School Improvement Plan

School District # 73 (Kamloops Thompson)

Reach High - Serve Well - Learn Together
Juniper Ridge Elementary School
Progress Report 2012- Present
For the last few years our school focus has been on Literacy and Social Responsibility. During this
time, we have implemented a number of programs and strategies to help our community of learners
grow. These include the Whole lass Reading !ssessments" a formal structured buddy reading
program" the effective use of high yield teaching strategies" and, on#going formative assessment to
better meet the needs of our students.
$ur Social Responsibility focus has allowed us to e%plore a variety of pro&ects at the school,
community and international level. Through the Student Leadership 'rogram we have provided
opportunities for students to develop s(ills and gain e%periences in a number of different ways. )y
using the Social Thin(ing S(ills curriculum, we have introduced new language and a new way of
viewing social interactions for all of our students, with the focus being our most vulnerable students.
!s we begin a new cycle for *uniper Ridge+s ,lementary School -mprovement 'lan, the school finds
itself in the midst of significant change. Seven long#term teaching and administration staff members
have either retired or moved to different schools in the past year. onse.uently, there are eight new
permanent staff members at the school. This is resulting in changes to the school culture, the effects of
which will unfold over time.
School History
*uniper Ridge ,lementary School first opened in September /00/ with 123 students in 4indergarten to
5rade 6. The building featured eight classrooms, a full si7ed gymnasium, a library, a multi#purpose
room and a community centre. There were originally /8 teachers, including a teacher#librarian and
learning assistance teacher, and 9 non#teaching staff members. The original principal was 'hil laydon.
! caring group of parents raised funds to build our original playground.
The growth of the community was rapid and by /00:, the school had e%panded to 216 students and
eight more classrooms, with grades e%tending to 5rade 9. To accommodate the influ% of students
during its growing years, the school implemented a shift schedule and, later, added portables before the
additions were completed. Since that time, enrolment has decreased as the neighbourhood has matured
to our current number of appro%imately 233 students.
*uniper Ridge ,lementary continues to maintain a high standard of academic e%cellence, athletic
performance and involvement in fine arts and service.

School Context
*uniper Ridge is a neighbourhood school representing 832 families in the community
The ma&ority of homes are single family homes with a few town#houses in the area
The grounds are large with e%tensive playing fields, a bas(etball court, and a new
playground ;133<= funded and installed by a hard wor(ing parent committee
!lthough our school is twenty one years old, the facilities have been very well maintained
and the appearance is that of a much newer building
! beautiful library with a lot of natural light is the center of the school.
! community room that houses some programs run by the city of 4amloops is also a part of
our school plant
The staff and student population is very stable
The school has had 2 principals to date
The Student Leadership 'rogram is a progressive and positive component of our programming
that encompasses community service, peer helpers, office helpers, supervision and school spirit
,ach class receives instruction in Fine !rts through >usic?Drama
There are many opportunities for students to be involved in e%tra#curricular activities through
sports teams
Students may also choose to challenge themselves in a variety of curriculum areas by
participating in events such as the @oung !rtists onference, The @oung !uthors+ onference
and )attle of the )oo(s
School Goals:
5$!L A/
To Improve Student Achievement in Literac !mphasi"in# $e% and
&esearch Literac.
District 5oalB
-mprove studentsC literacy s(ills 4indergarten to 5rade /1.
Rationale
Reading and comprehension are important for all learners. !t *R,S we are implementing in.uiry
learning and problem#based learning ;')L= to provide students with more authentic learning
e%periences. Duestioning and searching for answers within a conceptual conte%t are important
components of in.uiry" students need to develop the comple% process of comprehension to allow
them to convert information and data into useful and meaningful (nowledge. 'roblem#based
learning will provide our students with the collaborative mechanism to enhance their learning
e%perience. -n order to teach through in.uiry and ')L, students will need to develop strong
comprehension s(ills along with s(ills related to communicating their learning in appropriate
formats.
In the past two years, our grade seven boys have trended up, while our grade seven girls have
begun trending downward in FSA and Report Card scores. This is seen in both year-to-year-and in
cohort comparisons. It is our hope that by implementing an Inuiry model o! instruction and
learning " combined with collaborative planning and appropriate direct instruction, that all o! our
students will maintain the traditional high per!ormance that our school has been #nown !or.
Performance Inicators
Summative
E 'rimary Reading )enchmar(s
E Foundation S(ills !ssessment ;5rade 2 F 9=
E 5rade 2 G 9 letter grades in Reading ;H or better=
Formative
E 4indergarten Survey ;reading=
E Running Records for Reading ;primary=
E Whole lass Reading !ssessment ;intermediate=
'erformance Targets
E 03I of all students fully meeting e%pectations on 'rimary )enchmar(s by 5rade 8.
E Students achieving at least a 93I average on FS! Reading e%ams.
E ! positive trend line for students in 5rade 2 G 9 achieving a H or better.
E Steady increase in 4indergarten Survey performance from Sept G *une.
E 'ositive trend to student reading levels through primary grades ;running records=
E J<3I of all intermediate students meeting e%pectation ;Whole lass Reading !ssessment=.
Goal ! 1 - Strategies"Str#ct#res
Learn and share effective teaching and assessment practices in the area of Web Literacy

Directly teach reading s(ills from grades 4#9 across the curriculum G emphasis on Web Literacy
-ncrease the use of non#fiction materials at all grade levels G especially web based
hoose materials that would appeal to both genders
ontinue to provide early intervention through classroom and Learning !ssistance teachers
$%etails in table below&
Progress Reports
$ear %ne: 201&-1'

Strategy?Structure Review Date !ction
Learn and share effective teaching
and assessment practices in the
area of Web Literacy G
-ntermediate#wide planning and
implementation of programs
relating to web literacy and
citi7enship
$ngoing G
Reviewed in
monthly
-ntermediate
team meetings
through the 13/2#
/6 school year
,%amine best practice#wor( in collaborative
teams. Research, share and plan instructional and
assessment strategies utili7ing staff meetings and
/.6 pro d days. Follow#up and advance planning to
be done by all staff in monthly team meetings
Directly teach reading s(ills from
grades 4#9 across the curriculum
G emphasis on Web Literacy
$ngoing ,%amine best practice#wor( in collaborative
teams. !s with the above, we will research, share
and plan utili7ing staff meetings and /.6 pro d
days
-ncrease the use of non#fiction
materials at all grade levels G
especially web#based content
$ngoing Regularly e%amine different resources, discuss
monthly at 'L+s ;team meetings=
hoose materials that would
appeal to both genders
$ngoing ,%plore and share through 'L+s ;team meetings=
ontinue to provide early
intervention through classroom
$ngoing Kse resources to focus on at#ris( readers, L!RT
and admin. ommunity based resources for ')L
and Learning !ssistance teachers will include input from parents and local business
to provide authentic learning opportunities for our
students
,%plore?establish best practices
related to collaboration in both
online and F1F scenarios. For 5r.
9 classes
Sept#*une -mplement varying strategies related to
collaborative wor( groups and review student
performance and achievement during the 13/8#/2
school year. 5r. 9 students to act as mentors for
-n.uiry Learning in 5r.+s 2#: for the ne%t school
year
School Improvement Plan Timelines and Processes
Aug 28 Professional Development Day: Focal point was the BCED Plan an the
implications for technology infrastructure an aoption of more !n"uiry#$ase
learning% &taff reviewe 'nline colla$oration tools