Grant Public Schools
Annual Report
2007
Greetings! At Grant Public Schools, we take great pride in knowing that in partnership with our community, we are providing our students a solid educational experience. Our staff is committed to providing our students with the opportunities to demonstrate and expand their knowledge base so they can prepare for life after their K-12 education. Our Annual Report provides our community and others with information about our progress toward our goals of improving student achievement. We are constantly looking to improve and this report in another facet of our improvement process. I hope you find the information both encouraging and enlightening.
We are here to serve our community and especially our students. Together we can provide the type of educational opportunities that will allow our students to excel in a world that holds unprecedented challenges for our youngsters. Should you or your family need anything from us, please do not hesitate to ask.
Scott Bogner
Superintendent of Schools
PRIMARY CENTER
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
The Primary Center is proud to present our annual report for the 2006-07 school year. We want our community to know and understand our building’s accomplishments. In addition to complying with the provisions of PA 335, this report will also increase communication regarding our continuous progress.
If you have any questions or comments, please call me at 231-834-7382.
Renae Galsterer
Principal
BUILDING PROFILE
At Grant Primary Center, we educate students from Young Five’s through Grade Two. This past year we had approximately 420 students enrolled in our school. In addition, Special Education, Title I and Response to Intervention supports are also accessible to our students when need is demonstrated.
Primary Center Staff
22 Certified Staff
1 Counselor/School Social Worker
.25 School Nurse (shared district-wide)
21 Support Staff (non-certified)
1 Principal
The Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency provides specialized personnel for diagnosing and providing services for students with disabilities.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
The following chart presents our attendance information for the previous two school years.
|
|
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
Perfect Attendance |
2.8% |
2% |
|
Average Daily Attendance |
92% |
93.4% |
ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is a procedure that determines whether an organization or school meets a set of standards and criteria set by the association granting the accreditation. For schools this routinely means the organization and submission of programming information which is deemed necessary for a quality education. Then the association analyzes submitted information and determines whether the school has met the predetermined expectations.
The Grant Primary Center has been awarded the North Central Association Outcomes Accreditation (NCA) where we received full accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. This accreditation is recognition of our distinguished staff and programs, and the excellent support we receive from our parents, the Board of Education and the Grant community. This NCA process has been the guiding force in our school improvement efforts for the past fifteen years.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT STRUCTURE
The Grant Primary Center Staff understands that school improvement is an uninterrupted procedure, which necessitates contribution from personnel at all levels as well as from community members. Our Building Improvement Group consists of one parent, seven instructional staff, two non-certified staff member and the building principal.
This assembly meets bimonthly to discuss ways to improve the Grant Primary Center, focusing on both short-term and long-term goals.
Mission Statement
"We encourage excellence and promote life long learning through discovery, relationships and study."
The following goals were established during our previous NCA cycle.
2006-07 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
With the support of NCRESA our building has implemented the Response to Intervention initiative. RTI supports student learning through the continuous loop of assessment, data collection and desegregation and the application of research based educational interventions. RTI has currently been implemented in Kindergarten and first grade. Second grade implementation will occur during the 2007-08 school year.
Our Child Study process has been refined with additional strategies and supports for students, parents and teachers.
We continue to support our students in the Everyday Mathematics program in grades Young Fives through second.
Young Fives and Kindergarten students receive individual gross motor time weekly.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are fundamental in a schools ability to run effectively in providing a diversity of special services. Community members helped in many ways. Some examples were:
We also have numerous high school students (from the Grant Learning Center and the Grant High School) who support through the National Honor Society and the PALS program as tutors and mentors. In addition, some elementary students are teamed with Primary Center students to explore mathematics concepts through educational games.
PARENT PARTICIPATION
One of the most significant conditions in each and every student’s achievement in school is the involvement of his or her parents or guardians in the educational experience. We are very proud of the dynamic participation demonstrated by the parents and guardians of our students at the Primary Center.
|
|
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
Fall |
94% |
93% |
|
Spring |
88% |
89% |
We are pleased to present this annual report for 2006-07. In addition to complying with the provisions of PA 335, this report is also designed to increase communication of our progress in improving our schools.
It is our hope that you find this report helpful. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call me at 834-5678.
Educationally,
Joel A. Schuitema,
Principal
The average daily attendance at Grant Elementary School for 2006-07 was 95%.
BUILDING PROFILE
Grant Elementary school houses grades two, three and four. In addition, Title I and special education services are available. Our student population this year numbered 424.
26 Certified staff
1 Counselor
21 Support staff
.25 Nurse
1 Principal
Accreditation is the process by which a school is determined to meet a set of standards necessary to provide a quality education. Grant Elementary School has received accreditation by the North Central Association and interim accreditation by the Michigan Department of Education.
Grant Elementary School began our school improvement process in 1992-93. The building improvement team consists of eight teachers, two support staff, two parents and the principal. We meet on a regular basis to discuss ways to improve the elementary program.
In 2005, Grant Elementary School finished the Final NCA Report and received the Outcomes Endorsement.
MISSION STATEMENT
We encourage excellence and promote life long learning through discovery, relationships and study.
In 2000-01 we started a new NCOA cycle, completed a parent survey, needs assessment and student profile. The following goals have been established for our second cycle.
GOAL: All students will explore the five elements of the scientific process and
demonstrate this process when making scientific decisions.
GOAL: All students will improve their ability to read apply comprehension
to a variety of texts.
GOAL: All students will show improvement in their ability to use problem solving,
estimation and measuring.
2006-07 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
We continue to implement strategies to help us achieve our goals, while monitoring our reporting system to keep record of our progress.
One of the most important factors in every student’s success in school is the involvement of parent in the educational process. We are proud of the active participation of our parents at Grant Elementary School. Our student’s accomplishments reflect the support and interest of our parents. Note – The new student information system in web-based, which allows parents to access grades at any time.
Parent/Guardian Attendance
2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04
Fall Conferences 89% 93% 90% 91%
Spring Conferences 87% Snow Day 89% 90%
Student Achievement
|
% Passing |
|
|
Reading |
Writing |
Language Arts |
Math |
|
Grade 3 |
|
|
91 |
44 |
82 |
96 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 4 |
|
|
91 |
53 |
86 |
94 |
Mr. Dan Simon and I are pleased to present this annual report for Grant Middle School. This report has been created to communicate the activities that we are doing to improve the quality of your child’s education. It is the hope of the Middle School staff that the parents of our students, and the entire community, will find this report informative.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 231-834-5910.
Educationally,
During the 2005-2006 school year, we wrote our Final Report for NCA and we were awarded school improvement honors. This report consisted of data covering the last three years for our writing strategies and assessments for each of our four NCA goals. These goals, strategies, and assessments were formalized into our School Improvement Plan.
The 2006-2007 year has consisted of our NCA chairs collecting data to be able to write our school profile. This profile will help us establish our new NCA goals for the upcoming year by showing us specific target areas of needed improvement.
These are our goals that we have been working on in the past:
Goal 1:
All students will develop and improve reading skills throughout the curriculum.
· At least once per marking period in each content area, teachers will introduce a specific comprehension strategy. Students will practice the strategy in all core classes. The Gates-McGinitie and STAR test data is used as an assessment of growth.
· At least once per marking period in each content area, students will participate in a vocabulary development activity that uses definitions or context clues. Assessment of growth is measured by the Gates-McGinite and STAR test.
· Students are given a minimum of twenty minutes a day during which the students will be read to, read with, or required to read independently so that the students are able to achieve their Accelerated Reader/reading goals. These goals are set by the teacher and the student at the beginning of each quarter. At the end of each marking period, the teacher and student review the student’s Accelerated Reader/reading goal. We use the Gates-McGinitie and STAR test data and the percentage of student goals that are achieved as an assessment of growth for this goal.
GOAL2:
All students will improve writing skills across the curriculum.
· Students are expected to practice their writing skills on a continual basis. This year all of our teachers used Power Writing (instead of John Collins) and many of our staff are using the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing to enhance the students writing.
· Students, in all subject areas at all grade levels, will write essays in all their classes.
· Teachers use proofreading activities within the classroom. The teachers of language arts administer a proofreading assessment early in the school year and then again at the end of the school year as a means of measuring progress toward this goal.
· We use the results from the MEAP writing scores as one of our assessments of our progress toward this goal.
GOAL 3:
All students will display responsible behavior.
· Teachers incorporate the RESPECT acronym into all classrooms and reinforce across the curriculum. There are visuals in all classrooms.
· All staff uses the Responsible Thinking Process to help students learn to take responsibility for changing their own behavior. Students are sent to the RTC (Responsible Thinking Classroom) to write their plans after they disrupt a class.
· This goal is assessed each marking period using the number of referrals to the RTC and to the office.
· Citizenship grades are calculated to assess behavior throughout the building.
GOAL 4:
All students will demonstrate responsible behavior by completing required
coursework in a timely manner.
· Teachers expect that students take seriously the production of quality coursework that is completed and handed in within timelines set.
· Teaching teams select a consistent method of informing parents of student progress toward this goal.
· Teachers document student late and missing work. This data is used to assess our building’s progress toward this goal.
ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is the process which determines whether a school meets a set of standards necessary for a quality education. The Middle School has also been awarded Outcomes Accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, a nationally recognized organization. This accreditation is in recognition of our outstanding staff and programs, our student achievement, and the excellent support we receive from our parents, the Board of Education, and the Grant community. Grant Middle School has also been granted accreditation from the Michigan Department of Education.
One of the most important factors in every student’s success in school is the involvement of parents or guardians in the educational process. We are proud of the active participation our parents / guardians interest and support.
Parent /Guardian Attendance
|
|
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
|
Fall Conf. |
Number |
558 |
513 |
475 |
672 |
|
|
Percent |
77.4% |
75% |
70% |
56% |
|
Spring Conf. |
Number |
173 |
154 |
230 |
225 |
|
|
Percent |
24.5% |
22% |
34% |
35% |
This year our fall conference numbers are lower due to six fewer hours.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
A significant factor in student success is student attendance and participation. Grant Middle School’s average daily attendance for 2006-2007 is 96.6%.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
|
% Passing |
|
|
Reading |
Writing |
Language Arts |
Math |
Science |
Social Studies |
|
Grade 5 |
|
|
83 |
48 |
70 |
72 |
86 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 6 |
|
|
82 |
66 |
77 |
67 |
|
81 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 7 |
|
|
79 |
60 |
74 |
56 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 8 |
|
|
73 |
62 |
68 |
55 |
81 |
|
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
In addition to the listed activities, students are also given the chance to participate in other activities. These include band and choir with several concerts a year highlighting their growth in the music department. Students participate in the annual Lakes 8 Spelling Bee, Club PRIDE and Odyssey of the Mind, as well as sports. These are a few examples of the activities available to the middle school students.
2006-2007
We are pleased to present this annual report for Grant High School. In addition to complying with the provisions of Public Act 334, this report is also designed to increase the level of communication about our programs in improving our schools.
It is my hope that you will find this report helpful. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call the high school at 834-5622.
Sincerely,
Tom Szocinski
Principal
Grant High School was admitted to membership in the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1994. We have been accepted for Outcomes Accreditation as of March 1, 2000. We started the second round of the accreditation process during the 2002-2003 school years and finished it during this school year. In addition our high school was also granted Interim Accreditation status by the Michigan Department of Education.
These statistics are based on the high school enrollment for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. The following chart illustrates the percentage of students who remained in school (retention rate) or dropped out of school during each school year.
2005-06 2006-07
Retention 99.6% 99%
Drop Out .4% %
BUILDING IMPROVEMENT STATUS REPORT
During the 2005-06 school year, Grant High School finished another cycle of the North Central process. We are in the process of developing new goals and strategies. The Building Improvement Team consists of the following members:
Mr. Kim Kennedy, Mrs. Kari Mahn, Ms. Beth Keloneva, Mr. Tom Szocinski, Mr. Scott Cousineau, Ms. Virginia Wheatley, and Mr. Scott Zerlaut.
Listed below are our target goals that we continued to develop during the 2006-07 school year.
Goal: Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to write in a clear, concise and organized manner.
Goal: Students will improve reading comprehension.
Goal: Students will improve health and fitness.
Percent of Seniors Earning
MEAP Diploma Endorsements (2006/2007)
All
|
Level |
Reading |
Writing |
Math |
Science |
Soc St |
|
1 |
1% |
1% |
12% |
1% |
21% |
|
2 |
61% |
45% |
51% |
14% |
52% |
|
3 |
25% |
53% |
14% |
14% |
20% |
|
4 |
13% |
1% |
34% |
26% |
7% |
Merit Scholarships –36%
Females
|
Level |
Reading |
Writing |
Math |
Science |
Soc St |
|
1 |
0% |
2% |
0% |
0% |
26% |
|
2 |
65% |
48% |
53% |
56% |
62% |
|
3 |
21% |
47% |
16% |
16% |
7% |
|
4 |
13% |
3% |
31% |
28% |
5% |
Merit Scholarship – 44%
Males
|
Level |
Reading |
Writing |
Math |
Science |
Soc St |
|
1 |
0% |
0% |
1% |
1% |
23% |
|
2 |
57% |
40% |
49% |
61% |
59% |
|
3 |
30% |
59% |
13% |
13% |
12% |
|
4 |
13% |
1% |
37% |
25% |
6% |
Merit Scholarship –33%
Handicapped
|
Level |
Reading |
Writing |
Math |
Science |
Soc St |
|
1 |
0% |
2% |