Velasquez Elementary School

School Information

School Name: Velasquez Elementary School
District Name: Lamar Consolidated Independent School District
School Address:  402 Macek Road, Richmond, TX 77469
School Phone: 832.223.2600
School Fax: 832.223.2601
Principal: Beth Dow
Principal E-Mail: edow@lcisd.org
Web Address: http://www.lcisd.org/Schools/ElementarySchools/VelasquezElementary/

Demographics

Number of Students:  622
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 56%
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 16%
Percent of Special Education:  NA
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White: 31%
• Black: 26%
• Hispanic: 41%
• Other: 2%

 

Student Achievement Data:

Please note that we ordinarily require schools to present data over three years to be included as a model PLC on this website. Velasquez Elementary School has only been in existence for two years, but what it has accomplished on behalf of its students warrants its inclusion as a model professional learning community. We hope you enjoy its story.
–PLC Evidence of Effectiveness Review Committee

Percent of Students Passing Statewide Assessment (School/State)

 

Grade: 3	Math	Reading
2006-07	99/84	96/90
2007-08	99/95	99/89

 

Grade: 4	Math	Reading	Writing
2006-07	99/91	99/89	99/83
2007-08	98/87	97/85	99/93

 

Grade: 5	Math	Reading	Science
2006-07	96/91	95/88	95/85
2007-08	97/86	96/85	96/82

 

 

Please comment on any aspect of the data that you believe is particularly significant.s

The two previous schools in which our students attended had only received the state rankings of Acceptable and Recognized. In one year using research based practices and collaboration with the local university, we took these children to the highest possible ranking that can be obtained in the state of Texas, Exemplary.

 

Please present additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact on students and/or teachers.

Our first year at Velasquez, two significantly different campuses were blended into one. The students of Velasquez are nested in a low socio-economic area surrounded by a high socio-economic environment. The prior schools’ expectations of these students were non-existent. We knew from the very beginning that we would need to collect all data possible in order to analyze the students’ needs. We reviewed state data, Cogat scores, INOVA information, DRA reading levels, as well as previous report card grades to determine the needs of each of our children.

On the first day of opening our campus, we realized that behavior was our most urgent issue. We knew it was not until the behavior was under control that learning would take place. The INOVA data supported our thoughts that some students needed mentoring in order to be successful. Therefore, we created a school culture that values learning communities which helped to develop leadership qualities in students who previously were the discipline issues. We knew this was necessary to meet our mission and our goal of “100% of 100%” student success. Our next focus was to use the data to drive instruction, create common goals and vocabulary, strategies, and assessments to meet the needs of our students.

In order to accomplish all the things that we felt needed to be done to do right by children, we knew that it was essential to have common times for collaboration, hence the beauty of professional learning communities. We knew that bringing together two campuses with an entirely new staff would be a challenge. The culture of PLCs was a must for success! Therefore, common planning times were created.

The outcome of implementing PLCs was the creation of teachers as leaders of their own learning, allowing them to take ownership in achieving the school’s vision. Teachers began to develop a desire for new, innovative practices and a bonding of team members took place, leaving no room for isolation.

As a result of these collaborative efforts, state scores increased, as evidenced above. Not only were the scores enhanced, but there became a focus on the development of the “whole child.”

 

Please elaborate strategies you have found to be effective in the following areas:

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Frequent formative and summative assessment and feedback of student learning is essential to student success. Some of the assessment tools we use include:

The concept of mastery learning has allowed for teachers to effectively assess student learning and promptly use the data to intervene or enrich as needed. Mastery learning is an assessment tool to guide teaching based on the students’ mastery of skills.

- Running reading records, DRA reading level evaluations
- 6 week summative objective/unit tests
- District proficiency and benchmark tests
- Stanford 10 results are used as a component in our value-added model
- Technology based instruction: SuccessMaker, Headsprouts, First in Math, Waterford

Results of assessments are placed on data boards to make strategic decisions about the instructional needs of our students. These data boards are posted in our PLC room for all stakeholders to use in decision making.

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

Using disaggregated data from item analyses, data boards, INOVA, and Ase’s Data Management Program (ADM) interventions are developed and updated on a daily/weekly basis. Our process begins with grade level teams giving up a 45 min. conference time once a week to compile a profile/agenda of students for review by the Core Team on the following Monday morning. The core team consists of the principal, assistant principal, counselor, instructional technologist, reading facilitator, Title I coordinator, and math/science facilitator. Our core team has one purpose: to brainstorm a set of strategies and interventions for every child identified in the previous week’s grade level meetings as “struggling.” One by one the team reviews the agenda from the grade level meetings and develops strategies to take back to the teachers to address the learning problems of each specific child. Each pair of K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 grade level teams has a representative that works with the Core Team to implement the interventions and strategies identified from the Monday morning sessions. Specialists from the Core Team visit the classrooms and co-teach the interventions. The instructional technologist designs special assignments, tutorials, and lesson supplements using technologies in the classrooms to support differentiation of content, processes and assessments that target the learning problems of students profiled from the previous week’s data. Unsuccessful interventions are reported back to the Core Team and are redesigned for the following week. Failure is never accepted.

Some of the interventions used are:

- Morning math and writing tutorials based on individualized sets of instruction
- Customized tutorials built in the school day
- After school tutorials addressing specific skills students have not mastered
- Lunch Bunch – informal setting in which to work with struggling students
- Students mentoring students – increases skills and confidence
- Co-teaching
- Inclusion
- Small group instruction customized to students’ needs
- Tier II intervention strategies – developed by Texas Region IV service center
- Technology – Headsprouts, SuccessMaker, First in Math, Waterford

We are a school that believes every child needs an Individualized Educational Plan. Not only do we feel it is necessary to address students of need, we understand the need to push every child to their capacity of learning.

Some of the ways we enrich our students include:

- GT facilitator on campus
- Renzulli Learning – individualized activities and projects based on student interests and learning styles
- First in Math
- Technology Learning Lab
- Small group instructional setting to allow for individualized teaching
- Science Club
- District UIL

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

As well as Core Team meetings and weekly grade level meetings, every 14th day at Velasquez, teachers have a block of two hours for two consecutive days for shared learning and practice. The contents of these meetings are intense and structured. A portion of the meeting is focused on a book study, to enhance the skill sets of the team. Much of the PLC meeting is focused on disaggregation of student assessments developed by teachers but also includes state assessments. Team members plan for differentiation of lessons beginning with agreed upon standards but break these down into levels so that students at the bottom are pulled up and those in the middle and upper levels are pushed ahead. Teachers chart out six weeks of planned lessons at a time in order to take advantage of cross-curricular opportunities to enhance learning through shared practice.

Mondays are considered “grow” days. This is a time to share best practices, technology integration training, and discuss the use of new materials to support the classrooms. In essence, it is professional development led by staff members.

Every Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:30 teachers come together for a one hour meeting focused on vertical teams in which they coordinate their work on curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Four times a year we have cross-curricular grade level meetings, in which we backload curriculum to ensure consistency in shared practices. In the summer, the grade level teams meet to plan units of integrated instruction.

We feel that these practices have built a culture that values continuous learning through collaboration and is one of the reasons that we have taken our students so far, so quickly and helped us maintain high levels of achievement.

 

List awards and recognitions your school has achieved:

- 2006-2007 Gold Performance Acknowledgements in Reading/ELA, Math, Science, and Comparable Improvement Award in Reading and Math
- 2007-2008 Gold Performance Acknowledgements in Reading/ELA, Math, and Science
- HEB Principal of Excellence
- HEB Teacher of Excellence finalist
- Award of Counseling Excellence from Gulf Coast Tech Prep Association
- National Distinguished Principal nominee
- Largest recipients of LEAF grants two years in a row
- District Elementary Principal of the Year
- Creative Communications Poetic Achievement Award 2007-2008
- Rookie School of the Year by Jump Rope for Heart- Community Involvement
- Cleanest School Award 2006-2007- even our custodians have the highest standards