Narragansett+Elementary+School+Fall+2013

Courtney Hollingworth

"As a Feinstein Leadership school, we are committed to teaching our students to be caring of others."






 * Introduction **

Narragansett elementary school is located in a coastal community in southern Rhode Island and is the only elementary school in the town serving grades pre-K through fourth grade. This context statement is written for parents who are searching for a safe, secure elementary school for their children. As this paper will reveal, Narragansett is an affluent community comprised mainly of white two parent families. With per pupil expenditure well over the state’s average, the school can afford to offer an array of specials including art, music, physical education, health class, a newly updated media center, and enrichment & technology. Additionally, the school provides students with a social worker, a math interventionist, a math coach, foreign language, enrichment, ELL, a literacy coach, reading teachers, multiple special educators, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language therapy. The mission of Narragansett elementary school is to "prepare students for the future while working in close partnership with parents and the community,” by among others, “providing a safe, nurturing healthy environment, focusing on rigorous learning for all students, setting high standards, challenging students to become self- directed learners, celebrating diversity, and fostering creative and critical thinking." As the data will show, the school does not face nearly the number of challenges in reaching its’ goals as its’ inner- city counterparts. Narragansett elementary is located at 55 Mumford Lane, Narragansett Rhode Island, 02882.








 * Community Background **

Narragansett is an affluent community with a comparatively low poverty rate (5.5% compared to the state average of 8.9%). Not surprisingly, the high school graduation rate is nearly 20% higher than the state’s average. The median household income in Narragansett is $51,194. Narragansett has very little diversity, with only 3% being non- white. Because of the low rate of diversity, the majority of the community is English speaking therefore, the school’s need to provide ESL is very low. (97.3% of Narragansett is white compared to 81.4% in the state of Rhode Island and 72.4% in the U.S.) In terms of low diversity, Narragansett has 58 people from two or more races representing 1.7% of the total population. Comparatively, Rhode Island has 25,028 people from two or more races and the U.S has a total of 7,816,654 representing 2.5% of the U.S. population. (U.S. Census 2013) When examining these numbers, the economic well-being of the children residing in Narragansett is considered very good, with only 2% of them receiving cash assistance in 2012, compared to 5% of children in the state. The same applies to the school breakfast program; in 2012 a mere 17% of the children in Narragansett received it, whereas over a third of the children in the state (35%) received breakfast from school. The overall health of children under the age of 19 living in Narragansett is equally as impressive, with only 544 of them receiving medical assistance in 2012 compared to 95, 248 in Rhode Island that year. (RI Kids Count 2013)






 * District Summary **

When standardized tests are examined, the schools in Narragansett score within the top half of the state, with students being proficient in math and reading as was proven in the 2012 NECAP tests. The NECAP tests (New England Common Assessment Program) are offered each year to students in public schools beginning with math and reading in 3rd grade.

In 3rd grade math and reading, the scores from the students at Narragansett elementary prove that they are proficient (81% and 88%) and were significantly better than those in Central Falls (35% and 46%) and throughout the state of Rhode Island (60% and 70%). The high scores also prove true for the 4th grade. Narragansett elementary 4th grade students achieved an 87% in proficiency in math, and an 89% score in proficiency in reading. These scores are comparatively outstanding next to the 35% score in math proficiency and 42% proficiency score in reading from Central Falls. (The state’s proficiency score of 4th grade math is 65% and reading was 69%).

The high scores continue through middle school with an 80% score in proficiency in math, compared to 86% in Barrington, 32% in Central Falls, and 62% in the state. The math and reading scores are impressive throughout all middle school grades. However, the writing scores plummet in the 11th grade with scores at just 44% (compared to Barrington at 62%, Central Falls at 22%, and the State at 50%).

When looking at the teacher-student ratio, Narragansett has a 1:9 ratio, compared to Barrington at 1:12, Central Falls at 1:10, and the state at 1:11. Both Narragansett and Barrington do not have teachers with emergency certification; 2% Central Falls teachers are emergency certified, and out of all the teachers in the state, 1% are emergency certified. The amount of students who fall below the poverty line and are eligible for free or subsidized lunch in Narragansett is low (22%) compared to Central Falls (86%) and Barrington (5%). Looking at the amount of students who receive free or subsidized lunch in the state, (46%) you realize that almost half the children in the state fall below the poverty line. (Infoworks Academic Year 2012-2013)




 * School Analysis **

Looking back at the NECAP scores from Narragansett elementary school in 2012, the scores should be compared to those from another school where the students come from a similar socio-economic environment. The NECAP scores from Narragansett elementary will be compared to the Primrose Hill school in Barrington, Rhode Island. Although Barrington is a wealthier town, the scores from Narragansett were higher than those from the Primrose Hill school. In 3rd grade math; Narragansett students achieved an 81% whereas the Primrose Hill school students achieved a 76%. In 3rd grade reading, Narragansett elementary school students received an 88%, and the students from the Primrose Hill school received an 82%.

Narragansett elementary school has a 1:9 teacher- student ratio with 1% of the teachers not following the NCLB (No Child Left Behind Act) and not being highly qualified teachers. Central Falls on the other hand, has 6% of its teachers not being highly qualified teachers with a teacher- student ratio of 1:10.

When examining the student characteristics at Narragansett elementary school and comparing them to the Primrose Hill school in Barrington and to the Veterans Memorial elementary school in Central Falls, it would appear that the 3 schools meet the definition of a safe and secure school. Ironically, in the 2012 school year there were more incidents of suspension at the Narragansett elementary school (11) than at Veterans Memorial elementary school (2).

Narragansett elementary school has a 96% attendance rate, compared to 97% from the Primrose Hill school, 94% from the Veterans Memorial elementary school, and 95% from the state. The students who attend Narragansett elementary school have a median family income of $67,571 with the property value per student being at $3,115,960. The per pupil expenditure at Narragansett elementary school is $17,982 compared to a per pupil expenditure of $14,347 at the Veterans Memorial elementary school in Central Falls.

22% of the students at Narragansett elementary are eligible for subsidized lunch compared to 8% eligibility from the Primrose Hill school in Barrington, and a 99% eligibility rate from the Veterans Memorial elementary school in Central Falls. 16% of the students at Narragansett elementary school receive special education services, compared to 15% at the Primrose Hill school, 12% at the Veterans Memorial elementary school, and 15% in the state. (Infoworks Academic Year 2010-2011)







=Conclusion=

Upon examining the data for Narragansett elementary school and comparing it to other elementary schools in the state, Narragansett appears to be a safe, smart option for middle class families. It is located in a small town with a low number of incidents in the schools, and the schools have a phenomenal teacher- student ratio. Narragansett also has teachers with exceptional classroom methods to get students to achieve the scores they have earned. This analysis of Narragansett elementary school provides the reader with accurate information about the scores the students have earned, accurate information about family income, about per pupil expenditure, and other crucial areas while being compared to a similar school (Primrose Hill school) and to a school in a troubled area (Veterans Memorial elementary school).

55 Mumford Lane

Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882

Phone- 401-792-9420

Fax- 401-792-9424



 Peer Evaluation / Feedback for EDC 102 Context Statement
 * Author: (Person who wrote report.) **
 * Editor: (Person evaluating report.) **
 * Total Score for this Evaluation: ** _/35 pts

The purpose of the context statement in EDC 102 is to provide each student with an opportunity to demonstrate his or her ability to research a school, its district, and its community in order to better understand its strengths and challenges. Each report should describe their school based solely on evidence that they cite in their Reference section.

As a peer editor, your tasks are:
 * Read author's report.
 * Carefully **evaluate** report by assigning a score for each criterion
 * provide **constructive comments** that will help the strengthen the author's report for each category.
 * Create a link to your evaluation at the end of the report.

Rubric

Introduction = REPLACEWITHSCORE/ 5 pts.
Constructive comments about report's introduction:
 * 5 - Intro provides an overview of the upcoming analysis, including what school/district/community is being analyzed, what aspects are being analyzed, and who the report is intended to inform. || 4 - Intro names the school/district/community and previews the scope of the report, but does not describe who the report is intended to inform. || 3 - Intro names the school/district/community but not much else. || 2 - Intro fails to name the school, district, and community. || 0 - No introduction section is apparent. ||

Organization = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:
 * 5 - Report includes an Introduction, a Conclusion, and sections for the School, District, and Community. Within each section, paragraphs logically group the information presented. || 4 - Report includes all of the sections mentioned previously, but does not break down information into paragraphs within each section. || 3 - Report is missing one of the sections. || 2 - Report is missing more than one section. || 0 - Report does not include any sections. ||

Mechanics = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 5 - All information in the report is cited using APA styled- citations after the information and in a Reference section at the end of the report.

and

There are extremely few typos and misspelled words in the report. || 4 - Most information is cited using APA style.

and/or

There are a noticeable number of typos or misspellings. || 3 - Some citations in the References section are not in APA style, e.g. URLs are listed without the title of the website.

and/or

There are many typos, misspellings, or other writing errors. || 2 - Most of the report's information is not cited, or APA style was not used. || 0 - Report does not include a Reference section. || Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:

Conclusion = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:
 * 5 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community and describes why findings should be important to reader. || 4 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community. || 3 - Conclusion does not refer back to report findings. || 0 - No conclusion section is apparent. ||

Creativity = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about presentation:
 * 5 - Report is written in an engaging style. || 4 - Report has some interesting sections. || 3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose. ||

Thoroughness = REPLACEWITHSCORE /10 pts

 * 5 - Report includes at least ten different facts in each section (school, community, district) and

compares each figure with another relevant figure (e.g. state or national average) and

states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards. || 4 - Report includes at least eight different facts in each section and

compares most figures with relevant values and

states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards. || 3 - Report includes at least six different facts in each section and

compares some of the figures to other relevant figures || 2 - Report includes at least four different facts in each section and

compares some of the figures to other relevant figures. || 0 - Report includes less than four different facts for any section or

fails to compare any figures with other relevant figures. ||