Hope+Highlands+Elementary+School+2013

= = =**Marc-Anthony Reynoso **=
 * EDC 102 **

= =

** Introduction ** Hope Highlands is a public elementary school that is in a quiet area in Cranston, Rhode Island. Hope Highlands has a mission statement and a vision statement. These statements are meant to let people outside and inside the Cranston communities feel comfortable with Hope Highlanders. Hope Highlands is very welcoming and open to students of all different cultures and backgrounds. The staff at Hope Highlands prides themselves on giving an excellent education. In addition, they want their students to excel exponentially through out their academic career. The reason for the context statement is to give society a better understanding of the Cranston community, the Cranston district, and to gain an appreciation of the school, Hope Highlands. The Hope Highlands mission statement states, “It is the mission of Hope Highlands Elementary to educate each child by providing learning experiences that address each student’s immediate needs as well as prepare them for life-long learning and their roles as responsible citizens. Hope Highlands School is a safe, supportive, stimulating child-centered learning environment built upon the unique talents and abilities of each individual. Our school provides an enriched educational experience where school, home and community come together to create life-long learners, able to excel in a world of constantly changing technology, culture and social values.”

** Community Background ** Hope Highlands has a strong community presence. The parent organization is very visible at the school, participating in fund raising efforts and continually beautifying the grounds in and around the school. Hope Highlands is in suburban-rural area in the western part of Cranston. Most students receive district bussing to get to school because the houses are far apart and there are no sidewalks. It is one of the seventeen total elementary schools in the Cranston district. Out the seventeen schools in Cranston, Hope Highlands is one of the best-ranked schools for education. The median house holds income for all of Cranston is $58,422; the average income fore Rhode Island is $55,975. Most of the families in the school would be considered upper middle class income status. The community near Hope Highlands School has a household income that is above average. The median family average income is $73,804 and the Rhode Island average family income is $72,724. There are 6.5% families below the poverty level and the state average is 7%. All people below the poverty level is 10%. Cranston community members tend to fall well under the poverty level compared to the state of Rhode Island. Hope Highlands is predominantly a Caucasian community with 84% being white, which are roughly 67,157 people. There are 6% African American, and 11% Latino or Hispanic. Cranston is an area where there are a lot of women. There are roughly 51% Females which is 40,757 females.
 * ** Income/Poverty ** || ** Cranston ** || ** Rhode Island ** || ** US ** ||
 * ** Median Household Income ** || $58,442 || $55,975 || $52,762 ||
 * ** Median Family Income ** || $73,804 || $72,724 || $64,293 ||
 * ** All Families Below Poverty Level ** || 6.5% || 8.9% || 10.5% ||
 * ** All People Below Poverty Level ** || 9.7% || 12.8% || 14.3% ||
 * ** Race/Ethnicity ** || ** Cranston ** || ** Rhode Island ** || ** US ** ||
 * ** White ** || 83.5% || 81.4% || 72.4% ||
 * ** Black/African American ** || 5.5% || 5.7% || 12.6% ||
 * ** Hispanic/Latino ** || 10.9% || 12.4% || 16.3% ||

** District Summary ** In the state of Rhode Island it is mandatory for students from grades three through eight, and then again in the eleventh grade to take the New England Common Assignment Program (NECAP). The NECAP score for Cranston district is generally higher than the state standard. The only category the Cranston district doesn’t meet the state standard is in fourth grade math. The state standard is 65% and the Cranston district has a 63% passing rate. Compared to Barrington’s district Cranston falls behind dramatically. Statistics show that Barrington district NECAP scores approximately 15%-20% higher than the students in the Cranston district. The Cranston district NECAP scores on the other hand are consistently higher compared to the central falls district scores, which is the lowest scoring district. Even though the Cranston district NECAP scores aren’t the best to compare to Barrington’s district, Cranston also isn’t the worst. Receiving an education from Cranston is still considered a good education and it doesn’t fall far behind the Barrington district, which is considered to receive the best NECAP scores. Third grade NCAP categories are math and reading. The state percentage is 60 for math and 70% for reading. The third grade Cranston district for math is 59% and the reading is 74%. The Cranston district is a typical for the third grade NECAP scores. The fourth grade NECAP test is made up of math, reading, and science. The state average for forth grade math is 65%, 69% in the reading category, and 45% in the science category. Students in the Cranston district are performing on an above average scale when it comes to NECAP scores. There is a teaching definition category, which involves student to teacher-student ratio. The Cranston district student teacher ratio has the same ratio as the state, which is 1:10. The Cranston district has a very good ratio, which makes parents and student feel a lot better. The 1:10 ratio means that for every one teacher there are only ten students. The ratio allows students to have a better communication and get a better understanding of class material. Students have the access to ask more questions when they don’t understand the material because the class is smaller. Teachers with big classes can’t take time to stop and accommodate for one student because there are more students that need to be taught. The Cranston district has a better teacher to student ratio than Barrington. The Barrington student ratio is 1:12. Comparing the Cranston district to central fall, which is the worst district. The teacher to student ratio relatively the same, both the Cranston and Central Falls districts have 1:10 teacher student ratio. This is again is a good ratio because students can get more attention from the teacher because there are fewer students.
 * ** NECAP ASSESMENTS **
 * 2012-2013 ** || ** STATE ** || ** CRANSTON DISTRICT ** || ** BARINGTON DISTRCIT ** || ** CENTRAL FALLS DISTRICT ** ||
 * 3RD GRADE MATH || 60% || 59% || 78% || 35% ||
 * 3rd GRADE READING || 70% || 74% || 86% || 46% ||
 * 4TH GRADE MATH || 65% || 63% || 85% || 35% ||
 * 4TH GRADE READING || 69% || 73% || 91% || 42% ||
 * 4TH GRADE SCIENCE || 45% || 52% || 77% || 10% ||
 * 5TH GRADE READING || 72% || 79% || 93% || 38% ||
 * 5TH GRADE WRITING || 59% || 68% || 84% || 26% ||
 * 6TH GRADE MATH || 62% || 67% || 86% || 32% ||
 * 6TH GRADE READING || 73% || 82% || 92% || 44% ||

** School Analysis ** Hope Highlands takes pride on educating their students. They are one of the seventeen schools in Cranston and they have one of the highest NECAP scores. Hope Highlands makes it a priority to make sure the students comprehend what they are learning. The students that attend Hope Highlands show their comprehension in the material they learn by the scores they produce on the NECAP assessments. I will be comparing the NECAP score from Hope Highlands with Sowams and Hampden Meadows elementary schools, which are located in Barrington. I will also show the comparison between Veterans Memorial and Calcutt elementary schools, which are located in Central Falls. The reason for the two separate schools in Barrington and Central Falls is because both cities don’t have an elementary school that has k-6th grade. Hope Highlands students’ third grade math scores were about average with the state, which is 60%, Sowams and Hampden Meadows elementary schools scored in the 74% percentile and Veterans Memorial and Calcutt elementary schools which is below state average with 33% on the NECAP. The rest of the percentages for Hope Highlands are roughly 5-15% higher than the state scores. Sowams and Hampden Meadows Elementary Schools score average are generally higher than Hope Highlands by 10%. On the other hand Veterans Memorial and Calcutt elementary schools, which are in Central Falls score about 5-12%, lower than the sate NECAP scores.


 * ** NECAP ASSESSMENTS **
 * 2012-2013 ** || ** STATE ** || ** HOPE HIGHLANDS ** || ** SAWAMS AND HAMPTON MEADOWS ** || ** VETERANS MEMORIAL AND CALCUTT ** ||
 * 3RD GRADE MATH || 60% || 60% || 74% || 33% ||
 * 3RD GRADE READING || 70% || 78% || 86% || 37% ||
 * 4TH GRADE MATH || 65% || 79% || 85% || 37% ||
 * 4TH GRADE READING || 69% || 77% || 91% || 40% ||
 * 4TH GRADE SCIENCE || 45% || 72% || 78% || 16% ||
 * 5TH GRADE MATH || 62% || 71% || 87% || 29% ||
 * 5TH GRADE READING || 72% || 78% || 93% || 39% ||
 * 5TH GRADE WRITING || 59% || 63% || 84% || 26% ||
 * 6TH GRADE MATH || 62% || 79% || N/A || 32% ||
 * 6TH GRADE READING || 73% || 87% || N/A || 44% ||

** Conclusion ** All in all Hope Highlands is an excellent school. It is a school where students can get an above average education, with a lot of teacher guidance. The Hope Highlands teachers take pride in their jobs and want the best for their students. Hope Highlands elementary school welcomes’ any child with open arms from ages 5 years old till about 11 years of age (prk-6th grade). The Hope Highlands community is mostly composed of middle-class to upper middle-class Caucasian people and it is a community with 50% females. The Cranston district performs above average on their NECAP scores, and the district has a very good teacher student ratio that is 1:10. Finally Hope Highlands’ scores on the NECAP show how well the students understand and comprehend what they are being taught. Hope Highlands is located in safe area were parents feel more then conferrable sending their children there. Parents acknowledge that Hope Highlands is a place where their children will get a great education with teachers who care and like to educate to better the future. ** References ** GreatSchools, Inc., (n.d.). Elementary schools in cranston. Retrieved from Great Schools website: [] InfoWorks, (2013). Hope highlands elementary school. Retrieved from Info Works website: []

InfoWorks, (2013). Cranston district. Retrieved from Info Works website: []

 U.S. Census Bureau, (2013). State and county facts. Retrieved from United States Census Bureau website: [|http://www.census.gov]

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. ||