• Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 54,000
    Student Enrollment: 588
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33%
    White/Caucasian: 26%
    Hispanic: 12%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 22%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 61%
    % ELL Learners: 34%
    Founded: 1996
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Mark Bea
  • CONTACT:
    5757 East Paris Ave SW
    Kentwood, MI 49512
    616-455-4400
    Sanela.Sprecic@Kentwoodps.org
Endeavor Elementary School
Kentwood, MI
Our success is due to Strong Relationships, Instructional Programming, and Family and Community Partnerships."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
We are thrilled that Endeavor is a National ESEA Distinguished School for Michigan, specifically being recognized for excellence in Category 3: serving special populations, namely our English Learners (ELs). We attribute success for ALL students, especially our ELs, to three main focus areas: Strong Relationships, Instructional Programming, and Family and Community Partnerships. We will elaborate on Strong Relationships below and address the other factors in subsequent questions.

Establishing Strong Relationships is the foundation of everything we do. We have been a Capturing Kids Hearts National Showcase School for the past four years, and this mission is the essence of who we are. We are a family composed of amazing students and staff from all walks of life. As such, we are a destination school for multilingual learners, including new arrivals. This very special group is essential to who we are as a whole. They are not only welcomed and loved, they are family.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Our Instructional Programming is a significant contributing factor to success because it guides our multilingual learners’ education. This district-wide, shared responsibility focuses on consistent implementation of our instructional model (Gradual Release), core curriculum, and data-driven multi-tiered systems of supports. Our teachers provide scaffolding and accommodations to our ELs based on data from the WIDA, local assessments, and our student system. Designated English Language Development (ELD) instruction is based on our Language Assistance Program (LAP) mission and foundation, and it is aligned to the grade-level core curriculum. Our ELs also participate in daily pull-out ELD instruction, where specialized EL teachers use evidence-based resources to support Tier 1 academic language development. ELD staff pre-teach or reinforce Tier 1 learning and work with ELs on specific academic language targets
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
We utilize data to help us make informed decisions when it comes to best addressing our students' needs. We spend a large sum of our Title I funds on staffing to leverage the power of relationships combined with instructional programming to support students in smaller group learning, which leads to greater student achievement. We utilized Title III funding to hire highly qualified support staff who work under the supervision of our administration and EL teachers for supplemental instruction in literacy and language. In addition, we purchased Imagine Learning English Language & Literacy software to provide supplemental, computer-assisted instruction in academic English language and literacy, specifically for our ELs. Finally, we also utilized Title III funding specifically for family outreach activities to develop relationships with our multilingual families (e.g., EL Family Nights).
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
We have been focusing on best practices for our Kentwood literacy framework, which includes teaching all four blocks of it using our instructional model. Academic vocabulary is critical for the success of all learners, specifically students who are acquiring English. Activities included vocabulary PD based on the work of Michael Graves that focused on the four ways to improve vocabulary instruction. We hold grade-level data meetings to identify needs and support best practices. Improving math discourse and higher level thinking was one of the focuses in Math; this supports language development in Math. Our EL coach trains and coaches best practices and resources for ELs. Our teachers participate in learning labs and coaching cycles led by our building instruction coach. Finally, Endeavor has adopted Conscious Discipline, a social-emotional learning (SEL) program that is helping students learn to manage their emotional wellbeing.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
The multilingual learners’ education in our district has become a shared responsibility. This is one of the biggest cultural shifts that we have undergone. Five years ago, we dismantled the Newcomers Center. For the past couple of years, our students who were eligible for language services have been receiving language development instruction at their home building. We have been simultaneously focusing on sheltered instruction and integrated ELD instruction with resources to help our general education teachers accommodate and scaffold their instruction, and equally important, a daily block of time for designated ELD instruction. The EL teachers and support staff collaborate with our general education staff on instruction to keep to maintain consistency and intentionality. All educators demonstrate a moral obligation to ensure the success of our ELs and they work together to achieve this goal.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Partnerships with our community are crucial in addressing the needs of our students. The success of our ELs would be impossible without collaboration with the Refugee Education Center and other local agencies. We partner with Hand2Hand, which provides weekend meals for our students. We have held Title I nights at an apartment complex where many of our ELs live. The Kentwood Parent Academy provides to our new EL families the knowledge of various supports within our schools and in the community. In addition, our commitment to relationships-first compels us to focus on the whole child through SEL to help ELs develop skills of resilience, which in turn, help mitigate the adverse effects of any childhood trauma. Effective communication and partnership with our multilingual families are also key to our students' success. We utilize on-demand interpreters through Telelanguage, available local interpreters, and translations, along with a variety of effective technology tools.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 54,000
    Student Enrollment: 588
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 33%
    White/Caucasian: 26%
    Hispanic: 12%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 22%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 7%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:19
    % Reduced Lunch: 61%
    % ELL Learners: 34%
    Founded: 1996
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Mark Bea
  • CONTACT:
    5757 East Paris Ave SW
    Kentwood, MI 49512
    616-455-4400
    Sanela.Sprecic@Kentwoodps.org