• Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 352,802
    Student Enrollment: 560
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 19%
    White/Caucasian: 42%
    Hispanic: 30%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:18
    % Reduced Lunch: 51%
    % ELL Learners: 22%
    Founded: 1962
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lindsay Porzio
  • CONTACT:
    7600 Whittington Drive
    North Chesterfield, VA 23235
    804-560-2710
    lindsay_porzio@ccpsnet.net
Crestwood Elementary School
North Chesterfield, VA
Every day, students are ubiquitously taught the core values of our mantra, "Live the CREST, "
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Crestwood closed significant achievement gaps in every Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) reporting category. Our English Learners consistently showed growth in areas as evidenced by increases in overall English language levels on the WIDA ACCESS test.
Our greatest success is instilling a love of reading through our series reading program which has been a key to creating a strong culture of literacy. Building on our belief that students need high-interest books in their hands to be successful readers, we launched our Series Reading program in 2017. With close to 100 different series, such as Harry Potter, Pete the Cat, and Who Would Win, students have daily opportunities to start a new series or check out the next book in the group. Teachers, support staff, and administration host different series throughout the building, and each morning students travel to find favorite books. These student/adult relationships create different levels of authentic relationships in our building.


2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Monthly CREST Fest assemblies have been a huge factor in promoting positive change at Crestwood. Taking time each month to recognize, share, and celebrate our students unites us as a school dedicated to student success. Throughout every aspect of their day, students are ubiquitously taught the core values of our PBIS mantra, "Live the CREST, " and during CREST Fest students are recognized individually and collectively for their efforts. A narrative is shared recognizing each classroom's Student of the Month, CREST ticket class winners are awarded the prized CREST trophy, and students have the opportunity to share learning experiences.
Each time a student reads an entire series as part of our Series Reading program, he or she is awarded a raffle ticket. During CREST Fest tickets are drawn and students are rewarded with faculty/student stunts such as mummifying teachers, silly string fights or cracking eggs over teachers' heads. CREST Fest always ends with a unifying song or dance.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funding has supported Crestwood's success on multiple levels. Parent involvement funds have been used to purchased books for our families during our school-wide "One School, One Book" initiatives and for family literacy and math night events. At the start of the 2020 school year, we were able to purchase and distribute take home school supply bags containing various math resources, whiteboards and markers, dice, and books. ESEA funds are used to maintain our Title 1 math and reading teachers and to hire math and reading tutors to assist teachers and to provide small group instruction. The small group instruction that is funded is vital to the progress our students make. Purchasing books for classroom libraries and adding additional guided reading resources such as magnetic letters, sound cards, and sentence strips are other ways we have used ESEA funds to support Crestwood's success.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
As instruction pivoted to online learning in 2020, teachers were tasked with mastering a variety of new resources such as Google meet and our district's new learning management system, Canvas. Our Instructional Designer provided PD as staff navigated Canvas studio, and created modules and Google document assignments.
One way we have closed the achievement gap for our ELs is through continued PD in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). Classroom teachers implement SIOP strategies to enhance Tier 1 instruction and create learning objectives and lessons that meet both content and language criteria.
Ongoing book studies support teacher choice and are self-directed. Past topics include reading conferences, trauma-informed care, and reading and writing strategies for ELs. In addition to grade level PLCs, teachers in all grade levels collaborate in three vertical PLCs. Work has included improving reading conferences, building fact fluency, and evaluating our SEL programs.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
A cultural shift leading up to our school's success happened when as a school in 2016, we united for a Project Based Learning (PBL) experience to learn more about our school mascot, the Monarch butterfly. Our school-wide driving question, "how can we revitalize our greenhouse to help our community?" quickly transformed into everyone caring for live Monarchs throughout the entire lifecycle. Additional guiding questions around Monarch butterflies at each grade level facilitated a variety of experiences that infused across all curriculum areas and provided opportunities for numerous partnerships and culminating experiences which extended far beyond the typical curriculum. All of these PBL experiences allowed our students to explore innovative ways to express their understanding, knowledge, and growth. Uniting to revive our greenhouse brought us together for a common goal while at the same time gave permission to our teachers and staff to find joy again in teaching and learning.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Crestwood's PTA is active, invested in student growth, and in 2019 was awarded the PTA National School of Excellence Award. Through the many transitions of the past several years, the PTA has been the force keeping our community together and united.
During the pandemic to support our community, teachers created videos for families in both English and Spanish to help navigate the new virtual learning world. These and additional resources were added to a new school website, Crestwood Connects. Coordinated socially distant library book pickups at our school and our apartment complexes as well as routine packet and supply pickup allowed us to continue teacher-family connections. Stakeholders secured and delivered food, gift cards, and internet hot spots during the pandemic as well.
Houses of worship, our PTA, and business and community partner donations have stocked the shelves of our Care Closet. Here students can select clothes, shoes, coats, hygiene items, and school supplies.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: suburban
    Town Population: 352,802
    Student Enrollment: 560
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 19%
    White/Caucasian: 42%
    Hispanic: 30%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 6%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:18
    % Reduced Lunch: 51%
    % ELL Learners: 22%
    Founded: 1962
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Lindsay Porzio
  • CONTACT:
    7600 Whittington Drive
    North Chesterfield, VA 23235
    804-560-2710
    lindsay_porzio@ccpsnet.net