After School Programs are from Mondays through Thursdays: 3-4pm.

Office Hours: 8am-4pm

Feeder School: 7th-12th Grade, Parish Hill High School, in Chaplin, CT.

Student Population (Pre-K-6th Grade):  167

Greetings,

Welcome to my Scotland Elementary School web page. My name is Dr. Paul Blackstone, Principal and Superintendent of Scotland Elementary School. We are a preschool through sixth grade rural school in the town of Scotland located in northeastern, CT.  Our preschool and kindergarten programs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) this year.  Our staff is dedicated to providing quality educational programs at Scotland Elementary School under the supervision of the Scotland Board of Education.

Last year we finished a $11 Million dollar construction project, which includes a state of the art computer and science lab and an early education wing and full size gym and kitchen. We will have our annual Open House on September 22nd from 6-8pm.

We want your child to experience success in their learning experience on a daily basis. We use the John Collins and Empowering Writer's Programs.  We also use a computerized math and reading tutorial program called Success-Maker and Scantron. Our science program was just updated to include purchasing new materials and supplies for the science lab. We also have an anti-bullying program and all teachers have been trained in the "Don't Laugh At Me" program sponsored by the State of Connecticut. Additionally, the Scotland Board of Education adopted a new math, reading and social studies program over the last two year.

Fourth-sixth grade students are involved in a Sister School Project which includes a resident program at the Discovery Center with our new penpals from Manchester. This program allows students from urban and rural areas to work together on various activities. The Parent Mtg. is on Sept. 15th at 6pm at Scotland School. Fifth grade will attend camp from Oct. 5-9th, sixth grade from Oct. 14-16th and fourth grade will visist during the day on Oct. 7th. Scotland also has a Summer School Program designed to meet the academic needs of its students. We also offer several after-school programs which include: the Academic Excellence Club, Arts and Crafts, the Sports Program, Drama Club, Geography Club and a CMT Preparation Program for 3-6^th graders.

If I can be of any assistance or if you have a question or concern, you may contact me at   (860) 423-0064. We hope this web page will be of assistance to you and your child during the coming school year in many ways.

Dr. Paul Blackstone

Scotland Elementary School

Mission Statement

Scotland Elementary School is committed to excellence, student emotional and physical well-being, research-based instructional practices, parental and community involvement and ongoing academic achievement by all students.  We are dedicated to providing quality educational programs by promoting active learning, self-confidence, respect, and social and civic responsibility.

Vision Statement

At Scotland Elementary School we envision a school of excellence where the staff, students, parents and community members:

• Work as a team to maximize learning and achievement through various instructional strategies and techniques, to include the performing arts;

• Create a learning community that celebrates success, focuses on open conversation and cooperation;

• Reach out to parents and community to build a strong and supportive relationship between the school and community based on values and commitment;

• Develop in a collaborative manner an ongoing blueprint for learning and professional development strategies, aimed at curriculum improvements that are grade appropriate, diverse and research-based;

• Use assessments and benchmarks that are curriculum-based and measure student growth and progress through valid and appropriate tools and tests;

• Maintain a positive, consistent and integrated educational experience that fosters student responsibility, respect and parental involvement within the school.

Scotland Elementary School Goals for 2009-2010

Strategic School Plan 2009-2010

Scotland Elementary School,

Paul S. Blackstone, Superintendent/Principal

I.  A Year in Review of Goals for 2008-2009

Goal One:

All students at Scotland Elementary School will achieve to their fullest academic potential across the curriculum. For the 2008-2009 school year the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) level goal for students in third thru sixth grade in reading will be 79%; in math it will be 82%, and in writing it will be 70% at or above basic, with a student participation rate of 95% on the CMTs.  (This is based on the 2004 NCLB goals for making Adequate Yearly Progress.)

This year marked the fourth administration of the Fourth Generation CMT, which was first administered in March 2006. For 2008-2009 the percent of students at proficiency or higher for the whole school was 91.7% in math compared to 91.8% at or above proficiency in math in 2007-2008 and 89.4% in 2006-2007. In 2008-2009 in reading the whole school percent at or above AYP was 85.2%, with 84.8% in 2007-2008, as compared to 81.8% in 2006-2007. This year we made AYP on the CMT’s in reading, math and writing. We have seen continued growth from third to sixth grade in all areas. For example, the number of students at goal in fourth, fifth and sixth grade in math increased by 27% compared to last year. In reading the percent of students at goal increased as well with a range from 48% in third grade to at least 66% or higher in fourth, fifth and sixth grade. In an effort to increase the number of students at goal in 2009 teachers have provided pinpoint instruction focused on key weaknesses to students using the DDDM Process and CALI. For example, in 2008 sixth grade scores were flat. This year in sixth grade over 70% of the students were at goal or higher in math and reading. In math and reading AYP scores ranged from 68% to 100% from third to sixth grade. From third to sixth grade in math and reading students at or above the state goal ranged from 36% to 80% as compared to a range of 33% to 63% last year. In writing the number of students that reached proficiency ranged from 89% to 100% compared to 77% to 90% last year. In science the fifth grade percentage of students at proficiency or higher increased from 87% to 91% from 2008 to 2009. The percent of students at goal in science increased from 53% to over 74%, which is well above the state average. In math fourth through sixth grade proficiency and goal scores were above the state average. In reading fourth and sixth grade were well above the average state scores. In writing 3-6th grade had more students at proficiency then the state with only a 1% to 8% gap at goal compared to the state averages. Fourth grade had 100% of students at proficiency in both math and writing. Table 1 and 2 show specific proficiency and goal scores.

Based on results from this year in reading more attention must be given to making reader/text connections at all grade levels. The average DRP score ranged from 51 in third grade to over 64 in fourth grade. The average writing holistic scores ranged from 7.9 in third grade up to 8.3 in fourth grade with a slight decline in sixth grade at 7.8. Under editing and revising grades 3, 4 and 6 had lower scores for composing/revising, with fifth grade fairly even in both composing/revising and editing.

Based on the 2009 CMT results strands (# 3.) Equivalent Fractions, Decimals and Percents,  (#11.) Estimating Solutions,  (#15.) Approximating Measures,  (#17.) Geometric Shapes and Properties, (#20) Statistics and Data, (#24.) Classification and Logical Reasoning and (#25) Math Applications, were a problem at all or some grade levels.

We will continue the special after school program for first-sixth grade students this year, which is connected to the Scientific Research Based Intervention (SRBI) Model. Last year teachers used DRA’s, running records, SRI and Scantron and Success-maker to evaluate and monitor student reading performance in an effort to improve their instructional reading lessons. We also gave students in second grade a practice CMT. Last year we implemented a new research-based reading program and our use of IEP Direct has improved. For 2009-2010 RTI software and its role in the SRBI Model for will be further developed and implemented.

Table 1 Percent of Students Scoring At or Above Proficiency on CMT’s 2006-2009

Table 2 Percent of Students Scoring At or Above Goal on CMT’s 2006-2009

Another tool used for measuring student growth at Scotland School from 2nd to 6th grade involves the Scantron Test, which is given to students in September and June annually. This Common Formative Assessment (CFA) measures yearly academic growth in reading and math based on a pool of skills for his or her grade level. For example, as shown in Table 3, the average number of second grade students that correctly answered questions in Fall 2007 in reading was 63%, which increased to 83% in June 2008. From Fall 2008 to Spring 2009 reading scores increased from 54% to 81%. For the last two years across all grade levels students have made uniform improvements in reading. Areas that are tested on the Scantron reading section include vocabulary, fiction, nonfiction and long passages. In math the results were less consistent across grade levels. Areas tested include numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and Data Analysis and Probability.

Table 3 Scantron Standard Item % Results in Reading and Math 2007-2009

Table 4 represents the National Percentile Ranking (NPR), which compared each student’s performance between fall and spring to a norm sample group at their grade level. For example, at second grade in math an average of 67% of the students scored above their peers in the norm referenced group in fall as compared to 70% in June 2008. In Fall 2008 in math 59% of the second grade students scored above the norm referenced group compared to 60% in Spring 2009. These National Percentile Rankings do not seem to fluctuate to any great degree and remain fairly consistent.

Table 4 Scantron National Percentile Rankings in Reading and Math 2007-2009

Goal Two:

Scotland Elementary School will utilize Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM) focused on changing classroom instruction to improve student outcomes. Additionally, student achievement was tracked in all content areas during the school year to identify possible trends and or problem areas.

This year teachers continued to receive Professional Development (PD) on Data-Driven Decision-making, RTI, Scantron, Success-maker, IEP Direct and the Collins Writing Program. In addition to PD, specific CMT materials were used in grades 1-6th grade throughout the year in math, reading and writing to increase student learning. This included after school CMT preparation classes for 3-6th grade from November 2008 to March 2009 and the SRBI Program. (These programs will continue in 2009-2010.)

For the second year in a row teachers were given student results on the CMT’s and worked in teams to identify areas that needed additional classroom instruction. This was further accomplished by implementing the Scantron assessment for all students in grades 2-6th grade. For 2009-2010 first grade students will be added to the assessment. This additional information has allowed teachers the ability to adjust instruction to meet the needs of all students along with study guides on specific skills. Although the use of study guides has been encouraged they have not been used on a regular basis. Teachers will continue to receive training on the use of success-maker and the Scantron Performance Series during PD on 2009-2010. Teachers received training using both programs last year. During 2009-2010 nine early release days have been identified so teachers will have dedicated time to collaborate in Data Teams and use the DDDM Process, to assess student growth and adjust instruction to increase each student’s academic performance in reading, math and writing. During these early release days teachers will work in their Data Team configurations using the 5-step formal Data Team Process. This will include examining expectations, developing common post-assessments, setting and revising goals, selecting instructional strategies, analyzing data and determining indicators. There are several forms that will be utilized during this process to include completing meeting minutes each month, which should be shared with administration, Short/Long Term Unit Planning Forms, and Before and After Instruction Collaboration Forms. Additionally, we will continue to measure student growth using the new reading series. We will use remedial reading materials in fifth and sixth grade to provide students with needed scaffolding for the new reading program as appropriate.

This goal will continue this year (2009-2010). Curriculum Maps and benchmarks for each grade level must continue to be established. Each teacher has their own account so they can access the maps to make monthly updates. Additionally, the curriculum maps are connected to the standards-based report card, the priority standards and the Connecticut Frameworks for each content area. This summer the old report card was revamped and transitioned over to Power-school. For 2009-2010, like last year, teachers will create tri-semester summaries showing what they are planning to cover academically in their classrooms. This practice will continue for 2009-2010 and over time should show a close correlation to the curriculum maps as well. Additionally, teachers will focus more on covering the content provided in the new social studies textbooks and revise the curriculum accordingly. Pending board approval we have adopted the State of Connecticut Model Math Curriculum. We have also developed Curriculum Guides based on Grade Level Expectations (GLE’S), which are published on the school website.

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has developed and implemented the Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative (CALI) to accelerate the learning of all students in Connecticut. This is based in part by research done by Dr. Reeves, Dr. Schmoker, Dr. Marzano and Dr. Elmore. It includes using DDDM to improve student achievement, Data Teams that work to analyze student data from common formative assessments and the use of effective teaching strategies, and nonfiction writing to develop lesson plans that meet each students needs. All adults must be held accountable for student achievement. We have had training on using these components, but work on developing common formative assessments across all grades and content area curriculums must be a priority this year. This starts with the state standards, developing essential questions and identifying priority standards. Teachers must consider these components while developing their weekly lesson plans to include the use of DI. We had two teachers attend the Effective Teaching Strategies (ETS) workshop last year. Those two teachers will attend advanced training in December 2009 so they can train and coach the rest of the teachers. Improvements in learning and instruction in the classroom must revolve around the teacher, student and content. We must look at what teachers and students are doing and saying and focus on the major learning tasks necessary to accelerate large- scale, systematic instructional improvement in each classroom. Systematic change can only be accomplished by increasing the depth of the content and the level of student activity, not to mention increasing the skills and knowledge all teachers must possess in each content area. This will be further supported by the use of technology described in the new Technology Plan for 2009-2012. Our preschool and kindergarten programs are presently working on re-accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children as well. 

Goal Three:

Scotland Elementary School will continue to work on providing students with opportunities to interact with students from diverse backgrounds.

Scotland Elementary School provides students with opportunities to interact with students from diverse backgrounds through a Sister School Program with Manchester for 4-6th grade students in a grant through the Discovery Center. The sister school program with Manchester will continue in 2009-2010 to include school visits and pen-pal letters. There will be a Parent Meeting on Sept. 15th at the school. Fourth grade will attend camp for the day on Oct. 7th. Fifth grade will attend the Woodstock Camp from Oct. 5-9th and sixth grade from Oct. 14-16th. We will also have sixth grade students attend Nature’s Classroom. The PTO also sponsored two cultural events that included a performances by Echo Uganda and African storytelling by Dr. Mama

Goal Four:

The Scotland Elementary School staff will continue to improve communication and create a positive working relationship with all constituencies focused on improved student academic achievement. The Scotland Elementary Action Team will continue to develop activities to increase connections with the home and community throughout the year. In September 2009 letters will be sent to parents explaining the CMT’s and the various programs we are implementing to help their child.  This will also be discussed at the Open House to include the School Wellness Policy and Parent-School Compact. We will also send home information on Scantron and a progress report on how their students were performing in math and reading on the computer tutorial program called Success-maker. This year special events will be aired on Cable TV. Teachers will also use the school website to post homework, activities and information for parents. We have a staff member that will work hand in hand with teachers to update their school website on a regular basis. The school will also use Alert Now to notify parents of closings and upcoming events. Additionally, moving the report card to Power-School will give parents a direct link to their child’s performance. This year SEAT will continue to sponsor several activities to bring the community and school closer together. This year we will have a monthly coffee hour for parents, and selected staff.  The school readiness preschool program will provide many activities for parents during the year to include visits and activities through the local library and several field trips. During the First Day back to school celebration parents will be asked to sign-up for the PTO and to be volunteers. SEAT will sponsor the yearly Volunteer Dinner in May, which recognizes volunteers for their contributions to the school. Our PTO is very involved in the school and they sponsor many fundraisers and activities such as No TV. Week, and the CMT breakfast club during CMT’s. These efforts are in addition to having an Open House in the fall and parent-teacher conferences twice per year as prescribed by the Parent Involvement Policy. Parents are also on the School Safety Team, the combined Superintendent and  SEAT Committee and the Indoor Air Quality Team. SEAT also conducted a school climate walkthrough in Fall 2008 to see how welcoming the school is to the community and parents and a Community Conversation in Spring 2009. We had many members of the community involved in this activity as well.

II.  Evidence of Sustained Improvement in Student Accomplishments

Needs and Improvement Plans

This will be the second year that Professional Development will be focused on the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) Process and Effective Teaching Strategies to improve student learning, DI, development of high quality rigorous instructional units and teacher instruction in the classroom. From third to sixth grade we must focus on students at proficiency and make an effort to have them reach goal or above. Paraprofessionals attended many Professional Development workshops this year. We also had workshops during monthly Para meetings. Several Para’s went to a workshop on DDDM and the CALI Model. We will focus on making adjustments to the power standards, the Connecticut Frameworks, the standards-based report card to include making sure they are aligned with curriculum maps and teacher lesson plans this year. Teachers will continue to submit lesson plans on a weekly basis and curriculum maps monthly. Designated staff meetings and early release days will be used to collect and analyze student data in an effort to adjust instruction in the classroom and improve student learning. We will offer parent literacy and parenting workshops and a monthly coffee hour.  We will continue our after school programs and the Scientific Research-Based Intervention (SRBI) Model instruction program after school. (The Homework Program was restructured last year to complement the SRBI Model.) Teachers will receive additional training on SRBI to include implementation of IEP Direct and Response To Intervention (RTI) software during 2009-2010.

Vertical scale scores were developed for CMT math and reading for Grades 3 through 8 to measure changes in student performance. Tables 5 and 6 summarize the reading and math average vertical scores for Scotland for matched groups of students over a three-year period from (2006-2008) and (2007-2009). Table 5 shows that math gains for third through five grades were evident. From 2007 to 2008 between grades 3 and 4 showed a 27 vertical scale score gain. From fourth to fifth grade there was a vertical score gain of 48. There were similar gains in reading as well. However, gains from fifth to sixth grade were only 14 points for math and a –3 points for reading. However, gains during sixth grade in 2008 were regressive in nature for the most part. Many students moved back to proficiency except for one student that moved to above goal in math.

Table 5 CMT Vertical Scale and Achievement Growth Results 2006-2008

In 2008, the CSDE used a vertical scale for math and reading for the fourth Generation CMT. The vertical scale permits districts a way to measure changes in student growth from Grades 3 through 8. The vertical scales provide information on matched cohorts of students that took the CMT for two or more years. Table 6 provides information about district vertical scale performance in math and reading over a three-year period. The average scale score is provided for the last grade in each graded span. The growth score is the difference between the average scale score in the first and last years of each grade span. For example, for students who were in Grade 3 in 2006 and Grade 5 in 2008, the average vertical score in math was 509 in 2008; they grew an average of 76 points between third and fifth grade, compared to the state score of 523 and a growth rate of 72 points. From 2007-2009 the cohort for grades 3-5, in comparison, had an average vertical score of 523 and a growth rate of 82 points between Grade 3 in 2007 and Grade 5 in 2009. The state score was 527 with a growth of 71 points from 3 to 5th grade from 2007-2009. In reading the district growth rate was 74 points from 2006 to 2008 with a score of 473, compared to the state score of 478 and a growth of 53 points. From 2007 to 2009 from 3rd to 5th grade the vertical score in reading was 481 with a growth of 66 compared to the state score of 482 with a growth of 54 points. From third to fifth grade in math the growth rates were higher, but the vertical scores were lower then the state scores. In reading, district growth from third to fifth grade was higher then from 4-6th grade. The 2007-2009, 3-5 and 4-6th grade cohorts had higher average vertical scores and for the most part greater growth than the 2006-2008 cohorts. Although all district scores were lower then the state vertical scores.

Table 6 CMT Vertical Scores and Growth Results 2006-2009

Table 7 and 8 represent a cohort comparison of the five CMT levels for 3 to 6th grade from 2006-2009. Table 7 shows results from 3-6th grade. In math from 2006-2009 the percent of students that moved to goal or above increased from 36% to 77%. In reading, the number of students at or above goal increased from 42.9% to 76.2%, which represents an increase from 9 to 16 students at or above goal. Writing remained fairly steady. Table 8 shows the 3-5th grade cohort comparison from 2007 to 2009. There was continued growth from third to fifth grade in all areas. From 3rd to 5th grade the number of students at or above goal increased from 42% to over 87%. In reading scores improved from 48% to 72% at or above goal. I writing goal and above scores increased from 38% in third grade to over 80% in fifth grade. Overall, results in Table 7 and 8 show steady growth in all content areas from third to sixth grade at Scotland School.

Table 7 Cohort Comparison Percent Results for Third Through Fifth Grade

Table 8 Cohort Comparison Percent Results for Third Through Fifth Grade

III.  School District Improvement Plans and Activities

See attached School Improvement Plan.

Our preschool and kindergarten programs are presently working on re-accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  There has been a focus on student achievement in the content areas and student performance has been tracked to identify possible trends and or student problem areas. During the last two years we have had a special after school program for first-sixth grade students connected to the Response To Intervention Model known as SRBI. Teachers continue to use DRA’s, running records, SRI and Scantron to evaluate student reading performance in an effort to improve teacher instructional strategies in reading and create common formative assessments to use as benchmarks.

IV.  Recommendations:

Provide teacher collaboration for Data-Teams during nine early release days.

Identify a new School-wide Positive Behavioral Intervention Program.

Refine and switch over to Power-School the standards-based report card system to include the kindergarten report card.

Continue Power-School for PSIS and Lunch Program Accountability

Provide training and implement new reading program.

Work on Health and Nutrition Curriculums. Implement new math curriculum

Superintendent/SEAT Committee will continue to work on ways to increase communication between community, staff and administration.

Superintendent/SEAT Committee will work to increase communication between home and school and provide information to parents on homework strategies and study skills.

Teachers will provide homework and classroom information through the website.

Continue Success-maker and Scantron and establishment of benchmarks.

Continue to implement the Scientific Research Based Intervention Model.

Continue PD on DDDM, Data Teams, Data Walls.

Provide PD on Technology and 21st Century Skills

Use revised Writing Guide

V.  Critique of the Action Plan for 2008-2009:

In September 2008-2009 teachers received workshops on DDDM. Additionally, teachers received PD on The John Collins Writing Program, and the reading program. During the year on early release days Data Teams got together to collect, review and analyze student work and adjust instruction as needed. This will continue during the 2009-2010 school year.

I reviewed student writing folders during December 2008 and May 2009 and Writing Prompts throughout the year.  Teachers received feedback on implementing the writing program. This year a refresher workshop on the John Collins Writing Program to include the use of Focus Correction Areas and the use of Narrative and Expository writing was provided. This summer the writing handbook will be revised to include FCA’s. Next year a refresher on using Empowering Writer’s would be a good idea. At monthly staff meetings we discussed overall student progress and plans to assist low performing students, to include Special Education teacher input, as well.  Common teacher evaluation goals were established between several teachers, which resulted in them sharing research and classroom activities to include increased teacher collaboration. This has allowed teachers more time to mentor/coach and model their instructional strategies in reading and other subjects to improve student achievement. Teachers must continue to make a strong connection between their evaluation goals and student improvement based on student performance data. This year the focus was on several reading strands from the CMT’s.

I met with all teachers and para’s individually to review their goals, one of which was related to the CMT’s and increased student performance. 

I attended Student Teacher Assessment Team Early Intervention meetings to assess student academic progress. Next year we will focus on the SRBI Model and the RTI process to support these changes.

On a weekly basis I attended PPT’S in an effort to monitor student’s special education needs.

I visited classrooms and reviewed lesson plans on a weekly basis. (Taking on the superintendent duties has cutback on the amount of time I would like to spend in the classrooms.)

During the 2008-2009 school year the Scotland Elementary Action Team (SEAT) had our eighth annual, “First Day Back to School” celebration. We also had a Community Conversation in Spring 2009.

I attended monthly Board and PTO meetings and worked closely with the board chair and the board of education in support of board actions and decisions. As the Superintendent of Scotland I supervised the organization and management of the district’s day-to-day operations.

If you look at the Educational Leadership Self Inventory (ELSI) in the Superintendent Evaluation Portfolio, which is based on the Standards for School Leaders there were six areas that I made improvements on during 2008-09. These included: Standard III. The Teaching Process; Standard VI. School Culture;  Standard IX. Professional Development, Standard X. Integration of Evaluation and PD and School Improvement; Standard XI. Organization, Resources, and School Actions and Standard XII. School-Community Relations. Two areas were still ranked below a score of three. These areas included: Standard IV. Diverse Perspectives; and Standard XII. School-Community Relations.

In looking at The Teaching Process, improvements have been made in several areas. This year a more collegial and cooperative climate was noticed. Another area of improvement was VI. School Culture. As a school we must do more to reach out to the community and other stakeholders to create a school culture that promotes and reflects a common purpose on student learning. This year SEAT conducted a school climate walk-though and a Community Conversation. These efforts engaged members of the community in promoting the school culture and its purpose. Under IX.. PD more focus was placed on student learning. Under Standard X. Integration of Evaluation a culture of staff collaboration and collegiality focused on improved teaching and learning for all students. This has included DDDM, and analysis of student work to adjust classroom instruction. For 2009-2010 more attention must include a true connection between teacher evaluation, school goals and student learning. In looking at Standard XI. Operations, Resources and Policies, improvements have been made in strategic planning, by receiving input from parents and stakeholders during the walkthrough and Community Conversation during the 2008-2009 school-year. Finally, XII, under School and Community Relations using community resources continues to be a challenge due to the lack of businesses in town. However, the Community Conversation and the walkthrough gave the community an opportunity to make suggestions and become involved in evaluating the school.

As the superintendent I have overseen the daily operations and management of this organization. This has included the supervision of over 45 teachers and staff members to include paraprofessionals, office staff, custodians and food service employees. I have prepared and managed the yearly school budget, the IDEA and ESEA and the school readiness budget and other grants as well. This has included attending building committee meetings this year as well. I have worked very hard to enforce the policies and guidance of the BOE, while at the same time providing my perspective on issues facing the BOE and school as well. This has included an effort to develop a positive relationship with the BOE on both an individual and collective point of view. I have worked with the board on the goals that were established last year to include: making improvements in reading, monitoring homework, increasing parent and community involvement, reducing paperwork and monitoring building maintenance. I have provided monthly reports to the BOE and maintained communication with the Chairman as needed. I have also worked to maintain and develop a good working relationship with the First Selectman and other town officials. I have strived to maintain a high degree of professionalism and integrity over the years. I have worked on developing a plan for the possible return of 7th and 8th grade students as well.

VI.  Strengths:

Continue to develop the John Collins and Empowering Writers Writing Curriculums.

Provide enriching experiences for students in school and on field trips to include Nature’s Classroom, and the Discovery Center.

Adoption of reading, math, science and Social Studies programs and materials.

State of the Art computer lab

Continue to increase Parental Involvement and maintain the Superintendent/Scotland Elementary Action Team (SEAT) and activities they sponsor, like the monthly Parent Coffee Hour. 

Continue School and Parent Compact and School Wellness Policy implementation.

Conduct workshops for parents on homework, study skills and literacy.

Continue to implement the School Readiness Grant in preschool.

Maintain a clear focus on learning. Teachers will use CMT results and classroom work to adjust instruction to meet the needs of all children at SES using Data Teams and DDDM Procecss.

Continue after School Programs.

Continue to stress technology (Technology Plan), and schedule students for reading and math tutorial services using success-maker in the Computer Lab.

Adopt a new Positive Behavior System

Continue to implement and collect data on the reading program in all grades.

Continue teacher’s use of DRAs and running records. Look at using Dibels.

Continued Scholastic Reading Inventory Program to track student reading levels.

Continue CMT Preparation classes and use of CMT materials during the year and after school.

Increase student math performance and achievement by using the identified Focus Area’s for each grade level based on last years CMT’s and benchmarking materials. This will include using the performance technology offered by Scantron and Power-school.

Revise the electronic grade-book and performance standards. Create a link for parents to access their child’s information through the website using Power-school.

Continue use of success-maker program to include science for 3-6th grade.

Identify students in K-2nd grades that need support in reading and have the remedial/Intervention teacher provide those services.

Use Reading Program Spelling Program from K-6th grade.

We will continue to develop the K-6th grade science program and focus on using the new science lab.

Continue the Science Fair.

Continue to stress our shared vision and mission for Scotland Elementary School in an effort to create a true community of learner’s.

Conduct Summer School in 2010.

Continue to implement new materials in math and social studies from K-6th grade.

Implement the Talented and gifted Program to include Enrichment Clusters.

VII.  Weaknesses:

Increase teacher collaboration using Data Teams and DDDM.

Increase time for teaching and instruction and collaboration.

Need to address Health Curriculum/PBS.

Monitor Reading Program

Increase paraprofessional Training and provide specific orientation.

Implement and use of RTI and IEP Direct

Revise Report Card

Scotland Elementary School Goals for 2009-2010

1. All students at Scotland Elementary School (SES) will achieve to their fullest academic potential across the curriculum. On the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) at SES 100% of all students will be at proficiency or higher with at least 80% at goal or above goal with a student participation rate of 95%.

2. Scotland Elementary School will utilize Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM) focused on changing classroom instruction to improve student outcomes. Additionally, student achievement will be tracked in all content areas during the school year to identify possible trends and or problem areas. This will be discussed at Monthly Data team meetings on early release days.

3. Scotland Elementary School will continue to work on providing students with opportunities to interact with students from diverse backgrounds. This will include sending students to Discovery Camp and writing pen pal letters throughout the year.

4. The Scotland Elementary School staff will continue to improve communication and create a positive working relationship with all constituencies focused on improved student academic achievement. This will include updating teacher websites on a weekly basis.

• I am also the Title IX Coordinator. Scotland Elementary School is committed to equal opporunity/afffirmative action for all qualified persons and does not discriminate in any employment practices, education programs, or educational acitivity on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, or any other basis prohibited by Connecticut state and or federal non-discrimination laws. Inquiries regarding policies should be directed to Dr. Paul Blackstone at Scotland Elementary School, P.O. Box 97, Scotland, CT. 06264, (860) 423-0064, or the Office for Civil Rights.

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