Tomé, World's Best Elementary (2018)
School Information
- School District: Los Lunas Public School
- School Address: 46 Chacon Blvd , Los Lunas, NM 87031, US
- Mailing Address: PO Drawer 1300 , Los Lunas, NM 87031, US
- School Phone: 505-865-1102
- School Fax: 505-865-8995
- Principal: Monica Rivera
- Contact E-Mail: Mnrivera@llschools.net
- Web Address: http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/Tome_Elementary
Demographics
- Number of Students: 465
- Percent Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 100%
- Percent of Limited English Proficient: 28%
- Percent of Special Education: 17%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:
- White: 15.27%
- Black: 2.24%
- Hispanic: 80%
- Asian: 0.49%
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 0%
- American Indian or Alaska Native: 2%
- Multiracial: 0%
- Other: 0%
Our journey started in 2008. This started with our distict initiatve.
I began at Tomé in the summer of 2013. At that time the current reality was assessed and the first change was to the guiding coalition. A member from each grade level was included. It was decided the guiding coalition would meet weekly at a dedicated time.
Expectations for grade level collaborative teams were redefined. This included a minimum of 2 collaborative meetings per week, one with the academic coach present and one without. Grade level teams were given the autonomy to create their own instructional schedule within defined framework. Dedicated intervention blocks were added to the master schedule.
As we continued to learn and grow, we began working with Dr. Luis Cruz. The guiding coalition developed a purpose. All staff participated in the creation of mission and vision as well as collective commitments. We began essential standard work and led that work at the district level. All staff that had never attended a PLC summit attended.
We also started the Marzano High Reliabilty Schools work as a district. Tomé is now certified in Levels 1 and 2. We are currently working toward Level 3 certification.
We continued working with Dr. Cruz a second year and more clearly defined what it means to be a PLC. There is now a special education collaborative team that follows the pattern of all others. Each guiding coalition member is the facilitator of their grade level collaborative team. Each grade level has purpose and professional practices as well as norms, interventions continued and are based on CFA data. Adminstrators and academic coach provide feedback to grade level teams.
An RTI pyramid and process is being implemented that is skill based. There is a school wide intervention block in the master schedule.
Refer to the Tomé Elementary School Professional Learning Communities Manual for more information about our journey (attached under the resources tab).
1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.
Students are given pre, mid and post assessments for each essential standard taught. Individual teachers and teams look at this data as it is created.
CFAs are created by collaborative grade level teams to measure student growth and progess toward proficiency on individual learning targets and ultimately essential standard. This is illustrated in our instructional cylce. The first step is for the collaborative team to identify, unpack essential standards and create objectives/learning targets. Assessment maps, rubrics and scales are then created by the collaborative teams. This information is used to align desired outcomes to the essential standard and relevance.
These CFAs are not the only assessment used. Teachers use informal minute by minute observation and quick assessment tools, such as exit slips, to formatively assess student learning and teacher efficacy.
Our collaborative teacher teams meet in a dedicated room, the data room. The room has wall space for each grade level. This wall space is used to display data. Grade level teams use student pictures to show their data. The use of pictures humanizes this data and reminds all of our moral imperative.
Refer to pages 4, 29, 30 and 31 of the Tomé Elementary School Professional Learning Communities Manual for more information including instructional cycle, assessment map examples and common assessment map team protocol (attached under the resources tab).
2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.
Response to intervention (RTI)
Tomé, World’s Best Elementary RTI (Responsible Teachers Intervening) Process
The fundamental purpose of our school is to continuously increase learning for all students. To accomplish this goal a collective effort must be put forth by both teachers and administrators working together to accomplish the following:
- Guide and support the staffulty to embrace the need for all students to learn at high levels (grade level or higher).
- Continually foster a school culture whereby through the analysis of data the staffulty passionately strives to increase learning for all students.
These interventions happen in Tier I, this is not Tier II or the SAT process. The Tomé instructional cycle must be followed to ensure focused and effective first instruction of identified essential standards. The requirements for SAT are still in effect. The process will be led by the school intervention team. This team is comprised of administrators, teacher leaders and support staff who intrinsically seek to work with other adults on campus to continuously increase learning for all students.
Students with a specific skill deficit will be identified by performance on grade level common formative assessment. The referring teacher will fill out the referral for intervention form and return it to the designated spot in the Tomé Data Room.
Tier I first instruction is provided by grade level teachers primarily with support from special education teachers for students that are identified. Tier I intervention is provided by all staff members and is exclusive of none. This will include classroom, special education, PE and art teachers, librarian, computer lab assistant, IEP facilitator, academic coach, counselor, secretary, nurse, educational assistants, principal and assistant principal. The school intervention team will determine who will provide intervention and who will provide extension. Intervention is the priority. The most qualified individual will provide intervention.
Interventions are based on the current essential standard. During the intervention block students will either receive intervention or extension. Students will NEVER miss new instruction on essential standards to receive intervention.
The RTI process at Tomé is a 3 week cycle.
- Formative assessment to identify skill deficit.
- Referral of student to school intervention team.
- School intervention team meets to group by skill deficit, needed instruction and intervention.
- Weekly progress monitoring.
- Reassess for skill proficiency at the end of 3 week cycle
- Repeat cycle
Refer to pages 5, 13 and page 32 of the Tomé Elementary School Professional Learning Communities Manual for more information including RTI Pyramid (attached under the resources tab).
3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.
This has been a priortiy for us. We have put much time and energy into guaranteeing the efficacy of collaborative teacher teams.
We started by guaranteeing each team has common planning time. Our master schedule allows collabortive teams 45 minutes of common planning teams every day. Every team has 45 minutes a day of collaboration time. While collaborative teams meet students are at pullouts (PE, art, computer lab, library). Each grade level collaborative team meets a minimum of 2 times per week. Once with the academic coach and once without. Each collaborative teacher team explicity defines its purpose followed by norms. As they grew, teams have been incorporating professional practices to go with the norms or to replace them. This is evidence of working beyond compliance and living our vision of being the world's best elementary.
Teams develop their own smart goals each semester based on student data. These goals are presented at a staffulty meeting as are the results each semester. Teams address the reasons for their success or reasons they didn't reach them and next steps.
Both adminstrators and acadmeic coach attend PLCs and provide feedback.
Refer to pages 8-12, 15-23, and 25-27 of the Tomé Elementary School Professional Learning Communities Manual for more information about PLC structures, guidelines, master schedule and examples (attached under the resources tab).
Achievement Data Files
Additional Achievement Data
Over the last 5 years we have transitioned from the New Mexico Standards Based Assessment to PARCC. We have 4 years of PARCC data at this time.
Our collaborative teams prepare students for PARCC and other large scale asseessments by identification and unpacking of essential standards as well as lesson and assessment design. Standard mastery is our focus for students. As standards are taught in depth and student learning is guaranted student by student, skill by skill, regardless of class, our belief is they are prepared for all assessments. Our focus has been preparing students for success in all areas instead of traditional test prep.
As a part of our assessment map and formative assessment creation processes PARCC like questions as well as iStation like questions, as it is our state mandated short cycle assessment. As assessments are made questions should include "like" questions to include guarateed vocabulary, format and rigor.
Refer to pages 30 and 31 of the Tomé Elementary School Professional Learning Communities Manual for more information including instructional cycle, assessment map examples and common assessment map team protocol (attached under the resources tab).
Proficiency Levels
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Awarded White House ConnectEd technology grant
2016 school grade of A
2017 school grade of B
Marzano High Reliablity Schools Level 1 and Level 2 Certified
