Gallup Hill School - Strategic Profile

Classroom teachers have been trained in Responsive Classroom and are implementing components of Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom is a social skills curriculum that promotes communication, cooperation, and tolerance. Teachers and students have ongoing discussions about building a community of learners that respects individual strengths and needs.

All classrooms conduct Morning Meetings, a component of Responsive Classroom. The Morning Meeting provides opportunities each day for students to greet each other by name and share personal beliefs and ideas as they build an empathetic, cooperative learning community. These daily meetings build a community of learners and reduce social isolation by making connections for students and promoting a respectful and responsible environment.

Parents and community members are invited into school to share their talents and support student learning.

Building participation in the Reading is Fundamental program provides opportunities for all students to select and take home a book three times during the year. This program ensures ownership of literature for all students. Administration facilitates communication and collaboration with the Mashantucket Pequot Native Americans to promote an understanding of Mashantucket culture and history.

Ledyard High School interns have worked in classrooms at Gallup Hill to support students and provide diverse community connections for students.

Gallup Hill School administration and early childhood staff collaborate with the Mashantucket early childhood staff and administration to facilitate transitions for students.

*State law requires at least 900 hours for grades 1 through 12 and full-day kindergarten, and 450 hours for half-day kindergarten.

LIBRARY MATERIALS
Free on-line access to periodicals, newspapers, and other resources is available to all Connecticut schools through the Connecticut Digital Library.

*Because a certain number of volumes are needed for a library of adequate breadth and depth, a small school may need a higher number of volumes per student.

World Language - Formal instruction (at least 1 hour per week) in a world language is not offered in this school. In Connecticut, 20.0% of K-6 schools offer world language instruction.

HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT
The following narrative was submitted by this school.

At Gallup Hill School communication is a high priority. Administrators send a monthly newsletter home with information concerning upcoming events and activities. Classroom teachers communicate with parents on a more frequent basis via classroom newsletters, daily assignment books, and e-mail. An Open House is held early in September providing the opportunity for teachers to share their instructional objectives and expectations with parents. Parent Teacher Conferences allow teachers and parents to discuss their students progress and concerns and to work together towards effective ways for students to reach their goals. Bulletin Boards highlight resources of an academic, social, and emotional nature. The school website is updated regularly to provide access to current information.

Parents, senior citizens, and community leaders are invited into our classrooms to support our students. These volunteers work at Centers within the classrooms assisting students with academics and social skills. Grade-level academic celebrations (i.e. Grade 1 Authors' Day, Grade 3 Slideshow) are shared with families. Field trips are planned to coincide with the curriculum, and parents act as chaperones.

Connecticut Mastery Test, Fourth Generation, % Meeting State Goal: The Goal level is more demanding than the state Proficient level, but not as high as the Advanced level, reported in the No Child Left Behind Report Cards.

These results reflect the performance of students with scoreable tests who were enrolled in the district at the time of testing, regardless of the length of time they were enrolled in the district. Results for fewer than 20 students are not presented.

For more detailed CMT Results, go to www.ctreports.com. To see the NCLB Report Card for this school, go to www.sde.ct.gov and click on "No Child Left Behind".

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS PLANS AND ACTIVITIES
The following narrative was submitted by this school.

Gallup Hill School's Instructional Improvement Plan involved a three-pronged focus to improve instructional practices. The first focus involved administrative oversight of instruction and teacher supervision. Through the use of administrative walkthroughs, building administrators made observations of instruction within the classroom to offer teachers feedback regarding students' emotional, social and academic growth. This practice coupled with specific instructional recommendations derived from consistent analysis of authentic student work served to focus
Faculty Meetings, Grade Level Meetings, Faculty Council and individual teacher supervision discussions around best instructional practice specifically in the areas of Language Arts and Math. The use of a 120-minute Language Arts block became more streamlined and consistent as a result.

Focus two involved communication with families regarding the importance of supporting literacy growth with students at home. The Principal's Corner at PTO meetings, as well as school-wide and individual class newsletters, enabled parents to stay abreast of instructional practices which could be implemented at home to maintain students' growth as literate individuals.

The third focus involved collaboration. One example of this occurred between regular education and special education teachers through a rotating weekly schedule known as "Rounds" which promoted consistent instructional practice for the most needy students while at the same time enabling teachers to share instructional expertise. This benefited all our students, specifically in the area of academic accommodations/modifications.

Collaboration of teachers with the LEAF organization in the forms of grants enabled teachers to access instructional materials to target specific content areas such as a weather station which was utilized to support our science curriculum.

SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOL INFORMATION
The space below was optionally used by this school to describe aspects of the school not presented elsewhere in the profile.

Gallup Hill school continues to use two building-level leadership teams to foster collaboration and ownership in decision making. The Faculty Council and Instructional Improvement Team have been instrumental in developing and implementing plans and programs that impact school climate. These faculty groups will continue to examine issues around school safety and school climate and develop programming as necessary. Increased leadership and decision making for students promote ownership and responsibility. All teachers create classroom rules with their students thus generating an ownership that improves student behavior.

Faculty members at Gallup Hill have been trained in Responsive Classroom and are implementing components of this social curriculum in their classrooms. All classrooms are using Morning Meetings, a Responsive Classroom component, to begin their days. School climate continues to improve as a result.

Gallup Hill School continues to find ways to improve parent involvement. Parent workshops on various school related topics have been offered. An expanded Open House program and monthly classroom newsletters help inform parents of classroom and school activities. Parent volunteers are welcomed in classrooms.

Our current focus on inquiry-based instruction in science will support the implementation of a new science curriculum based on the Connecticut State Frameworks in the next two years. Several teachers have created inquiry science units integrating inquiry approaches, science content, and language arts skills.

Strategic School Profile 2006 - 2007