2017-18
Annual School Performance Report Newcastle Elementary School
Newcastle Elementary School 8400 136th Avenue SE, Newcastle, WA 98059 (425) 837-5800 https://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/elementary/newcastle/ Principal Richard Mellish
Our School Vision and Mission Our students… • Build character as caring and responsible citizens. • Grow as inquisitive, independent and confident learners. • Acquire problem solving skills and strategies with perseverance and creativity. • Develop thinking skills and habits applied across content and to real life situations. To support student growth, our staff designs the school environment and experiences to… • Integrate peer collaboration and support positive social engagement. • Guide students as they share the responsibility of their learning. • Design authentic learning tasks and questions that connect new concepts and skills to the world around them. • Identify and adjust to each student’s needs to deepen knowledge and thinking skills.
Welcome Newcastle Elementary engages our school community so families are embraced, supported and connected to the school and the greater Newcastle community. We foster a Culture of Kindness characterized by respect for each other, high expectations and understanding.
Teacher Experience
5
Teacher’s with National Board 75.0% Teacher Experience Data for the Certification
2017-18 School Year will be available December 2018. Average Years Teachers with Master’s/Ph.D
10.2
Teaching Experience
OSPI Data In March 2014, the U.S. Department of Education declined to renew the state of Washington’s conditional Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility Waiver for schools receiving Title I, Part A funds. This decision affects all schools in Washington State, which are now subject to the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Washington is the only state that has lost its waiver and must revert to NCLB standards and timelines of assessment. For schools and districts to be considered succeeding under NCLB, schools must meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. For schools to meet AYP, 100 percent of all students, regardless of special needs or English language mastery, must meet proficiency standards. Newcastle met AYP this year. For complete information about the Issaquah School District’s assessment data, highly qualified teachers, annual yearly progress, and state NAEP (of Educational Progress) results, please visit the state’s online district report card.
District Report For budget details and more go to 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 school. See the Community Polling Study site at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/polling for more information and survey results.
Demographics Grades: K-5
Enrollment: 633 95.5%
42.8% 33.6%
12.5% 7.9%
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Highlights Located in Newcastle Washington, our modern school design includes up-to-date classrooms, a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, stage, music room, library, computer lab, kiln room, and an outdoor covered play area. Students learn essential technology skills and use technology in their curricular learning projects. Staff uses research and best practices to guide their teaching. The district schedule provides students with early release time on Wednesday afternoons which allows staff team collaboration, professional development and planning time. Newcastle Elementary maintains a strong connection with its parents and community. Numerous volunteers assist in our school every year. The PTSA sponsors family events including a Geography Bee, Costume Carnival, Literacy Night, as well as many in-house activities.
Improving Student Achievement Newcastle Elementary supports every student in their learning. Staff continually engage in professional development, district training and outside courses to strengthen their skills to support diverse learners. Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) is currently focused on mathematics instruction and social-emotional learning. This year staff continued implementing our new math curriculum, Eureka math, including using instructional tools and assessments that build a common understanding of problem solving and reasoning. These tools are used by students as well to reflect on and build their skills through engaging in authentic problem solving tasks, collaboration and mathematical discourse.
Special Programs Artist in Residence / Art Docents Program, Literacy CelebrationRead Across America, Grade Level Music Productions (K-5), VOICE Mentors, Science to Go Lessons, P.A.L.S. (Parents and Literacy Support), P.I.E. Night (Parents in Education) and SAGE.
Before/After School Lego Robotics, Coding Clubs, Math Olympiad, Lion Club (Before and After School-Age Care) and Chorus.
Assessment 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.
Smarter Balanced Assessment The results of Washington State’s Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) help parents know how well their student is meeting learning targets. They also help schools plan instruction and curriculum based on these learning targets. The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) is a statemandated test that measures students’ progress toward College and Career Readiness in English Language Arts (ELA) /Literacy and Math. The SBA replaced existing tests in English and Math in the spring of the 2014-2015 school year. The tests are given as part of Washington State’s education reform efforts which began in 1993 and involve annual state-specific tests for students in grades 3-8 in ELA (SBA), Math (SBA), and Science (WCAS) and then again in high school (SBA in ELA and Math and WCAS in Science). 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 Mathematics. Performance tasks ask students to demonstrate an array of research, writing, and problem solving skills. The SBA results accurately describe student achievement (how much students know at the end of the year) and are reported in two ways: scaled scores and achievement levels. A scaled score is the student’s overall numerical score. These scores fall on a continuous scale (from approximately 2000 to 3000) that increases across grade levels. Scaled scores are used to illustrate students’ current level of achievement. Based on their scaled scores, students fall into one of four categories of performance called achievement levels. Levels 3 and 4 represent “Meeting Standard” and reflect “adequate understanding” and “thorough understanding” of the learning standards. Levels 1 and 2 represent “Not Meeting Standard” and reflect “minimal understanding” and “partial understanding” of the learning standards.
Grade Level Total ELA 80.8
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80.7
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80.2
80.7
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Grade Level Total Math 86.2 80.6
78.7
77.4
76.5 69.0
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WCAS The WCAS is an exam developed and mandated by the state; it was given for the first time in Spring 2018. The WCAS measures what students know and can do on the 2013 science standards. WCAS assesses all three dimensions of the learning standards (science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts) and goes beyond multiple choice tests. The test includes a variety of item types including selected response (multiple choice, multiple select), technology enhanced, and constructed responses (equation builder, short answer). WCAS scores show the learning level of each student as compared to the state’s expectations for a well-taught student at that grade level. The numbers on the chart below represent the percentage of students who meet or exceed standard.
Grade 5 WCAS - Science
78.7
75.5
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