IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING - Montana Catholic …€¦ · b. the personal witness of faculty and staff to Catholic-Christian ideals and virtues. ... Mrs. Jennifer Reed Care Giver

IIMMPPRROOVVIINNGG

SSTTUUDDEENNTT LLEEAARRNNIINNGG

© Copyright 2013

A Self Study for:

E 847 1305 5th Avenue South Great Falls, MT 59405

Continuous School Improvement Focused On High Achievement Of All

Students 2016

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School Page 2 of 48

Preface Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is celebrating its 70th anniversary as a parish school in the fall of 2016. The school has been at the same location, attached to the same parish for the entire time. This is the strength of history and long-standing traditions that Lourdes brings to the Great Falls Catholic School community. There are many multi-generational families in the OLL parish and they fondly recall their days walking the halls of Lourdes. Many of them have worked diligently to offer up Our Lady of Lourdes for accreditation by the WCEA. Many of those generational families sat on committees and shared their memories to tell the history section. Sister Rita, long-time religious educator at OLL recalled every priest, principal and Religious who taught at the school as well as all the changes to the facility and staff. It has been a critical challenge for the staff and students of Lourdes to keep a connection to these families and to the parish. It is also vitally important to nurture in students an appreciation for the Catholic roots that support their education today. Though tradition marks the history of OLL, it will be its attention to students and student achievement that will carry the school into the next generation. We learn more each day about how students learn best and we constantly seek ways to equip them for this ever-changing world they will enter. This document lays the foundation for the development of all of the child—mind, heart and hands. Parents want the warm, welcoming surround of OLL with the challenging faith and academic environment inside. Each parent wants the best for their child and the differentiation strategies used by the teachers of Lourdes ensure it. Their interest in growing and using best practices will lead the school to meet and exceed the goals set as a result in this Self-Study. Together, these teachers and careful planning will carry Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School into the future. Thank you so much to the many hands who helped to write this Self-Study and their thoughtful consideration in setting the goals for the future. I am especially grateful to the staff, their families, and the School Advisory Council members who dedicated many hours to writing and revision. This investment in children and Catholic education will reap rewards for years to come. Blessings, Sarah Zook, Principal


OLL Mission: We are committed to promoting academic excellence while encouraging the development of each student in the spiritual and moral values of Jesus Christ according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Through Catholic values, each student is challenged to develop their personal potential and to be self-disciplined, reverent, and compassionate.

We follow Jesus using our minds, hearts, & hands to do God’s will.

Today I will fill my mind with knowledge, open my heart to God, and offer a hand to the world.

Mind • effective

communicator • critical thinker and

problem solver • self-disciplined

student

Heart • model Catholic Christian

values • participate reverently in

Sacraments, liturgical celebrations, and prayer

• demonstrate a knowledge of Catholic doctrine and prayers

Hands • be of service to others

in the classroom, community, and world

• respect and protect all of God’s creation

• show compassion through our words and actions


PHILOSOPHY Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is committed to providing its students: 1. A spiritual and moral formation which integrates virtues, faith, life, and society.

This is done by: a. formal instruction in Catholic teaching, tradition and virtues. b. the personal witness of faculty and staff to Catholic-Christian ideals and virtues. c. leading all to accept Jesus Christ’s person and message.

2. The mastery of academic skills which exceed the standards of other local schools. 3. Opportunities for development and growth in:

d. critical thinking and problem solving e. co-operation f. academic curiosity g. compassion h. self-discipline i. leadership and j. responsibility.

4. A development of the whole person: a) spiritually b) mentally c) physically d) emotionally and e) socially.

BELIEFS

We believe that: • all students can learn. • students should receive individual attention that will challenge them to reach their

own potential. • students need to know the life and teachings of Jesus Christ well in order to be able to

live them. • students must be given open-ended opportunities to think about and find solutions to

difficult problems in order to develop critical thinking and problem solving abilities. • responsibility is best learned by having clear expectations and having chances to take

charge of situations with increasing levels of leadership. • students will learn to live a value-based life when taught Catholic Christian values,

then be expected to demonstrate them in their lives through recognition of those values and re-direction when values are lacking.

• service provides a valuable opportunity for spiritual and moral development while enhancing the lives of those served.

• students ought to consistently demonstrate respect for and protection of all of God’s creation, especially people.

• participating in the Sacraments, liturgy, and prayers of the Catholic church provide an opportunity for all students to grow spiritually.

• learning and practicing the beliefs and methods of Jesus Christ helps develop students who are compassionate, respectful, and self-disciplined in their words and actions.


Table of Contents

Our Lady of Lourdes School Personnel and Position .................................................................. 6

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

A. How the Self-Study was conducted .................................................................................. 8 B. Involvement and collaboration of shareholders in completing the self-study .................. 10

CHAPTER 2 - CONTEXT OF THE SCHOOL

A. School Profile ................................................................................................................ 12

CHAPTER 3 - QUALITY OF THE SCHOOL’S PROGRAM

A. Assessment of the School’s Catholic Identity ................................................................. 14 B. Defining the school’s purpose ........................................................................................ 21 C. Organization for student learning to support high achievement of all students ................ 25 D. Data analysis and action to support high achievement of all students ............................. 27 E. SLE’s and standards-based curriculum to support high achievement of all students ....... 29 F. Instructional methodology to support high achievement of all students .......................... 32 G. Support for student spiritual, personal, and academic growth ......................................... 36 H. Resource management to support high achievement of all students ................................ 38

CHAPTER 4 - ACTION PLAN

A. Design and alignment of the action plan with the self-study findings ............................. 41 B. Capacity to implement and monitor the action plan ........................................................ 47

APPENDICES

ISL Meetings

Enrollment

Religion Curriculum Alignment and Mapping

MAP Testing Results

Surveys Summary

Longitudinal Data Reports


Our Lady of Lourdes School Personnel and Position (from School Website) Administration Title E-mail

* Mrs. Sarah Zook Principal [email protected] Mrs. Barb Remus Administrative Assistant [email protected]

Teacher/Link to Class Website Subject/Grade Level E-mail Mrs. Karilyn Hann 2-3 year old Pre-School [email protected] Mrs. Luanne Hilton Aid: Mrs. Angie Cantley

3-4 year old Pre-School [email protected] [email protected]

Mrs. Joanne Purpura 4-5 year old Pre-Kindergarten [email protected] Ms. Katherine Sunwall Aid: Ms. Tina Mitchell

Kindergarten [email protected] [email protected]

Mrs. Mary Winkler 1st Grade [email protected] Mrs. Robyn Good 2nd Grade [email protected] Mrs. Trish Coronado 3rd Grade [email protected] Mrs. Penny Haffner 4th Grade [email protected] Ms. Bridget McMillen 5th Grade [email protected] Mrs. Kerry VanderKolk 6th Grade Homeroom

6-7 Math, 6-8 Science [email protected]

Mrs. Holly Olszewski 7th Grade Homeroom 6-8 English/Language Arts

[email protected]

Ms. Terry Flanagan 8th Grade Homeroom 6-8 Social Studies, 8 Math

[email protected]

Mrs. Heather Johsnon K-8 Health Enhancement [email protected] Sister Angela Woodworth 4-7 Religion [email protected] Mrs. Lori Purpura 8 Religion/Library Assistant [email protected]

* Mrs. Dana Hueth 6-8 Art [email protected] Mrs. LuAnn Hilton K-6 Music [email protected] Mrs. Laura Detrick 6-8 Music [email protected] Sister Rita Kohut 6-8 Elective [email protected] Ms. Marj Fura Librarian [email protected] Mr. Jerry Ferderer Reading Specialist [email protected] Support Personnel Title E-mail

* Mrs. Tami Zaremski Development [email protected] Mrs. Heather Johnson Development (Events) [email protected] Mr. Ken Riehle Lunch Program Director [email protected] Mrs. Tammy Okes Lunch Assistant [email protected] Mr. Willy Teague Lunch Assistant [email protected] Mr. Tom Sliter Bus Driver [email protected] Mr. Rich Kuka Counselor [email protected]

* Denotes Leadership Team Member Extended Care Personnel Title E-mail Mrs. Karilyn Hann Extended Care Director [email protected] Mrs. Jennifer Reed Care Giver [email protected] Mrs. Alicia Davis Care Giver [email protected] Mrs. Deedra Darby Care Giver [email protected] Mrs. Marie Grissom Care Giver [email protected]


Committee Membership and Support Catholic Identity Fr. Michael Schneider, Pastor Sr. Angela Woodworth, Religion Mrs. LuAnn Hilton, Preschool/Music Mrs. Mary Winkler, Grade 1 Ms. Tina Mitchell, Aid Ms. Katherine Sunwall, Kindergarten Mrs. Karen Grove, Parish Pastoral Council/Alumni Mr. Chad Bralick, School Advisory Council/Parent Dr. Daniel McGuire, University Theology Professor/Parent Student Learning to Support High Achievement of All Students and Support for Student Spiritual, Personal, and Academic Growth Mrs. Trish Coronado, Grade 3 Mrs. Robyn Good, Grade 2 Mrs. Karilyn Hann, Extended Care Director Mrs. Tami Zaremski, Development Director Mrs. Angie Cantley, Aid Mr. James Reed, Athletic Director Mr. R. J. Haffner, Parent Mrs. Cory Huber, School Advisory Council Data Analysis and Resource Management and Development Mrs. Sarah Zook, Principal Ms. Terry Flanagan, Middle School History Mrs. Penny Haffner, Grade 4 Fr. Michael Schneider, Pastor Mrs. Barb Remus, Administrative Assistant Mr. Tom Zaremski, School Advisory Council/Parent Mr. Scott Wilson, Electrician Mrs. Robin Joyce, Parent SLE’s and Standards-Based Curriculum and Instructional Methodology Ms. Bridget McMillen, Grade 5 Mrs. Holly Olszewski, Middle School English Mrs. Joanne Purpura, Pre-Kindergarten Mrs. Kerry VanderKolk, Middle School Math/Science Michaela McGee, Student Mrs. Tammy Madill, School Advisory Council/Parent Mrs. Diana Knudson, Director, Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative History and Research Sr. Rita Kohut, Middle School Elective Mrs. Heather Johnson, Health Enhancement Mr. Brian VanderKolk, Parent Mrs. Teresa Diekhans, Alumni


CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

A. HOW THE SELF STUDY WAS CONDUCTED

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School began their self study in the Spring of 2014 with plans to complete the accreditation process in the fall of 2015. Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Dr. Patrick Haggarty, trained the principal, Mrs. Sherri Schmitz; the parish priest, Fr. Lothar (Fr. Lou) Kauth; and teachers on the accreditation process. The principal then trained the teachers about the importance of accreditation and the role they would play in the process. Together, they began planning the work ahead. Dr. Haggarty had provided Mrs. Schmitz with the Improved Student Learning (ISL) Protocol. This also helped to guide the process for the school.

Just after embarking on the accreditation process, significant changes came to the school, parish, and Diocese. Over the summer of 2014, the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings brought in parish priest, Fr. Michael Schneider to lead Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish and School as Fr. Lou retired after 25 years of serving the parish. At about the same time, the Diocese also hired Superintendent Dr. Timothy Uhl to replace outgoing Superintendent Haggarty. Dr. Uhl met with the staff and reviewed the ISL process and their progress. He also worked with Fr. Schneider to introduce him to the accreditation process and school expectations. Over the year, staff worked to review the school’s mission statement and philosophy. They also used their 2:30 early out time to work on writing Student Learning Expectations (SLE’s). During this semester, the school collected data via surveys of the staff, parents, and students. Questions on the surveys covered areas from safety to academics and course offerings to student recognition.

More changes were coming as 17-year Principal Mrs. Schmitz resigned and new principal Mrs. Sarah Zook started in June of 2015. Recognizing the need to delay the accreditation deadline in light of the transitions, Dr. Uhl moved the accreditation deadline to the spring of 2016. In their transition meeting, Mrs. Schmitz passed on the accreditation work completed and collected data to Mrs. Zook. Mrs. Zook then met with Dr. Uhl to get trained in the ISL process. She shared with Dr. Uhl their current status and the plan for completing the Self-Study by the new spring deadline.

Mrs. Zook took the accreditation timeline proposal to the School Advisory Council in September to make sure that it was their desire to continue with the process. They overwhelmingly agreed to work to meet the spring deadline and agreed with the steps laid out by Mrs. Zook. The principal then started meetings with the staff before the start of school to assess their perceptions and understanding of the mission and vision they had crafted the year before. They also started adding their MAP assessment data to a single shared document that would be useful for evaluating and decision-making. With a few minor changes to the mission and vision, they seemed to be a good fit for both the staff and Fr. Michael. This allowed the staff to begin holding the community and parent meetings to gather input for the various sections of Chapter 3 as well as the mission, vision, and SLE’s. They used Thursday early out professional development time to brainstorm ideas for community members, parents, and students who could offer particular insight into the various aspects of the school to be assessed in the accreditation process. They contacted the potential members, confirmed their willingness to participate, and invited them to a


large group meeting in Oct. At that meeting, Mrs. Zook explained to all the new members how the process of accreditation would proceed and what role they could play in it. Mrs. Zook also presented the newly revised mission and vision statements. They split into their individual groups and the teachers in each group guided the discussions and input gathering session with all members present. They were very pleased with the turnout having only two invited participants unable to attend. All members provided valuable feedback for their respective sections, offering ideas and perceptions about the school’s current processes and potential improvements. Most groups gave their committees short surveys and documented the commentaries. The staff was looking for a few specific types of input from community members:

• Their comments and views of the mission, vision, and SLE’s. • Their opinions of the school’s current efforts and results related to their area of study. • Their ideas for growth and improvement in their area or any area of the school.

Mrs. Zook and the staff started posting their working documents into a shared Google Drive so all members could actively edit the documents and help compile the data whenever they had time. The staff then compiled the committees’ surveys and created a list of commendations, recommendations, and questions to be answered through data. The teachers searched for data to answer stakeholder questions, compiled data as needed, gathered appropriate evidence and then created the rough draft of their document. They then met with their committees again to share the report and data that was gathered and analyzed. They also shared the final version of the SLE’s with the stakeholders. Committee members offered final feedback, helped to create the bulleted lists of significant accomplishments, goals, and evidence. They analyzed their bulleted lists, comparing them against the SLE’s, making sure that the goals and actions of the school were appropriate for meeting the expectations for students. Due to the difficulty of the position, the Diocese removed Fr. Michael from his position in December of 2015. Despite the additional change to leadership, the rough draft of many different documents and sections was presented to the School Advisory Council for feedback. Then, these adjusted documents were compiled and reviewed by Dr. Uhl. He gave recommendations and the final draft was written and submitted for accreditation.

The greatest difficulty in the self-study writing process was the transition of leadership. It was a great challenge to maintain continuity in the process while changing leadership repeatedly. The staff stayed largely the same, which helped to carry the process. Mrs. Zook had previous accreditation experience which also aided progress. There is, however, still a delay in reviewing the data and documents, understanding the community, and getting a solid understanding of the mission of a school that has to occur before writing its plans for the future. Our Lady of Lourdes is now at the point where the current leadership team has an understanding of the school’s history, a clear view of its purpose, and goals to take the school into the future. This will be very beneficial when the new priest will join the parish and school in the summer of 2016. The goal is that the work done on accreditation helps the Diocese and potential priests to better discern whether the school and parish are a good fit for them.


B. INVOLVEMENT AND COLLABORATION OF SHAREHOLDERS IN COMPLETING THE SELF STUDY

The school involves all shareholders in data review, analysis and dialogue about perceived accomplishments in the area of student learning, and in developing, implementing and monitoring goals for improvements in student learning.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish and School have a long history of involving community members in decision-making through its various councils. As is shown in the leadership diagram, the school has a School Advisory Council (formerly called a School Board) which provides feedback and recommendations on decisions and proposals to the Principal as well as to the Parish Council. The Parish Council hears the information from the SAC and makes recommendations to the parish priest who makes the final decision. There is also a Parish Finance Council who provides guidance on financial decisions related to the parish. All of those decisions have a direct impact on the school since the parish subsidizes the school to a large degree. Significant financial requests from the school are also presented to the Parish Finance Council for recommendation. Members of all councils have always had periodic terms of about 3 years. Under Fr. Michael, council members were released and replaced. New members were brought in to share new perspectives. The Parish Finance Council has remained largely intact, providing much institutional memory and stability as the school moves toward the future. That means that there was a variety of feedback from the parish councils. There is a liaison who carries information from the SAC to the Parish Council. They were very supportive of carrying the accreditation process forward. Mrs. Zook appeared at several Parish Council meetings to get approval for the process and to share progress. In addition to support and feedback, Fr. Michael reported much of the information for the support for instruction portion from decisions and guidance of the Parish Council.

There were many non-committee stakeholders as well. On the school side of OLL Parish, many parents, friends, parish members, alumni, students, and local business members contributed to the feedback sessions. Staff and council members nominated people outside of the school who could bring in some fresh perspectives on school operations. Teachers invited people who were both Catholic and non-Catholic and who had particular expertise in the area they were focused on. The school received positive responses from everyone who was invited. Some were not able to attend the meeting, but sent their feedback and survey results to committee leaders at a different time. Even the director of the school’s curriculum cooperative (GTCC) was consulted for feedback on 2 sections. Now that OLL has been through the self-study process once, they have many more ideas on how to include more stakeholder feedback. There are many opportunities to increase communication between the parish and school and the school and community, too. They would allow more time for meetings, writing, and feedback sessions. This would give more students and community members an opportunity to get involved and thus build more ownership of the school’s vision and goals.


CHAPTER 2 – CONTEXT OF THE SCHOOL

A. SCHOOL PROFILE

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (OLL) has been serving the Great Falls community since the fall of 1946. As OLL heads into accreditation, the school also heads toward 70 years. It is the only Catholic school in Great Falls that has remained a singular parish school, tied to the same parish. Like many other cities, Great Falls has faced Catholic school and parish consolidations over the past 40-50 years. Back in 1941, it was different, though. Within 5 years of the creation of the parish, the school opened its doors for the first class of students. Since that time, OLL school has added grade levels, classrooms, services, and most importantly, students. OLL started with only 80 students and 2 Ursuline nuns as teachers in the fall of 1946. Construction on the original school was completed in September of 1947. Then, in 1948, they made the first addition, including up to 4th grade. Then, in 1958 the parish made another addition to the building, adding on the current office area, middle school, and early childhood wing. This is largely the footprint of the school today.

The strong religious history of Lourdes helped to create the Catholic Identity that permeates the school today. In Great Falls, Lourdes has a reputation as a solid, traditional, Catholic parish and school. This fills a significant need for parents and parishioners. The school and parish have been blessed with multi-generational supportive families. Many Lourdes families have had grandparents, children, and now grandchildren pass through the classrooms of the school under the guidance of the original Ursuline sisters. Many parish members remember, not only the construction of the school, but that of the parish five years earlier. They attended Catholic school at Lourdes and want the same experiences for their children and grandchildren. When the school opened in 1946, it was staffed entirely by Ursuline nuns, but by the mid-60’s, 2 lay teachers had joined the staff. Then, as religious were moved or passed away, their positions were filled with laity. Around the same time, the main Ursuline convent in Great Falls sent the nuns to live in smaller communities near their placements. For Lourdes, that meant up to 8 nuns at a time lived in a four-plex home/convent kitty-corner across 14th Street. This was more convenient for the nuns, but did not bring more nuns to the order. During the 60’s and 70’s a few Sisters from the Sisters of Humility of Mary joined the teaching staff. Those were the only two orders represented at Lourdes. Since about 2000, OLL had just one Sister, Sr. Rita Kohut, who teaches there today. Due to an increase in the Permanent Deacon program in the Diocese, in 2014, Lourdes brought in a Diocesan Deacon to teach middle school religion. Then in 2015, the school was fortunate enough to bring in one Benedictine Sister, Sr. Angela Woodworth, for a one-year assignment away from her order in Germany to take his place when he moved on. Aside from the priest as pastor of the parish, these religious represent the formal religious presence.

The physical arrangement of the school has stayed mostly the same since the completion of the additions, however one significant program was added--Extended Care. This is an onsite child care program serving children aged 2 and up for childcare from 6:30 AM until 5:30 PM. This program was created and directed by Gayle Boule for its first 26 years. She resigned in 2015 and Karilyn Hann, a home daycare operator for more than 10 years is now directing. Currently, the campus also has 3 different levels of preschool and grades K-8. The classrooms have been


rearranged from time to time to meet different needs, but have ended up at nearly the same position as they started 50 years ago (after the addition). The Pre-Kindergarten room through 2nd grade room are grouped together in the early childhood wing. Sixth and 7th grades are together near the office. The middle grades, 3rd through 5th are in the next hallway headed toward the church. A classroom that was originally created to be a computer lab off the back of Extended Care was remodeled in summer, 2015 to be the earliest preschool rooms. Eighth grade has the greatest autonomy, located in the basement next to the library/computer lab. This arrangement makes best use of bathroom facilities and also places mentors closer to their younger counterparts. In general terms, the campus of Lourdes has stayed very much the same with minor modifications for the purposes of efficiency and function.

Our Lady of Lourdes enrollment has faced a slow steady decline since 2007. The decline mirrors the decrease in median income in Great Falls. Current enrollment is 194. This is a strong number considering the school and parish are going through significant transition at this time. OLL school and parish have had very little change in leadership in their history. The church has had only 5 long-term priests, serving 2 years or more. The school has had only principals, the last 2 covering the time since 1973. In 2014, Fr. Lothar (Lou) Krouth, Priest of OLL for 25 years, retired. Then, in 2015, Sherri Schmitz, Principal for 17 years, resigned. Following the retirement of Fr. Lou, his replacement, Fr. Michael Schneider, resigned after only 17 months and a new replacement is expected to be in place by July, 2016. New Principal, Sarah Zook took over in the fall of 2015. In light of all this recent transition, the community of OLL has remained stable as has the enrollment. Approximately 20 students left the school during the transition time and more families have left the parish. Many have returned to the parish and it seems that some may return to the school as well. Both buildings have shown that, although change is difficult, the strength of Our Lady of Lourdes is in its tradition and longevity.

With the transition, have come many areas of growth and development. OLL added a new Pre-Kindergarten program and revamped the 2 to 3-year-old program in 2015-16 to better meet the needs of emergent reader students to be ready for Kindergarten and to fill an elementary music position. The added Pre-K brought back 3 families to the school who had been taking their children to the Ursuline Academy preschool for an early reader program. The class quickly filled and promises to help bring in a strong Kindergarten class for 2016-17. The 3-year-old preschool was expanded to include 2-year-olds and was shifted to the newly renovated room off Extended Care. All 3 sections filled quickly and now provide a smooth progression of content and social skill development for children from 2 years old to Kindergarten.

Other growth occurred in Fine Arts in the form of the return of an art teacher for the middle school level. In arranging the elective schedule for middle schoolers, student requests indicated a desire for additional fine arts opportunities. OLL did not fill the art position when the last teacher left in 2008. Part-time positions are always difficult to fill, but the perfect parent/teacher candidate made the opportunity possible. OLL has been pleased to maintain a fine arts program consisting of different mixes of music, choir, and band program since early in the school’s inception. Current band instructor, Bud Nicholls attended OLL in the first few years when it did not offer band and by 8th grade ended up attending a public school offering band. Nicholls returned to OLL as a professional to ensure band opportunities for students since 2004. In light


of public school reductions to fine arts programs, OLL sees this strengthening as a competitive edge and crucial curricular offering.

Staffing at OLL has been very consistent over the past several years with only a few teachers moving in our out each year, mostly in part-time teaching positions. During the time of transition, only 2 full-time teachers left Lourdes. One moved out of town and one was filling a one-year leave of absence. The teaching staff averages 19 years teaching experience with 10 years at OLL in particular. All full-time K-8 teachers are certified for their positions. Ensuring certification of staff has been a direct effort at Lourdes for about the last 10 years. Preschool and extended care have personnel with an average of 8 years daycare and teaching experience and an average of 5 years at Lourdes. The middle school music teacher is not certified, but she has 11 years of substitute teaching experience, most if it teaching middle school music for the local public schools. The art teacher, although not certified, recently completed course work for a Bachelor’s degree in Theology and Fine Arts. Teachers take their certification very seriously and are always working to improve their knowledge within their content areas and for catechesis.

The alumni and long-time supporters of Lourdes are the lifeblood of both the parish and the school. They are very generous with donations which have built endowments and paid for operations on a yearly basis. The school budget is just under one million dollars with one-third coming from the parish. The rest is paid for with tuition and school fundraisers. The school has tried to keep tuition low as they tend to serve some lower income families of Great Falls. Just under 20% of Lourdes’ students are qualified for the free and reduced-lunch programs. In 2014, 8% of students received ACE scholarships, another 3% receive funded tuition assistance as grants, and about 25% of families preschool through 8th grade receive some level of unfunded tuition assistance. The school has been able to meet these needs very successfully due to strong donations and tight budgeting. In 2014 as the big transitions started, donations and parish numbers began to decline. As the transitions settle, the parish numbers seem to be recovering and it appears that the school will be able to return to a budget similar to that of the 2012-13 year in 2016-17. Our Lady of Lourdes School and parish continue to seek outside donations to fund tuition assistance and operating costs as well as initiatives.

The content of the School Profile must be updated yearly and reflected upon by the School Advisory Council and presented to the Parish Councils. The need for data has become even more evident to Lourdes with the transition in priests. Fr. Lou Krauth had published detailed financial documents to help with decision-making. Fr. Michael Schneider sought to make improvements to the accounting procedures such as using the Diocesan recommended Chart of Accounts and standardizing the processes and documents for making deposits. Although these steps were not fully implemented before his departure, they laid the groundwork for improvements. The lack of financial data from this time period has brought to light the need for transparency and utilization of the gifts of the personnel on the councils serving the parish and school. Zook and the School Advisory Council have undertaken a process of long-term strategic planning which will rely on the data from this accreditation report as well as other collected data to make plans for the future.


CHAPTER 3 – QUALITY OF THE SCHOOL’S PROGRAM

A. ASSESSMENT OF THE SCHOOL’S CATHOLIC IDENTITY

The school is Catholic, approved by the Local Ordinary (Canon 803), provides authentic Catholic teaching, opportunities for community worship and participation in the sacraments, and promotes evangelization and service to the community.

Parents and those who take their place are bound by the obligation and possess the right of educating their offspring. Catholic parents also have the duty and right of choosing those means and institutions through which they can provide more suitably for the Catholic education of their children, according to local circumstances. The duty and right of educating belongs in a special way to the Church, to which has been divinely entrusted the mission of assisting persons so that they are able to reach the fullness of the Christian life. Since true education must strive for complete formation of the human person that looks to his or her final end as well as to the common good of societies, children and youth are to be nurtured in such a way that they are able to develop their physical, moral, and intellectual talents harmoniously, acquire a more perfect sense of responsibility and right use of freedom, and are formed to participate actively in social life. (Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law, Canon 793 §1, 794 §1, 795)

The education of children in the Roman Catholic Tradition is meant to be a collaborative pursuit between parent(s) - to whom the charge is given in celebrating the Roman Catholic Rite of Baptism to be the first and also the best teachers of their children in the ways of the faith and of whom the request is made (according to their ability) by the Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law to provide for formal Catholic education of their children - and school, of which the Code of Canon Law is rather clear shall be eternally committed to the education of the entire student, providing for their intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation in accord with the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, the same thread of Catholic Identity that is woven through the homes of our families and the worship of our faith community, must also find its way into the fabric of our school. Our Lady of Lourdes’ Accreditation Committee for Catholic Identity has been tasked with ensuring that not only is this common thread boldly present in our school, but that it is also well pronounced in all we do. We offer the following as evidence of the strength of our Roman Catholic identity and our ongoing commitment to continuous growth and improvement:

Our Vision, Mission and Student Learning Expectation Statements

An organization’s statement of vision and mission along with the expectations it places on its members are true windows into the soul of that organization. It is only with clarity of vision, persistence in mission, truth in expectation and excellence in execution that the focus of our school sharpens into a well pixelated identity. Each of our Vision, Mission and Student Learning Expectation (SLE) Statements were redrafted for this purpose. The Vision Statement clearly defines Jesus Christ as the example for our following, while the Mission Statement deliberately outlines “the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church” as the rubric by which our children are to be formed, and the Christian Virtues as the standard to which a student is expected to challenge


their personal potential. Because - as it is stated above in the excerpt from the Code of Canon Law - the Church has a special duty and right to educate children so as to assist them in their realization of the fullness of Christian life, our pursuit must not only be of academic excellence, but also of holiness. Our rearticulated statements of vision, mission and student learning expectation truly reflect the integration of this dual pursuit. Finally, along with our new school logo, our school name and mission statement are prominently displayed in our main entryway for all to see upon entering or in passing (M1, HA1).

Our School Demographics

We do not use demographic information to set threshold goals or define exclusivity in our recruitment of students. It is important, however, to have an intimate understanding of the breakdown of our student body as it pertains to religious denomination so that we can ensure we are meeting the canonical requirements and formational needs of our Roman Catholic students and embracing our non-Catholic students with a spirit of charity, inclusion and ecumenism.

Our Lady of Lourdes Student Demographic (Grades K - 8)* Religious Denomination # % of Total

Catholic 96 65

non-Catholic 51 35

Total 147 100

* Demographic information is not yet available for preschool students. This enrollment is 46 students, bringing total OLL enrollment to 193 students.

Our Curriculum and Instruction

If the very fabric of our school is to reflect our Catholic Identity, then it is not enough to simply offer a religion class. Rather, our Catholicism should permeate our curriculum and instruction. What follows is a bulleted list of ways we have enhanced curriculum and instruction followed by the goals we still strive toward in the spirit of continuous improvement:

Textbook and Religion Curriculum

2015-2016 Academic Year - Adopted Faith and Life Series, Third Edition (Ignatius Press) - Grades 1-8; This edition has been revised to include the new translation of the Roman Missal and makes a clear and informative presentation of the faith grounded in, and with clear reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Not only is this new text congruent with the standards adopted by the Montana Catholic Schools, but it is widely embraced by the faculty and student body.


Church History and Communion of Saints

History of the Catholic Church has been integrated into the general History curriculum ensuring that the Church’s history is seen as interwoven with the totality of human history.

2015-2016 Academic Year - Each classroom (spanning all grade levels) selects a new Catholic Saint each month. Upon selection, the class researches the saint’s life and faithfulness to Jesus Christ and displays their likeness in the classroom, all the while seeking to emulate the saint’s commitment to the faith in their own lives. (M1-3, HE 1-3, HA 1-3).

Apologetics, Catechesis and Public Speaking

In addition to learning the content of their religion text, middle school students are learning to express this learned material in their own words as preparation for offering a defense and explanation of their faith. They are given several opportunities throughout the academic year to present the tenets of their faith in public speaking competitions. The first public speaking competition took place in October 2015 with grades 5-8 in preparation for the feast of All Saints. Presentations focused on the biographies of student-selected saints.

Our Environment for Learning

Because the aim of Catholic Education is to go beyond the mere academic instruction of our students so as to provide for the formation of the whole person and assist them in experiencing the fullness of life in Christ, our Catholic Identity must spill over from the subject matter being learned into the very environment in which our students work, learn and interact. Simply put, it must be very apparent to students, faculty, staff and all who enter our halls that our Roman Catholic Tradition in faith is alive outside of Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and books concerning the lives of the saints...it should surround us in all we do. What follows is a bulleted list of the various ways we have worked to ensure such a fertile environment for faithful formation:

Reverence of and Devotion to the Virgin Mary

2015-2016 Academic Year - Cleaned, refurbished and restored the statue of Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes that stands as the focal point of our school’s entrance (HE 1-3).

2015-2016 Academic Year - Our Pastor presented each classroom with their own unique image of the Virgin Mary (HE 1-3, H1). Reverence of Our Lady not only exemplifies a key Dogmatic tenet of our Roman Catholic Tradition in Faith, it also increases the awareness of our student body as to the patronage to Mary our school has with Mary as our namesake and further encourages personal Marian devotions among individual students.

Stations of the Cross

2015-2016 Academic Year - Images of each of the Stations of the Cross have been hung throughout the school hallway. As students journey throughout their day, week, year and career


at Our Lady of Lourdes, these images will serve as guides to encourage the students, faculty, staff and all who pass through our hallways to reflect upon Christ’s journey to the Cross, and merge with it their own personal journey to the foot of the Cross (M2-3, HE1-3, HA2-3).

Each year, during the holy season of Lent, the student body gathers on a regular basis to pray and reflect on the Stations of the Cross. Also, members of the student body present the “Living Stations of the Cross” to aid in deeper reflection upon the Passion of Christ.

Our Celebration of the Liturgy and Sacraments and Communal Prayer

The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called 'sacraments of faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1123). Given that a Catholic school is an institution devoted to instruction and formation and the sacraments are, themselves, intended to instruct and form individuals, it follows logically that the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy and the Sacraments should be well integrated into the life and operation of the school. What follows is a bulleted list of the various ways we have worked to enhance our school’s celebration of the Liturgy and Sacraments:

Mass Attendance and Participation

2014-2015 Academic Year - Changed Mass schedule to allow for 100% student body attendance at weekly all-school liturgy celebrations.

2015-2016 Academic Year - Added one additional opportunity for each class to attend Mass each week, effectively increasing student/faculty/staff Mass attendance by 100% (M3, HE1-3, HA2-3).

Every student-attended celebration of the Mass affords students the opportunity to actively serve as ministers in the role of Lector, Responsorial Psalmist, Choir Member, Gift Bearer, Greeter, or Alter Server. This participation in the sacred liturgy deepens learning and understanding of our sacred tradition of worship and also encourages “ownership” in each student for their own life of faith and sacramental celebration.

Additional Sacramental Celebrations

In addition to their regular participation in the celebration of the Mass, students, faculty and staff are also afforded multiple opportunities during the year to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation so as to encounter the forgiving grace of Christ.

The Position of Altar Server


2015-2016 Academic Year - In cooperation with our Pastor, we increased the number of young men participating as Altar Servers at each celebration of the Mass and worked to pair younger boys with older “mentors” to enhance their learning and ownership of this important ministry. The aim is not only to enhance a young man’s participation in the sacred liturgy, but also to cultivate any potential vocational calls to the priesthood (HE1-3, HA1-3).

2015-2016 Academic Year - In cooperation with our Pastor, we upgraded the Altar Server garments to more closely align with the classic nature of the the Altar Server position, communicate the history, reverence and importance of the position as well as draw a visual correlation between the position of Altar Server and their potential future in the Priesthood.

Communal Prayer

It is a practice to begin each day with all-school prayer, pray together before meals and encourage spontaneous prayer individually and as a class throughout the day.

During Advent and Lent, class officers in grades five through eight read the Daily Reading at the end of lunch. All grades then dismiss in silence to encourage self- discipline and prayerful contemplation.

2015-2016 Academic Year - We empowered our class officers to lead the lunchtime blessing/prayers and thus increased student participation as a whole and enabled the class officers to exercise their peer leadership in areas of faith as well (M3, HE1-3; Class Leaders M1, HA1, HE1-3).

Our Virtues-Based Behavior

Behavior management both within and outside the classroom is a challenge in any school setting, but our identification with the Roman Catholic Tradition in Faith affords us a unique approach to managing behavior that goes above and beyond to enhance character formation as well. By adopting a Christian virtues-based behavior philosophy, we have been able to weave understanding and implementation of the Cardinal Virtues as well as the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy into our instruction on how we effectively interact with one another. This proactively defines the expectation of a higher standard of behavior, encourages students to view one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and assists with conflict management. Again, because our Vision and Mission seeks to give each student a foundation in formation that will serve them in life, this philosophy of virtues-based behavior management is both effective and critical to realizing the fullness of our Mission Statement.

Our Relationship with our Parish

With a grade school so closely associated with Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish for 70 of its 75 years, it is critical that we continue to foster a healthy relationship - one rooted in gratitude and service - between the school and our parish community. Students, faculty, staff and families must realize the sacrifice the parish makes in supporting the school as its mission of Christian life and the parish-at-large must experience the fruits of their dedication and draw inspiration and


strength from the young, vibrant population of faithful that exists in our school. What follows is a bulleted list of the various ways we have worked to cultivate our school’s relationship with our parish and goals we have into the future to strengthen this relationship:

Student Participation in Weekend Liturgy Celebrations

2015-2016 Academic Year - In collaboration with our Pastor, students from school were grouped by class and assigned one weekend liturgy per month to be responsible for. Students fulfilled the roles of greeter, lector, responsorial psalmist, choir member, gift bearer and altar server as a gesture of gratitude toward the parish-at-large.

Our Outreach into the Community

We have heard it said “faith without works is dead.” At the same time, one of the most powerful lines in the celebration of the Sacred Mass is the commission at its close to “go forth to love and serve the Lord.” All of this is to say that if we are indeed people of faith - and if we seek to form our children accordingly - then our faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel must be lived out in our actions of service, mercy, compassion, love and charity. For this reason, the Catholic Identity of our school would be incomplete if all that we did in formation of our students remained only within the walls of our school and only between those who walked its halls. Rather, it is imperative, as followers of Jesus Christ, that we take all we teach and learn outside of our school and encounter the greater community around us in true service of Him. What follows is a bulleted list of ways in which our school strives to provide Catholic Christian outreach into our community:

Efforts of Community Outreach

Annually our students, faculty and staff continue to support the efforts of the Great Falls Rescue Mission and Great Falls Community Food Bank by collecting and donating much-needed personal care items (HE1-3, HA1-3).

Annually our students and their families support the efforts of the St. Vincent de Paul Society by hosting Project Santa’s Closet. This is a charitable project that collaborates with SVDP to identify families and children in need, post their needs anonymously on a “tree” in our entryway and encourage families to donate generously to the needs of each individual.

Annually the members of the Our Lady of Lourdes Student Council (including representatives of each grade level) travel into the neighborhoods and nursing homes of our community to sing Christmas carols and deliver Christmas cards to the homebound and bedridden members of our community.

2015-2016 Academic Year - Members of our student body worked with members of the Great Falls Police Department to honor the GFPD in a special way and perpetuate the Roman Catholic Tradition of the Communion of Saints. After each class had the opportunity to hear from a visiting officer, an image of St. Michael the Archangel (which was the subject of a school-wide


coloring contest) was presented to the officer with the additional commitment of the school body to prayer for the protection of our city police officers every Tuesday.

Commitment to our Roman Catholic identity has always been of critical importance at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School throughout our 70 year heritage. Even as society continues to evolve and change, it remains paramount that our association with our Christian mission and commitment to the teachings of the Catholic Church be central to who we are, what we do and who we serve. We must never stop short at limiting our Roman Catholic Tradition in faith simply to coursework. Rather, it must be the common thread woven seamlessly throughout our entire fabric of being!

Significant Accomplishments:

• Increased Mass opportunities • Staff have started implementing new Faith and Life textbooks and aligning them to the

new Diocesan religion standards • Increased study of the Saints • Focused study of the virtues • Prominently display Stations of the Cross

Goals:

• Develop more consistent instruction and integration of Catholic Social Teaching in all subject areas.

• Go beyond student participation in the weekly school liturgies to increase the participation of families and family members in these all-school celebrations of Mass.

• The student body intends to expand its community interaction to include projects with the Great Falls Children’s Receiving Home and ministry to children afflicted by cancer through Benefis Hospital’s Sletten Cancer Institute.

Evidence:

• Photos of the Stations of the Cross • Samples of religion maps • Photos of Mass • Wed. Notes • Parish Bulletin • Service Project flyers • Saint sample documents • Virtue bulletin board photos • Lourdes Link Newsletter


B. DEFINING THE SCHOOL’S PURPOSE

The school’s purpose is defined through the school’s mission statement, philosophy, measurable Schoolwide Learning Expectations, Arch/diocesan curriculum standards (local curriculum standards where Arch/diocesan standards don’t exist), and other governing authority expectations.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Schools provides a missionary service of the OLL Parish. since its creation 5 years after the opening of the parish, OLL school has been providing high quality, affordable Catholic education to Great Falls. It is an important part of OLL’s history to remain affordable and available to all students who desire to attend, regardless of financial ability. To that end, OLL relies on valued supporters to donate to endowment and operational funds. From the parish side, it subsidizes school operations significantly each year. To show appreciation for the parish support and to show the parishioners their donations at work, OLL students take on leadership roles at parish masses periodically. They will be greeters, bear gifts, and sing in the choir. Older students read and many young gentlemen serve at the altar. They are 2 entities intimately connected and dedicated to serving one another. The priest is the governing authority who determines the effectiveness, quantity, and need for interactions between the school and parish.

Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic school with a long-standing tradition of building self-discipline and high academic standards within a faith-filled environment. This may sound like the goal of most Catholic schools, but OLL has stayed true to that mission. These were the founding principles for the creation of the school’s mission statement and philosophy years ago. Through the process of accreditation, the staff clarified the mission statement and defined the SLE’s by reflecting on how the mission was lived out in their school, but no large changes were needed. They added a shorter vision statement which will be a quick way to remind students and staff of the fuller context of the mission and philosophy. OLL had posted signs around the school to remind students of “Irish Pride” and what it meant to be a student at Lourdes. These posters have been replaced by those with a new image for the vision showing Mind, Heart, and Hands as a way to live as Jesus at school and in the world. The posters also list the SLE’s as a reminder for everyone in the school. In the year ahead, teachers will be creating ongoing lists of assignments and assessments they give and how the work helps to determine the success of the school in meeting SLE’s. This document as well as achievement tracking documents have been created as shared documents in the teachers’ shared Google documents. This allows teachers to add to the document easily and to view it periodically. The principal will have access to and monitor the growth of this document.

There are many concrete examples that demonstrate the SLE’s in action already. From Kindergarten on, students develop Mind3: self-discipline. They have homework folders and are expected to carry folders home and back. Even in Extended Care (ages 2 and up), students are expected to hang up their own coats and bags as well as clean up after themselves when they are done playing with toys. They are given some increased freedom over the rest of the school, but are still expected to maintain reasonable noise levels, a clean area, and respectful interactions. For the first several weeks in the fall, students are taught (or reminded) how to move quietly and in a controlled manner down the hallways. Without batting an eye, teachers will return their


students to re-walk the hallway 2, 3, or 4 times if they are too noisy or not walking in a straight line. These are the kinds of standards for self-control that the teachers establish at an early age. They translate into the classroom as well. Substitute teachers report that students are very well-behaved and know the processes of the classrooms. Subs are often just monitoring the students and student leaders as they move through the daily protocols. This habit of mind to control their behavior is directly connected to the teaching of Jesus to be able to control one’s desires and impulses. Once students learn that they can control their impulses, they are much better at making themselves study for exams and take on challenges they would otherwise avoid. Eighth graders from Lourdes frequently report that they find high school relatively easy because they are able to “buckle down” and complete their homework or take exams. This portion of success is directly attributable to the development of self-discipline at OLL.

A second area that ensures success for students at OLL is the high academic standards of Mind2: Critical Thinker and Problem Solver. As with discipline, academic standards come from long ago as well. Lourdes has always prided itself with teaching content above the level of the local schools per the canon law requirement. One example is the middle school history content. For nearly 10 years, students have been studying high school history texts by the eighth grade. Because of their strong preparation in earlier grades, they actually work out of the same text as local ninth graders in their eighth grade year. The math texts are nearly a grade level ahead by middle school as well. Students are very successful with the advanced content because of the discipline and effective teaching strategies used by the teachers. Students at Lourdes continually score at the top end of Catholic schools statewide on standardized tests such as the MontCAS and now the MAP. Teachers are focused on exceeding the state standards that the local public schools are held to. Starting in 2015, they are required to label the standards for their lessons in the school’s new OpenSIS software. Previously, they had documented the standards in their paper lesson plans. The teachers use the data from the standardized tests to place students in reading and math groups and then to monitor their progress at testing points during the school year. Anecdotally, students coming in to Lourdes report the increased difficulty, and those who transfer out note that the new school is usually a bit easier. This is not to say that students who struggle don’t have a place at OLL. The staff is committed to helping all students excel. To that end, they work diligently to help fill gaps in students’ understandings so that they may move forward at the fastest rate possible. Students who are behind grade level are worked with independently to help them develop the skills necessary to work at grade level. The principal works with teachers to track this progress and make improvement plans for students as needed. This often looks like students working at small group tables with the teacher, an aid, a parent volunteer, or an older mentor student. Helping all students succeed is the result of a focus on critical thinking and problem solving held to by the staff and students at Our Lady of Lourdes.

Aside from academics and self-discipline, Lourdes spends significant effort developing the compassionate side of students as well. They take part in numerous service projects throughout the school year. Some of these include collecting materials for the local Rescue Mission, food for St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry, caroling to the parish homebound and mentoring their younger buddies around the school. In addition to service, the school provides counseling opportunities through a local Catholic counselor, Rich Kuka, who has provided services to the school for many years. He structures groups with the kids to teach social and friendship-building skills. In 2015, Lourdes also implemented a virtues education program to help ground the


school’s discipline in character development. The 8th graders, through their religion coursework, started the instruction on bulletin boards. Teachers are carrying the instruction into the classroom in a more formal manner of direct instruction and discussion. Discipline through the principal is also grounded in virtues discussions. Instead of relying on imposed consequences, students develop the knowledge of the virtues to use them as a filter for decision-making. It has already had a significant impact on student behavior and dramatically dropped the number of referrals for gossip and mean behavior. The principal tracks this discipline data. Students’ knowledge of Christian principles and Catholic content as well as perceptions are measured on the ACRE assessment given by the school at 4th and 8th grade. This data helps teachers to know where they may need to focus extra attention or offer clarifying instruction as students progress through the religion standards. It will be critical to view these results in connection with the newly adopted religion standards (summer 2015) for the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. Teachers are currently mapping their newly adopted Faith and Life texts to the standards to ensure they have met all standards. They will then need to overlay the ACRE results, too, to make sure they are being taught effectively.


• Teachers at OLL have focused attention on exceeding curricular standards for their grade level.

• Lourdes has clarified its mission and philosophy, crystallizing the most important features into posted SLE’s.

• Teachers have created an environment of high behavior and academic standards. • Staff and students have found more ways to build connections between the parish and

school. • Staff have worked with students to learn and live the SLE’s.

Goals:

• Teachers will create curriculum maps for one content area, showing the connections to the standards and SLE’s by the end of 2015-16.

• Teachers will create and students will take an assessment at the end of the school year for level of understanding and impact of the SLE’s on the faith environment and academics.

• Compare religion curriculum map to ACRE results at 4th and 8th grades.

Evidence:

• Survey data • OpenSIS lesson plans with standards connections • Copy of classroom SLE poster • Standards samples from GTCC • Standards samples from Religion Standards • Standards samples from MT • Assessment result sample from MAP • ACRE assessment result


• Discipline data • Meeting SLE document


C. ORGANIZATION FOR STUDENT LEARNING TO SUPPORT HIGH ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL STUDENTS

The organizational structures of the school focus on high achievement of all students, and communicate student progress to all shareholders.

This is the first time Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School has been through the accreditation process. The pastor, principal, and School Advisory Board work closely with a common vision to develop long-range goals, promote growth for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School and instill Catholic values throughout the school. Over the years, we have continually examined the safety and physical appearance of our school, aligned curricula to the state standards, and aligned our religion curriculum to the standards used by Archdiocese of Seattle.

Fr. Lou Krauth and Fr. Michael Schneider promoted full participation in liturgy by asking questions and involving students in discussion of the readings and teachings of the homily. The whole school attends Mass every Thursday, which is prepared by one class. Upon a request the eighth graders began attending an additional Mass once a week. With the implementation of our mentor-mentee program in the Fall of 2015 all grades began attending an additional daily Mass. Once a month mentors and mentees prepare a Sunday Mass.

Our principal, Sarah Zook, supports the academic and spiritual formation of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. She has supported the staff in aligning curriculum to the state standards. Mrs. Zook has weekly classroom visits to the kindergarten through second grade classrooms to lead a program entitled Philosophy. This program assists students in creative thinking. Mrs. Zook uses our management system, OpenSIS, to pull reports and monitor student progress.

During the summer of 2015 the staff worked with the newly adopted series and aligned it with Washington State Standards. Each month every classroom selects a saint to focus on and learn more about. At the beginning of the 2015 school year, each classroom was given a title of Mary to honor and ask for intercession.

The school support staff includes an administrative assistant, a Development Director, an Events Coordinator, Pastoral Assistant, a bookkeeper, a Title 1 specialist, a counselor, a librarian, and a parent who volunteers in the library.

The pastor, bookkeeper, and financial council oversee the parish and school budgets. In the Fall of 2015 the school began using a third party (FACTS) for tuition management, which has decreased the interruptions of our support staff and has created a more consistent cash flow. This third party management has also allowed for a more private and objective assessment of a family’s financial need.

The development director works closely with the principal, pastor, school advisory board, and parish council in an organized effort to promote Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, and to identify, coordinate, and expand all positive forces to raise the school to its highest destiny: to


fulfill its mission. The events coordinator focuses her efforts on the school’s annual fundraiser, and works to build a relationship with alumni.

Teachers at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School provide a variety of different opportunities to enhance student’s learning. Spiritually, academically, and emotionally each child is enriched through tailored lessons and individualized and small group settings. This allows us to meet the needs of students, while providing challenging opportunities for high achievers. Parent volunteers, student mentors, and collaborating with staff are tools we use to enhance the students’ learning. Our teachers are able to meet the needs of the whole child.

The Diocese of Great Falls/Billings provides our school with the Safe and Sacred program. All staff and volunteers are required to have completed the program each year. Safety procedures are in place and reviewed yearly. In addition, our students have a formal yearly lesson about personal health and safety.


• Differentiated instruction to meet individual learners • Curriculum is aligned to state standards • Community building opportunities • Updated Religion curriculum • Updated management software • Schoolwide MAP testing

Goals:

• Continue implementing OpenSIS and utilizing its capabilities • Refining our personal and safety curriculum

Evidence:

• Montana State Standards • Washington State Religion Standards • Wednesday notes • Church Bulletin • MAP test spreadsheet • Philosophy work samples • Religious bulletin boards • Photos • Advisory board minutes • Tutoring/homework help • FACTS report • OpenSIS screenshot


D. DATA ANALYSIS AND ACTION TO SUPPORT HIGH ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL STUDENTS

The school uses educationally sound assessment processes to collect data. The school disaggregates and analyzes student performance data and uses the analysis as a basis for instructional/curricular improvement.

Our Lady of Lourdes began using standardized assessment data as the ITBS, then later with the Montana State-mandated MontCAS assessment at the time of the implementation of No Child Left Behind Act. This test was commonly referred to as the CRT (Criterion-Referenced Test) as it was a significant break from the commonly administered Iowa Tests (norm-referenced). OLL stopped administering the ITBS/ITED tests and had all students grades 3-8 take the now-mandated CRT assessment. With the adoption of the Common Core Standards as Montana’s standards, Montana joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Private schools were notified very late in the transition period that they would be excluded from taking the SBAC test. This left OLL without assessment data for the 2013-14 school year. They then joined with many of the other Catholic schools in Montana to take the MAP test by NWEA in the winter of 2014. They took the MAP tests at grades K-8 twice in 2014-15 and are scheduled for three exams for 2015-16. During this same time period, OLL also administers the ACRE test to evaluate students faith knowledge and perceptions. This test has been given in 2012 and 2015 to students in grades 5 and 8.

Teachers are given copies of the exam results to use for classroom planning. They use the results to determine students who may need extra support and those who may need additional challenge. Classrooms use the incoming spring data to set up reading and math groups for the fall. They then use the mid-year data to determine the effectiveness of their instruction and the level of understanding of the students. As teachers become more familiar with the reports and data available from NWEA, they are using it for informing instruction as well. Two teachers are working to pull the individual instruction data from the reports to help remediate gaps for lower achieving students. This will be a powerful tool as the teachers become more familiar with it. In the summer of 2015, teachers began building and Achievement database in a shared Google Sheet where they record their class’s data and color code it by quartile. This gives them a quick visual reference of who the reds and oranges are and who has made gains or slipped backwards between testing sessions. They plan to continue to build these sheets to be able to track data longitudinally as they gather more MAP assessments.

ACRE results have been used by classroom teachers and the middle school religion teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of their instruction and to determine areas of extra attention or support. The perception portion gives the teacher vital information in planning the length of time to spend on any given topic. Some years students need extra emphasis on certain areas such as understanding of Marian theology or the life of Jesus. If budget were not an issue, students would take the ACRE test yearly to gather better longitudinal data. As it stands, the data provide an informative snapshot of the current student body.

Less formal assessments guide instructional practice as well. Teachers all base their pacing in the classroom on assessments. Based on student performance on the exam, teachers will review as


needed or give individual students extra support. Beyond that, many teachers will give students pre-tests and allow them to test out of content they can already demonstrate proficiency with. In other classrooms, students are able to test into a more appropriately challenging sets of spelling words. The goal is to use assessments to give some of the individual attention to students that parents expect from a Catholic school as reported in the parent surveys. In middle school English classes, students are expected to read materials that fall within their appropriate Text Complexity and/or Lexile range. Many writing assignments are graded using rubrics to give clear, precise feedback in a timely fashion. This will allow students to progress through the learning at a rate that is challenging--minimizing behavior issues and maximizing student achievement.


• OLL has started using the MAP assessment • Staff regularly use assessment data for group placement • Pre-tests allow appropriate placement • ACRE test advises religious instruction • Staff are building Achievement database

Goals:

• Increase use and content in the Achievement database, using longitudinal data as it becomes available

• Tie assessments to standards in grading software • Continue development of schoolwide writing plan and assessment

Evidence:

• Survey Data • Achievement database • ACRE results • MAP results • Sample classroom assessment • Sample pre-test • OpenSIS screenshots • ELA text complexity triangle • Writing plan • Sample rubrics


E. HIGH ACHIEVEMENT BY ALL STUDENTS TOWARD CLEARLY DEFINED SLES AND CURRICULUM STANDARDS

All students make acceptable and measurable progress toward clearly defined Schoolwide Learning Expectations and challenging, comprehensive, and relevant curriculum standards.

The staff at Our Lady of Lourdes supports the high achievement of all students through the use of curriculum standards and the recently developed Schoolwide Learning Expectations. In the fall of 2014, Our Lady of Lourdes staff revised the school mission and vision statements. Shortly thereafter, staff began developing SLEs. The SLEs were finalized in January 2015, but not ever completely approved or adopted within the school. These SLEs were not shared with students or parents. At the beginning to the 2015-2016 school year, Our Lady of Lourdes had a change in administration and incorporated several new people into positions including development and teaching positions. On October 29, 2015, staff decided the former SLE’s were not measurable, and a committee was formed to revise the SLE’s along with the mission and vision statements. This was completed on November 3, 2015, adopted by staff on November 12, 2015, and approved by the School Advisory Board on November 19, 2015.

Our Lady of Lourdes aligns Religion curriculum to the Archdiocese of Seattle Standards. In the summer of 2015, staff gathered to review these standards and select a new Religion series. After much thought and discussion, Faith and Life Series from Ignatius Press was selected. This program has been in use in the K-8 classrooms since the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.

Other core subject standards are taken from a couple of resources. Math and ELA standards are taken directly from the Montana Content Standards. The Golden Triangle Cooperative also has aligned all Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Math with the Montana Standards. Science and Social Studies and all other standards come from the Golden Triangle Cooperative Curriculum, and they align the curriculum directly with the Montana Standards. The Golden Triangle has lead Montana schools in curriculum development and revisions in compliance with state law for twenty-six years. Our Lady of Lourdes offers preschool for three and four year olds as well as a prekindergarten program. The standards for those programs come from the Maryland Preschool Standards.

Our Lady of Lourdes began using an open source site for grades, lesson planning, and some parent communication called OpenSIS in September 2015. Within the system teachers are able to record grades, attendance, lunch, bus, and lesson plans. The system enables parents, students, administration, and school office staff immediate access to all updated information. Through the lesson plan section teachers input lesson plans, attaching how they align with standards. For this first year of implementation, teachers have been asked to complete this digital lesson planning for math, ELA, and Religion so that at the end of the year there will be curriculum mapping for several subjects. Teachers that do not teach religion were asked to substitute another subject. This sort of curriculum mapping is new to staff and it will be a school goal to continue expanding the school’s curriculum map. Even though curriculum mapping is new to our school, curriculum has always aligned to standards and vertically aligned within the building and with the local Catholic high school.


Meeting state or national standards has always been the minimum standard at Our Lady of Lourdes. The school has always tried to exceed the standards for its students. 88% of students K-3 report that the work they do in class makes them think, and 81% of students grades 4-8 say their classes are challenging. The smaller class sizes of the school allows for small group work and more individual attention. In fact 90% of parents reported their child receives individual attention. 80% of students from grades 4-8 say they feel they are rewarded and recognized for accomplishments. Even though the percentages are high, the staff recognize there is room for improvement in these areas based on the reported data.

The school’s SLE’s sprout from the motto “Today I will fill my mind with knowledge, open my heart to God, and lend a hand to the world.” When students fill their minds with knowledge the SLEs state they will become effective communicators, critical thinkers and problem solvers, and self-disciplined students. When students open their hearts to God the SLEs state students will model Catholic Christian values, participate reverently in Sacraments, liturgical celebrations, and prayer, and demonstrate a knowledge of Catholic doctrine and prayers. When students offer a hand to the world the SLEs state they will be of service to others in the classroom, community, and world, respect and protect all of God’s creations, and show compassion through words and actions. One of the school goals for the follow year is to create a rubric and self assessment to track student progress in these areas.

There are many types of assessments utilized at Our Lady of Lourdes to measure progress towards standards. Classroom assessments are essential for monitoring individual student growth in understanding. In addition to classroom assessments, K-8 students take the MAP test. Fourth and eighth grade take the NCEA ACRE Test as an additional religion assessment. Reports from these additional tests provide useful information about students’ academic needs and progress. They give teachers insight into which students may need extra help in an area, along with which students need to be challenged. Teachers are typically able to address the need for extra help within the regular classroom setting with small group work and additional one on one time. Teachers are readily available after or before school also. If additional help is needed, the school has one part-time Title I teacher students can see to receive help in reading and math. Challenging high-end students is also dealt with in the classroom through work differentiation and increased expectations.

Students’ progress is communicated to parents through quarterly report cards, midterm progress reports, parent-teacher conferences, and the online parent portal in OpenSIS. At the end of the first quarter, parent-teacher conferences are scheduled. During this initial conference report cards and MAP scores are shared with parents. In the spring, a second parent-teacher conference is offered, but is optional as determined by parents and teachers. Parents always have access to their child’s current grades via the parent portal in OpenSIS. Teachers’ emails are located on the school website and has been a quick way for parents to communicate concerns and ask questions. Teachers also have websites with calendars for important events and older grade levels list homework.

Our Lady of Lourdes has a computer lab and classroom computers teachers can utilized to support curriculum outside the text books. When working in the computer lab students work on word processing, academic based software/websites, research, website building, and


presentations. Technology naturally lends itself to differentiated work. When working on computer programs or educational websites, students are often able to work at their own pace. Classrooms also have projectors and document cameras, some are equipped with TVs or SMART boards. Teachers have designated technology as an area for potential growth. Eighteen percent of teachers, according to survey data, feel technology is not sufficiently available to support instruction. Other ways teachers report expanding curriculum is through field trips, library time, guest speakers, and community service projects.

Our Lady of Lourdes utilizes standards, assessments, and SLE’s to support the high achievement of all students. The school needs to continue its work in curriculum mapping. The staff need to create a rubric and self assessment for the SLEs. Students and staff would also benefit from the continuation of updating technology. Continuing to make standards and SLEs a school wide focus will help Our Lady of Lourdes ensure curriculum is relevant and challenging for all students.

Significant Accomplishments

• Adopting MAP testing • Rewriting our Mission and Vision Statements • Creating and adopting SLEs • Adoption of OpenSIS to create curriculum mapping • Aligning Religion curriculum to Archdiocese of Seattle Standards

Goals

• Complete Curriculum Mapping • Create a rubric and self assessment for SLEs • Continue to update technology and training for staff

Evidence

• Montana Content Standards for Math and ELA • GTCC Standards for Science and Social Studies • Archdiocese of Seattle Standards for Religion • Maryland Standards for preschool • Parent, student, and staff survey data • School SLEs • MAP results • Report cards • NCEA ACRE results • Class schedules • Classroom assessments


F. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY TO SUPPORT HIGH ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL STUDENTS

The staff applies research-based knowledge about teaching and learning in the instructional process. Assessment is frequent and varied, integrated into the teaching/learning process, and informs curriculum planning.

Introduction

Providing a quality catholic education is the top priority at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. Supported by a wide body of research, Our Lady of Lourdes sees quality of instruction, planning, and effective use of assessments in those areas as having the most potential impact for high achievement for all students. Accordingly, the school has established several practices to equip teachers with the knowledge of the most effective instructional practices for instruction and curriculum mapping for the purpose of helping teachers teach, plan, and assess in the most effective ways. These practices have evolved over time and will continue to evolve as staff responds to the ever-changing nature of the needs of our students, families, and the community. As a result, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School applies this knowledge in teaching and learning in the instructional process and to inform curriculum planning to form a strong foundation of academics and religious practice that is the reputation of catholic education.

Collaborative Learning

One consistent practice is the planning and collaborative sessions that occur during staff lunches. These times are planned by grade bands (primary, middle grades) so as to maximize the time where the staff have the opportunity to collaboratively problem-solve curricular or student concerns as the situation demands. Staff of a particular grade level are usually all present and use the time to share with each other the joys of the day and, time permitting, discuss issues in a prioritized order from most to least pressing. Much time is saved in that the staff who need to be involved in a discussion are present to give perspectives, ideas, and feedback. The collegial and professional attitude that the staff demonstrate is one of the most important factors in these times being utilized effectively. Often these solutions impact student achievement immediately as they are focused on instruction methods, planning, and assessment as well as the school environment. Likewise, there are staff meetings every Thursday and early out planning sessions the first two Thursdays of every month (at minimum). The agendas are posted in Google Docs so that staff can add items as necessary. These meetings last for an hour or more as needed to allow for collaboration and planning as a Pre-K through 8 group.

Instructional Leadership

Another element that has been influential in advancing instruction, planning, and assessment is the new instructional leadership of Sarah Zook. Effective August of 2015 when she became principal, Sarah Zook has supported the instructional staff in using the effective instructional methods and extending their learning about these methods to support the high achievement of all learners. The math and religion programs for the school were in need of some updating and revision, so Ms. Zook consulted with the staff and ordered a series for both: the math series


focuses on math instruction through small group instruction and an increase of math practice through modeling while the religion series addresses the religion standards with greater depth and relevance. Since these series were rather new to the teachers, Ms. Zook made a plan for modeling lessons for teachers and assisting them with the planning and instruction. She has made herself available for working through obstacles as well. Another area involves technology as we have had several new technology resources provided this year: document cameras, the lesson and grading program OpenSIS, and Google Tools for Education. In these tools she has been instrumental in leading and guiding their use as staff learn how to use them both in and out of staff meeting and planning times. She has offered multiple training opportunities on these technology resources for staff during P.I.R. days and after school as well. She has worked one-on-one with staff to ease the use of all of these technologies as well as the new text series upon request.

Professional Development

To further their knowledge and application of the most effective instructional methodologies and planning for learning with a focus on assessment, the staff has received high-quality professional development from educational trainers and university instructors each year. This year thus far the staff has had the opportunity to align the religion texts to the standards, learn about the New Testament, and learn about new technology tools as listed previously. In the last few years, staff have received professional instruction in such topics as the Old Testament, Church History, and using SMARTboards. On staff are also several educational trainers in the areas of math, English Language Arts, technology tools and integration, curriculum mapping, high yield instructional practices, teacher evaluation for growth, and using standards for planning instruction and assessment. This availability will no doubt be instrumental in offering resources and opportunities for further growth that Ms. Zook seeks to provide for the OLL staff. Establishing and implementing a cohesive writing program has been identified as an interest for further development by not only the staff and Principal Zook but also the WCEA, and thus it will be a central focus for the upcoming years.

Instructional Methodology

The staff has also been using survey results from 2014-16 that have identify areas for growth. The results are listed in order of priority based upon their level of impact on high achievement and the staff level of comfort with applying the method (see School Survey Data for 2014-15 and Staff Survey on Instructional Methodology Data for 2015-2016). These effective instruction methods have great potential success if used consistently as intended and their effect sizes are found in the Instructional Methodology Effect Size Research Data table. The staff has received these results and is currently using them to enhance their current instruction. Ms. Zook will be using the results to make plans for staff development as well. The main areas of comfort for staff in high-yield instructional practices are using text support, identifying similarities and differences, using homework for practice, recognizing and reinforcing effort, summarization, independent practice, and small group cooperative learning. Some areas that have some potential for growth are Bloom’s Levels of Questioning, using feedback for academic growth, using Rigor and Relevance, notetaking best practices, integrating technology, and using formative and summative assessments. As the staff continue working on instruction, planning, and assessment,


Ms. Zook will provide the best training opportunities to help teachers grow in the areas they have identified.

Planning

As of August 2015, the staff have started learning to use the OpenSIS web-based interface for recording assessments, planning, attendance, and other record-keeping tasks. Some staff members keep a written record as well, while others have transitioned completely to having their records in OpenSIS. The staff also use the common planning sessions and peer conversations to plan and organize instruction and assessment. The atmosphere is open and collegial. Assessments drive planning and instruction. K-8 teachers are using MAPs testing to make reading groups more successful and to differentiate for learners who are struggling or need more challenging tasks. Teachers use the content standards for their grade level and subject area as well as the SLEs to plan instruction and assessments (see OLL SLE Chart). They will begin attaching these standards to assessments in the upcoming year to enhance data analysis for achievement. This data analysis will then directly impact instruction.

Assessment

Assessment to support high achievement for all students has also been a long-standing practice at OLL. OLL has a reputation for academic excellence above that of the local elementary and middle schools. This reputation has been built on one of the school’s strengths-using assessment to support high achievement. Teachers employ regularly formative and summative assessments within their classrooms and participate in the MAPs and ACRE national tests to provide additional data to be used in the instructional process and curriculum planning. The data from these assessments is regularly analyzed and used for feedback for growth and further planning. The staff will continue to use the data from these assessments as well as their classroom data to plan for instruction. Teachers will also be attaching SLEs and content standards to assessments (see OLL SLE Chart). The data collected from these assessments will impact planning and growth in assessment for student achievement. Additional data will be collected, analyzed, and used regarding writing in the first OLL winter and spring school wide writing assessments in 2016. This data will be used for planning and implementing enhancements to the OLL Writing Development Program for grades Pre-K through 8 (see OLL Writing School Wide Writing Assessment Data for Winter 2016).

Our Mission and Vision

Of course once our school mission and vision statements and our SLEs were established as of November 19, 2015, staff began the process of using them to guide the instruction, planning, and assessment in the classroom. (See the OLL SLE Chart for sample responses to show how these SLEs are addressed in the school at each grade level.)

The Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and SLEs are posted in every classroom and throughout the school to help students remember the guiding expectations of Our Lady of Lourdes. Teachers refer to them as instruction is connected to them and use them in their planning and assessments.


Significant Accomplishments

• Changes made to math instruction and curriculum through new text materials and instruction in small group modeling

• Changes to religion instruction and curriculum aligned to the Archdiocese of Seattle standards for greater rigor and relevance

• Document Cameras in every classroom • OpenSIS resources for attendance, assessment, lesson planning, and digital

communication with parents • Google Tools for Education for digital communication, curriculum development, student

and learning opportunities, communication in the system • Increase in student knowledge and use of lexile score for achievement in reading • Virtues education integrated across the curriculum • Knowledge of Saints and Marian Apparitions integrated throughout school

Goals

• Developing an alignment of Writing Development across the curriculum • Enhancing staff knowledge and application of the most effective instruction methods

identified as growth areas in surveys, including curriculum mapping and assessment practices

Evidence

• MAPs testing results • ACRE testing results • OLL Writing Assessment Data for Winter 2016 • Classroom/hallway display areas • Use of document cameras (noted in teacher binders) • Use of Google Tools for Education and other technology tools (samples in teacher

binders) • Teacher lesson plans (samples included in teacher binder) • Summative and formative assessment aligned to SLEs (samples in teacher binders) • Student work aligned to the SLEs and/or content area standards (samples in teacher

binders)


G. SUPPORT FOR STUDENT SPIRITUAL, PERSONAL, AND ACADEMIC GROWTH

Within the school’s community of faith, students have opportunities to participate in support services and activities to assist them in accessing the curricular and co-curricular programs to achieve the Schoolwide Learning Expectations, Arch/diocesan curriculum standards (local curriculum standards where Arch/diocesan standards don’t exist), and other governing authority expectations.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is a strong community of faith. The staff begins each week by meeting for prayer on Monday. Each class begins the day with prayer, and then prays again before lunch and at the end of the day. Every class goes to mass once a week, and then the entire school attends Mass on Thursday. During Advent, the school begins each week with a prayer service. The Catholic Identity is visible throughout the school. Each classroom has a religious themed bulletin board in the hallway, and a prayer area within the classroom. Crucifixes, pictures, and icons are displayed throughout the school. The teaching staff attends an annual religious class for ongoing faith formation.

Our devotion to stewardship is exhibited in many ways. We have a strong history of supporting our local and global community. Throughout the year we collect supplies, food, and clothing for our local charities. We visit the homebound and nursing home at Christmas and in the spring. Then each month we send Smile mail to them, which is a card made by a student. The school community supports the military, and victims of national disasters.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School works to cultivate a strong partnership between students, parents, and staff. Preschool, kindergarten, and second grade have aides who help with reading and math groups, as well as individualized student support. Our part-time Title 1 teacher, Mr. Federrer, provides one on one or small group help with reading and math. He supports the classroom teachers and classroom lessons. Mr. Kuka, our part-time school counselor, meets with students on an individual or whole-group basis, and offers guidance and skills to cope with problems.

Creating a safe and nurturing environment is a top priority at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. All staff members and volunteers are required to complete the Safe and Sacred program, which is made available by the diocese. All staff are CPR/First Aid trained biannually. Our school reviews and practices safety procedures annually, which include fire evacuations, lockdowns, and shelter in place. We go above and beyond the mandated requirements by inviting the local policemen and firemen in to enrich and keep safety at the forefront of our environment.

Students at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School are provided with a variety of extracurricular opportunities. Our non-sports activities are guitar, Boy Scouts, Little Flowers, student council, handbells, and a craft club. The sporting activities are boys and girls basketball, volleyball, cross-country, and track. Other sporting opportunities are available through Central Catholic High School, which include football, cheerleading, and wrestling. Our students represent our school with modest uniforms and good sportsmanship.


Back to school week is a great way to welcome new families and reconnect with returning ones. Administration is on hand to answer questions, assist with fees, and to explain any additional family commitments, like home and school, labs, and development. Parents can choose from a variety of volunteer opportunities most suited to their family needs and schedule. Their talents are then matched to the needs of the school. The week is capped off with a Back-To-School Barbecue with staff, parents, and students.

With the ongoing changes in the technology world, we are continually updating with the assistance of two knowledgeable staff members. Our computer lab is equipped with thirty student computers. Students have access to computers in the classroom as well. Classrooms have a document camera and projectors. The third and sixth grade classrooms have a SmartBoard.


• Strengthening our Catholic community through integral prayer. • Increasing our faith exposure by attending additional Masses. • Continuously monitoring and updating safety procedures to ensure the safety and security

of all students and staffs. • Strong parent involvement. • Significantly updating technology by providing classrooms, with document cameras,

projectors, and Smartboards.

Goals:

• Continue to provide professional development opportunities for staff to further integrate technology into daily lessons.

Evidence:

• Emergency plans • Service projects • Wednesday newsletter • Church Bulletin • Photos • Lesson plans in OpenSIS


H. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT HIGH ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL STUDENTS

The pastor, principal, and school board develop, implement, and monitor resources and plans to ensure and support high achievement of all students of the Schoolwide Learning Expectations, Arch/diocesan curriculum standards (local curriculum standards where Arch/diocesan standards don’t exist), and other governing authority expectations.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish has provided steady and substantial support to Our Lady of Lourdes School. The school believes that it has the duty to use this financial support in the best and most efficient way possible. To this end the school has developed a School website that allows us to maintain continuous and inexpensive communication with parents, students, faculty, staff and parish.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School and Parish is in a period of transition. Both the pastor and the principal have changed since 2014. This process of change has given us the unique opportunity to examine and evaluate past financial and resource management processes.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School continues to emphasize the nurturing and development of the “whole” student as evidenced by our SLEs. We continue to prepare our students to succeed after they leave our care by providing a solid academic, spiritual and social base as efficiently as possible. The faculty meets regularly in small groups (K-2; 3-5; and 6-8) to discuss the needs of particular students and how they might best be addressed. Individual teachers use web-based programs (Khan Academy in grades 4-8 and Starfall in PreK-2) to address individual student needs. Teachers maintain classroom websites that allow students and parents to check on assigned work. These websites include links to sites across all the subject areas. The school takes advantage of Federal and State of Montana programs (e-rate, free and reduced lunches Title 1). The school has also registered with several government and business organizations as a certified non-profit which allows us to receive technology donations (hardware and software). In the past five years we have received donations that have allowed us to equip each classroom with projectors. Most recently we have received Dept of Agriculture computers that will allow us to upgrade our classroom computers. Our registered status allows people to donate to the school by using national and local programs like MacKenzie River Pizza Night and Smile Amazon.

The school began using the NWEA MAP standardized assessment program in the 2014/2015 school year precisely because it provides the staff with individualized, valid and immediate feedback on the academic level of our students in math, reading, language usage and science. Teachers are able to use the MAP results for individualized and small group instruction. The parent organization, Home and School, has funded this program for the last two academic years. The first round of testing occurred in the Winter 2015, followed by a second round in Spring, 2015. Student results were reviewed by the classroom teacher and sent to the parents after each session.

In August of 2015, interested faculty and the religion instructor met to evaluate and map the new religion curriculum to insure that it complies with the Diocesan standards for religion. The


religion curriculum at Our Lady of Lourdes has included annual retreats for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. These retreats depend on parent donations and participation.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School believes that in order to effectively and compassionately teach students, faculty and staff must also be nourished. To this end, we have taken advantage of the Marian University program provided by the Diocese of Great Falls Billings for the academic and spiritual development of the faculty and staff. OPI Certification Renewal Units are provided free of charge but those participants who wish to gain college credit for the courses must pay for those credits. The college credits are provided at a substantial discount ($50.00 per credit).

In 2014, the School Advisory Council did a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) assessment of Our Lady of Lourdes School. As a result, the school has tried to increase its presence among alumni families and the greater Great Falls Community.

Our Lady of Lourdes School maintains contact with alumni families through the use of an Alumni Facebook page and a Quarterly Alumni newsletter that is the responsibility of Mrs Heather Johnson, the Event coordinator. Alumni are encouraged to continue to participate in the Our Lady of Lourdes community and many of them do. Alumni help in fundraising events like Chinook and the Golf Scramble is invaluable. Many alumni return to the school as coaches in our extracurricular sports program.

Our Lady of Lourdes maintains its ties to the greater Great Falls community by working with Malmstrom Air Force Base and Benefis Hospital. The Development office is focused on increasing the greater community’s awareness of our presence when families relocate to the Great Falls area. The Development office highlights the Catholic Christian atmosphere, academic excellence and community service involvement of Our Lady of Lourdes School and Parish. Development Office marketing strategies include:

• Weekly school notes • Contributions to Weekly church bulletins • Contributions to the Quarterly Diocesan “Harvest” publication • Alumni mailings • Contributions to the local news media when students are interacting with the community

at large • Participation in the Great Falls Catholic School’s billboard campaign • Maintenance of the School Website • Contributions to the Community Calendar


• Institution of MAP Testing • Development of School Website • “Paperless” weekly communication • Registration as a “certified non-profit”


Goals:

• Make financial planning, resource development, and resource management a more transparent process

• Re-evaluate current tuition and donation models • Secure new technology grants

Evidence:

• SWOT analysis • Development Samples • Website Listing • Budgets • Alumni photo-Chinook • Lourdes Link: Alumni Newsletter • Strategic plan • Survey data


CHAPTER 4 –ACTION PLAN

A. DESIGN AND ALIGNMENT OF THE ACTION PLAN WITH THE SELF STUDY FINDINGS

The Action Plan addresses the school’s critical goals to enhance student learning that supports high achievement of all students of the Schoolwide Learning Expectations, Arch/diocesan curriculum standards (local curriculum standards where Arch/diocesan standards don’t exist), and other governing authority expectations.

Critical Goals for Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School


• Increased Mass opportunities • Staff have started implementing new Faith and Life textbooks and aligning them to the

new Diocesan religion standards • Increased study of the Saints • Focused study of the virtues

• Prominently display Stations of the Cross • Teachers at OLL have focused attention on exceeding curricular standards for their grade

level. • Lourdes has clarified its mission and philosophy, crystallizing the most important

features into posted SLE’s. • Teachers have created an environment of high behavior and academic standards. • Staff and students have found more ways to build connections between the parish and

school. • Staff have worked with students to learn and live the SLE’s. • Differentiated instruction to meet individual learners • Curriculum is aligned to state standards • Community building opportunities • Updated Religion curriculum • Updated management software • Schoolwide MAP testing • OLL has started using the MAP assessment • Staff regularly use assessment data for group placement • Pre-tests allow appropriate placement • ACRE test advises religious instruction • Staff are building Achievement database • Adopting MAP testing • Rewriting our Mission and Vision Statements • Creating and adopting SLEs • Adoption of OpenSIS to create curriculum mapping


• Aligning Religion curriculum to Archdiocese of Seattle Standards • Changes made to math instruction and curriculum through new text materials and

instruction in small group modeling • Changes to religion instruction and curriculum aligned to the Archdiocese of Seattle

standards for greater rigor and relevance • Document Cameras in every classroom • OpenSIS resources for attendance, assessment, lesson planning, and digital

communication with parents • Google Tools for Education for digital communication, curriculum development, student

and learning opportunities, communication in the system • Increase in student knowledge and use of lexile score for achievement in reading • Virtues education integrated across the curriculum • Knowledge of Saints and Marian Apparitions integrated throughout school • Strengthening our Catholic community through integral prayer. • Increasing our faith exposure by attending additional Masses. • Continuously monitoring and updating safety procedures to ensure the safety and security

of all students and staffs. • Strong parent involvement. • Significantly updating technology by providing classrooms, with document cameras,

projectors, and Smartboards. • Institution of MAP Testing • Development of School Website • “Paperless” weekly communication • Registration as a “certified non-profit”

Goals:

• Teachers will create curriculum maps for one content area, showing the connections to the standards and SLE’s by the end of 2015-16.

• Teachers will create and students will take an assessment at the end of the school year for level of understanding and impact of the SLE’s on the faith environment and academics.

• Compare religion curriculum map to ACRE results at 4th and 8th grades. • Develop more consistent instruction and integration of Catholic Social Teaching in all

subject areas. • Go beyond student participation in the weekly school liturgies to increase the

participation of families and family members in these all-school celebrations of Mass. • The student body intends to expand its community interaction to include projects with the

Great Falls Children’s Receiving Home and ministry to children afflicted by cancer through Benefis Hospital’s Sletten Cancer Institute.

• Continue implementing OpenSIS and utilizing its capabilities • Refining our personal and safety curriculum • Increase use and content in the Achievement database, using longitudinal data as it

becomes available • Tie assessments to standards in grading software • Continue development of schoolwide writing plan and assessment


• Complete Curriculum Mapping • Create a rubric and self assessment for SLEs • Continue to update technology and training for staff • Developing an alignment of Writing Development across the curriculum • Enhancing staff knowledge and application of the most effective instruction methods

identified as growth areas in surveys, including curriculum mapping and assessment practices

• Continue to provide professional development opportunities for staff to further integrate technology into daily lessons.

• Make financial planning, resource development, and resource management a more transparent process

• Re-evaluate current tuition and donation models • Secure new technology grants

Discussion Questions

What is the school currently doing that has the biggest impact on student learning?

• The Staff at OLL work tirelessly to differentiate instruction and provide support for each student. A visitor would often see a teacher or aid working with a handful of children at the back of a classroom or in the hallway. These efforts help to fill gaps in student understanding and therefore increase their achievement.

What are the greatest learning needs of the students?

• Receive consistent social teaching instruction in all content areas. • Develop writing ability across grade levels.

How can the school address these learning needs?

• Focus on the SLE’s • Tie content to the religion pillar on social teaching • Assess student writing periodically • Map religion curriculum to make sure social teaching is taught • Write a writing progression document • Align writing to curriculum maps • More Professional Development conversations about these topics • Formalize the financial and planning processes of the school

What evidence supports the correlation between the schoolwide action plan and analysis of student achievement of the Schoolwide Learning Expectations?

• Survey data from staff on effective instruction understanding • Staff survey data • Effective instruction statistics chart


• SLE’s • Religion standards • ELA standards

Critical Goals:

1. Our Lady of Lourdes will refine religion instruction. • Since OLL has just moved to a new religion textbook series, it is important to

ensure that the curriculum has a clear progression PS-8. If the content is correctly aligned and the instructional methodology is effective, student achievement will increase. This increase would be shown in ACRE results as well as assessments within the classrooms.

2. OLL will enhance its Catholic identity by more fully integrating social teaching-related SLE’s into aspects of the school.

• If the teachers find creative ways to post, display, and share the SLE’s in the school and with stakeholders, students will learn them and begin to use them. Have students focus especially on the Hands portion of the motto—living Catholic social teaching by involving them in significant service work for the community. This will increase student achievement of the Hands third of the SLE’s.

3. OLL will use data to inform instruction-related decisions. • Teachers will continue the development of data collection and usage tools. They

will look for ways to reference the data when making educational decisions for students and when planning instruction and resources.

4. The staff of OLL will create school-wide writing plan • Several years ago, teachers started documenting their significant writing

development K-8. If this process were completed, OLL would ensure that students’ writing assignments were increasing in level of complexity and length as they progressed.

5. Formalize the financial and planning processes of the school • OLL needs to return to some of its more formal roots of written planning and

approval of initiatives by councils. This would lead to better transparency in financial and planning documents and increased support from parents and stakeholders. The decreased anxiety and security for the school will lead to increased student achievement as more students would be able to attend OLL’s challenging classrooms.

Goal Details here and in Appendix F-1

Goal #1: Our Lady of Lourdes will refine religion instruction. Since OLL has just moved to a new religion textbook series, it is important to ensure that the curriculum has a clear progression PS-8. If the content is correctly aligned and the instructional methodology is effective, student achievement will increase. This increase would be shown in ACRE results as well as assessments within the classrooms.


This goal is largely within the first sentence of the school’s mission statement, asking students to excel academically and to learn how to follow Christ through the teachings of the Catholic Church. The religion standards OLL will be aligning to address all areas of church teaching as well as social and moral content. The SLE’s likewise address these same areas, asking students to follow Jesus with their minds, hearts, and hands. In addition, it is the first point under the philosophy of the school to facilitate formation through formal instruction in the Catholic teaching. Clarifying the content and methods (curriculum) will better ensure proper formation.

1. Strategy #1: Verify scope and content of instruction. Using this strategy, teachers will create curriculum maps of their religion instruction for the first year. Then, they will verify that all standards have been taught and with the proper frequency. They will compare maps from grade level to grade level to make sure that content flows logically.

a. Activity #1: Create curriculum map for each grade level’s religion instruction (PS-8). This will be done using Word tables or through the school’s lesson planning software. Standards will be recorded on the maps throughout the year.

b. Activity #2: Compare curriculum maps with standards. Teachers will record how many times/how much time was spent on each standard to determine if there are any gaps or redundancies that need to be addressed.

c. Activity #3: Teachers will align content from preschool through 8th grade. They will share their maps with teachers and surrounding grade levels and follow content across the levels. They will decide if the content is building appropriately and logically.

2. Strategy #2: Measure impact of religion instruction. Students will continue taking the ACRE assessment at grade levels 5 and 8. Students will also take the assessments from the new materials. The data from both of these assessments will be compared to make sure students are increasing achievement.

a. Activity #1: Administer the ACRE assessment in April to students in grades 5 and 8.

b. Activity #2: Assess students in all grade levels using the assessment questions from the Faith and Life series.

c. Activity #3: Compare student results from the textbook assessments and the relevant areas of the ACRE to look for potential inconsistencies.

d. Activity $4: Track these results over 3 years to see the results of the new content alignment on student achievement. Look for increases and decreases following individual or class student data longitudinally. Assessment results will be recorded in a Google Drive sheet or on a shared network spreadsheet.

3. Strategy #3: Modify instruction to increase achievement. The third component to effective instruction is the method of instruction. Teachers will record the methods they are using to teach the religion content focusing on Marzano’s effective instruction strategies, Relevance (from the Rigor and Relevance framework), and Bloom’s Taxonomy.

a. Activity #1: Teachers will have professional development on instruction strategies. They will learn what the strategies are and how to identify them in their own practice. Teachers will also learn how to modify and improve existing materials and strategies to incorporate the strategies.


b. Activity #2: Teachers will record the methods they are using to teach the religion content into their curriculum maps and lesson plans.

Goal #2: Use data to inform instruction-related decisions. Teachers will continue the development of data collection and usage tools. They will look for ways to reference the data when making educational decisions for students and when planning instruction and resources.

Using data to make decisions helps to ensure academic excellence by employing the most effective strategies available. Academic excellence is a key element of the mission of the school. Using data also helps to maximize the personal potential of each student by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each and making educational decisions based on that data.

1. Strategy #1: See Strategy 3, Activities #1-3, of Goal #1 above. 2. Strategy #2: Teachers will do peer observations of each other’s instruction to build

conversations around best practices and share effective methods. a. Activity #1: Professional development training on how to conduct peer

observations will be provided for teachers. b. Activity #2: Teachers will begin using peer observations to watch and discuss

effective instruction strategies. c. Activity #3: Teachers will share progress and successes with the School Advisory

Council and parents. d. Activity #4: Use research and data when possible to make financial decisions such

as those to purchase materials and school support supplies. Keep planning and budget information available and transparent as appropriate and beneficial.

e. Activity #5: Use the data and research gathered to seek grants to fund programs using effective instruction methods.

3. Strategy #3: Teachers will assess the effectiveness of the strategies on student achievement.

a. Activity #1: Teachers will monitor the results of assessments—both classroom and standardized. They will include assessment results in their discussions after peer observations.

b. Activity #2: Teachers will look for data to use in placing students in groups or modifying assignments. They will update this data periodically to adjust student placement and tasks as needed (i.e. some students may move up or down).

c. Activity #4: Teachers will build charts of data for longitudinal tracking as well. d. Activity #3: Teachers will use results from their data to make modifications to

teaching practices with current students and for future classes.

Goal #3: OLL will enhance its Catholic identity by more fully integrating social teaching-related SLE’s into aspects of the school. The teachers will find creative ways to post, display, and share the SLE’s in the school and with stakeholders. Students will learn them and begin to use them. Teachers will have students focus especially on the Hands portion of the motto—living Catholic social teaching by involving them in significant service work for the community. This will increase student achievement of the Hands third of the SLE’s.


The conclusion of the school’s mission statement is a push for justice in students. They cannot practice to be just if they don’t have opportunities to live it regularly. Catholic social teaching is a valuable tool in teaching justice. It is also a significant part of the SLE’s in the Hands statements. The philosophy of the school includes the need for students to live as Jesus did and to have opportunities to help others.

1. Strategy #1: Ensure instruction and knowledge of the SLE’s. a. Activity #1: Connect SLE’s to curriculum maps. Teachers will note SLE’s on the

curriculum maps they are building in either spreadsheet form or lesson planning software.

b. Activity #2: Post SLE information around the school. Find activities to engage students in learning and demonstrating them. (Student Council activities, teacher practice, periodic focus on certain ones, etc.)

2. Strategy #2: Develop community relationships to increase SLE achievement. a. Activity #1: Clearly connect the understanding of human dignity as a foundation

for the social teachings of the church. Add to/modify the religion and human development curriculum to reflect that teaching.

b. Activity #2: Find community needs to focus attention for the year. Some potential areas include the Children’s Receiving Home, young cancer patients at the Sletten Cancer Institute, the Grace Home homeless veteran’s project, St. Vincent projects, Emilie Center needs, and St. Jude ministry.

c. Activity #3: Create a plan for involvement with the project. Coordinate activities through the development department.

d. Activity #4: Encourage relationship-building activities with the parish community as well including ideas such as additional participation and help with Mass, a parish appreciation dinner, invitations to school functions.

e. Activity #5: Share progress and results with the School Advisory Council, school families, parish members, and the community at large.

3. Strategy #3: Track relevant data to measure impacts of SLE’s. a. Activity #1: Create SLE assessment tool to gather data to measure growth in

understanding of the SLE’s in the school. Include perception questions about SLE’s in all areas of school.

b. Activity #2: Gather data to determine the impact of the SLE’s implementation on the community.

c. Activity #3: Compare results of the ACRE to before and after SLE implementation.

c. Activity #3: Teachers will gather and compare assessment results from the

previous year to current results. New data will continue to be added to the shared spreadsheet.

d. Activity #4: Relevant reportable data and data use strategies will be reported to the School Advisory Council and the parents.


B. CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT AND MONITOR THE ACTION PLAN

The school demonstrates the capacity to implement and monitor an Action Plan that ensures high achievement of all students of the Schoolwide Learning Expectations, Arch/diocesan curriculum standards (local curriculum standards where Arch/diocesan standards don’t exist), and other governing authority expectations.

Our Lady of Lourdes is in a solid position to implement the goals outlined in the action plan. Stakeholders were critical in identifying the needs to be addressed and opportunities for growth and have expressed their willingness to assist in its success. Finances are a difficulty at the current time due to the transition between priests and the resulting instability in the parish. There does seem to be a shift in bringing back former parishioners to the parish which has a direct result on school funding.

Additionally, many of the resources needed are available for minimal cost to the school. Sarah Zook, Principal; and Holly Olszewski, Middle School ELA Teacher, are both former GTCC and Regional professional development providers for this region of Montana. They will be able to provide the professional development needed at no cost to the school. This is a huge cost savings. There are some costs associated with the advertising to promote the results of the teachers’ and students’ endeavors. These would need to be paid initially from the Development department’s budget, but would hopefully be regenerated through increased tuition to the school. The PR created from the advertising, combined with effective marketing, should bring in additional students.

The Principal will be largely responsible for monitoring these goals because they are so closely tied to educational practice and observation. Where possible, staff will use each other for peer observations and feedback to decrease the time commitment for the principal. OLL secured a $1000 grant from their spring fundraiser which will support enhancing the technology infrastructure and speed up the rate at which staff members can access the online storage areas needed for completing the data tracking processes. The current server storage space is adequate as well if that is the method chosen.

There will be some significant staff time needed to write the SLE assessment as well as to help coordinate the service projects. Including relevant stakeholders to help monitor and assist with the service projects will provide needed support for the teachers. It will also increase the stakeholders’ support of the school and its mission. The increased student achievement from focusing on the SLE’s to bring students attention to the conscientious pursuit of their academics while also working for justice and human dignity for all will be measurable on these assessments. It will also be measurable through decreased discipline referrals and student survey data such as that used for accreditation.

Documents

IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING - Montana Catholic …€¦ · b. the personal witness of faculty and staff to Catholic-Christian ideals and virtues. ... Mrs. Jennifer Reed Care Giver