Fishing+Cove+Elementary-+Spring+2011

** ﻿ Name:**
Sam Epright

=﻿Fishing Cove Elementary=

110 Wickford Point Road North Kingstown, RI 02852

(401) 268 - 6580

﻿ "Educate, Inspire, Challenge"
==

==

Introduction
Fishing Cove Elementary is a public school that serves 302 students in grades K-3. It is located in North Kingstown, RI and is one of ten public schools in the North Kingstown School District. North Kingstown is part of Washington County and is known as the birthplace of the famous American painter GIlbert Stuart, who painted the portrait of George Washington which appears on the one dollar bill. The school takes advantage of its coastal proximity and has developed a program in which the students are very involved in the bay area where it is located, taking regular trips, as much a three times a week, to the bay- a five minute walk away. It would be worthwhile for any preparing parent to learn more about the facility.

Community Background
Kings Towne was founded in 1674 and was later split into North and South Kingstown in 1722. North Kingstown is home to Quonset Point, a former militery base that once housed the Naval Construction Battalions known as the "Sea Bees". The North Kingstown community has a racial/ethnic population that is 93% White, 1.8% black/African American, 0.2% Asian, 2% Hispanic, and 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native.

The town also boasts incomes above the averages of the state as well as poverty levels below the averages:
 * || North Kingstown || Rhode Island || US ||
 * Median household income || $76,657 || $55,569 || $51,425 ||
 * Median family income || $93,735 || $71,037 || $62,363 ||
 * Per capita income || $40,286 || $27,041 || $27,041 ||
 * Families below poverty level || 3.8% || 8.1% || 9.9% ||
 * Individuals below poverty level || 5.5% || 13.51% || 13.5% ||
 * High school graduation || 93% || 83.4% || 84.6% ||

As of 2000, there are 6,848 children in North Kingstown. 20% of them are in single-parent families and 3% are in households in which their grandparents are financially responsible for them. Beyond elementary school, almost all teenage children continue on with schooling and only 1.1% of teens are not in school or working versus the 7.3% in the state as a whole. As of 2009, 634 students in the community participatedin the food stamp program and 32% participated in the school breakfast program, which is more than the 27% of kids in the state who participated. Unfortunately, the child abuse and neglect rate in the community is 7.3 per 1,000 children- not far behind the 11.7 of the state. In addition, 15% of students in North Kingstown are enrolled in special education and 21% are in full-day kindergarten. (RI Kids Count)

The community is also known for its safety and certainly passes most, if not all, standards as a good place to raise a family. Between 1999 and 2009, its crime index never surpassed the average for the US and has not significantly increased or decreased on an anual basis. There are 1.84 police officers per 1,000 residents, which, surprisingly, is lower than the US average of 3. In December of 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.2% and the most common industry for female workers is educational services. (City-Data.com)

District Summary
The North Kingstown School Department includes one high school, two middle schools, and five elementary schools - one of which is Fishing Cove. Their mission statement is "To educate our students to become intellectualyy active adults, to inspire them to reach individual excellence, and to challenge them to becoem responsible members of society"(nksd.net). The North Kingstown School //Department// includes a total of 10 public schools as well as 3 private schools in the area. As of 2009, the district as a whole beat all state averages on the NECAP Assessments at every grade level. This makes sense because 12% of the teachers in the district are "highly qualified", meaning they "have a Bachelor's Degee, hold full state certification, and demonstrate subject matter competency in the core academic subject(s) by having a major or its equivalent or by passing a rigorous content knowledge test"(District and School Data Collection). However, the teacher-student ratio in the district is slightly larger than the state's and less than 1% of the teachers had emergency certification in 2009.

North Kingstown also has a high attendance, as well as graduation, rate and does not have major issues with chronic absenteeism. This reflects positive action within its schools, especially because the enrollment averages, with the exception of kindergarten, are high in comparison to the state.

Enrollment Averages:


 * ====Pre-Kindergarten==== || ====Kindergarten==== || ====1st Grade==== || ====2nd Grade==== || ====3rd Grade==== || ====4th Grade==== || ====5th Grade==== ||
 * District Avg || 24.0 || 312.0 || 349.0 || 348.0 || 365.0 || 388.0 || 356.0 ||
 * State Avg || 28.1 || 248.6 || 280.8 || 274.2 || 290.1 || 288.5 || 295.0 ||


 * || ====6th Grade==== || ====7th Grade==== || ====8th Grade==== || ====9th Grade==== || ====10th Grade==== || ====11th Grade==== || ====12th Grade==== ||
 * District Avg || 366.0 || 360.0 || 361.0 || 394.0 || 377.0 || 344.0 || 303.0 ||
 * State Avg || 305.1 || 307.2 || 296.6 || 322.4 || 284.7 || 248.8 || 229.2 ||

School Analysis
Led by principal Edie Dunn, Fishing Cove Elementary is known and loved not only for the reputable, safe area/district that it is a part of, but for its personal atmosphere. The school provides a very hands-on learning experience for the children and strives to maintain valuable student-teacher and parent-teacher relationships. It has received much praise for these qualities from the parents of its students, as well as appreciation for it's special education program. Fishing Cove is among the few public elementary schools in Rhode Island to receive a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 8 out of 10 and the attendance rate matches that of the district.



However, in 2009, the school did not have a single teacher with emergency certification and only 4% of its approximately 25 teachers were highly qualified. Consequently, the third graders scored lower proficiency, 76% in math and 80% in reading, on the NECAPs than the average for the district. This may or may not be a direct reflection of teacher qualifications. In addition, 23% of the students are eligible for subsidized lunch and 3% of the students are receiving ESL/bilingual educational services - both of these statistics are higher than the district averages. Also, in correspondence with its notable special education program, 13% of the students are receiving special education, which is 1% higher than the district.

Dark Blue: Fishing Cove Light Blue: North Kingstown School District Grey: State

Conclusion
Overall, Fishing Cove is a quality, up-to-par facility for any elementary school child. Although not at the top of the pyramid for academics, it is in no way unsatisfactory. A couple Important things, especially for parents choosing a school for their child, to consider are its extremely involved environment and the grade levels it provides. Many people value a hands-on learning experience above unshakable structure and pure academic excellence and Fishing Cove Elementary takes total advantage of its location to provide a stimulating growing environment. However, because the school only offers kindergarten through the third grade, students do have to move on to another school before middle school. This is something to consider whether or not the child should remain in one place for their entire elementary school career or if an extra step would be a good expperience for them.

Information on the school, as far as descriptions and more detailed write-ups, were difficult to find. This may be because the school isn't quite as "developed" as others in the area or could simply be attributed to the personal atmosphere that would welcome any individual to coem visit the school, meet the staff, and see for themselves the facility and what it's all about.

Introduction = 5 / 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Constructive comments about report's introduction: Very good transition sentences linking statistics

Organization = 5 / 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization: The chart that compares your school to another and then compared to the state is easy to read and gets your point across.

Mechanics = 5 / 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: Very few errors, but understandable with the cirrumstances of using the iPad without spell check

Conclusion = 5 / 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:

Creativity = 5 / 5 pts.

 * 5 - Report is written in an engaging style . || 4 - Report has some interesting sections. || 3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about presentation:

Thoroughness = 10 /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. ||

Introduction = REPLACEWITHSCORE/ 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Constructive comments about report's introduction:

Organization = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:

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.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:

Creativity = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 5 - Report is written in an engaging style. || 4 - Report has some interesting sections. || 3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about presentation:

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. ||

Introduction = REPLACEWITHSCORE/ 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Constructive comments about report's introduction:

Organization = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:

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.

 * 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. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:

Creativity = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 5 - Report is written in an engaging style. || 4 - Report has some interesting sections. || 3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose. ||

Strengths and constructive comments about presentation:

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. ||