Correction: The special education data for Lincoln Elementary School from the state department is skewed due to the state including all early childhood special education students from the entire district in Lincoln’s data. About 18 percent of Lincoln’s student population receives special education services.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Lincoln Elementary School, which has many English language learners and special education students, is working to boost test scores and increase family engagement through a school redesign project.
Lincoln is the first school in USD 489 to be part of the Kansas Department of Education Apollo redesign project. The redesign team gave the school board an update last week on the project and the school's plans for the fall.
The school has already presented its plans to the state. The Kansas State Board of Education will consider the project for approval on June 8.
High percentage of special education students
As the school created its redesign, teachers had to be aware of student demographics, Monica Dreiling, redesign pilot and fifth-grade teacher, said.
Lincoln has a higher rate of English language learners compared to the state average — 15.5 percent at Lincoln and 9.7 percent statewide.
Lincoln has more special education students compared to the statewide average — almost 18 percent at Lincoln and almost 15.7 percent statewide. The school learned last year that it is on school improvement based on low test scores among special education students.
Fifty-one percent of the students at Lincoln are considered economically disadvantaged compared to the state average of 47 percent.
Areas for improvement
The school identified the followings areas that needed improvement:
• Students were reading at below their benchmark for their grades.
• The school has been placed on school improvement by the state based on special education students' scores.
• Little family engagement and participation
• Inconsistent schedules.
• Three art and three physical education teachers, which mad it difficult for teachers to get to know their students
• Limited partnerships with the community
• Inconsistent monitoring of student progress and data collection
• Students have lack of exposure to real-world experiences, limiting background knowledge
• Lack of opportunities/time for real-world and personalized learning
Students finding focus, improving reading
This school year was a prototype year during which the school tested strategies to address its challenges.
Dreiling said the school has created a room for students who are having difficultly dealing with their emotions in class. The school would like to have that space in each classroom, but the classrooms are too small, she said.
Teachers found when they were trying to help students who were behind increase their skills, the students performed better when they had short breaks. Children were allowed to work out on a rowing machine or bounce on a small trampoline for a few minutes in attempts to help them refocus.
The school's reading goal is to move at least 12 students (grades 2 through 5) from a 39th percentile and below category to a higher percentile category by the end of the first nine weeks of the 2021-2022 school year. Data will be reevaluated at the end of the first nine weeks to set further goals.
Dreiling said the school needs more time for teacher collaboration across grade levels and with special education staff, but finding those times has been difficult because of scheduling conflicts.
The school has changed its schedule for the fall, so students have their special classes, such as PE and art, at the same time every day. The district added a PE teacher to make that possible.
"Kids really need to know what's happening next," Principal Kerri Lacy said. "Our kids that are dysregulated we found if we tell them what is coming up, it helps to ease their minds."
Family engagement
The school sent home a survey to families to help determine how the school could better engage and assist families.
"For our family engagement prototypes, we really wanted feedback from our parents," Daphne Brown, special education teacher, said, "because we knew this was an area of concern for our school for awhile. We just really didn't know what we were missing or how to get parents more involved."
Parents indicated they need homework help after school for their kids. The parents said they didn't have an opportunity for that at home, Brown said.
This school year teachers picked students who they thought would benefit from after school homework help and offered it to those students. The school plans to continue homework help in the fall.
Parents also said they preferred text message over emails or newsletters, so the school starting communicating through text messages. Considering the number of non-native English speakers at Lincoln, the school started offering school notifications in English and Spanish.
The school set a goal of 20 interactions with families per teacher per month. By April, the school was close to its goal of 280 interactions per month school wide.
The school also has created a school newsletter and community calendar, as well as a family engagement link on the school's website.
Community partnerships
Deaira Lesage, redesgn co-pilot and kindergarten teacher, said this school year fifth graders partnered with Werth Wealth Management and engaged in activities that included the stock market, financial literacy and money management.
The third graders partnered with Ellis Farm Bureau and focused on agriculture in the classroom. Pumpkins, sunflowers, swine, beefs and bees were among some of the topics discussed.
The goal was to have two interactions with the community partners per month, which the school reached. The school hopes to partner with more community groups in the fall.
The school hopes to increase student engagement through clubs, including language and culture, dance, robotics, cooking, sewing, board games, fitness and nutrition, and kindness.
The school has also formed houses, which mix older and younger students for activities.