Campus Improvement Plan 2021-2022

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Demographics

Demographics Summary

Spring Branch Elementary is a neighborhood school serving students in the Campbell and Long Point area within the Spring Branch Independent School District. Spring Branch Elementary School is the namesake of the district and was the first elementary school established in 1939. During the 2020 - 2021 school year, SBE had an average of 471 students attending Kindergarten through fifth grade, which was down 124 students from previous year. 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. Currently, due to the pandemic, our numbers are lower with 456 students showing up at the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

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. 95.5% of our students are considered economically disadvantaged, which qualifies our campus as a Title I school. Sixty percent of our students are English Learners. Most of our families are apartment residents, low social economic, predominantly English and Spanish speakers, multiple families living together, and there are a lot of newcomer families which also affects mobility. SBE is a Title I campus based on the number of students that are on free and reduced lunch. 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. Eight percent of our students have disabilities and are serviced by special education services. Currently, we have 11 students in the Gifted and Talented program. Our entire student population receives free breakfast and lunch.

For the 2021 - 2022 school year, eleven staff members are new to the campus. At the end of the last school year, some teachers took positions with another campus or department, some took positions with districts closer to home, and one staff member retired. The retention of teachers and staff had been steady over the past three years. We have approximately 43 employees on our teaching staff: five percent are African American, sixty-three percent are Hispanic, and thiry percent are White. We have one 1st year teacher for 2021-2022. Most or our staff has between three to five years of teaching experience.

Demographics Strengths

SBE, a Title I campus, continues to build on the strengths of the community. 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 most recent, the results were 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%. The neighborhood that surrounds the school is experiencing gentrification, and some of these new families are enrolling their children at SBE.

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 will continue to have the support of Chapelwood with the implementation of the SBISD Read program, Reading Buddies, for our 2nd grade students. Los Carnales y La Familia continues to support our students through their donation of supplies and motivating prizes for perfect attendance.

Problem Statements Identifying Demographics Needs 

Problem Statement 1: Due to the pandemic, many students are struggling to get used to being in school and/or have gaps in their academic skills. Root Cause: Virtual students spent a good part or the entire last school year online and some had very limited access to the internet/wi-fi and/or their virtual attendance was poor.

Problem Statement 2: 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 95.5% economically disadvantaged.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Student Learning

Student Learning Summary

Our students' performance on the various assessments throughout the school year and the 2021 STAAR showed improvement from the 2019 STAAR.

Running Records Data for Kinder - 2nd Grade:

Student Learning Strengths

Despite the COVID19 pandemic, our students made gains as measured by the state assessment STAAR. SBE students improved their academic performance in all the content areas at the approaches, meets, and masters levels except for the science masters level. Our student sub-populations improved their performance in the areas of math and reading. There were sizable increases at the Meets level for all sub-pops in almost all of the content areas.

Our special education students met the Target scores in both reading (19%) and math (25%).

Problem Statements Identifying Student Learning Needs

Problem Statement 1: Students are under-performing in all academic areas. Root Cause: Student data needs to be reviewed often and concepts retaught and retested.

Problem Statement 2: Small group instruction must target students and target skills. Root Cause: Small group instruction is not planned fully.

Problem Statement 3: Due to the pandemic, many students are struggling to get used to being in school and/or have gaps in their academic skills. Root Cause: Virtual students spent a good part or the entire last school year online and some had very limited access to the internet/wi-fi and/or their virtual attendance was poor.

Problem Statement 4: 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 95.5% economically disadvantaged.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

School Processes &  Programs

School Processes & Programs Summary

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 content Instructional Specialists meet weekly with the teachers to plan and provided needed professional development. SBE continues to be a Teachers College Reading and Writing Project affiliate school.

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 Lead Mentor meets with all new teachers and their assigned mentors throughout the school year.

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.

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: Student data needs to be reviewed often and concepts retaught and retested.

Problem Statement 2: Small group instruction is not consistent school-wide. Root Cause: Small group instruction is not planned fully.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Perceptions

Perceptions Summary

SBE attendance rate for the 2020 - 2021 school year was 95%. This was impacted by COVID19 pandemic. Many of our students fell ill or had members of their families fall ill during the school year. Those students learning at home attending their virtual classes sporadically.

Chapelwood United Methodist Church will once again provide tutors for our SBE students in the area of reading. We have approximately 16 tutors working with our students. Our two CIS Project Managers will also work with groups of students focusing on appropriate social skills and character development.

SBE works closely with a Project CLASS liaison who works with 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 students.

SBE is implenting PBIS school-wide to focus and recognize students for making the right choices when no one is looking. Teachers will reward and recognize students' efforts and good choices by giving them Paw stickers so that they can earn enough points to shop at the school store.

At SBE, we are working on a culture of high expectations and being results oriented. Throughout the year, the Guiding Coalition leads the work through its monthly meetings and then disseminating the information/expectations with the teams.

Perceptions Strengths

The members of the Instructional Leadership Team support our teachers and students on a daily basis. They have a schedule that gives them time to provide small group interventions to students daily. The schedule also allows them to visit classrooms to model, observe, and coach.

The math, literacy, and science instructional specialists meet with teachers once a week to look at the upcoming units, TEKS, and create lesson plans. They also provide needed professional development.

A variety of parent programs were planned to support our parents. These include programs such as: Coffees with the Principal with special guests, ESL classes, Literacy classes, computer classes, Family Library Nights, and Curriculum Nights.

We have a focus on providing necessay services for both our Newcomer parents and students at SBE.

Problem Statements Identifying Perceptions Needs

Problem Statement 1: Due to the pandemic, many students are struggling to get used to being in school and/or have gaps in their academic skills. Root Cause: Virtual students spent a good part or the entire last school year online and some had very limited access to the internet/wi-fi and/or their virtual attendance was poor.

Problem Statement 2: 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 95.5% economically disadvantaged.

Problem Statement 3: Students are under-performing in all academic areas. Root Cause: Student data needs to be reviewed often and concepts retaught and retested.

Problem Statement 4: Small group instruction must target students and target skills. Root Cause: Small group instruction is not planned fully.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment Data Documentation

The following data were used to verify the comprehensive needs assessment analysis:
Improvement Planning Data

• District goals

Accountability Data

• Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) data
• Student Achievement Domain
• Student Progress Domain
• Closing the Gaps Domain
• Effective Schools Framework data
• Comprehensive, Targeted, and/or Additional Targeted Support Identification data

Student Data: Assessments

• Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and TELPAS Alternate results
• Local benchmark or common assessments data
• Running Records results

Student Data: Student Groups

• Special education/non-special education population including discipline, progress and participation data
• At-risk/non-at-risk population including performance, progress, discipline, attendance, and mobility data

Student Data: Behavior and Other Indicators

• Attendance data
• Discipline records
• Student surveys and/or other feedback
• School safety data

Employee Data

• Professional learning communities (PLC) data
• Staff surveys and/or other feedback
• Campus leadership data
• Campus department and/or faculty meeting discussions and data
• Professional development needs assessment data
• Evaluation(s) of professional development implementation and impact

Parent/Community Data

• Parent surveys and/or other feedback
• Parent engagement rate
• Community surveys and/or other feedback

Support Systems and Other Data

• Organizational structure data
• Processes and procedures for teaching and learning, including program implementation
• Communications data
• Budgets/entitlements and expenditures data
• Study of best practices