School Improvement Plan

Several actions were successfully implemented to help us attain our overall goals. i-Ready Reading Diagnostic assessments were taken by students in the school three times during the year to give us baseline data and measure student growth. Completion of these assessments were monitored so that all students participated. This enabled us to have a complete picture of where all students were performing. Data from F and P scores and Words Their Way Spelling Inventory helped round out the picture of where instructional gaps existed. Classroom teachers provided small, guided reading group instruction based on the data collected. 

By February, students in grades 1-5 were participating in differentiated Success Blocks four days a week. During these structured blocks of time, students in grades 1-3 who needed the highest level of reading support received reading instruction using Really Great Reading with intensive phonemic awareness and phonics instruction. We also included students who were on the cusp of meeting grade level standards in these groups to give them additional support. The majority of our students worked in level-alike groups using Words Their Way to target phonics and spelling patterns in reading. Even these groups were differentiated with the teacher moving from one group to another to provide direct instruction within one class period. The LAP teacher adjusted her schedule so that she was onsite during each grade level’s Success Block. This allowed her to consistently pull a small group of students to work with without disrupting other portions of their day. Throughout the year, we analyzed the data after each assessment to make sure students were receiving instruction at the appropriate level. Professional Development and teacher planning time was devoted to improving reading instruction practices. All kindergarten teachers attended LTRS training as a group to have the biggest impact on our youngest readers. i-Ready usage by students was monitored between assessments and lessons recommended/downloaded directly from the program were utilized in small group instruction. As in previous years, there was a focus on ELL teachers pushing into classes for 100% of lessons and LRC I teachers pushing into classes when the schedule allowed.

There are several areas where our focused implementation had a positive impact. The evidence is listed below.

• The overall percentage of students performing at grade level standard moved from 73% to 77% as measured on the Smarter Balanced Assessment.

• Student growth goals for reading, set by classroom teachers, were met in over 80% of classrooms.

i-Ready  Reading Data

• The percentage of students in grades K-5 who were reading on or above grade level moved from 62% to 80%.
• Overall, the school achieved 106% median percent of progress for typical growth.
• Students showed the most growth in comprehension skills and vocabulary on i-Ready assessments.
• 71.1% of K-5 students met their typical reading growth goal for the year.
• 54% of K-5 students met their stretch growth goal in reading for the year.
• Several students increased their overall reading score by 100 points or more over the year.
• Not all English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities met the set goals

Teachers of English Language Learners send home monthly newsletters to families that can be translated into several different languages, making the information accessible to all families. Students who are new to the country are assigned a buddy student in the building, if needed, to help them acclimate. Our Parent Family Liaison reaches out to families new to Challenger throughout the year to offer a welcome and assistance in navigating our school. Our school counselor does the same to ensure families who need services or support are identified right away. The school counselor works with the PTA Angel Program who donates gas and grocery gift cards, clothing and other household items to the school for distribution as needed.

2021-2022 was the first year to have i-Ready  Reading Diagnostic data. The percentages of students who met their targeted growth is listed below.

English Learners (i-Ready data)

Students with Disabilities (i-Ready  data)

During the 2022-2023 school year, we will continue with all of the actions described above.

In addition, the kindergarten team has advanced their training with the LTRS program for a second year and the first grade team is taking the introductory course. Our technology team has also approved the purchase of Raz Kids for students in grades K-2 to provide extra opportunities for reading. The addition of a part-time Title I teacher has given us the chance to serve more students in reading this year. The Title I and LAP teacher are working in tandem to work with specific grade levels and serve students during their Success Block time frame each day. Our success blocks began much earlier this school year which will give students more support, grade level or challenging material for more of the school year. Information for Learning Ally was also provided earlier in the year for students, giving the opportunity for all students to hear quality literature. We have applied for an Issaquah Schools Foundation (ISF) grant to purchase more reading materials for our students to use for practice. We spent a sizable amount of our budget to replace and purchase more library books that are of high interest to students and added multiple copies of popular titles.

We have been focusing on improving student achievement in reading for the past three years. The introduction of new programs and focused professional development has put us on the trajectory of reaching our goals. After reviewing our data, the staff determined we would continue using these best practices for reading instruction and turn our focus to math instruction. The increase in reading ability allows students to read word problems more accurately in math but building foundational math skills is still needed to impact overall growth. For this reason, our School Improvement Plan for the next three years will focus on Math.