• Category 2

    Selected in 2012

  • Grades: pre k - k
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 9,600
    Student Enrollment: 412
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 26%
    White/Caucasian: 53%
    Hispanic: 20%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 68%
    % ELL Learners: 20%
    Founded: 1993
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Elizabeth Conaway
  • CONTACT:
    8609 Third St
    Lincoln, DE 19960
    302-422-1650
    econaway@msd.k12.de.us
Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center
Lincoln, DE
We provide monthly family workshops and family events to engage our parents. The monthly family workshops target reading, math, or parenting strategies. Teachers provide "Make and Take" activities for parents to use at home with their children.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
We provide monthly family workshops and family events to engage our parents. The monthly family workshops target reading, math, or parenting strategies. Teachers provide "Make and Take" activities for parents to use at home with their children. In addition, some of the monthly activities include art, music, and performing arts programs. All of these activities are free to parents and at least partially funded with Title I funds.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Our top two goals for the next year are:

1. To expose 100% of the kindergarten students to all math common core standards and have 100% of students meet them. To do this, there will be a focus on number sense. Number Talks will be embedded in daily math instruction during small group differentiated math time.

2. To have 100% of students writing connected sentences about a topic.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Morris ECC provides small group differentiated reading and math instruction daily to every kindergarten student. The staff uses diagnostic data to group children within the classroom. A teacher, a para-professional (funded from Title I), and a reading tutor (also funded from Title I) provide small group support. The teacher uses research based instructional strategies to provide targeted instuction. The para-professional uses research based intervention programs and the reading tutor provides instructional support in reading and math work stations.
Identify the professional development activities you use to improve the teaching portion of the teaching and learning process.
At Morris ECC, the staff reads professional development books to increase their knowledge about best instructional practices. For example, the staff read the books "Differentiated Reading Instruction" by Sharon Walpole and "Talking, Drawing, and Writing" by Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe. Together, the staff discusses these books and plans how to implement these strategies into instruction. In addition, professional learning communities meet weekly for 90 minutes to discuss curriculum, instructional strategies, and ensure consistent planning. Currently, there is a huge emphasis on understanding and being knowledgable about the Common Core Standards.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
There are several changes to school cuture that have been made since I arrived at Morris ECC three years ago. First, differentiated instruction for every student is a non-negotiable. Data is used to group children according to his/her instructional need during the designated block of reading and math instruction. Second, there is now consistency between each kindergarten classroom. There are minimum number of minutes for each curriculum area that teachers must instruct. In addition, all children are held to high expectations and standards.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2012

  • Grades: pre k - k
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 9,600
    Student Enrollment: 412
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 26%
    White/Caucasian: 53%
    Hispanic: 20%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:22
    % Reduced Lunch: 68%
    % ELL Learners: 20%
    Founded: 1993
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Elizabeth Conaway
  • CONTACT:
    8609 Third St
    Lincoln, DE 19960
    302-422-1650
    econaway@msd.k12.de.us