State Names Cary Elementary One of the State's Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools
September 16, 2002 - At Cary Elementary, students, teachers, and Principal LaVaughn Buchanan are excited about being named one of the state's Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools.
"I'm just thrilled," Buchanan said. "We need a big celebration. We need to let our teachers and students know they are on the right track and doing a good job."
NC Department of Public Instruction officials recognized Cary Elementary Thursday as they announced the results of the state's ABCs of Public Education, the state accountability program designed to improve student achievement, reward excellence, and provide assistance to schools that need extra help.
Cary Elementary met the ABCs program's high growth standards and was named a School of Distinction. The school had a performance composite score of 86.4 this year, compared with 77.7 last year.
The ABCs program focuses primarily on average growth shown by groups of students on state End-of-Grade testing in reading and mathematics. Average test results for a group of students at the end of one year are compared to the scores for those same students at the end of the prior year. Schools of Distinction had at least 80 percent of their students perform at or above grade level and met expected growth.
Buchanan credited the school's teachers for their teamwork and collaboration in seeking to meet the needs of each student. She said the school had success boosting achievement among Level IV students, pushing math scores higher, and using the instructional program Project Achieve to help all students.
Administrators at the school asked to be part of Project Achieve, an instructional program piloted at eight schools last year. The program focused instruction on the state's Standard Course of Study, the coursework the state expects students to learn in each grade.
"Teachers turned in their lesson plans for the week. They listed the objectives they were covering to meet the state's Standard Course of Study," Buchanan said. " Our academic calendar says here's the focus for reading and mathematics today. Grades 3 through 5 have a focus lesson every day. Every 5-7 days, they are assessed. The assessments help us know who mastered that lesson and who needs more instruction."
Students who mastered a lesson would receive enrichment time, a 35-minute period four days a week. Buchanan credited the instruction in enrichment classes with the tremendous gains made with Level IV students. These are the students who have the highest scores on the state's End-of-Grade testing.
"We were in the Top 10 in the county for helping Level IV students grow," Buchanan said. "Part of that was a result of the extension lessons with Project Achieve."
Cary Elementary students were successful on the state End-of-Grade math test. 90.72 percent of the school's third-graders, 97.35 percent of fourth-graders, and 91.82 percent of fifth-graders scored at or above grade level on the math test.
"We did flex grouping based on the assessments and moved students in and out of groupings based on their success on pre-tests for lessons," Buchanan said. "It allowed teachers to teach at the students' instructional level."
Buchanan designed a schedule last year that provided planning time for teachers to work together. The time provides teachers the chance for collaboration and teamwork. They have more time to prepare to meet each student's needs and discuss different instructional techniques to help students learn.
At the first of the year, Buchanan met with the teachers and read from The Spyglass: A Story of Faith, a book that describes a down trodden village where the villagers are able to look through a spyglass and see a successful village with happy people and flourishing fields.
"I told our teachers they need to use their spyglass to see that our future is bright," Buchanan said. "Our staff believes we can do it, and we've rolled up our sleeves to build on the momentum we've established."
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