Challenger Elementary 2019-20 Annual School Performance Report

Annual School Performance Report Challenger Elementary School

2019-20

425-837-7550 • www.issaquah.wednet.edu/challenger 25200 SE Klahanie Blvd, Sammamish, WA 98075

Principal

Jennifer Kessler

Welcome Parents and community members are vital members of our team. Their support enables us to provide a wide variety of enrichment programs. Thanks for working with us to make every student’s success our top priority.

Mission The Challenger community will create a positive, friendly, respectful learning environment where staff and all students feel safe, are willing and encouraged to take risks, and individual learning styles are recognized and nurtured.

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: 513

100

94.5%

80 60 41.5%

40

35.9%

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11.7% 1.9%

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Teacher Experience Data Teacher’s with National Board Certification

8.9

4

Average Years Teaching Experience

Teacher with Master’s/Ph.D

67.4%

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 Challenger has a very warm and friendly atmosphere. We strive to be a central part of the local Klahanie neighborhood community and aim to be a place of learning and growth for all students and families. It is through this partnership that we can best serve our students! We gather together through our traditional assemblies including Veterans’ Day, Winter Sharing, and Martin Luther King Jr. Observance.

We are proud of our continued strong partnership with our parents and the community. Parents are actively involved in the life of the school as they volunteer countless hours to support student learning. The power of our volunteers directly benefits student learning. We are also fortunate to have many middle and high school students who volunteer to support students with academic skills and teachers with preparation of materials.

Challenger celebrates a strong tradition of before and after school enrichment programs. We partner with community groups to host after school chess, Lego, art, drama, and science clubs. Our teachers also provide enrichment by leading a number of clubs: Student Council, Safety Patrol, Comet Choir, Waste Watchers, Drum Group, Girls on the Run, and Math Club. Fifth graders attend camp at different YMCA camps in the region.

Our teachers and students are enthusiastically engaged in the integration of technology into all aspects of learning. Classrooms are equipped with a high ratio of computers, document cameras, digital cameras, ActivBoards, ActivVotes, and ActivExpressions. In addition, each grade level has Netbooks and iPads for student use and we have five complete laptop carts that are available for classroom check-out.

Challenger students are expected to be safe, respectful, responsible, and resourceful. They are rewarded for showing these expected behaviors with Comet Coins. Comet Coins are a positive behavior recognition tool. School wide goals are set and students have the opportunity to earn classroom and school wide celebrations.

We are a King County Level 4 Green School with composting in both our lunch-room and our classrooms.

Also, our student-led Waste Watchers provide food and paper waste recycling at lunch. We also have a NoIdle Zone in our pick-up loop to minimize air pollution.

Challenger is proud of its outstanding music program. All grade levels perform curriculum-related concerts that incorporate music, dance, instruments, solos, and speaking parts. We also offer Comet Choir and Drum groups for interested 4th and 5th grade students.

Our PTA works closely with the school to provide both academic enrichment opportunities and social opportunities for our students. These include: Science to Go lessons, assemblies, teacher and school grant opportunities, popsicle social before school starts, Color Run, Art Reflections, Festival of Cultures, Eager Reader, Free Popcorn Fridays, Book Swap, BINGO Night, and Science/STEM Fair.

Improving Student Achievement

We are entering the first year of our new School Improvement Plan (SIP) which focuses on providing a rigorous balanced literacy program to all students. Professional development is designed to support teachers in the instruction of reading through differentiated training and implementation. In addition to reading, we continue to use our instructional coach to provide high levels of supports to teachers in the area of math.

Special Programs

Challenger houses one of the District’s Learning Resource Center II (LRC II) programs: a special education program for K-5 students. Our LRC II students are included in general education grade-level activities as much as possible. They are a vital part of our diverse community.

Social Emotional Learning

Challenger implements Second Step, a social-emotional learning curriculum, in all grades. Challenger staff continues work as a PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) school and are enthusiastic about the District PBSES (Positive Behavior and Social-Emotional Supports) work. PBIS is based on principles of applied behavioral analysis and the proactive approach to positive behavior support for students. The school has worked together to adopt and organize behavioral expectations that enhance academic and social outcomes for all students. This includes developing expected behaviors for shared locations around the building (i.e. in the lunchroom, hallways, and restrooms) and recognizing students who demonstrate expected behaviors with “Comet Coins” that are special coins that celebrate good behavior.

Challenger staff is working with district and outside experts in the area of Cultural Competency to grow awareness and skills in supporting our diverse population. Challenger staff is committed to being respectful and responsive to the beliefs and needs of all of our students.

Just So You Know...

We are a host school for many kindergarteners from Grand Ridge Elementary. These students are bused to Challenger from the Issaquah Highlands. Because of this additional enrollment, we have seven sections of full-day kindergarten. These students and their families are a vital part of our Challenger community!

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.

100

English Language Arts (ELA)

80

80

60

60

40

74.9%

64.8%

77.9%

64.2%

Math

100

82.2%

40

67.4%

80.6%

72.2%

78.0%

63.3%

76.3%

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)

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77.9%

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58.8%

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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.

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