About Us

Each goal plan consists of strategies that will change practice, policy or programming through action in three domains:  the classroom, the school organization/design, and parent/ community partnerships.

Achievement:  The writing program, “Being a Writer,” has been implemented in all classrooms.  Teachers have improved their practice through professional development and collaboration. Daily writing occurred through the Montessori works and the writer’s workshops.  Focus on homework, authentic writing and published work challenged children to extend their writing and refine their skills.  Examples of published works include short stories, research reports, folk tales, biographies, timelines, personal narratives and fables.  A district rubric was utilized to identify specific skills for continuous improvement.  A new rubric was created to more specifically target instruction by the classroom teacher and other support personnel.  Areas of focus were grammar, sentence diagramming, the building of background knowledge, and vocabulary development.  Children regularly practiced all aspects of the writing process--planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.  Classrooms implemented the new spelling adoption, “Words Their Way.”  Parent volunteers will continue to prepare the spelling materials to align with Montessori format over the summer.  Seven full sets have been cut, laminated, sorted and labeled.  

Climate:  The results of our 08-09 student climate survey indicate the following:  Positive response rate increase in items #14 from 65 percentage points to 81 (+14); #18 increase from73-88 (+15); #37 increase from 69-78 (+9); #30 increase from 36-40 (+4); #31 decreased from 82-78 (-4).  This data and the remainder of the survey will be carefully reviewed in our 09-10 goal setting process.  Professional Development and collaboration in The Nurtured Heart positive behavior support model was on-going throughout the school year.  One teacher attended a week-long Glasser course in January, 2009 and six staff members will participate in NHA advanced study during the summer.   Explanation and quotes from the Inner Wealth Initiative were published in classroom and school newsletters.  A parent information night was offered on restorative justice, conflict resolution and the nurtured heart approach.  Dinner conversation topics have been published in the school and classroom newsletters.  Direct instruction happened in the classroom through targeted lessons, grace and courtesy lessons and anti-bias curriculum lessons.  Our community building events, Kermes and Sock hop, were well attended by families with children of all ages and even some alumni.  Other successful community building programs were soccer, Garden to Table, Field Day and the end of the year picnic.  Our continuous commitment is for adults and children to practice daily respect, kindness and caring for each other while we learn together in our Montessori community.
 
Equity: Staff has assisted children to develop background knowledge, increase vocabulary and support syntax through preview and review of core lessons.  In-class content area assessments informed targeted instruction.  Other assessments used were DRA2, Fireside rubric, ‘Words Their Way’ spelling assessments and CELA.  Teachers collaborated and participated in advanced study to obtain ESL endorsement and to continue learning about second language acquisition.  First language/culture is supported in the classroom to bridge a strong transition to English.  Staff researched and connected with community organizations to provide additional academic and social resources.  These included ‘I have a Dream’, Family Learning Center, Big Brothers/Sisters, AVID 4, BVSD summer school, and LLL ( life long learning) classes.  Staff and parents organized books/materials for check-out to provide consistent support for students at home.  This work will continue over the summer. The SIT-PTA sponsored multicultural community events and after school soccer teams to build a strong and cohesive community.  The SIT-PTA raised funds and helped to write grants to support the Montessori program and all children.  A grant was awarded from the Community Foundation/Millennium Trust to purchase a set of translation headsets so that more parents can participate in meetings.  A grant was awarded from the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation to provide scholarships for preschool children.              
 
Operations:  Staff, parents and students practiced safety drills and procedures.  The lock out/lock down drill was a particular focus.  District leadership, principal and parents reviewed our school exit/entrance patterns.  The arrival doors are open for a 15 minute window and are supervised.  The playground door is open during play time and is supervised.  For the remainder of the day all other doors are locked except the front door.  If outdoor environment doors are open, they are supervised.  District leadership met with Community Montessori and Community Schools to determine the best solution to ensure that the Community Schools door is locked or supervised as well.  Installation of a buzzer and communication system will be complete by fall of 2009.  The new fencing and expanded space on the playground is greatly benefiting all children.  The adaptation of the play structure to increase safety for our youngest children has proven effective.  As a result of a parent committee who reconvened to explore safety options in the arrival/dismissal loop and Gillaspie crosswalk, an engineer was hired to conduct a study and make recommendations.  Input from the community will also be carefully considered before final recommendations are made.  In May it was decided that the arrival/dismissal proposal will be included in the Community Montessori bond reassessment and DAT process which will begin in summer of 2009.  Community Montessori has been identified as a 2B project.  Re-assessment, due to expansion/change in program, will determine facility/program deficiencies and occur in the fall.  A DAT (design advisory team) will begin meeting in January, 2010 and actual improvements to the school will occur from summer 2010 to be complete by summer 2011. 

Accreditation Portfolio
Staff and parents provide involvement in setting/refining SMART goals and action plans while the school SIT (School Improvement Team) guides the process and oversees the product. The TIES/SIP Accreditation Portfolio represents the work of the schools in the School Improvement Process (SIP) through Tools of Inquiry for Equitable Schools (TIES).  Each fall, members of the District Accountability Committee (DAC) review the portfolios and conduct interviews with principals and SIT members to accredit schools and provide feedback.  The comprehensive annual accreditation portfolio in BVSD consists of several components for each school:
• The DAC accreditation report which includes the TIES inquiry process, DAC review and interview, administration review and a Board report to the public.
• School customized report to the community
• Onsite review every 5 years (2008 for CM)
• The Colorado Department of Education School Accountability Report (SAR)
• The federal “No child Left Behind” annual yearly progress determination (AYP).

TIES Process
The TIES vision is to create and sustain a network of high achieving schools where patterns of achievement are not predicted by race, ethnicity, gender, poverty, ability, sexual orientation, or language.  The TIES team attended training in the summer and meets regularly to provide leadership to other staff and parents to develop school goals and set action plans.  The TIES cycle of Inquiry is used to determine statements of celebrations and challenges in our data trends and patterns.  Prior results are carefully reviewed, brainstorming occurs regarding root causes for high leverage problems and theories of action are formulated. Smart goals and action plans are then written in four areas--achievement, equity, climate and school operations.