Clark Elementary 2019-20 Annual School Performance Report

Annual School Performance Report Clark Elementary School

2019-20

425-837-6300 • www.issaquah.wednet.edu/clark 335 First Avenue SE, Issaquah, WA 98027

Principal Chrity Otley

Welcome Clark Elementary is home to a warm, welcoming, and engaging community as a result of involved parents, community members, and a deeply invested staff. Together, we provide a highly enriched and purposeful learning environment that greatly enhances our students’ experiences. Our community is committed to working together in order to make a meaningful difference in the life of every child we serve.

District Report

To review the Issaquah School District 2019-2020 budget details and more, please visit www.issaquah. wednet.edu/district/annual-community-report/.

The Issaquah School District believes in seeking continual feedback from a broad and diverse range of constituents regarding their experiences with the District and their neighborhood schools. See the Community Polling Study site at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/polling for more information and survey results.

Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI) State testing is required by Washington State (RCW 28A.230.095) and federal law. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted in 1965, is the nation’s national education law and shows a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. On December 10, 2015 President Obama reauthorized ESEA as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These state and federal laws result in elementary students being regularly tested by the State to assess their progress as they move through school. State tests at the elementary level which fulfill the federal Every Student Succeeds Act include the following:

• Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA): English Language Arts (ELA) and Math tests (3-5) • Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS): Science test (5)

Demographic Data

Grades: K-5

•

Enrollment: 718

100

92.8%

80 60 46.1%

40 25.1%

21.9%

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13.1% 3.6%

0.3%

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Teacher Experience Data Teacher’s with National Board Certification

7.2

5

Average Years Teaching Experience

Teacher with Master’s/Ph.D

50.9%

COVID-19 Pandemic In an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Governor Jay Inslee ordered all schools in Washington closed as of March 17, 2020. While the initial order mandated school closures only through April 24, 2020, the order was extended to the end of the 2019-2020 school year due to increasing COVID-19 infection numbers across the state.

The Issaquah School District submitted its plan for remote learning at the end of March 2020, and remote learning began for all students on Monday, April 20. Students and staff moved to an online classroom setting, using various platforms such as SeeSaw, Classlink, and Office 365. District laptops and internet hotspots were distributed to families in need, and free meals were still provided for families qualifying for the Free and Reduced Lunch program at designated pick up spots around the district daily.

Highlights Clark Elementary serves a vibrant and diverse community with a strong, committed staff and a dynamic approach to learning. We embrace our parent and family community and strive to create strong partnerships between our school and families. These supportive relationships are the heart of our community.

Clark Elementary is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable community in which all individuals participate in and contribute to the life of the school. We believe that diversity is essential to achieving educational and academic excellence, and that students’ learning experiences are enriched by the diversity of the curriculum, faculty, and student body.

Our students strive to be safe, kind, and productive each day. We are committed to creating a safe and nurturing environment for students. At Clark we actively cultivate respectful, supportive relationships among students, teachers, and parents. We encourage students to adopt a growth mindset that motivates them to set goals and work to achieve them.

We provide regular opportunities for leadership, service, and cooperation. Students learn the skills of collaboration, develop wider and richer relationships, and experience the many satisfactions of contributing to the well-being of others.

Clark benefits from strong community support. Parents are actively involved in the life of our school as they volunteer countless hours to support student learning. We are fortunate to have partnerships with PTA, Issaquah Schools Foundation, Issaquah High School, and Volunteers from Costco. These partnerships provide school grants, mentoring for students, academic support, and one-on-one reading interventions.

Our staff is committed to continual professional growth. Our teachers choose to use their summers and evenings to hone their teaching skills. Many of our staff members have attended additional training in ways to support English Language Learners, classroom management strategies for diverse learners, and the latest in instructional technology, including teaching through virtual platforms.

Improving Student Achievement

Clark has a focused goal of improving student achievement in reading. Clark teachers are specifically examining instruction practices that support student engagement throughout the entire learning process and implementing our Making Meaning curriculum. All teachers received training throughout the year focusing on instructional reading strategies as well as the components of the Fountas and Pinnell assessments. Students are engaged in daily reading activities that include introductions to new academic learning, skill practice, and development of comprehension skills. Teachers have received support through Issaquah School District workshops and training as well as ongoing support from our on-site Instructional Coach. This support and training has been very focused around small group instruction. Through studying formal and observational data, teachers have worked to differentiate small group instruction to meet the specific needs of each student along the reading continuum. As part of this work, teachers have collaborated on release days, participated in book studies and been involved in weekly team collaboration to focus on specific reading strategies, collect data to review student progress, and monitor and reflect on this growth throughout each school year. They also continue to refine their instructional practices for building student conceptual development, higher-level comprehension skills, and ongoing practice in reading fluency.

Special Programs

The curriculum at Clark Elementary School includes a variety of unique opportunities. These special programs add to the general programs found throughout the district. Examples of additional curriculum programming at Clark include the Science & Technology (“SciTech”) Magnet Program, PBSES and Second Step for Social Emotional Learning, the Dual Language Immersion Program, SAGE (Special Approach to Gifted Education), and the Learning Assistant Program (Title 1/LAP) for reading development. These programs occur during the regular school day with even more enrichment and childcare opportunities offered as before/after school programs. Your student’s teacher and other members of the staff can tell you more about current/future curriculum opportunities at Clark.

Before and After School

Our school district has a tuition based program at Clark called Shark Club (BASC: Before and After School Care). In addition, we offer a variety of extracurricular activities through PTA and teacher led clubs; Choir, Student Council, Dance Club, Safety Patrol, ASAP Math & Reading Club, Robotics Club, Girls on the Run, LEGO Club, and Art Club are just a few of the many opportunities that were available to Clark students during the past offerings.

What’s New

Clark Coins are used to reinforce positive behavior throughout the building. The coins tie in nicely with our SchoolWide Expectations of Be Safe, Be Kind, and Be Productive. Staff and Students are continually working hard to fill the puzzle to earn class rewards as well as a whole school award.

Additionally, we had our first successful year of our Dual-Language Immersion Program for the 20-21 school year. Our kindergarten program has been a great success and we are excited to expand the program to kinder and First grade.

State Testing Two tests given to elementary school students—The Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science help indicate how well Issaquah students are learning.

COVID-19 Disclaimer

Due to early facility closure and suspension of end of year testing, 2019-2020 assessment data is not available. The data below relfects the school’s scores for the 2018-2019 school year.

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)

The SBA consists of two parts: a computer adaptive test and a performance task. Writing is included at every grade level and students are asked to solve multi-step, real-world problems in math. Performance tasks ask students to determine an array of research, writing, and problem solving skills. The SBA results describe student achievement (how much students know at the end of the year).

The Grade Level Total ELA and Grade Level Total Math charts on the right-hand side of the page indicate the percent of students in third, fourth, and fifth grade who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math on the SBA compared to the percent of students who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math district-wide.

3

t

Gr ad e

Di st r ic

5 e Gr ad

Di st r ic

e Gr ad

Di st r ic

e Gr ad

t

0 4

0 t

20

3

20

80.6% 68.4%

67.5%

78.0%

76.3% 58.6%

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)

st

ric

t

77.9%

Di

5 e

0

70.2%

Gr ad

The WCAS fulfills the federal requirement that students100 be tested in Science once at the elementary level.

The WCAS measures the level of proficiency students 80 have achieved (what students know and can do) based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The WCAS assesses all three dimensions of the 60 learning standards (Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts).

The numbers on the chart represent the percentage of 40 students in grade 5 who met or exceeded standard on the NGSS compared to the percentage of students in 20 grade 5 who met or exceeded standard district-wide.

t

40

Di st r ic

82.2% 68.1%

5

77.9%

e

71.9%

Gr ad

74.9%

t

64.8%

Di st r ic

60

4

60

e

80

Gr ad

80

40

Math

100

t

English Language Arts (ELA)

Di st r ic

100