Valley View Center
Quality Assessment Report
Submitted by:
Dr. Tawn Ketterman
Principal
The 2010-2011 school year was one of change and new beginnings! While Valley View Center was under renovation, our staff and students were thrilled to be the first to inhabit the all new Yorkshire Elementary School! For this one year only, we were known as Valley View at Yorkshire. We were glad to welcome one new teacher to our kindergarten team this past year!
The PTO was very active this year providing many wonderful assemblies, fund raisers, and fun activities for the children. The organization spent much time planning for the impending split into two primary buildings.
The entire staff provided an exciting and inviting environment that enhanced student learning throughout the year. Below is a compilation of the highlights of the 2010-2011 school year.
Building Initiatives:
· We hosted several Open House events where families, neighbors, media and the public could visit the building, tour the facility, and learn about our “LEED School” initiatives.
· We successfully moved into the new building and developed new routines and procedures for dismissals, emergency safety drills, cafeteria routines, playground routines, etc.
· The configuration of the new building lent itself to four “neighborhoods”—Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. Throughout the year, the neighborhoods would hold various celebrations and special events for the classes in their area.
· In May we began talking with students about the impending split into two primary buildings. Students were told how we would soon be forming two NEW teams—but that we all could remain friends and remember that we all started on the same team! In June we held a special assembly where Dr. Stoltz was introduced as the new principal of Yorkshire. All the Yorkshire students and teachers wore red (their new school color) and Dr. Ketterman and the Valley View staff and students all wore green! The best part of the assembly was when staff and students alike were surprised by the introduction of YORKIE BEAR, a friend of Ready Teddy’s and the new YES mascot!!
· Writing was the focus of the November inservice. Teachers worked by grade level to further understand the primary writing rubric. Side-by-side scoring was completed at inservice and again later in team meetings. Anchor papers were selected to serve as a training tool and benchmark for future assessments.
· Data analysis was also a topic of study during both inservice and team time meetings. Teachers analyzed student data to determine what teaching strategies and techniques could be utilized to more effectively meet all students’ needs.
· The staff spent several faculty meetings and some Spring inservice time looking at the culture of Valley View. A concerted effort was made throughout the year to note and highlight what makes Valley View such a successful and welcoming school.
· SWEBS (School-Wide Effective Behavior System) continued and included several school-wide celebrations to include the Teddy Bear Parade, a special sing along in December, special dress days, and a sno-ball celebration at the end of the year.
· The school participated in a Kindness Counts Campaign in February and the results were phenomenal! Students would earn a heart for completing a random act of kindness throughout the month. Hearts were sent home to encourage home participation and we learned about many great things our students and their families were doing at home. Everything from cleaning up and playing with a sibling –to donating hair to Locks of Love, organizing collections for needy families, and helping children with cancer.
· Dr. K’s Book Sharing Days continued to be held once a month throughout the school year. Students enjoyed the special time with their principal.
· The Ready Reader book library was introduced to First grade after being piloted in Kindergarten and Transition the prior year. Ready Readers are books on the students’ reading levels that can be taken home on a nightly basis so students can practice---and show off---their reading skills! Parents have been most supportive and appreciative of this endeavor. We’ve learned that the program really serves as a form of communication about our students’ reading levels/abilities.
· Intervention Aides were active in the building being utilized to meet specific student needs. The aides received a forty-five minute training session one-two times per month throughout the year. Trainings included information sharing on phonemic awareness, attention deficit, children of poverty, characteristics of autism, etc. Aides worked one on one or with small groups of students throughout the school day. The results were seen in improved progress monitoring and year end test scores.
· Students participated in a school-wide reading incentive program centered on a Dr. Seuss theme! Our students enjoyed a variety of activities throughout READING WEEK to include a Teacher’s Readers Theater, special readings by guest readers such as Steven Courtney, special dress days, and a culminating book parade at the end of the week!
· “VV at Yorkshire Arts Night” was held to display artwork created by all students. The theme for this year’s Arts Night was Claude Monet. Families viewed artwork in our common areas throughout the evening. During Arts Night, our first grade students shared a musical performance of the many songs they had learned throughout the year.
· Parents were welcomed into classrooms for curriculum night, conferences, and building-wide events. They also enjoyed coming in for classroom specific fun such as fall festivals, gingerbread house decorating, friendship parties, cocoa and cuddles, Mothers’ Day Teas, book read alouds, star student sharing, and for birthday celebrations.