• Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 10,648
    Student Enrollment: 254
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 25%
    White/Caucasian: 67%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 75%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1950
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Amy Moss
  • CONTACT:
    900 N. Ramseur Street
    Kings Mountain, NC 28086
    704-476-8000
    srfisher@clevelandcountyschools.org
North Elementary School
Kings Mountain, NC
If parents can't come to us, we go to them. Our staff makes over 100 home visits a year to share student progress, relay concerns, gather information about our students and families, and connect with families to resources needed to overcome barriers to learning.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
At North, we are dedicated to working with parents and our community to ensure all our students learn. We hold special sessions to give parents support with homework. Our Title I staff hold quarterly parent events. We also partner with local restaurants to coordinate monthly Spirit Nights where families and school staff can fellowship and build a stronger support system for our students. In addition to calls, newsletters, and weekly progress reports, teachers work tirelessly to communicate with parents about student progress. We have parent conferences before school, at lunchtime, at night, over the phone, via Skype, or even via text message. We provide parents with transportation to conferences as needed. If parents can't come to us, we go to them. Our staff makes over 100 home visits a year to share student progress, relay concerns, gather information about our students and families, and connect with families to resources needed to overcome barriers to learning.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
North Elementary strives to establish and maintain unique partnerships between our school and the community. There is no single, most important community partnership at our school. We have many valuable ties in the community. We use every connection in the community possible to help support our students. Our school has partnered with local churches to provide a Backpack Ministry for students in need. Each week the local churches deliver backpacks full of food for students in need. These backpacks are distributed at the end of the day each Friday to select students. Seventy-five percent of our student population receives free/reduced lunches; therefore, we partnered with the local churches to ensure students have food to eat on weekends. We also partner with the local Junior Charity League to provide a Clothing Closet for our students in need. We believe in meeting the needs of students inside and outside the school setting.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
I believe in distributive leadership in our school. Teachers should have input and a direct impact on decisions made throughout the school. I believe in empowering teachers and trusting them to make good, sound educational decisions based on student needs. Involving teachers in the decisions that lead to change in the school is imperative in the success of school improvements.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
We plan to continue to focus on student growth. We will continue to analyze data to provide targeted, differentiated instruction for each student. We will also maintain focus on meeting the needs of our students inside and outside the school setting.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
I believe the single most important factor in the success of our school is the level of expectation of all our students by the entire staff at North Elementary. We do not accept excuses for anything less than an individual student's best work, effort, and behavior.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The curriculum and students’ needs drive our instruction. Teachers select instructional materials to best address students’ needs and curricular goals. The key to success is the quality, engaging lessons our teachers plan together and deliver to make the best use of every instructional moment. We continue to support students beyond the school day through our extensive after-school tutoring program to ALL in need. Our master schedule includes a one hour “WIN” (What Individuals Need) intervention time. During this time, all students have their individual needs met. During this time, identified students receive EC, Speech, AIG, ESL, Title I services while other students are grouped based on common needs in order to receive research-based small group interventions in reading and/or math. This schedule ensures students do not miss core instruction and receive additional interventions to help remediate students in needed areas.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
We use Title I dollars to fund our Title I teacher and paraprofessionals along with needed materials. The teacher and assistants spend their entire day working with fluid groups of struggling students. Title I funds are also used to purchase needed intervention materials for regular classroom teachers to use during our daily one-hour intervention block.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
At North, we determine whole-group and individual staff development needs by examining data from our end-of-year measures of student learning (EOG state assessments, DIBELS assessments, K-2 math assessments, TRC, and Curriculum Based Measures), as well as teacher input on staff development needs from our end-of-the-year staff survey and the NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey.
We participated in Dr. Pat Cunningham’s Reading Comprehension Workshop last year. We arranged to have Dr. Cunningham come to our school for a one-day intensive reading training. To continue to target student needs, we are implementing a year-long Guided Reading training based on Jan Richardson’s The Next Step in Guided Reading. The school Curriculum Technology Coordinator provides on-going staff development. This better assists teachers as they implement newly learned strategies in their classrooms.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
At North Elementary we administer benchmark assessments to all students three times each year. After each assessment, teachers meet during common planning time to have data discussions with the Curriculum Technology Coordinator and administrator. Data is used to drive instruction and create targeted interventions to be used during the daily one hour intervention time. After summative state assessments, teachers meet with the Curriculum Technology Coordinator and administrator to analyze data and plan for the upcoming year. We also use formative assessments to drive instruction daily.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
At North Elementary we are a genuine school family! Teachers, assistants, and support staff work closely together to ensure student success. Our special area teachers are superb at integrating what students are learning in the regular classroom into their class (art, music, physical education, media, etc.). In our school all staff think of each student as their own student and work to ensure the safety and education for each student. Our staff participate in team building activities outside of school as well. We have a school-wide positive behavior program called Positive Paws where students earn paw prints for displaying good manners and for following rules/procedures. Each grade level has a common goal to reach each month in order to earn the Positive Paws reward for the month. All staff members distribute these paws to students.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2014

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 10,648
    Student Enrollment: 254
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 25%
    White/Caucasian: 67%
    Hispanic: 2%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 75%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1950
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Amy Moss
  • CONTACT:
    900 N. Ramseur Street
    Kings Mountain, NC 28086
    704-476-8000
    srfisher@clevelandcountyschools.org