• Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 2
    Student Enrollment: 282
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 28%
    White/Caucasian: 54%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 16%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:12.5
    % Reduced Lunch: 55.9%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1955
  • PRINCIPAL:
    William Miller
  • CONTACT:
    9275 Ironsides Rd
    Nanjemoy, MD 20662
    301-753-1761
    wmiller@ccboe.com
Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School
Nanjemoy, MD
One of our goals was to increase the involvement of positive male role models in our school.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School has a variety of programs specifically designed to create a strong community environment. Working with our Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) and parent liaison, we structure all new programs or refine existing programs based upon their input. Yearly, all parents complete an additional survey where they share their opinions on their vision of the school and what programs they would like to add.
We provide summer reading and math training for parents during other community events and our parent liaison provides trainings throughout the year to parents and grandparents so they can support their children at home. Our Math and Stem Night teaches parents how to help their children at home with math. We also incorporated a Family Game/Behavior Night where we discuss with parents the importance of taking the time to connect and to play games with their children and learn behavior strategies that they can use at home with their children.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
One of our goals was to increase the involvement of positive male role models in our school. Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy developed a strong Watch D.O.G.S. program that brings fathers or significant father figures into the school on a weekly basis. The Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program is designed to increase parental involvement of fathers and father figures in the school setting.
We do not have many businesses in our rural community. We rely on stakeholders from various churches our community serves. We sponsor a Pastors’ Breakfast every year to build community connections. We invite representatives from local churches to meet with us to strengthen the partnership between community and school. We discuss ways that churches can support the school by providing mentors, donations, etc. Churches provide food for our Backpack Program so we can send food home weekly to families in need. This gives our school the opportunity to network with stakeholders and reach out to our students.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School’s top two goals for the following academic year are:
1. We will continue to use what we have learned from our data to improve academic achievement through instructional practices that put students and families first.
2. We will provide students with a safe, positive and engaging learning environment.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
ESEA funds have been used to provide teachers with professional development dealing with student engagement. Each year we have a set focus in ether math or reading and provide teachers with the necessary trainings to help build their own capacity to ensure students and teachers are performing at their highest levels.

Title I funds have been used to provide retired teachers who are employed as tutors and additional instructional tutors to work with groups of students. These additional staff members provide research-based interventions or enrichment activities to students.

Parents provide input on Title I spending. We provide summer reading and math training for parents during different community events and our parent liaison provides trainings throughout the year to moms and grandparents who need help at home. We hold a Family Reading/Art Night to celebrate One Book One Mt. Hope. Our Math and Stem Night teaches parents how to help their children at home with math.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Our school has a strong commitment to academic excellence, community support, a staff that does not believe that poverty determines a child’s potential, and relationships with stakeholders are what make MHES successful. The instructional team develops practical instructional plans that teachers can incorporate immediately into their daily instructional practices and then continue to build their capacity throughout our weekly WISP (Weekly Instructional Support and Planning) and professional developments. We have offered differentiated learning opportunities for teachers around formative assessment based on their own needs. Success criteria, learning targets, and feedback have been areas of focus as we build both teacher and leadership capacity around the formative assessment process. Some specific professional developments we have implemented are Next Steps in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson, Teaching Student Centered Math by John Van de Walle, and Three Act Tasks by Graham Fletcher.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Teachers are an integral part of school improvement planning and instructional decision making at Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School. Our teachers truly believe that all children can learn and be successful. Team leaders meet frequently with the administration to give input on school and academic decisions. The Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) meets with teachers weekly during WISP (Weekly Instructional Support and Planning) meetings to provide staff development and to plan for instruction.
Data utilization meetings are used to identify students needing support, enrichment or remediation. Flexible grouping is discussed at weekly ILT meetings. Rich discussions about using data to improve academic achievement occur within these meetings. Plans for increasing student achievement are developed and implemented.


Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 2
    Student Enrollment: 282
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 28%
    White/Caucasian: 54%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 16%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:12.5
    % Reduced Lunch: 55.9%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1955
  • PRINCIPAL:
    William Miller
  • CONTACT:
    9275 Ironsides Rd
    Nanjemoy, MD 20662
    301-753-1761
    wmiller@ccboe.com