Administrative Corner

Administrative Corner
Shelly Dostal, Valparaiso Principal /K-12 Curriculum Director

Raymond Central has adopted a new achievement testing format for the 2010-11 school year. Students in grades 3-11 will be taking the NWEA MAP (Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress) tests as their norm referenced test.

MAP tests are given to students to determine a student’s appropriate instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year. In subsequent years, growth will be able to be measured in reading, language usage, and math from year to year. Science tests will also be given in grades 5, 8, and 11. Students will be taking the tests three times each year. The first test was given in late September. The results from this test will serve as a baseline for students. The tests will be given again the last two weeks of January and then again between April 25 and May 6. Each test lasts approximately one hour. Results from the testing are available to teachers within 72 hours. A scale score is available to students immediately following the testing.

MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. MAP tests are adaptive tests your child takes on a computer. That means that the test becomes more difficult the more questions your child answers correctly. When your child incorrectly answers a question, the test becomes easier. Therefore, your child takes a test specifically created for his or her learning level. In addition, your child will have had the opportunity to learn the information presented on the test because the tests are aligned with the Nebraska State Standards. Raymond Central curriculum is aligned to the standards so it all correlates.

MAP tests are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They let teachers know where a student’s strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Since results from the testing are available to teachers soon after testing, teachers can use this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom.

We are excited to begin a new era that focuses on every child’s individual growth and achievement. Partnering to help all kids learn, parents and teachers can have a profound positive effect on the lives of our children.

For more information about MAP testing and resources for parents, go the Parent Toolkit at www.nwea.org . If you have questions about the NWEA MAP process at Raymond Central, please don’t hesitate to call Shelly Dostal at 784-3301. In future newsletters, information will be shared about testing results and how to interpret your child’s scores.

Mustang Article

January 2010

Treasures Implementation

By Shelly Dostal

This year the elementary teachers are implementing a new language arts program. The program is called “Treasures”. The teachers are working diligently to implement the program with fidelity. Putting all the pieces of a language arts program together is a challenge as much of the elementary school day is spent learning to read and write and then using reading and writing to learn.

Treasures is a comprehensive language arts program based on the five big skills of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. In the early grades, much time is spent on building phonemic awareness and phonics skills. As the students learn these basic building blocks of reading, the instruction progresses with more emphasis placed on vocabulary and comprehension skills. Students are explicitly taught strategies to predict outcomes, summarize information, make connections with text, and the like. Grammar, spelling, and writing are also integrated with the reading skills to develop student literacy.

Each day students spend some time in whole group instruction and small group instruction. During whole group instruction, students are engaged with grade level curriculum. During small group instruction, students are engaged at their individual level of performance. Guided reading and skill groups meet with the teacher in groups of about 6 students. Students are then given developmentally appropriate tasks to practice their reading and writing skills more independently while the teacher provides direct instruction to the next small group. Students may also work in stations or learning centers practicing their reading, writing, grammar, or spelling. To better visualize the structure, think of a conductor with an orchestra, with each group of instruments playing their part to create beautiful harmony.

Learning to read and write is a very complex task. Over the course of the elementary grades, many small steps are taken to help students develop these skills so they can be successful in their later school years.

To learn more about the Treasures program and find activities to support learning at home, go to this website: http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/nebraska

The majority of a student’s day in the elementary school is spent learning to read and then using reading to learn. Reading with children and helping them practice specific reading components can dramatically improve their ability to read. Scientific research shows that there are five essential components of reading that children must be taught in order to learn to read. In the following information adapted from the U.S. Department of Education, the five components are defined for you. Children learn to be good readers by systematically practicing these five components listed below.

Shelly Dostal, Principal at Valparaiso and K-6 Curriculum Director

As the new year begins, it is time for resolutions and goals. It seems the ideal time to remind the Raymond Central community of our school district’s goals and progress. Raymond Central’s mission statement provides the overall goal of the school district. It states: The Raymond Central community is committed to providing a positive, challenging learning environment which prepares each individual to be a responsible citizen in an ever changing society.”

Each public school in Nebraska is involved in a five year school improvement process. The Raymond Central staff worked diligently identifying areas of strength and areas to improve. In the first year of the school improvement cycle (2006-2007), reading comprehension was the targeted improvement goal. The staff used Raymond Central’s proficiency scores on the Nebraska State Standards for reading comprehension to determine this goal: 96% proficiency for grade 4, 97% proficiency for grade 8, and 76% proficiency for grade 11.

Now in our second year of the five year cycle, staff has focused instructional efforts on specific aspects of reading comprehension. One key component of reading comprehension is vocabulary. Staff training in instructional strategies targeting vocabulary development has been ongoing this school year. During Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings, which occur on early release days for students, teachers meet to learn and discuss various instructional strategies for vocabulary that are based on research and best practice. Teachers appreciate the invaluable professional development time of our PLCs.

In addition to the focus on reading comprehension, during second semester Raymond Central will revisit our K-12 Language Arts Curriculum. The Nebraska State Standards are being revised in this content area; thus, school districts need to realign curriculum expectations to meet these new standards.

The hard work being performed by students and staff in the area of reading comprehension is showing improvement already. Reading comprehension scores for the 2007-08 school year on the Nebraska State Standards are: 99.5% proficiency for grade 4, 100% proficiency for grade 8, and 98.5% for grade 11.

Each year students in grades 4, 8, and 11 take a State Writing Test. Results for 2007-08 were 89% proficient in grade 4, 98% proficient in grade 8, and 100% proficient in grade 11. The students and teachers are to be commended for meeting and exceeding these standards. The State Writing Test will be administered in late winter for students in grades 4, 8, and 11 for the 2008-09 school year.

A complete report of all data for Raymond Central can be found on the Nebraska Department of Education website: nde.state.ne.us.

January 2008
Raymond Central Report Card. . . The Raymond Central Report Card is published annually. This document provides parents and community patrons with an opportunity to look at student performance at Raymond Central. Performance scores highlight proficiency percentages in Language Arts, Writing, Math, and Science. Students piloted assessments in Social Studies during the 2006-07 school year; Social Studies scores will be reported at the local level beginning with the 2007-08 report card. District demographic data and North Central School Improvement data are also highlighted on the report card. Special thanks to Ceresco parent Wendy Martin for her volunteer hours in formatting Raymond Central’s report card. Additional information about Raymond Central’s student performance may be viewed on the Nebraska Department of Education website. A link to this website is available on the RC web page. If you have questions about student performance data on the Nebraska standards please contact Dr. Gould.

Nebraska State Writing Assessment. . . In early February, students in grade 4, 8, and 11 will be assessed in writing. Student will be given a writing prompt provided by the Nebraska Department of Education. On the first day of the assessment, students have 40 minutes to complete pre-writing details and a rough draft. On the second day of the assessment, students are to review, re-write, edit, and prepare a final draft. Writing samples are then sent to ESU#3 in Omaha to be scored by Nebraska teachers who have been trained in scoring this assessment. Delores Smith, high school English teacher, has been a writing assessment scorer for the past several years. After the scoring is completed, individual student performance scores are reported back to each district. These scores are then reported to students and parents. Last year both the 4^th grade and 11^th grade classes scored 100% proficient! We’re adding some additional writing benchmarks at the elementary level to better prepare students for the State Writing Assessment. This year students in 2^nd and 3^rd grade will be given writing prompts and asked to complete the writing assessment much like the 4^th graders.

School Improvement Update. . .Staff members continue to meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) each month and discuss reading comprehension strategies and student performance. After our opening in-service with professors Dr. Erickson and Dr. Wilson, a follow-up in-service was held in the fall. Professors Erickson and Wilson will return again in March to continue training faculty on reading comprehension strategies.

You’re Invited. . . We extend an invitation to parents to come and observe you children in action. There are terrific teachers in our system and they work hard to provide the best learning opportunities for the students of our district. Just call us and let us know when you’re coming!

ON THE NEBRASKA STATE WRITING ASSESSMENT - In February 2008, students in grades 4, 8 and 11 were assessed in writing. Each grade is given a prompt and students are to write on the topic given. Students have been taught to use the steps of the writing process to develop quality responses. The process is timed; students are given approximately 40 minutes on two separate days to complete the assessment. Upon completion, the assessment is scored locally by our school’s Writing Academy, and then it is sent to the State for scoring. Each year we receive and announce the results of this assessment. The percentage of students meeting proficiency is listed below:

Nebraska State Writing Assessment. . .Unlike other states using just one testing format for student performance, Nebraska uses multiple formats. In statute, however, there is a requirement for a single state test. Nebraska uses the writing assessment to meet this criteria. Students in grade 4,8, and 11 are given a writing prompt. On the first day of the assessment students have 40 minutes to complete pre-writing details and a rough draft. On the second day of the assessment students are to finalize their papers, edit, and prepare a final draft. All school writing samples are then sent to ESU#3 in Omaha to be scored by Nebraska teachers who have been trained in scoring this assessment. Student performance scores are then reported back to individual districts in the spring.

We extend an invitation to parents to come and observe you students in action. There are terrific teachers in our system and they work hard to provide the best learning opportunities for the children of our district. Just call us and let us know when you’re coming!

YEAR	4^th Grade	8^th Grade	11^th Grade
2006-07	100%	92%	100%
2005-06	70%	82%	89%
2004-05	87%	100%	92%
2003-04	74%	91%	92%