2016-17 DPSA Annual Report
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Annual Report 2016-17 Duluth Public Schools Academy, 4020-07 1 Table of Contents Leadership and Management………………..……………………………………….………………….………………….…….Page 3 Ratings and Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….….. Pages 4-5 Learning Environment………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..……...Pages 6-8 Programs and Activities………………………………………….…………………………………………..…...…………..Pages 9-17 Enrollment and Satisfaction……………………......……………………………………………………………….…………..Page 18 Finances ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..……..Pages 19-20 Governance…………………………………………...…………………………………………………………………………...Pages 21-24 Staff……………………………………………………………….……………….…………………………………………………..Pages 25-32 North Star Academy 3301 Technology Drive Our North Star Academy serves ap- proximately 1,100 students in grades Duluth, MN 55811 kindergarten through eight. 218-728-9556 Raleigh Academy 5905 Raleigh Street Our West Duluth location, Raleigh Academy, serves 305 students in Duluth, MN 55807 grades kindergarten through five. 218-628-0697 Duluth Public Schools Academy, also known as Duluth Edison Charter Schools, is charter school district 4020-07 in Minnesota organized to im- prove pupil learning and achievement, increase learning opportunities, use different and innova- tive teaching methods and create different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes. This report demonstrates how we have met these purposes. www.duluthedison.org 2 Dedicated to academic and personal excellence for every student. DPSA Board Our DPSA Board, made up of parents, community members and teachers, meets monthly for updates on the schools and to make policy decisions. Much of the Board’s work in 2016-17 was focused on our goal of opening a high school. A number of political, financial and logistical issues related to wetlands complicated this effort. In May 2017 the Board determined not to continue the process of attempting to open a high school. The Board also provided oversight during 2016-17 in our first year without the services of EdisonLearning. We now operate as a self managed charter school. Board standing committees include Executive Committee, Finance Committee and Personnel/Board Develop- ment Committee. The Board has also established Third Decade Taskforce to plan for a year long celebration of this monumental event for our school. Minutes of board and committee meetings are posted on our web site. See pages 21-24 for a complete listing of board members and updates on their required training. Our Authorizer -- Innovative Quality Schools 2016-17 was our fifth year with Innovative Quality Schools (IQS) as our authorizer. As an authorizer, IQS’ mission is to authorize a variety of chartered schools in both urban and greater Minnesota, hold author- ized schools accountable for achieving high standards as exemplified by each student being a successful learner prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and pursue schools that foster innovation in public education. In cooperation with IQS we worked on our renewal evaluation and an- other five year contract was renewed from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2022. In our IQS issued score card for 2016-17, DPSA was identified as meeting or exceeding all targets. Scores for each of the five areas of review (on a 1 to 4 scale) included: Mission 4.0 Governance 3.5 Student and School Performance 3.0 Finance 3.3 Operations 3.5 Our contact person for IQS is Tom Tapper at 651-234-0900 or [email protected] . 3 Expect a commitment of excellence from students, families and staff. Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments One measure of student achievement is how the schools perform on the Minnesota Comprehensive As- sessments (MCAs) in math , reading and science. Numbers below reflect percent proficient/exceeds. MATH 2016 2015 North Star Grades 3-8 57.9 54.3 Raleigh grades 3-5 64 70.7 READING North Star grades 3-8 61.5 59.1 Raleigh grades 3-5 57.2 66.9 SCIENCE North Star grades 5/8 53.3 43.2 Raleigh grade 5 55.3 58.3 Percent proficient or exceeds comparison to state average and ISD 709 (Duluth Public Schools) average below. MATH State --59.4 ISD 709 -- 58.3 DPSA/DECS -- 58.9 READING State -- 59.7 ISD 709 - 62.3 DPSA/DECS -- 60.8 SCIENCE State -- 54.7 ISD 709 - 64.7 DPSA/DECS -- 53.6 4 Quality Compensation Goal Results We are a Quality Compensation or Q Comp school offering performance pay for our teachers and professional staff related to meeting student achievement and pro- fessional development goals. Results for our 2016-17 school wide goals include: North Star Reading: 61% of all students in grades Kindergarten-8th at North Star Academy will come within the identi- fied standard deviation of meeting/exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT growth Projection on the NWEA MAP for Primary Grades or the NWEA Map in Reading. RESULT: 68 percent of students in grades Kindergarten—8th came within the identified standard deviation of meeting/ exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT growth projection. Goal met. North Star Math: 60% of all students in grades Kindergarten-8th at North Star Academy will come within the identi- fied NWEA standard deviation of meeting or exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT Growth Projec- tion on the NWEA MAP for Primary Grades or the NWEA MAP in Math. Result: 56.6% of students in grades kindergarten through 8th came within the identified standard deviation of meeting /exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT growth projection. Goal was not met. Raleigh Math: 64% of all students in grades Kindergarten-5th at Raleigh Academy will come within the identified NWEA standard deviation of meeting/exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT Growth Projection on the NWEA MAP for Primary grades or NWEA MAP in Math. Result: 55% of all students in grade kindergarten-5th came within the identified standard deviation of meeting/ exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT growth projection. Goal was not met. Raleigh Reading: 62% of all students in grades Kindergarten-5th at Raleigh Academy will come within the identified NWEA standard deviation of meeting/exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT Growth Projection on the NWEA MAP for Primary grades or NWEA MAP in Reading Result: 64.7% of all students in grades kindergarten-5th came within the identified standard deviation of meeting/ exceeding their fall to spring or fall to winter individual RIT growth projection. Goal was met. 5 Provide a safe and accepting learning environment. School Wide: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) Minnesota PBIS defines Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as a framework or approach for helping schools select and organize evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all stu- dents. PBIS is NOT a packaged curriculum, intervention or manual, but IS a decision-making framework that guides the selection and organization of evidence-based practices in order to maximize academic and social behavior outcomes for students. DECS personnel were trained in and initially implemented SW-PBIS through a project of the Minnesota Department of Education during the 2012-2013 school year. We continue to participate in the Sustainability Phase of the project. 2016-17 PBIS Operational Goal: Develop and implement plans for acquiring Second Step curriculum kits for grade levels K through 8, professional development for teachers and staff, curriculum delivery, monitoring fidelity of imple- mentation and annual evaluation. During the 2015 -16 school year, teachers and staff identified the need to target social-emotional and problem solv- ing skills for all students. The Second Step curricu- lum was selected and implemented at all grade levels. This goal was met. PBIS Leadership Team: Heather Rappana (District PBIS Coach), Danielle Perich, Kristin Regas*, Tammy Rackliffe*, Matt Pe- tersen*, Jennifer Fuchs*, Steve Lindberg, Ryan Dickinson, Rachel Komarek, Bonnie Jorgenson. * Academy PBIS Team Coach Academy PBIS Teams: Academy PBIS Teams are responsible for coordina- tion of programming, action-planning, monitoring fidelity of framework implementation, staff devel- opment, and annual evaluation at each Acade- my. Academy teams are coached by a member of the PBIS Leadership Team; team members include teachers, Deans of Students, school counselors, special education representatives and student sup- port personnel. 6 Eagle Pride The district’s SW-PBIS framework is named EAGLE PRIDE. Eagle Pride programming contributes to our posi- tive culture through intentional efforts to teach and recognize social behavior expectations and skills. Bully Policy and Prevention Efforts Doing all we can to prevent bullying at our school is important to us. All staff are trained in our anti bully poli- cy and work. Lessons are taught to our students in morning meeting and home base to help them know what to do if they or others are bullied. We utilize the nationally known Olweus program in this work. An annual celebration of the national Unity Day is also a critical piece of our work in this area. Each year a bully free t-shirt is designed by students for each academy. Students are able to wear this t-shirt on Fridays as a weekly visual reminder of our no bullying goal. Thanks to our Parent Advisory Councils and many generous family donors for helping to ensure that every student has a t-shirt. 7 Sustain a culture of teaching and living the following core values: Respect • Responsibility • Compassion • Courage • Hope • Integrity • Justice• Wisdom Core Values Our core values are at the heart of who we are as a school community. Each month we focus on a particular core value through K-5 morning meetings, grades 6-8 home bases and in our academic classes. We think about what it means to live these core values at school, home and the broader community. Each month at assemblies students who are exhibiting the core value of the month are recognized.