We believe that everyone can learn and help others learn.

As a caring and responsible community we will:

Strive for Excellence

Give Respect

Have Dignity

Take Responsibility

Nurture Learning and the Learner

Northfield Elementary is a Pre-K to 5^th grade school with an enrollment of 303 students. We are a rural school with diverse needs. This plan is for the 2008-2009 school year. The committee will review the progress of the plan after the 2008 NECAP test results become available in early 2009. The plan will be reviewed again when a subsequent plan is written. There are four main need categories that are addressed by this action plan:

Academic Support, Community Engagement, Facilities and other,

Academic Support: Literacy, math and technology.

The principal, teachers, staff, and community continue to support all of our students in academics. The following have been identified as needing continued support and attention in order for all our students to achieve their best. The following areas need to be addressed by this action plan.

Literacy (Reading and Writing)

Needs	Action Steps	Performance Target/Goal	Person(s) Responsible	Resources
Implement all components of the Open Court Reading Program as it aligns with the state GE’s. Align the Open Court (OC) Reading Program with the VT Grade Level Expectations (GE’S)	Provide implementation support to classroom teachers; Establish Professional Learning Communities (PLC); Provide professional development to teachers in grades 1-5 in program implementation. Meet during the summer, 2008, to begin the alignment of OC to the State GE’S to insure comprehensive coverage of the 5 essential components of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary). Use Released Items from the NECAP One representative from each grade level team will attend Literacy Network Meetings.	Meet or exceed the state average of 71% grade 3, 68% grade 4, and 68% grade 5 in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. Teachers will use relevant assessment data to plan and adjust instruction.	Classroom Teachers Principal PLC’S SPED Staff; M. Jeffrey	Release Time Financial support to compensate teachers for time spent over and above contracted hours. Use of data DOE Network Meetings Publisher Support from OC. NECAP Released Items VDC
Implement standards based writing instruction in grades K-5	Identify writing standards for classroom implementation through PLC Distribute writing standards, benchmarks and rubrics from the DOE Revise K-5 local writing assessments through PLC’S One representative from each grade level will attend Writing Network Meetings Calibrate in order to assess Writing in grades 4 & 5. Use Released Items from the NECAP	Meet or exceed the state average of 48% in grade 5 in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP	Teachers Principal PLC’S	Release Time Financial support to compensate teachers for time spent over and above contracted hours. Use of data DOE Network Meetings NECAP Released Items
Implement periodic common assessments of local curriculum in reading and writing	Develop common assessments in reading and writing through PLC	Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP (See above %)	PLC Groups, M. Jeffrey, B. Donahue Teachers Principal	Technology based materials (i.e. common spreadsheet, data warehouse)
Develop Response to Instruction in grades 1-5	Schedule 30 min within the instructional day; Professional development for teachers; Students with needs identified through PLC Implement the use of data to track student progress. Remediate and enrich students	Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. (See above %)	PLC Groups Principal Teachers SPED Staff; M. Jeffrey	Training in RTI model; Time within the instructional day;
Pre-K teacher	Continue Pre-K program	Increase literacy scores on local assessments	K. Taylor	Financial support
Early Elementary Instructional Assistant	Continue to employ Instructional Assistant in Pre-K and primary grades	Increase literacy scores on local assessments	T. Bolio A. Hall	Financial support
Support technology integration and Instructional Assistant in computer lab	Continue to employ Instructional Assistant; Increase use of technology to support curriculum, student achievement and professional practice	Meet or exceed the state averages in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. (See above %) Increase scores on local assessments Engage more teachers in the use of technology	D. Warren B. Donahue	Financial support; time
Offer after school student support / enrichment	Implement AIS / Enrichment Program	Increase literacy scores on local assessments; Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. (See above %)	Staff TBD	Financial support:
Early Literacy / Data Consultant	Continue to employ a Literacy / Data Consultant	Increase literacy scores on local assessments; Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. (See above %)	M. Jeffrey	Financial Support

Math

Needs	Action Steps	Performance Target/Goal	Person(s) Responsible	Resources
Publisher support for the review and implementation of current math program K-5 (Every Day Math) Continue alignment with GE’S	Produce written evaluation document by June 2009 through PLC Provide implementation support to classroom teachers; Establish Professional Learning Communities (PLC); Provide professional development to teachers in grades 1-5 in program implementation. Meet during the summer, 2008 to continue the alignment of EDM to the State GE’S	Meet or exceed the state average of 68% grade 3, 62% grade 4 and 70% grade 5 in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. Teachers will use relevant assessment data to plan and adjust instruction.	Principal PLC Groups Publisher Support	Time; Financial support to compensate teachers for time spent over and above contracted hours. Use of data DOE Network Meetings Publisher Support from EDM. NECAP Released Items VDC
Implement periodic common assessments of local curriculum	Develop common assessments in Math through PLC	Use data from common assessments to increase student achievement Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. (See above %)	PLC Groups Principal Teachers	Time; Financial support
Develop Response to Instruction in grades 1-5	Schedule 30 min within instructional day; Professional development for teachers; Students with needs identified through PLC Implement the use of data to track student progress.	Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP. Remediate and enrich students	PLC Groups Principal Teachers	Training in RTI model; time in instructional day; Financial support
Support technology integration and Instructional Assistant in computer lab	Continue to employ Instructional Assistant; increase use of technology to support curriculum, student achievement and professional practice	Increase math scores on local assessments; Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP Engage more teachers in the use of technology	D. Warren B. Donahue	Financial support; Time
Offer after school student support / enrichment	Implement AIS / Enrichment program	Increase Math scores on local assessments Meet or exceed the state average in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP	Staff TBD	Financial support:
Supplement EDM Facts Computation Problem Solving	A minimum of 15 min per day of intense instruction in math facts and computation; A minimum of 30 min 2X’s per week in problem solving.	Meet or exceed the state average of in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP	Teachers Principal PLC Groups Mahesh Sharma	Time within the instructional day

Other

Needs	Action Steps	Performance Target/Goal	Person(s) Responsible	Resources
Expand Professional Learning Communities (PLC)	Expand school wide PLC groups; Provide professional development; Minimum of 3 hours per month within the contracted day allotted for PLC’S to meet. Additional time allowed not to exceed 3 hours per month outside of contracted day.	Time for teachers to discuss curriculum and assessment to increase student achievement Teachers will use relevant assessment data to plan and adjust instruction.	Principal PLC groups	Scheduled time; financial support; VDC
Continue to implement Responsive Classroom model school-wide	Continue school-wide application of RC model; Provide professional development to teachers and staff	Increase teacher knowledge of the RC practice for improved student achievement	Principal All staff	Northeast Foundation for Children Inc.; Financial support Individual teacher professional development money
Improve effectiveness and process of the Educational Support Team (EST) practice and procedure	Consult with DOE 1 day Summer SDI for Core EST Members Increase teacher membership	Efficiency in process and procedure; Use data to drive decisions for student support	Principal EST Members Teachers	DOE; summer SDI; Continue year long professional development Financial support ½ day release time monthly Comp Time Per diem for work done outside of contracted hours.
Common instructional time in literacy and math Common planning time for grade level teams	Minimum of 3 X’s per week with the ultimate goal being 5X’s per week in common instructional time in literacy and math Minimum of 2X’s per week of common planning time for grade level teams.	Time for teachers to discuss curriculum and assessment to increase student achievement Meet or exceed the state average of in the proficient and proficient with distinction categories on the NECAP (See above %)	Principal Scheduling Committee PLC Groups	Time
Continue to implement the Pathwise Evaluation model	Schedule training in fall; Implement model	Improve instructional practice through implementation of meaningful evaluation model	Administration Professional staff; VT-NEA	Time for training; financial support

Community Engagement (School as Community)

Northfield Elementary School strives for excellence for all. In order to achieve this, we must continue to improve our vision for community engagement and implement effective communication strategies in the following ways: school to student, school to home/parent, school to community, and school to staff. The following areas need to be addressed by this action plan.

Needs	Action Steps	Performance Target/Goal	Person(s) Responsible	Resources
Implement effective communication strategies	Continue monthly newsletter (posted in local public locations Written and verbal daily announcements Improve webpage portal; Daily bulletin distributed via e-mail by 10am	Better communications with students, staff and community; Reach 100% of homes on regular basis	Principal Office Staff Teachers	Time; Financial support
Maintain discipline center staff	Keep SDC position full	Increase student time in the classroom Decrease discipline issues.	Principal SDC Staff	Financial support
Improve communication with families and community	Keep them informed of school activities and events through public relations manager Increase opportunities for involvement with the school	Be consistent with fliers sent home to parents informing of school events. Send home monthly newsletter.	Principal Public Relations Manager School Secretaries PTO	School Report Card; Public Relations Manager Financial support
Increase staff use of technology to communicate with families and community	Develop new NES portal and teacher based web pages	To have 50% of teachers with web pages.	B. Donahue D. Warren PLC	Time Professional development for webpage creation

Facilities

Northfield Elementary School needs to be a safe and developmentally appropriate place for children. In order for that to happen the following areas need to be addressed by this action plan.

Needs	Action Steps	Performance Target/Goal	Person(s) Responsible	Resources
Address needs as identified by Environmental Health Committee for Act 60 compliance	Implement recommendations and continue working to improve air quality and other issues	To have a “healthy” building for students, staff and community	Administration Environmental Health Committee	Funding for consultants and needed repairs; State Grant
Develop a safe play area that is developmentally appropriate for all.	Form a committee of staff and community	Compliance with all regulations; provide appropriate play area for all students	Administration Committee	Time Financial support
Develop a separate enclosed play area for Pre-School & Kindergarten	Form a committee of staff and community	Compliance with all regulations; Provide appropriate play area for all students	Administration Committee	Time Financial support
Safe access to school for all	Participate in Safe Routes to Schools Program;	To ensure that all students, staff, parents and community have safe entry and egress to our building	Administration School Board Mike Gonneville	Financial support