ALACHUA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Alachua County School District
Public Accountability Report 1996-1997

The Florida Legislature passed a law in 1991 called Blueprint 2000, which created a statewide system for school improvement and education accountability. Under Blueprint 2000, goals were established for all schools in the following eight areas:

1. Readiness to Start School
2. Graduation Rate and Readiness for Postsecondary Education and Employment
3. Student Performance
4. Learning Environment
5. School Safety and Environment
6. Teachers and Staff
7. Adult Literacy
8. Parental Involvement

In recognition of the goals of Blueprint 2000, each school is required to implement a School Improvement Plan. In each school, a School Advisory Council (SAC) composed of the principal, parents, teachers, other school staff, students, and community/business representatives, work cooperatively to develop the plan for the school. The focus of the Alachua Elementary School Improvement Plan has been to improve student academic performance (Goal 3).

In accordance with the requirements of Blueprint 2000, the following sections of this report have been prepared in order to provide the public with information regarding the impact of each school's improvement efforts. In addition, the following reports are on file and available for public review at each school:

• Summary of the School Improvement Plan results for 1996-1997

• Summary of Needs Assessment and Climate Survey Results

• School Advisory Council Report (provides a more detailed description of the data presented in this Public Accountability Report)

Please contact the school at 462-1841 if you would like additional information.

• Kindergarten observation for school readiness
  All kindergarten students were observed in the classroom to determine their readiness for school. Percentages show the proportion of evaluated kindergarten students who met the state's expectations for readiness. No school results are reported because Alachua Elementary serves only grades 3-5.

No information available at the elementary school level.

In 1996-97, Alachua Elementary continued to show significant gains in academic performance, exceeding state and national averages for the second straight year.

Basic Skills Index

Average percentile scores of combined reading, math, and language tests.

The school was awarded the prestigious Florida Blue Ribbon School Award, one of only 21 recipients in the state. In addition, Alachua Elementary was the only school in the district to win all three academic achievement awards from the School Board of Alachua County:

• the Aim High Award, for setting challenging academic goals;
• Outstanding Student Achievement, for exceeding state and national averages on standardized tests;
• Outstanding Progress, for making significant gains toward world-class academic standards.

Test scores should not be used as a single source of measurement to draw absolute conclusions about student learning and student performance. Test scores may be affected by such things as attendance and length of time students have been in this school.

• Florida Writing Assessment
  For this test, students write responses to an assigned topic. The student must read, plan, and independently write their responses in 45 minutes. Trained readers make an overall judgment about the papers on such things as how well the writing focuses on the topic and how well the details are organized. The scores range from a low of zero to a high of 6. Shown here are the number of students tested and the average writing scores for the school, district, and state.

GRADE 4 WRITING ASSESSMENT

Florida Writing Assessment scores for Alachua’s fourth graders have risen consistently for the last four years. In 1996-97, the school average increased from 2.4 to 2.6. The percentage of students scoring 3 or above increased from 33% to 48%. The 1997-98 School Improvement Plan includes an objective for improving both narrative and expository writing.

The following test information will assist you in determining how well the students in your school performed in relation to a national sample of students in reading and mathematics.

GRADE 4 NORM-REFERENCED ACHIEVEMENT TEST

(Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Form K)

Alachua Elementary students showed significant growth in mathematics schoolwide during 1996-97. Although fourth grade showed growth in reading, the school as a whole did not. The 1997-98 School Improvement Plan initiated major changes in the school reading program, including increased instruction in phonics and comprehension skills, and an emphasis on independent reading.

• New Teachers and Staff
  The table shows the number and percentage of instructional staff* and school-based administrators who were newly hired at this school in 1996-97. Low faculty turnover is a common characteristic of successful schools.

*Instructional staff includes classroom teachers, library media specialists, counselors, and other school staff.

• Students absent 11-20 days and 21+ days
  The percentages show the proportion of the total student population in each of two ranges: students who were absent 11-20 days, and those who were absent 21 or more days.

• Average days of absence during the school year: teachers and administrators
  
  Teacher absences
  This table shows the average number of days teachers were absent during the 180-day school year for personal leave, sick leave, temporary duty elsewhere, and all other leave.

Administrator absences
This table shows the average number of days school administrators were absent during the 180-day school year for personal leave, sick leave, temporary duty elsewhere, and all other leave.

 

# The pound sign indicates suppressed data in cases where only one administrator is at the school.

• School environment safety: reported incidents
  School and communities must provide an environment that is drug free and protects the health, safety, and civil rights of everyone in the school. The information displayed in the table should be used to assess school safety need and to develop plans for improvement.

The incidents reported are level 3 and level 4 incidents described in the Student Code of Conduct (i.e., fighting, disorderly conduct).

• Classes taught by out-of-field teachers
  The table shows the number and percentage of classes taught by out-of-field teachers. Specific classes were ESOL (3), Gifted (1), and PE (1).

• Teachers, administrators, and staff who receive satisfactory annual evaluations
  The table shows the number and percentage of teachers and other instructional staff, and school-based administrators who received satisfactory annual evaluations based on a district assessment system.

*Instructional staff includes classroom teachers, library media specialists, counselors, and other school staff.

• Teachers with advanced degrees
  The table shows the number and percentage of teachers at each degree level.

Continuous professional development is an integral part of the school improvement process. Alachua teachers far exceed the district, state, and national percentages for advanced degrees.

Alachua Elementary provides adult education programs in GED preparation and employability skills. Over 80 students began adult programs, and five have earned their GED so far.

• School Advisory Council Members
  The table shows the number and percentage of School Advisory Council members by membership type and racial/ethnic category.

District

The table shows revenues, expenditures, and carry forward amounts of Educational Enhancement Trust Funds (District Discretionary Lottery Funds) for the Alachua County School District for the 1996-97 fiscal year.

School

Each school received a total of $8.00 of Educational Enhancement Trust Funds per unweighted FTE for implementation of school improvement plans.

The table shows revenues, expenditures, and carry forward amounts of Educational Enhancement Trust Funds (District Discretionary Lottery Funds) for the school for the 1996-97 fiscal year.

As in previous years, most of the funds were spent on the costs of teacher training and summer curriculum development. Lottery funds represent only a small part of the cost of planning and implementing new instructional programs.

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