At Columbine we understand the power of the relationship between teacher, student and content. Therefore, we partner with an education nonprofit, the Achievement Network (ANet). This partnership helps us boost student learning with great teaching that’s grounded in standards, informed by data and built on the successful practices of educators around the country. Teachers work alongside leadership to plan and teach standards based lessons that are responsive to student need using the resources mentioned below. Students take three Interim Assessments per year to monitor student progress towards mastery of grade level standards.
Professional Development Goal: To create Master Reading Teachers at Columbine Elementary School through implementation of rigorous, standard-aligned curriculum and reach mastery of guided reading and its myriad components to include: managing the classroom (making the room work), understanding reading behaviors, prompting students to support reading behaviors, selecting leveled text and their utilizing features and characteristics, diagnosing errors to drive instruction, assessing students and responding effectively to assessments, taking and interpreting running records or in a nutshell, understanding the unique characteristics of the early emergent reader, emergent reader, early fluent reader and the fluent reader and how to move them forward.
Expeditionary Learning, Grades K-5: This resource helps get students excited about learning through great books, compelling topics and ownership of their learning. At the same time, teachers get a vision of the instructional practices that support a Common Core-aligned classroom and the tools to create it.
I-Ready: an online program for assessment and instruction used in grades K-5. This adaptive learning software supports student engagement and personalized practice to support demands of Common Core Standards. Columbine uses school wide reports, class reports and individual student reports regularly to inform instruction and to recognize student growth and set goals alongside students. Students spend about twenty minutes a day using this tool.
Guided Reading Plus: The format that our teachers use in Kindergarten-3rd grade small reading groups. Although our teachers platoon (departmentalize) with math/literacy in grades 1-5, we believe that early literacy is important for all teachers to teach in order to know their students as readers and writers in Kindergarten-2nd grades. All of our literacy teachers were trained in GRP during the 2014-2015 school year. Any teachers new to our school are also expected to get trained on this intensive format of guided reading in order to support struggling readers and continue the success of grade-level readers.
Mathematics Instruction: Our workshop increases student engagement and efficacy. Our teachers differentiate for varying abilities and learning styles.
Bridges in Mathematics K-5: The curriculum focuses on developing students’ deep understandings of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and ability to solve complex and novel problems. Bridges blends direct instruction, structured investigation, and open exploration. It taps into the intelligence and strengths of all students by presenting material that is as linguistically, visually, and kinesthetically rich as it is mathematically powerful.