• Category 1

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 400
    Student Enrollment: 67
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 2%
    White/Caucasian: 97%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 1%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:8
    % Reduced Lunch: 42%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1920
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Jeff Larson
  • CONTACT:
    201 3rd St E
    Finley , ND 58230
    701-524-2420
    jeff.larson@finleysharonschool.com
Finley-Sharon Elementary School
Finley , ND
"Our communities of Finley and Sharon are very proud of our students, staff, and school community."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Finley-Sharon is a small rural school located in Finley, ND. We currently serve 67 students in grades PK-6. Finley-Sharon has a fantastic, dedicated team of educators and administrators who have the best interest of kids at heart. Our staff builds strong relationships with our students and strives to meet the needs of our students. We are extremely fortunate to have a low student to teacher ratio which allows us one to one learning time with struggling learners. Our parents and community members are very supportive of our school.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Our school's success is a result of our teachers and support staff working diligently each day to make all students better. Each day we work to meet the needs of every child. This commitment to each student increases their chances to become the best version of themselves. They feel they can be successful because their education is valued and students feel valued.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funding allows us to continue working to close the achievement gap because we have the qualified staff we need to reach all students. We have a Title I teacher and reading coach who can spend their time working with the individuals and small groups. We have been able to hire additional support staff to help implement needed interventions.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
I believe our journey started years ago with multiple professional development activities that all staff participated in. We work with our Regional Education Association to help bring needed PD to all staff. We will continue to work and develop our MTSS process to help identify and provide the needed interventions for our struggling learners.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
The shift came a few years ago when we started looking at data to help identify the real areas of weakness in our educational program. We have traditionally scored well in state assessments so we wanted to find the one or two areas of needed improvement. We need to continue building our MTSS process to help reach all struggling learners.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Our communities of Finley and Sharon are very proud of our students, staff and school community. Our parent teacher conferences are attended at a high rate each year. We are consistently above 95% parent/guardian attendance. When needed, volunteers are never hard to find within our families and community members. The local patrons value education and have always made sure Finley-Sharon Public School is well served by the communities of Finley and Sharon.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2024

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 400
    Student Enrollment: 67
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 2%
    White/Caucasian: 97%
    Hispanic: 0%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 1%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:8
    % Reduced Lunch: 42%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1920
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Jeff Larson
  • CONTACT:
    201 3rd St E
    Finley , ND 58230
    701-524-2420
    jeff.larson@finleysharonschool.com