Campus Improvement Plan 2020-2021

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Demographics

Demographics Summary

Spring Branch Elementary is a neighborhood school serving students in the Campbell and Long Point areas within the Spring Branch Independent School District. Spring Branch Elementary School is the namesake of the district. SBE was Spring Branch Independent School District’s first elementary school established in 1939. During the 2019-2020 school year, SBE had 585 students attending Kindergarten through fifth grade. There has been a downward trend in enrollment since 2014. SBE no longer has Pre-K on the campus, which had an impact on the downward trend. Enrollment has leveled out at or near 580-600 students over the past 3 years. Currently, due to the pandemic, our numbers are very low at the start of the 2020-2021 school year: 482 enrolled with 432 attending class virtually. Since there is a high need for virtual learning, one concern that we have is that many of our families have connectivity issues despite the fact that we are loaning out the tech devices.

The Ethnicity Distribution of SBE is: 87.3% Hispanic, 6.7% African American, 4.4% White, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, and 0.8% are two or more races. 97.5% of our students are considered economically disadvantaged. Sixty percent of our students are English Learners. We have a mobility rate of 19%, and 84.8% of our students are labeled as at-risk. Four percent of our students are homeless. Ten percent of our students have disabilities and are serviced by special education services. Currently we have 7 students in the Gifted and Talented program. Our entire student population receives free breakfast and lunch.

For the 2020 - 2021 school year, 21% of the staff is new to the campus. At the end of the last school year, some teachers transferred within the district, some moved outside of the Spring Branch area, one got a counselor position and one staff member retired. The retention of teachers and staff had been steady over the past three years. We have approximately forty- two employees on our teaching staff. Seven percent are African American, sixty-nine percent are Hispanic, and twenty four percent are White. We have five 1st year teachers 2020-2021. Most or our staff has between two to five years of teaching experience.

Demographics Strengths

Most of our students are Hispanic and from economically disadvantaged families which places SBE as a Title I school. In addition, our SBE families are becoming more involved in their child's education by attending parent math and language academic meetings, being involved in the PTA and providing assistance to teachers, demonstrating that our families value education as a key out of poverty. According to the 2018-2019 Panorama Parent Survey, the results are as follows regarding favorable responses: Core Values-90%, Barriers to Engagement-84%, School Safety-78%, Family Engagement-75%, School Climate-74%, School Fit-70%, School Environment-67%, Learning Behavior-65%, and Nutrition-54%.

SBE is very fortunate to have a variety of community organizations donate and support the mission and vision of the campus by building strong partnerships and giving of time, talent and money to assist with making SBE a successful school. SBE was the pilot program for the SBISD Read program in 2019-2020 where Chapelwood volunteers were Reading Buddies for 2nd and 3rd grade students.

Problem Statements Identifying Demographics Needs

 
Problem Statement 1: Students will have a difficult time with virtual learning at home., which greatly impact academic progress and performance. Root Cause: With 97.5% of our families being economically disadvantaged, they have very limited access to the internet/wi-fi.

Problem Statement 2: The enrollment numbers are lower than projected by approximately 100 students. Root Cause: The uncertainty of the COVID19 Pandemic has parents keeping students at home or have moved out of the area.

Problem Statement 3: Our students' academic performance in the core subject areas is below the state's College Readiness levels. Root Cause: Demographics of our population: 19% mobility, 84.8 % at-risk, and 97.5% economically disadvantaged.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Student Learning

Student Learning Summary

Third Grade Reading	Reading PSA 1 October 2019	Common Assessment January 2020	PSTAAR March 2020
Approaches	33%	54%	40%
Meets	8%	21%	12%
Masters	5%	13%	4%
Fourth Grade Reading	Reading PSA 1 October 2019	Common Assessment February 2020	PSTAAR March 2020
Approaches	39%	46%	50%
Meets	16%	24%	15%
Masters	9%	13%	1%
Fourth Grade Writing	Writing PSA 1 October 2019	Common Assessment December 2019	PSTAAR February 2020
Approaches	34%	42%	35%
Meets	10%	27%	13%
Masters	1%	8%	0%
Fifth Grade Reading	Reading PSA 1 October 2019	Common Assessment  December 2019	PSTAAR February 2020
Approaches	20%	50%	31%
Meets	5%	31%	13%
Masters	4%	18%	4%
Third Grade Math	PSA 1 10/21/2019	Common Assessment 5 2/11/2020	PSTAAR 3/9/2020
Approaches	44%	63%	42%
Meets	14%	40%	18%
Masters	4%	28%	9%
Fourth Grade Math	PSA1 10/21/2019	Common Assessment 4 2/18/2020	PSTAAR 3/9/2020
Approaches	54%	82%	48%
Meets	32%	48%	15%
Masters	16%	38%	1%
Fifth Grade Math	PSA 1 10/17/2019	Common Assessment 3 12/18/2019	PSTAAR 2/11/2020
Approaches	62%	82%	50%
Meets	38%	55%	14%
Masters	17%	46%	5%

 

Student Learning Strengths

The SBE Reading data has fluctuated somewhat this year. However, there was consistant growth in fourth grade Reading. Fourth grade students scored particulary higher in the STAAR Reporting Categories 1 and 2. Reporting Category 1: Understanding and Analysis Across Genres. Reporting Category 1 requires the students to demonstrate an ability to understand and analyze a variety of written texts across reading genres. Reporting Category 2: Understanding and Analysis of Literary Texts. Reporting Category 2 requires the students to demonstrate an ability to understand and analyze literary texts.

According to SBE’s Math Practice STAAR data comparing the years 2019 and 2020, there was an overall increase in Reporting Categories (RC) 1, 2, and 3 for all grade levels by at least 3 percentages points in each category. Reporting Category 4 increased in grades 3 and 5 by at least 4 percentage points, while grade 4 decreased by 14 percentage points. Even though grade 4 declined in RC 4, there was a significant increase in RC’s 1 with an increase of 13 percentage points and 3 with an increase of 15 percentage points.

Problem Statements Identifying Student Learning Needs

Problem Statement 1: Students are under-performing in all academic areas. Root Cause: Small group instruction focused on essential standards needs to happen daily in all grade levels.

Problem Statement 2: Small group instruction is not consistent school-wide. Root Cause: RtI small group instruction schedule needs to be implemented.

Problem Statement 3: Students will have a difficult time with virtual learning at home, which greatly impact academic progress and performance. Root Cause: With 97.5% of our families being economically disadvantaged, they have very limited access to the internet/wi-fi.

Problem Statement 4: The enrollment numbers are lower than projected by approximately 100 students. Root Cause: The uncertainty of the COVID19 Pandemic has parents keeping students at home or have moved out of the area.
 
Problem Statement 5: Our students' academic performance in the core subject areas is below the state's College Readiness levels. Root Cause: Demographics of our population: 19% mobility, 84.8 % at-risk, and 97.5% economically disadvantaged.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

School Processes &  Programs

School Processes & Programs Summary

During August Staff Development Days, teachers were provided with training on various technology to support virtual instruction by members of the Instructional Leadership Team. The ILT members are assigned to a grade level to support teachers and instruction. They will also provide small group instruction to students throughout the school year. RtI small group instruction schedule will be implemented so all ILT members work with all grade levels.

The ILT reviews data and assists with recommendations for professional development in addition to honoring requests from all grade level teachers K-5. The Campus Improvement Team also reviews progress of CIP goals and gives input or suggestions for professional development opportunities for teachers. The Team Leaders, Guiding Coalition, and CIT members, along with teachers have opportunities to participate in decision making for SBE. A variety of surveys (Panorama, and End of the Year Surveys for Staff and Parents) are used to seek meaningful input on how best to improve student achievement.

SBE Administration and Leadership teams attend District Job Fairs to identify high quality teachers. Interviews are conducted at the campus level with a focused interview relative to the needs of our SBE students and community. Members of the Grade Level Team, Instructional Leadership Team, Administration, and Special Education staff are all members of the Interview Committee. The SBE MultiClassroom Leader serves as the Lead Mentor for all new teachers and their assigned mentors.

Enrichment activities are provided through the use of exemplars in Math, Makerspace activities in the Library and the Coding, Robotics, Boys and Girls Club After School program, and Girlstart programs. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a group of 5th grade students sponsored by our Multi Classroom Leader to teach the young men character traits and leadership skills.

School Processes & Programs Strengths

At SBE, a variety of software programs-Dreambox, RAZ Kids, Learning A-Z, Stemscopes, Seesaw and Smarty Ants- are essential to the virtual instruction as teachers work with students learning from home due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

SBE is very fortunate to have a Counselor, CSHAC Team, and 2 Communities in Schools Directors to support our students and families with receiving assistance through organizations in the community-clothing, food, counseling, medical services, etc.

SBE has an SSC Committee which meets every 4 to 6 weeks to assess students with challenges in academics and behavior to support teachers with interventiions to meet the needs of students. SBE also participates in the Project CLASS social skills program and has the Positive Behavior Intervention System in place which provide both in class and campus wide social skills training and appropriate positive behavior interventions.

Our students are able to participate in additional learning and recreational opportunities through the Boys and Girls Club available to students in grades 1st-5th. We have additional opportunities available to students: GirlStart, Robotics, Spring Branch Memorial Sports Association sports and Spring Spirit sports, and Junior Achievement programs.

Problem Statements Identifying School Processes & Programs Needs

Problem Statement 1: Students are under-performing in all academic areas. Root Cause: Small group instruction focused on essential standards needs to happen daily in all grade levels.

Problem Statement 2: Small group instruction is not consistent school-wide. Root Cause: RtI small group instruction schedule needs to be implemented.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Perceptions

Perceptions Summary

SBE attendance rate for the 15-16 school year was at 96.3% and the attendance rate for the 16-17 school year was at 96.1%. The lowest student group was Special Education students near 94%. The attendance rate for the 19-20 school year was in the 90's.

Chapelwood United Methodist Church provides tutors for our SBE students in the areas of math and reading. We have approximately 20 tutors working with our students. We also have teachers, administration, and staff mentor our SBE students. We had 2 groups-The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the Empowered Ladies assisted by SBE staff focusing on leadership development, character development and etiquette. Approximately 15 students were involved in these groups. Our SBE counselor also held conflict resolution groups for students in 4th and 5th grades. Our 2 CIS Directors also worked with groups of students in 3rd grade focusing on appropriate social skills and character development. SBE works closely with Project CLASS liaisons who host individual and group sessions focusing on appropriate social skills development receiving referrals from the SBE teachers. All SBE teachers are trained in Project CLASS social skills techniques to use with SBE students.

At SBE in 16-17 60% of the staff had left-24 teachers, and 6 staff positions. 12 teachers were brand new to the profession out of the 24 teachers hired. For the 17-18 school year the teacher turnover rate was 24% and for the 18-19 school year the turnover rate was 13%. Teacher retention has improved dramatically and this has had a direct impact on the school climate and culture along with student achievement. All new teachers to the SBE campus are assigned a mentor who meets with them throughout the school year.

Perceptions Strengths

SBE continues to have a high attendance rate at 96.1%. The teacher turnover rate has decreased from 60% to 13% over the past 3 years, The SBE Culture and Climate are very strong at this time as shown by the Panorama Survey with students, staff, and parents. Our SBE PTA has increased from 6 members to 20 members over the past 3 years.

A variety of Parent Programs have been provided by the SBE community, such as: ESL Programs, Computer programs, Family Library Nights, and Curriculum Nights.

We have a growing population of students from Honduras yet we have District support from our Multilingual Department to service this population when new to the United States. We have a focus on providing necessary services for both our Newcomer parents and students at SBE.

Problem Statements Identifying Perceptions Needs

Problem Statement 1: The enrollment numbers are lower than projected by approximately 100 students. Root Cause: The uncertainty of the COVID19 Pandemic has parents keeping students at home or have moved out of the area.

Problem Statement 2: Students will have a difficult time with virtual learning at home., which greatly impact academic progress and performance. Root Cause: With 97.5% of our families being economically disadvantaged, they have very limited access to the internet/wi-fi.

Problem Statement 3: Our students' academic performance in the core subject areas is below the state's College Readiness levels. Root Cause: Demographics of our population: 19% mobility, 84.8 % at-risk, and 97.5% economically disadvantaged.

Problem Statement 4: Students are under-performing in all academic areas. Root Cause: Small group instruction focused on essential standards needs to happen daily in all grade levels.

Problem Statement 5: Small group instruction is not consistent school-wide. Root Cause: RtI small group instruction schedule needs to be implemented.