2014-15
Annual School Performance Report Sunset Elementary School
Sunset Elementary School
4229 W. Lk. Sammamish Pkwy. SE, Bellevue, WA 98008 (425) 837-7500 http://connect.issaquah. wednet.edu/elementary/ sunset/default.aspx Principal Amanda Dorey
Welcome High expectations and strong support for student learning shape the culture that defines the character of Sunset Elementary. Our parents, teachers, support staff, district and community work together to provide students with a learning environment where students feel safe, valued and successful!
Mission Sunset Elementary, in cooperation with the community, provides an enthusiastic and caring learning environment. Our high expectations for academic and responsible behavior empower children to become independent and life-long learners. We believe that appreciating diversity and learning to work together cooperatively are important skills for success in an increasingly interdependent world.
Demographics Grades: K-5
Teacher Experience Enrollment: 675 95.6%
82.5%
Teachers with Master’s/Ph.D
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7.1%
6.8%
6.3%
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Average Years Teaching Experience
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. Sunset 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.
20.4%
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12.6
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OSPI Data
63.3%
1.8%
Teacher’s with National Board Certification
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District Report For budget details and more go to www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/ CommunityReport/ 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.aspx for more information and survey results.
Highlights Caring to Learn and Learning to Care Our school motto exemplifies our friendly, welcoming and caring environment. Our familylike environment has been an important part of Sunset’s 56 year history. Commitment to student achievement Academic success through high expectations is Sunset’s primary focus. Teachers continually seek ways to improve their instructional skills in reading, writing, math, science, and technology integration. Green School Award Sunset received a 2014 King County Green Schools Level 3 Award for promoting recycling, composting and water conservation, coordinated through the Sunset Student Council/Green Team. We continue to work towards earing our level 4 award by conserving energy, recycling and supporting our waste watchers program. Sensational Sockeyes We look for students who are doing the right thing every day! Successful Sockeyes are respectful, responsible, safe, and caring. We draw a Sensational Sockeye winner from each classroom every Monday and display his/her photo on our bulletin in the atrium. Culture of Kindness We celebrated Unity Day in May, by all wearing orange, to show we will stand up to bullying. Students participated in an interactive Kindness
is Contagious bulletin board hung in our atrium. We also unveiled a buddy bench that was donated by one of our Sunset families to support students at recess. Sunset PTA Offered community-building events such as an Art Walk, Science Fair, Reflections, Eager Reader, Spooky Spaghetti Night, Dads at Recess, and many more. The PTA also organized and hosted a very successful auction, exceeding the goal they had set for it. We are very fortunate to have such amazing parent and community support. Humanitarian efforts Sunset families participated in a variety of community, humanitarian efforts such as food and clothing drives and Caring Thru Sharing gifts for families in need.
Improving Student Achievement Sunset’s Continuous Improvement Plan focused on improving students’ math skills. Teachers participated in professional development trainings and collaborated with school and district colleagues to assess student learning and improving instructional strategies. Students were faced with an IXL challenge focusing on math number sense and operation skills. The VOICE mentor program matched positive adult role models with students to assist with school success.
Special Programs Sunset hosts a special education Early Childhood Education (preschool) program, the district’s Vision Program and the district’s speech program for preschoolers. In addition, the school has a Learning Resource Center for students with special needs including academic and behavior support, a Reading Assistance Program (RAP) for students needing additional help with reading and writing, and a SAGE program for highly capable students in grades 3-5. The English Language Learners program provided support for students who have English as their second language.
Before/After School Sockeye Club provides before and after school care on school days and Club Connection provides care for students from five elementary schools, during 1st and 2nd winter break, spring break, and summer. Sunset students participated in Student Council, Safety Patrol, Sunset Singers, and the Global Reading Challenge.
Assessment
Grade Level Total ELA
Two tests given to elementary school students—The Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Measurement of Student Progress (MSP)—help indicate how well Issaquah students are learning.
87.3 74.0
70.9
82.8
79.2
76.5
Smarter Balanced Assessment The Smarter Balanced Assessment is a system of valid, reliable, and fair next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts/literacy (ELA/literacy) and mathematics for grades 3-8 and 11. The system—which includes both summative assessments for accountability purposes and optional interim assessments for instructional use—will use computer adaptive testing technologies to provide meaningful feedback and actionable data that teachers and other educators can use to help students succeed. Smarter Balanced assessments will go beyond multiple-choice questions to include extended response and technology enhanced items, as well as performance tasks that allow students to demonstrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to complex real-world problems. They can best be described as collections of questions and activities that are coherently connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities are meant to measure capacities such as depth
of understanding, writing and research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with traditional assessment questions. The performance tasks will be taken on a computer (but will not be computer adaptive) and will take one to two class periods to complete. Smarter Balanced capitalizes on the precision and efficiency of computer adaptive testing (CAT). This approach represents a significant improvement over traditional paper-andpencil assessments used in many states today, providing more accurate scores for all students across the full range of the achievement continuum.
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Grade Level Total Math 76.0
74.7
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82.8
79.6
78.0
74.7
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MSP The MSP is an exam developed by and mandated by the state; it replaced the state’s original annual exam, the WASL, in spring 2010. Washington’s education reform efforts began in 1993 and involve annual state-specific tests for students in grades 3-8 in reading, writing, math, and science (MSP) and then again in grade 10 (High School Proficiency Exams in reading and writing and End of Course assessments in math and biology). MSP goes beyond multiple choice tests. The tests are much shorter than the WASL and include multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Four-point essay questions have been eliminated on science tests. This change allows students to show they are able to solve the problems, while not being scored on their writing ability on the science tests. Besides being a state test rather than a national assessment, MSP results are reported differently. Each student either “Meets Standard,” “Exceeds Standard,” or “Does Not Meet Standard” in each subject—reading, math, writing, science— and subjects tested vary among grade levels. MSP scores do not compare students to other students; instead they show the learning level of each student as compared to the state’s expectations for a well-taught student at that grade level. MSP results help parents know how well
each student is meeting learning targets, and the results help schools plan instruction and curriculum focused on these learning targets. Numbers represent percentage meeting or exceeding standard.
Grade 5 MSP-Science 86.0 79.7
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