Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School of the Arts

School Information

School Name:  Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School of the Arts
School Address:   1450 Martin Boulevard, Merritt Island, FL 32952
School Phone:  321-454-3550
School Fax:  321-454-3553
Principal:  Michael Corneau
Principal E-Mail:  corneau.michael@brevard.k12.fl.us

Demographics

Number of Students:  448
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch:  8.2%
Percent of Limited English Proficient:  .22%
Percent of Special Education:  8.45%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White  79.68%
• Black  3.79%
• Hispanic  6.91%
• Asian/Pacific Island  2.45%
• Other  7.17%

 

Student Achievement Data

FCAT Reading and Math % of students meeting/exceeding standards

Grade 3	Math (School/State)	Reading (School/State)
2005-06	100/76	100/72
2006-07	110/74	98/69
2007-08	100/72	98/85

 

Grade 4	Math (School/State)	Reading (School/State)	Writing (School/State)
2005-06	98/71	98/70	97/78
2006-07	100/69	98/68	100/78
2007-08	95/67	98/66	100/76

 

Grade 5	Math (School/State)	Reading (School/State)	Science (School/State)
2005-06	94/61	97/67	93/43
2006-07	97/59	100/72	98/42
2007-08	89/57	97/67	79/35

 

Grade 6	Math (School/State)	Reading (School/State)
2005-06	100/53	98/63
2006-07	96/50	99/62
2007-08	96/53	94/64

 

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

100% of our 3rd grade students have passed mathematics for the past 3 years. Robert Louis Stevenson has consistently exceeded the state and district in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Writing. Currently, Stevenson is 1st of all elementary schools in Florida.

 

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

All PLC’s consist of the Principal and Assistant Principal, entire grade levels, vertical teams, or by subject area (reading, math, writing, etc.). Each grade level has common planning (40 minutes) at least once a week to meet in PLC’s. Teachers analyze student data to determine the next steps for quality instruction, plan their lessons, and discuss best practices. The PLC time brings everyone together and on the same page in terms of curriculum and student achievement. Each team is extremely familiar with all of the students in their grade level and they work collaboratively to address the needs of each student. In 2007-08 we added 3 grade levels (K-2, 10 new teachers) to our school. The PLC’s helped to build a strong culture where everyone is valued and their input is valuable across the entire school, created a support system for all new teachers, and allowed us to hit the ground running with rigorous academic programs. All of this has continually permitted us to make continuous improvement.

 

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

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Our teachers use time allocated during the school day, weekly, to meet as grade level PLC’s. All teachers are members of PLC’s. Some specific PLC’s are created by grade level, vertical teams, curriculum specific (Reading Cadre, Math cadre, Writing Cadre, etc.) Each cadre looks at student data on a weekly basis. Student progression sheets are created to look at a variety of data on an on-going basis. The grade level PLC’s meets with Administration to share data and determine next steps instructionally so each student is better served. At risk students are identified very early on in the school year and the PLC’s strategize ways to ensure the success of these students. Specifically, grade level PLC’s analyze data to determine the strengths and weaknesses of all their students. The data provides PLC’s with specific data allowing them to develop a plan that targets areas of concern specific to individual students. Most recently data walls were created to look at every student, all year. These data walls are adjusted weekly and offer a clear picture of student achievement, at risk students, and trends in our teaching. All PLC meetings will be held in the same room as these data walls. Some specific intervention programs that our PLC’s have designed and/or implemented at Robert Louis Stevenson are the Reading and Math Mentor Program (where parent volunteers work one on one with a students to provide tutoring in an area of need), Academic Clubs (provided by our teachers afterschool, are subject or skill specific, and are based on the needs of the children attending), differentiated instruction among grade level teams, Saturday School to address specific student’s needs, individualized technology programs, and many parent trainings. All of these programs have specific curriculum and assessments to examine student achievement. In addition to student data, all staff members, as members of our school-wide PLC, have goal/data charts for measuring how they continuously support the vision and mission of our school. At Stevenson, we approach everything as a team.

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

Stevenson offers many ways to support students who are facing academic challenges. PMP’s are developed to insure a systematic approach to provide students with support for learning and teachers continuously monitor strategies and student performance using measurable and skill specific assessments. During PLC meetings teachers work to develop grade level strategies that address their student’s needs, provide individualized instruction, and adjust groups based on performance from teacher observation, portfolios, teacher made tests, district required benchmark tests, not to mention standardized assessments. Teachers offer multiple advantage clubs after school, in varying subject areas to assist below grade level students or any student needing addition support in a specific area. Reading and Math Mentors are provided for all students scoring below grade level or demonstrating weaknesses in various strands. These mentors are volunteer parents or business partners that meet with individual students for 30 minutes on a weekly basis throughout the year. Our child care program also participates in student achievement by providing academic support and teacher feedback.

3. Building the capacity of teachers to work as members of high performing collaborative teams who focus the efforts of their team on improved learning for students.

At Stevenson, Time is provided during building in-service days and at faculty meetings for teams to meet. Additionally, time is provided each week, for teams to work together on their SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals. For example, our Kindergarten team loses weeks of valuable instruction when administering required one on one assessments to their students. They have set a goal to specifically maintain meaningful instruction with all students during these assessment windows. In many cases the testing has to be administered one on one- teacher to child. The Kindergarten PLC met and strategized how to keep momentum during critical instruction time. This is vital because students are often left to work independently while a teacher is assessing another student. As a team who consistently collaborates, they have strategized, together, to overcome this obstacle they assess understanding from observations, cut down on misbehavior when the teacher is working with another child, and use data to analyze and document student achievement.

We also use the faculty meetings to address our goals holistically. Stevenson’s School Advisory Committee continually supports our academic needs and funds outstanding programs to insure the success of the students. National Board certified teachers provide regular support though inservices and mentoring.

Stevenson’s administrators and teachers work diligently to seek new opportunities for professional growth. Multiple professional development opportunities are offered to support the needs of our school to insure academic achievement. The teachers willingly attend these trainings for their own professional growth and are eager to apply their knowledge for the benefit of their students.

 

List awards and recognitions your school has achieved

- 2007 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award
- State of Florida A+ School- 2002-2008
- Golden School Award (volunteer hours) 2001-2008
- State of Florida Five Star School Award 2001-2008
- Gold Key for Outstanding Before and After Care
- Excellence in Visual Arts (EVA) 2006-2009