Abstract
Skinner North Elementary School is one of the best-rated elementary schools in the state of Illinois. Located not far from the center of Chicago, it unites more than four hundred students. The enrolment at school has increased almost twice since 2012. One of the aspects that remains unchanged is the high students’ performance that is revealed in the high achievements during tests. Its students usually demonstrate high attendance level.
The school population is mainly white with little decrease in the recent years. The major information about the school and its performance is available from the Illinois Report Card resource. Most of data are available from 2012 to 2016. As for student, parent, or staff satisfaction, the data were retrieved from the school survey. Student engagement data were found in reports on school assessment and district reports. However, some data are missing, probably because it is an elementary school and some aspects cannot be assessed among elementary students.
Introduction
The environment is crucial for the development of personality. It is particularly true for elementary school. In fact, the community creates the environment and stimulates independent work of its members for the achievement of common goals (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2016). School is a type of learning community that follows the aim of increasing learning (Lieberman & Miller, 2011).
Doolittle, Sudeck, and Rattigan (2008) speak about the development of professional learning communities at the school level. This approach shifts from the traditional bureaucratic model to learning community one. It comprises such aspects of school community as leadership, teaching, culture, and development. For a successful performance, it is necessary to provide regular assessments and surveys on the efficiency of school work. The comparison of diverse data, for example, in three or five-year trend, can provide implications for further development of school and the improvement of its performance.
Overview of Your School
The school under analysis is Skinner North Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois. It has the second rank among 2,078 Illinois elementary schools (“Skinner North Elementary School,” 2017). The school with 419 students has been demonstrating steady statewide performance during the last five years. The average test score is permanently high. The enrolment to the school has increased from 239 students in 2012 to 477 in 2016 (“Skinner North Elementary School,” 2017). The health of students is one of the primary concerns together with learning performance. Thus, 95,8% of the Kindergarten students at Skinner North Elementary School have been immunized in accordance with the state requirements.
Interpretation of the Data
The primary concern of any school is the assessment of students’ achievements. General performance is a basis for the majority of rankings. According to PARCC assessment, in 2016 the percentage of students that were meeting or exceeding standards and thus were ready for the next level was 45 and 50% correspondently. A year before, in 2015, these figures were 41% and 53% accordingly (Illinois Report Card, 2017). Thus, it can be concluded that the average students’ achievements are increasing and are higher than the average around the district or state.
As for the student’s engagement, the average daily attendance is 97% which is a high rate (Illinois Report Card, 2017). Not many students (15%) are involved in extracurricular activities due to the young age of students. However, the tendency to increase of this participation is observed. All students graduate without retention that is an evidence of high academic performance. There is no data on retention rate about the school, but the average district rate almost does not change and was 4% as of 2016.
Truancy is not spread among Skinner North Elementary School students and was only 3% in 2016 which is the evidence of good general discipline. The school provides regular parent conferences regarding discipline and their number increased from 38 in 2014 to 46 in 2016 that witnesses more attention to disciplinary issues which influence academic performance. The school demonstrates a positive tendency of detentions decrease while the number of students is increasing. Expulsions are extremely rate and are limited to one case annually.
Satisfaction survey proves overall increase of satisfaction among all stakeholders. An average increase makes up 5-6% for all categories. Thus, the lowest satisfaction was recorded among administration, the highest rates – among parents and alumni.
Demographic profile of the school is as follows. The students are mainly white with 39% as of 2016 (Illinois Report Card, 2017). There were 14% and 11% of Black and Hispanic students accordingly. Asian students made up 30% in 2016. There are no Native Americans among the students of Skinner North Elementary. On the whole, the correlation of students of different races does not change much.
However, the part of Asians increased by 5% recently and generally, minority populations are increasing. All students have English as their first language. Also, there are 5% of students who need special education. These are the students with disabilities and Skinner North Elementary provides opportunities for the successful adaptation and learning of these children. Low-income students are supported as well. They get lunches for free or for a reduced price.
Explanation for Missing Data
Some data in the Data Picture chart are missing. They are not available because there were no surveys on those issues provided by school or district. Moreover, some factors are not assessed in elementary school.
Data Picture of Your School
Table 1. A Data Picture of Our School.
Conclusion
On the whole, the data picture of Skinner North Elementary proves that it is a school with high students’ achievements. It is highly ranked in the state and the city. Moreover, it is appreciated by the parents. It is evident because the enrollment is constantly increasing. The school has different opportunities for the development of children. Moreover, it provides cultural education and teaches tolerance due to the multi-racial school population. Further research can be conducted to study the level of satisfaction which is one of the components of school’s successful performance.
References
Doolittle, G., Sudeck, M., & Rattigan, P. (2008). Creating professional learning communities: The work of professional development schools. Theory into Practice, 47(4), 303-310. Web.
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2016). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work (3rd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Illinois Report Card. (2017). Skinner North Elementary School. Web.
Lieberman, A., & Miller, L. (2011). Learning communities: The starting point for professional learning is in schools and classrooms. Journal of Staff Development, 32(4), 16-20.
Skinner North Elementary School. (2017). Web.