The contagious vision and energy of Gilchrist's
Principal lead and orchestrate the school's efforts to excel in education.
At Gilchrist,
there is a strong alignment of purpose to practice. The connecting
elements are the basic beliefs held by the school. All of the supporting
elements-District mission, School Improvement Plan goals, Advisory
Council's mission, and the teachers' Individual Professional Development
Plans-are in sync. Another alignment is that budget resources support
individual academic needs of students as well as instructional needs
of teachers. Some of the programs available include: Reading Mastery,
Accelerated Reading, Sunshine Math, and Open Court, a newly adopted
countywide series to develop higher-order thinking skills. The principal
works hands-on with the staff and the staff reports that she has
a "phenomenal" handle on how each and every child is progressing.
Results: 93% of Grade 3 students scored a
Level 3 or above on the FCAT Reading Test
Practices that Promote High Performance:
- Signing and annotating every student's Report Card is a principal
accountability tool
- Tracking through a variety of benchmarks including grade books,
portfolios, and 2nd-5th grade STAR tests
- Providing development (Florida Literacy, Reading Excellence,
Spanish Immersion for teachers and parents)
Gilchrist
is committed to communicating with all of its stakeholders. Sensitivity
to culture is an important element in "how" information
is communicated, and stakeholders are involved. With many ethnicities
to celebrate, the school has a special book proudly displayed in
the media center, which is created and illustrated by students,
with descriptions of countries. Parents serve as guest speakers
sharing information about their culture. The school newsletter is
written in English, Spanish and Korean. Parents and students feel
their cultural uniqueness is appreciated. This communication has
paid off with numbers of parents and businesses volunteering and
tutoring. An active PTA does paperwork and other support tasks so
that teachers can be freed to maximize instructional time.
Results: School grade 2000: A; 2001: A; 2002:
A
Practices that Promote High Performance:
- Developing a glossary of educational terms to help parents better
understand school communications
- Creating opportunities (presentations, literature, and events)
that encourage students to think globally
- Using campus space to highlight cultures through displays, patchwork
quilts, art and composition
Success is expected
and accountability is the norm. Strategies make it happen. Creative
scheduling and the school reports help staff to narrowly focus student
efforts on the mastery of skills. Student goals are developed for
school and for home-everyone has a responsibility and role at Gilchrist.
The school received and used grant funding to stage a two-day strategic
planning event when school was out, that significantly contributed
to the school's mission development. Other grants, teacher-generated,
improve educational delivery in student intervention, enrichment
and remediation. Funding enhancements also support an extra Guidance
Counselor and the Tutor Train program that gives extra and individual
help to students with specific needs.
Results: 89% of Grade 5 students scored
a Level 3 or above on the FCAT Math Test
Practices that Promote High Performance:
- Creating and funding after-school and summer programs that give
students an achievement edge
- Pursuing brain research and accelerated learning strategies
for input into teaching and learning styles
- Broadcasting daily messages for, about, and by students, including
kindergarteners who learned to read
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