Collinwood Elementary School

Second Place, Middle Division, Elementary Schools

Gail Bell, Principal
450 North Trojan Blvd
Collinwood, TN 38450
Wayne County Schools
http://www.collinwood-es.wayne.k12.tn.us/

Recipe For Success:

As I consider practices that have contributed to Collinwood Elementary School's recognition for our gains in student achievement, several things instantly come to mind:

• Putting strong emphasis on Reading:
  • An uninterrupted hour and a half of reading across grades 1-4, using all certified personnel to allow for small groups as needed for at-risk students
  • Tutoring by Career Ladder III teachers & Principal
  • An additional half hour of Reading at the end of the day, using skill based centers and teacher directed small group instruction for struggling students
  • An intervention program using Reading Specialists with groups of no more than 5 students providing another 30 minutes each day for targeted students who need specific skill based instruction
  • A full time Literacy Leader and 5 Reading Specialists to assist in the implementation of all of the above mentioned strategies
  • Data driven instruction based on regularly scheduled benchmark testing and progress monitoring to insure that students are placed in the appropriate Reading group and receive intervention as necessary
  • Supplemental programs such as Plato Lab, Lightspan software, Leap Frog, Accelerated Reading, Classroom Libraries, Bridges Lab
  • Integrating strong reading instructional practices across the curriculum
  • A strong Pre-K and Kindergarten program that emphasize literacy
• Providing strong research based professional development that includes the 5 components of effective reading instruction; Principal, Curriculum Coordinator and Literacy Leader visit classes often to insure that these learned strategies are in place in all areas of instruction.
• Saxon Math used across grades K-4; students ability grouped in grades 3&4 to provide instruction at the appropriate level; focus of after-school tutoring involves helping students who are struggling with Math concepts.
• Emphasis on instruction correlated with grade appropriate state standards as outlined in the Blueprint for Learning; plan books in all classes list specific skills being targeted by the day's instruction.
• Scheduling to provide common planning time during Special Area rotation allowing teachers time with their cohorts for specific planning across the curriculum; monthly grade level meetings with administration to address specific problems, discuss plans for the coming month; faculty meetings allowing teachers to introduce and model new techniques learned as they attend various workshops and conferences
• After-school tutoring for targeted at-risk students grades1-4.
• Faculty and staff dedicated to children and set high expectations for student learning; Use of every tool provided through professional development training insuring that all of their students are given the opportunity to learn; insuring this through the use of a variety of teaching strategies, realizing that students learn in different ways so they need to be taught in different ways to meet their full potential
• Strong support from our system's Central Office and local School Board Members