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Students begin crafting learning goals as early as second grade, and teachers meet regularly with students one-on-one and in larger groups to discuss progress. Teachers also have daily, scheduled team meeting periods which offer extensive opportunities for parent-teacher-student articulation; indeed, it is common for teacher teams to meet with two to five families per week to help foster communication between school and home.

Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.

Reilly works collaboratively with students, families, staff and the community to ensure that students achieve academic excellence. We understand that in order for all stakeholders to work toward a common goal, all must be informed as to how students are assessed and how these results are used to inform instruction. To communicate these results a number of systems are utilized.
Discussions around student performance begin between teachers and students early in their enrollment, and build with each successive year. Students begin crafting learning goals as early as second grade, and teachers meet regularly with students one-on-one and in larger groups to discuss progress. Teachers also have daily, scheduled team meeting periods which offer extensive opportunities for parent-teacher-student articulation; indeed, it is common for teacher teams to meet with two to five families per week to help foster communication between school and home. Other venues for sharing student performance information with the greater community include our school website and newspaper, gifted and talented education information sessions, and our district newsletter.
Parents and guardians, like students and teachers, have access to PowerSchool, our student information system that chronicles student grades and progress over the academic year. To further keep parents informed, family meetings are scheduled throughout the year in addition to events such as Back to School Night, American Education Week, Read-Across America Week and Family Math and Science Nights.

Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.

Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 remains dedicated to providing every student with excellent educational experiences. We have taken advantage of research-based instructional strategies including departmentalized instruction with subject specialists, differentiated instruction, elective classes aimed at unique student talents, academic and enrichment-based afterschool programs, and consistent monitoring of student progress (based on data from the NJASK, Terra Nova, district benchmark assessments, the Developmental Reading Assessment, and teacher-developed formative assessments). Our extended day schedule affords students countless opportunities across the four components of our program: academics, visual arts, performing arts, and physical education.

What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?

The Reilly Motto, “Together We Can,” exemplifies the spirit of the Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 family. A port of entry for families from across the globe, our city exemplifies the greatest challenges and the highest hopes of schooling in an urban setting. The growth and success that has been exhibited at Terence C. Reilly is a reflection of the staff's efficacious development and implementation of the school's rigorous curriculum that highlights four components: academics, performing arts, visual arts, and physical education. In addition, the collective resolve of of the students, staff, district and school administrators, parents and community member have helped Reilly achieve at high level. Terence C. Reilly prides itself in reaching out beyond the walls of the school edifice to build effective partnerships with community and national organizations. Together, these form a powerful repertoire for informing our school community about where Reilly has been, where it is now, and where we are going, together.

Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.

The Elizabeth School District demonstrates a consistent commitment to increase student achievement and prepare every student to pursue college and post-secondary success. Terence C. Reilly’s Title I plan is coordinated with district programs to support the Elizabeth District Keys to Excellence Strategic Plan. Terence C. Reilly is continually identifying resources to maximize the learning opportunities for teachers and students. These resources are utilized to create and support learning so that every student will succeed.

Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.

Reilly's definition of student achievement is rooted in the belief that all students can learn, think independently, communicate effectively, use mathematical reasoning, problem solve, and care for the community. To this end, professional development experiences are aligned to teacher’s individualized needs and specific goals around student achievement.
The professional development structures at Reilly involve the principal, district leaders, and teachers in collaborative learning opportunities that focus on the implementation of research-based pedagogical approaches and techniques in order to improving student learning outcomes. Through the melding of formative and summative assessments, teachers analyze student data and utilize the results for purposeful planning of lessons. Professional learning focuses on differentiated instruction and fostering alignment between assessment and instruction.
Professional growth occurs both incrementally during the school year through observations, walkthroughs, feedback, district workshops and more broadly through teacher- driven professional development experiences:
• District/school after-school and weekend workshops
• District-wide Institute for Teaching and Learning offers over 100 professional development opportunities per year
• Traditional coaching
• Peer coaching; peer observations
• Job-embedded training sessions;
• Professional readings addressing individual teacher needs drawn from school and district virtual libraries

Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.

At Reilly, each student is a success story! Reilly teachers and school leaders work collaboratively to provide students with excellent educational experiences, leading to positive differences in academic achievement and in the arts. Analysis of student performance data informs every aspect of instruction. The primary levers for the use and application of student performance data in instructional decision-making are: development of teacher data binders and professional goals, development of student data notebooks and personal learning goals, progress monitoring and vertical and horizontal planning.
Teacher and student data collection is the cornerstone of our instructional decision-making. Each teacher maintains a data binder of students’ NJASK scores, district benchmark data, interventions, and reflections on assessments. This data binder is utilized to identify areas of improvement for students, differentiate instruction, and develop class-wide goals which are reflected in teacher lesson plans and professional development plans. With careful review of cluster scores from state tests (e.g. comprehension of non-fiction texts, problem-solving) and focused instruction for students based on their specific areas of need, teaching and learning becomes individualized and student-centered. This process is then communicated to students, who track their own progress and develop personal learning goals. This is the basis of our instructional program.
Upon gathering and analyzing student performance data as described above, teachers and school leaders implement our progress monitoring protocol to drive student learning forward. Determination of student growth targets creates a proxy for initiating academic and social interventions, resulting in intervention blocks built into student schedules; identification of the highest-scoring 10% of students creates a proxy for initiating extension and supplemental learning opportunities.

• Category 1

  Selected in 2013

• Grades: pre k - 8
  School Setting: urban
  Town Population: 120
  Student Enrollment: 1,018
  Student Demographics:
  

  Black/African American: 13%
  White/Caucasian: 14%
  Hispanic: 69%
  Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
  Asian: 3%
  Native American: 0%
  Other: 0%
  

  Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:25
  % Reduced Lunch: 82%
  % ELL Learners: 1%
  Founded: 2009
• PRINCIPAL:
  Jennifer Cedeno
• CONTACT:
  436 First Avenue
  Elizabeth, NJ 07206
  908-436-6011
  cedenoje@elizabeth.k12.nj.us