School Improvement Plan

2020-2021

L. Thomas Ruiz

Principal

Lisa Hughes

Assistant Principal

St. Mary Catholic Community School 405 East Joliet Street

Crown Point, IN 46307

Stmarycrownpoint.org

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1. Introduction Narrative description of the school, the community, and the educational programs

Description and location of curriculum

Titles and description of assessment instruments to be used in addition to ISTEP+

2. Statement of Mission

3. Summary of Data A. Data, including graphs, from the annual report

B. Data related to performance indicators other than those included in the annual

performance report

C. Other information about educational programming and the learning environment

4. Conclusions A. Information about how the school’s curriculum supports the achievement of Indiana

Academic Standards

B. Information about how the school’s instructional strategies supports the achievement

of Indiana Academic Standards

C. Conclusions about student achievement, based on information from ISTEP+ and other

Assessment strategies

D. Parental participation in the school

E. Technology as a learning tool

F. Safe and disciplined learning environment

G. Professional Development

5. Student Achievement Objectives/Goals Attendance rate

Percentage of students meeting academic standards under the ISTEP+ program

6. Specific Areas where improvement is needed immediately

7. Benchmarks for progress

8. Academic Honors Diploma and Core 40 Provisions to offer courses that allow all students to become eligible to earn the

Academic Honors Diploma

Provisions to encourage all students to earn an Academic Honors Diploma or to

Complete the Core 40 curriculum

9. Proposed Interventions

10. Professional Development

11. Statutes and rules to be waived

12. Three (3) year time line for implementation, review, and revision

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1. Introduction Narrative description of the school, the community, and the educational programs

St. Mary Catholic Community School is a community where Christ is the center and

where, through the collaborative efforts of all, a Catholic atmosphere is created and the students

learn to integrate academic knowledge with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. A major

emphasis is devoted to providing for the uniqueness of each child intellectually, emotionally,

socially, physically, and above all spiritually, in preparation for an active, Christian lifestyle.

Diocese of Gary Profile

St. Mary Catholic Community School is part of the Diocese of Gary. The Diocese of

Gary is one of five dioceses in the state of Indiana. Over 300 full and part-time teachers are

employed in the Diocese that encompasses the three (3) counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte.

There are three high schools and seventeen grade schools throughout the diocese.

St. Mary Catholic Community School Profile

St. Mary Catholic Community School is located in Crown Point, Indiana. Crown Point is

the capital of Lake County which is the county furthest north and west in the state. St. Mary’s

educates students in grades PK through 8.

St. Mary Catholic Community School services a middle to upper class socio-economical

population. Those who receive free or reduced lunch make up approximately 12% of the

population. The majority of the school’s population comes from European ethnic backgrounds,

however the percentage of minority enrollment has increased to 29%.

The St. Mary staff consists of one full time principal, one part-time assistant principal, 23

certified full-time teachers, and eight instructional aids. The faculty is 92% Caucasian. The

average teaching experience is 18.2 years with 47% having earned university degrees beyond

undergraduate level. The school also employs one part-time librarian, one nurse, one secretary,

one administrative assistant, one office aide, one maintenance supervisor and three custodians.

The community in which St. Mary Catholic Community School is located is primarily

residential with many small business enterprises. Single family homes comprise the primary

dwelling for our families. Many of the St. Mary’s students are second and third generation

students. The community is growing. New subdivisions are being built at a rapid rate in Crown

Point.

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Description and Location of the Curriculum

St. Mary Catholic Community School is committed to improving the academic

performance of students by aligning the instructional delivery system with the adopted

curriculum and implementing the instructional programs according to the provisions of state

standards based reform and “best practices” research.

St. Mary’s curriculum aligns with Indiana state standards. We will continue to

incorporate across content areas as state standards become available.

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Titles and description of assessment instruments to be used in addition to ISTEP+

St. Mary Catholic Community School provides testing for grades K-8. The program

addresses student performance, evaluation, instructional strategies and, on a limited scale,

student placement.

K- Kindergarten Readiness Test, NWEA

1- Star Reading Inventory, Star Math, NWEA

2 Star Reading Inventory, Terra Nova Test, Star Math, NWEA

3-5 Star Reading Inventory, ISTEP, Star Math, NWEA

6-7 ISTEP, NWEA

8 ISTEP, NWEA

St. Mary’s utilizes the SRA, Accelerated Reading Program, to monitor the reading levels

and reading progress of our students. These results allow teachers and facilitators to track

student achievement.

Other than standardized tests, teachers monitor student progress by end of unit tests,

quizzes, various projects, verbal responses during discussions and oral reading, as well as

recording daily work and checking each child for specific state standard. A science fair and an

educational fair are also held in the spring in which students participate and demonstrate their

knowledge.

C. TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMETNS TO BE

USED IN ADDITION TO INDIANA STATEWIDE TESTING FOR

EDUCATION PROGRESS PLUS (ISTEP+)

St Mary Catholic Community School provides a comprehensive Pre-K – 8 assessment program

for its students and other stakeholders. The program addresses student performance evaluation,

instructional strategies and, on a more limited scale, student placement. Assessment information

is readily available and shared extensively with the Advisory Board, parents and community.

Several assessments comprise the St. Mary Catholic Community School’s current testing

program.

Preschool and Kindergarten Assessments

a. Developmental Skills Check List is administered to pre-kindergartners and other

potential kindergartners to assess basic concept acquisition and language skills for progress and

preparedness for kindergarten.

Statewide and Diocesan wide Standardized Achievement Assessments

a. The Corporation administers in the Indiana Statewide Testing for

Educational Progress (ISTEP+) assessment for grades 3-8 in

mathematics and language arts to assess the extent to which students

achieve established academic standards. .

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b. The Terra Nova is administered to students in grade 2

c. The Inview assessment is given to students in grades 3 and 6

d. NWEA is currently give to grades K-8

St. Mary Catholic Community School uses the McGraw Hill Reading tests given on each story

unit to assess student progress.

Daily oral Language Proficiency and Daily Math Review quizzes are also given to assess and

monitor student progress in Language Arts and Math.

Special Education and Assessments

The Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative services students at St. Mary Catholic

Community School. Once identified, students are tested for discrepancies in speech, hearing and

learning disabilities. St. Mary students that have qualified for an Individual Education Plan are

still required to take ISTEP and the Terra Nova Test with accommodations, if required.

2. Mission, Vision, Beliefs and Goals

Diocese of Gary Schools Mission Statement

The Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Gary, following the command “TO TEACH AS JESUS

DID,” are committed to the education MISSION of the Church.

Recognizing the cultural diversity of the people of our Diocese and the need to prepare our

students to become globally responsible Christians in the Catholic tradition, we, as Church, work

collaboratively to provide quality education of the total child in affirming school faith

communities built upon a foundation of Eucharist, Prayer and Gospel Living.

To this end, our Catholic Schools are dedicated to:

• Creating and celebrating and understanding of the world in the light of Gospel ad

Eucharist

• Instilling the desire for Christian service to the community

• Encouraging social responsibility I an effort to promote peace and justice

• Developing a Christ-Like atmosphere of care and respect

• Fostering self-esteem, leadership and personal responsibility

• Striving for academic excellence

• Sharing with parents in the educational mission of the Church

St. Mary Catholic Community School Mission Statement

St. Mary Catholic Community School is committed to the effective engagement of staff,

students, parents, church and community in providing a quality Catholic education in a safe

environment. We hold high expectations that all students will be prepared to function

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successfully as productive, responsible, and caring Christian citizens in a diverse, global,

technological society.

The staff believes it is important….

• To create an atmosphere that promotes life-long learning with consistently high

achievement.

• To promote academic excellence through decision making communication skills, good

citizenship and problem skills for each student to become successful in contributing to

society.

• To create an environment reflecting order and discipline for the purpose of establishing

productive use of time and effort.

• To maintain an effective climate which encourages active participation from students,

parents and the community while raising the level of achievement in all stages of

elementary education as reflected in standardized and alternative assessments.

• To stimulate independent and responsible learners by using an array of teaching

approaches including the latest technology.

Our Diocesan Mission Statement is posted outside the school office. St. Mary School’s Mission

Statement is posted inside the school office and in each classroom.

3. Summary of Data

A. GRADE FROM ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORTS

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B. DATA RELATED TO PERFORMANCE INDICATORS WHICH IMPACT

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

St. Mary’s attendance rate has been above state expectancy for the last 16 years. Our

school community realizes that students are absent from school for reasons other than illness.

Too many of our families do not send their students to school on half days. In addition, some

families continue to take vacations during the school year. New policies will be put in place to

discourage this.

We currently have a tardy policy that is weak. Too many of our students arrive to school

late. This is an issue that impacts the quality of instruction. A new policy will be put in place to

reduce the number of tardies incurred throughout the school year.

C. OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AND

THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

St. Mary School currently has a very active computer lab and teacher who creates lessons based

on current Indiana Technology Standards. Each lesson is planned around a standard appropriate

to the student’s grade level.

Parent tutors regularly visit classrooms in order to give extra help to students who need

individual attention in reading, language arts, and math.

St. Mary School employs a certified elementary teacher who functions as our resource teacher.

She gives time to those students who have an IEP or service plan, or 504 contract. When time

permits, she/he can then help students from any class who seeks her/his services.

An additional after-school tutoring program is used to assist struggling students. Supervised by a

licensed teacher high school honors students tutor a group of students who have been selected by

their teachers.

4. Assessment conclusions regarding the current status of educational

programming.

Conclusions about the current educational programming, derived from an assessment of the

current status of educational programming, include the following:

A. Information about how the school’s curriculum supports the achievement

of Indiana academic standards.

St. Mary’s curriculum provides a consistency with the standards and ISTEP objectives. It

is formatted to include content topics, instructional strategies, and mental constructs, enabling

skills, inter-disciplinary instruction and assessments that support the achievement of Indiana

Academic Standards.

Our goal is implement a curriculum management plan that has curriculum mapping at its

base. This mapping plan enables the faculty to first align their textbooks with grade level

Indiana Academic Standards. The next step would then necessitate aligning the Diocesan

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curriculum to the Standards. What the St. Mary faculty has found out during this process gives

indications as to the shortcomings of the adopted textbooks. In other words, we have seen what

needs to be covered that is not in our curriculum and/or texts.

Technical assistance has been provided in the following areas:

▪ Incorporating standards into lesson planning

▪ Selection of appropriate resources

▪ Recommendation of professional development sessions

In addition to standard teaching, St. Mary School has addressed the Indiana

Academic Standards in other ways:

▪ DOLP – Daily Oral Language Practice in all grades

▪ AR – Accelerated Reading program in grades 1 – 6

▪ AM – Accelerated Math in grade two

▪ Extra practice in the writing process

▪ Mathematical word problem each day in which the class analyzes and

solves the problem using problem solving strategies.

B. Information about how the school’s instructional strategies support the achievement of

Indiana academic standards

St. Mary’s recognizes the importance of instituting a variety of ways to support school

reform. Included are the following:

• Improve school climate.

• Increase academic expectations; and

• Expand instructional leadership to include teachers.

If school improvement is to increase student achievement, it must begin at the classroom level

with teachers. Accountability for instruction ultimately rests with the classroom teachers.

However, there is also accountability that rests with the administration to facilitate deliver. The

teaching/learning process is key to lasting school improvement and student performance.

These strategies have been shown to improve student performance, thereby supporting the

achievement of Indiana’s Academic Standards:

• Teachers have correlated State Academic Standards with local curriculum and current

textbook adoptions for math and language arts.

• Teachers incorporate State Academic Standards into their daily lesson plans.

• Teachers use ISTEP+ results to identify areas of weakness for remediation and areas for

reinforcement within their classrooms.

• Teachers meet with grade level partners to discuss students’ progress and various

techniques for implementing the state standards within the curriculum.

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C. Conclusions about student achievement based on ISTEP and other assessment strategies.

St. Mary School incorporates the use of ISTEP, the Terra Nova and other assessment

information to plan and make decisions regarding curriculum and instruction modifications;

teaching strategy adjustments, interdisciplinary instruction and remedial planning.

St. Mary School currently examines the ISTEP achievement results in depth to determine the

impact and implications of students who achieve and who do not achieve minimum

proficiency standards in grades three - eight in both mathematics and language arts.

ISTEP results are used in several ways:

• Review consistency of performance over three year periods;

• Show school improvement or lack of improvement from year to year; and

• Uncover skills and content weaknesses in each subject for each grade level.

St. Mary’s also carefully examines the Terra Nova results with particular interest in objective

performance analysis to identify specific content skill weaknesses. Results are used to compare

our performance with national norms that may in turn suggest strengths and weaknesses of our

curriculum.

Paper and pencil tests and observations by the teachers are also a form of assessment. These

kinds of tests are usually designed to assess each performance outcome with thought being

toward item analysis to determine if there is a need to re-teach. These tests are usually criterion-

referenced to unit objectives and performance outcomes can determine how well each student

has mastered the content of the unit.

St. Mary staff analyzed these sources of data to drive instructional decision making and to

determine the effectiveness of our school improvement efforts. The test data from the ISTEP

and the Terra Nova are disaggregated by skill and students attaining passing skill scores.

Instructional emphasis should then be related to the academic standards and students needs.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT/ISTEP

• Students whose scores fall into the lower percentile of each tested skill will be given

extra attention by teacher and individual instruction will be administered. If

individual intervention is not successful, student will be referred to the Resource

teacher for further instruction.

• Students who score in the average range will be challenged to expand previously

learned skills to enhance a higher level of thinking through grade level curriculum.

• Students who excel when evaluated will be given opportunities to be involved in

enrichment activities that will accelerate their level within the curriculum.

D. Parental participation in the school.

St. Mary School is committed to increased communication and involvement between parents,

staff, students and community to provide a high quality of education in a safe and orderly

environment.

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St. Mary School will provide opportunities for students to acquire life skills that are necessary to

function in a diverse society. We share the same expectations for educational excellence that

requires participation of committed students, parents, and teachers. Opportunities will be

available for increased parent involvement and which reflect the specific needs of students and

their families. We support opportunities for professional development to improve understanding

of effective family involvement strategies.

Types of involvement that would be encouraged at our school include the following:

• Parenting-assist families with parenting skills and assist our school through the use of

“ambassador” families, particularly for families who are new to St. Mary’s.

• Communication – disseminate information about our school program and student

progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communication.

• Volunteering – involve families as volunteers in order to support students and school

programs.

• Home learning – involve families with their children with learning activities at home that

include homework and other curriculum and co-curricular related activities.

• Decision making – include families as participants in school decisions through the Home

and School Association. The use of our Edline, on-line communication system that

allows parents to monitor grades on a weekly basis. A select group of parents are elected

by other parents to serve on our Advisory Council.

E. Technology as a learning tool.

St. Mary School recognizes the importance for all our students to be technologically literate in

order to become productive, and responsible members of a diverse, globally based society.

A technology committee made up of the administration, teachers, and parents was formed in the

fall of the 2007-2008 school year. The result of the formation of this committee was the

development of a new technology plan as well as the infusion of many new ideas to be

implemented soon.

A key to preparing students to access, analyzed, apply and communicate information effectively

is to provide access to information. All classrooms, media center, computer laboratory and

offices have been electronically connected to a network and the Internet. One computer has been

in each classroom for Internet research and all computers in the lab and all office computers will

also have Internet access. Student computers will allow them to work individually, in

cooperative groups and as an entire class.

The school conducted a school wide audit of software during the 2008-2009 school year. Results

were used to guide the purchase of software that will support the curriculum.

Instructional technology training will be given to all teachers in order to provide them with the

information and support necessary to use instructional technology effectively in their classrooms

with the expectation of a positive impact on student achievement and learning.

St. Mary’s understands that this training must be on going and site-based so as to achieve

maximum benefit.

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Technology professional development is an important component of the school’s technology

plan. Our focus is on the teaching and learning needs as related to our curriculum.

Currently, computer assisted instructional software is available in a variety of areas in each

classroom. The software usually provides additional practice instead of remediation or

enhancement.

The school installed the necessary hardware to create a wireless network in the junior high end of

the building. The junior high school became a 1 to 1 school in 2013. Next school year this will

extend to grade levels one through eight.

F. Safe and disciplined learning environment.

St. Mary School is well aware that a safe and disciplined learning environment impacts student

achievement. One of our goals is to provide such a safe, orderly, and clean learning environment

that fosters respect among students, staff, and parents. Electronic surveillance-monitoring

devices have been stalled throughout the entire building. Our front entrance was also re-

configured in 2007. Visitors to our school must be admitted to the building and report to the

school office for a visitor’s pass.

St. Mary School has developed guidelines for student conduct. The student handbook outlines

students’ rights, responsibilities, regulations, procedures and consequences. It is revised (if

necessary) and distributed to students and families each year. Students are expected to actively

participate in the learning process, know the school rules, respect the rights of others, behave at

all times in accordance with our school rules, and accept personal responsibility for their

behavior.

A school nurse is employed by the school to provide health care to our students. The nurse also

uses other professionals to educate grades in maintaining proper health and hygiene. Our school

also has a DARE officer assigned for educational purposes for grade five.

At St. Mary’s several initiatives address issues related to a safe and disciplined environment:

• Crisis Management Plan that all faculty and staff can implement;

• After-school Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts that meet every Wednesday;

• Honor Roll students’ names are displayed quarterly in the school foyer;

• Grades four through eight participate in choir

• Grades four through eight participate in CYO band

• Grade five participates in DARE

• Indian Maidens meet bi-weekly;

• Grades six, seven, and eight participate in yearly CYO and Times Spelling Bees;

• Fifth and seventh grade students participate in the Challenger Learning Center;

• Fifth through eighth grade students participate in yearly Geography Bee; and

• Seventh and eighth grade students participate in Academic Competition twice a year.

• 5th and 6th grade students participate in Academic Competition twice a year.

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G. Professional development

St. Mary School recognizes that the professional development of teachers, administrators, and

support staff is vital to school improvement and increased student achievement. We also

recognize that this must be a continuous process and that all must view professional development

as a priority.

Professional development is defined as that which will improve the knowledge, skills and

attitude of employees. Professional development should include any process that enables

teachers and others to acquire and apply knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities to achieve

personal and organizational goals and to improve student learning relative to Indiana Academic

Standards.

St. Mary School budget allows for teachers to attend workshops, seminars, and in-services that

are aligned with their curriculum, instruction or assessment, all with the end result being

increased student achievement. Our Home and School Association also provide dollars for this

purpose as well. Continuous learning for educators is needed to maximize learning for all

students. Professional development should be an integral feature of school improvement.

Saint Mary School’s Professional Development Plan

St. Mary’s professional development plan includes these strategies:

• Action Research – staff will study student achievement to determine impact of

instructional strategies. Study groups will meet regularly to discuss current educational

research relative to how different teaching strategies can improve student achievement.

• Examine student assessment scores as a group – analyze yearly date from ISTEP and

ITBS by grade and school to determine extent to which standards are being met.

• Individualize learning – observe students for special needs relative to educational

program. Teacher aides will provide individual assistance and modeling. Technological

assistance will be requested as needed or if interested.

• Peer coaching – pair the teachers to both teach and observe practices in at least two areas.

Schedule at least one per semester.

• Mentoring – pair the teachers for collaboration and modeling, paying particular attention

to instructional strategies and student achievement. Collegial planning time will be

provided.

• Networking – provide staff with web sites of schools with common goals, achievement

and interests.

Indiana Eight Steps for Professional Development Programs

1. Create a shared vision for digital-age learning – what are the students’ future needs?

2. Set professional development goals that build toward the vision – how will the

students learn in a digital age?

3. Assess the readiness of teachers based on agreed-upon metrics – establish frame

Of reference for current status.

4. Link “Next Generation” strategies to professional development goals – what

programs will support experiences that increase the effective use of technology to

improve teaching and learning?

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5. Identify time and resources available to professional development – examine time,

personnel and funding sources and the initiatives the building has that can benefit

through the infusion of technology.

6. Build a professional development master plan – identify needs for the plan and set

target goals. Assess annually and review performance.

7. Establish the conditions essential for teachers to implement what they learn – revise

curriculum, align curriculum with instruction and assessment, and reward teachers for

progress.

8. Systematically assess and report progress – adjust after successes and failures at

implementation.

5. Student achievement objectives from assessment of current status of

educational programming.

A. Attendance rate.

St. Mary School’s attendance rate has been above 95% for the last ten years. Hoping to improve

the rate and keep it at 97% or more, the school has strengthened its attendance policy and set an

appropriate number of days allowable each quarter. In addition , this school’s parents tend to

take time for vacations during the school year as well as not attending on half days (permitted

days for staff development).

In the hopes of improving this situation, the school now rewards perfect attendance each month

with Dairy Queen gift certificates. In addition, doctor’s notes are required after three days of

absences. Homework is no longer given until after a student has returned from being absent.

This has discouraged some parents from taking the student out for an extended vacation.

Our staff is in discussion for other ways to encourage better or consistent attendance.

B. Percentage of students meeting academic standards under the ISTEP program.

All results are significantly above the state average of those meeting academic standards. Our

school looks to the sub-tests in order to determine academic goals for the upcoming school years.

6. Specific Areas Where Improvement is Needed Immediately

Math in grades one and two are a concern for St. Mary’s School. Third grade ISTEP math scores

showed the most room to improve. Of particular concern are the areas of number sense,

geometry, and problem solving.

Language Arts areas in which we strive to improve are language expression and writing

mechanics. Although language arts scores are high, we still believe that these areas can be

improved upon. Of particular concern are the areas of punctuation, capitalization, language use,

compare/predict, literal meanings and making inferences.

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7. Benchmarks for Progress

Math Goal 1- Number sense, geometry, and problem solving

-Math Performance Indicator assessments and analysis of student performance.

-Teacher assessment of student progress during instruction

-By the end of 2017-18 school year, 3rd and 4th grade students will improve ISTEP

scores by 5% as a group.

Language Arts Goal 2- Language Expression, Writing Mechanics

-Teacher assessment of student performance during instruction

-Mid-Semester assessment results analyzed and grade level staff meetings to identify new

or emerging student needs

-As a group students will perform within the 95th percentile range in the area of

English/Language Arts on the ISTEP test.

8. Proposed Interventions Based on School Improvement Goals

Math Goal 1- Number sense, geometry, and problem solving

Accelerated Math will be instituted in grades 1-5. Student progress and success will be

monitored throughout the year. Remediation and enhancement of basic computation skills,

geometry, and problem solving skills will be held in grades 1-8 on a weekly basis.

Students in grades 7-8, identified by their teachers as those who need additional tutoring, will

participate in our tutoring program. These students will be tutored, after school, in small groups

by high school honor students.

Teachers have recognized the importance of being trained in how to use technology as a teaching

tool. The use of the internet as a teaching tool will become more prevalent. Immediate plans

include purchasing a classroom set of laptops and computer carts and purchasing high quality

DLP projectors for teachers to be connected to their computers for class presentations etc.

A professional development record will be maintained on each staff member and will be

available in the principal’s office.

Students will complete a summer skills packet to be completed prior to returning in the fall. This

packet will be created to reinforce skills taught the previous school year so that students will

have an opportunity to practice skills leading into the next year. The packet will consist entirely

of math and language arts problems.

Through the use of our title money, a special tutor will be hired to work with a select group of

low achieving elementary students to help strengthen math and language arts skills.

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The creation of a third math class to assist struggling students has been discussed. A special

class with approximately 10 or 12 of our lowest achievers in grades 7-8 is being explored.

In order to provide consistency in the lower grades we have adopted the same math textbook

series for students in grades K through 5. This represents a change in our core curriculum.

Language Arts Goal 2- Language Expression, Writing Mechanics

All teachers are to implement the Daily Oral Language Practice (D.O.L.P.) program to increase

basic grammar mechanics and proofreading skills.

Students will complete a summer skills packet to be completed prior to returning in the fall. This

packet will be created to reinforce skills taught the previous school year so that students will

have an opportunity to practice skills leading into the next year. The packet will consist entirely

of math and language arts problems.

Students in grades 7-8, identified by their teachers as those who need additional tutoring, will

participate in our tutoring program. These students will be tutored, after school, in small groups

by high school honor students.

Teachers have recognized the importance of being trained in how to use technology as a teaching

tool. The use of the internet as a teaching tool will become more prevalent. Immediate plans

include purchasing a classroom set of laptops and computer carts and purchasing high quality

DLP projectors for teachers to be connected to their computers for class presentations etc.

Through the use of our title money, a special tutor will be hired to work with a select group of

low achieving elementary students to help strengthen math and language arts skills.

10. Professional Development Coordinated with Interventions

St. Mary’s vision of professional development is that all of professional development is that all

of our educators will improve their teaching skills so as to affect students’ achievement

especially in the area of language arts and math. It is our goal to provide experiences and

promote activities in research based practices. It is our goal that each staff member who interacts

with children will have job-embedded professional development experiences by a higher level of

achievement in learning as measured by the ISTEP and Terra Nova.

St. Mary School understands that what is provided and how it is presented will impact the effects

of the professional development. What is offered must be expanded to explore the use of

different professional development strategies rather than the typical attendance at workshops and

seminars. Moreover, staff development needs to be monitored to be sure that it is implemented

in the classroom where it can have a greater effect on student learning. It is essential that the

plan for professional development be aligned with our action plan and continuously monitored

for its impact on our students.

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The following information will address specific professional development items as proposed in

St. Mary School’s action plan.

TECHNOLOGY TRAINING

Teachers have recognized the importance of being trained in how to use technology as a teaching

tool and the implementation of using the Internet. Such training has not occurred in previous

years. Workshop presenters will be found to do such training on-site in our computer lab.

Reflective Practice – this Peer/Colleague sharing gives teachers in small groups the opportunity

to determine what does and doesn’t work and why. Special emphasis will be on strategies they

are using to improve language expression and usage as well as improving students’ math

computational skills.

On-site training for teachers to learn how to incorporate Accelerated Reading and Accelerated

Math into their daily lessons will be provided. The school is committed to using these two

programs to remediate problem areas in Reading, Language Arts, and Math.

A Professional development Record will be maintained on each staff member and will be

available in the Principal’s Office.

11. Statues and rules to be waived.

Statues and/or rules to be waived are a function of administrative review and recommendation.

St. Mary Catholic Community School does not present any statues and/or rules to be waived.

12. Time line for implementation, review and revision

This plan will be reviewed and revised on an annual basis.