Comprehensive School Plan
Great Falls Elementary School
SY 2014-16
Focus Area: School, Parent and Community Relations
Rationale: While we consider Great Falls Elementary School to be a community in and of itself, we understand that building relationships with the parent community and the community at large is important and serves multiple purposes. Great Falls Elementary School believes that clear communication with the parent community fosters a strong home-school link. This is critical for conveying the concepts that school is important and that learning does not cease at the end of the school day. We believe that frequent and clear communication of school events and initiatives will foster greater community support. It is also believed that bringing in resources from the community at large will enrich and extend learning for our staff and students.
Given this, it is our mission to improve and maintain community relations. Our goal is to broaden communication and interactions within our school, across our parent community, and community at large.
Focus Area: Academic Teaching and Learning
Rationale: We recognize that society needs educated, active citizens who can communicate clearly, employ technology, have a bank of knowledge and skills, and can use higher order thinking. This demands curriculum, instruction, and assessment that is consistent and of high quality. The instruction and measurement of student achievement relative to standards in various content areas assists us in understanding the learning targets and needs for each of our students. It requires strategies for the collection and analysis of relevant data for the purposes of informing our practice and advancing the achievement of our students.
Given this, it is our mission to enable high quality, continuous progress for all students. Our goal is to develop curriculum, instruction, assessment and evidence/data collection that is grounded in rigorous standards of performance in all areas.
Focus Area: Social-Emotional Teaching and Learning
Rationale: We recognize that society needs educated, active citizens who can communicate clearly and contribute to society in positive and constructive ways. This demands social-emotional curriculum, instruction, and assessment that is consistent and of high quality. The instruction and measurement of student achievement relative to standards in the affective realm will assist us in understanding the learning targets and needs for each of our students. It requires strategies for the collection, analysis, and communication of relevant data for the purposes of informing our practice and advancing the growth of our students.
Given this, it is our mission to enable high quality, continuous progress for all students. Our goal is to develop curriculum, instruction, assessment and evidence/data collections that are grounded in rigorous standards of social-emotional development that is consistent with the Code of Conduct.
Focus Area: Technology Integration
Rationale: In order to better prepare our students for the world in which they live, as well as for their future, we must continue the development of a 21st century learning environment.
Given this, it is our mission to continue the exploration and application of technology to enhance instruction and improve student learning in ways that are efficient and effective. It is our goal to increase the skills and aptitudes of our staff in this area to better integrate technology into instruction and to assist our students in acquiring appropriate skills and dispositions.
Focus Area: School Wellness
Rationale: This focus area highlights the importance of building an environment where children and adults engage in positive interactions and learn to be healthy. It is important that our school community members develop a sense of well-being.
Given this, it is our mission to promote wellness to enhance our school community. Our goal is to host opportunities for children and staff to participate in activities that advance wellness.
Focus Area: Professional Learning
Rationale: This focus area attends to the art and skill of teaching. It enables the adults in our school community to keep “learning about learning.” We are committed to enriching our school environment by supporting adult learning in a focused manner. Adults must engage in ways to gain knowledge and understandings about theory, content, and practice so as to improve the quality of learning for our students.
Given this, it is our mission to enable high-quality professional development.
Our goal is to provide relevant and high-quality adult learning opportunities to refine skills and deepen understandings.
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