan.gov/mde  and  

click  on  K-­‐12  Curriculum.     Parent-­‐Teacher  Conference  attendance  remains  high.  New  Buffalo  Elementary   parents  are  very  involved  with  student  development.  NBE  hosts  three  conferences  a   year  with  a  98%  attendance  rate.     New  Buffalo  Elementary  continues  to  strive  for  the  betterment  of  students  while   working  in  conjunction  with  parents  and  the  New  Buffalo  community  to  build  long   lasting  relationships  that  celebrate  continued  success.     Sincerely,     David  A  Kelly,  Principal