• Category 1

    Selected in 2019

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 549
    Student Enrollment: 163
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 77%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 6%
    Other: 15%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 48%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1967
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Doug Hayman
  • CONTACT:
    58231 Sterling Highway
    Kasilof, AK 99610
    907-260-1345
    dhayman@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Tustumena Elementary School
Kasilof, AK
We must have "Trust, Vision, Skills, Resources, Clear Payoff, Action plan, and Shared Values/Beliefs" in order to succeed and move forward as a group.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
All students are screened periodically throughout the year during the fall, winter, and spring benchmark periods. We meet with the “I-Team” which consists of the classroom teacher, intervention teacher, special education resource teacher, speech language pathologist, gifted-talented teacher, school psychologist, and principal.We discuss the progression of each student’s learning based on classroom performance and benchmark testing data. Students performing at or above level and students in Tier I are served by the classroom teacher, but may also receive help from an instructional aide that is working with other students in the room. A Tier II or III student may receive additional services in or outside of the classroom from our Title I teacher, Intervention Teacher, Special Education teacher, available aides, or other teachers using a varied schedule. This is all part of our belief that we are a community of educators and each student is the responsibility of all staff members.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Tustumena encourages parents and community members to be involved in our school goals, activities and classrooms. Our school site council makes decisions about important school issues. The Parent-Teacher Organization holds fundraisers, hosts community events, purchases classroom resources, and pays for field trips and bussing. We also have a Boys and Girls Club housed in our building that helps families in our community by providing students with after school tutoring, homework help, and a hot meal. Parent involvement is also an integral part of the Title 1 program. In the fall, our Title I committee creates a Building Level Parent Involvement Action Plan to outline activities for the coming year and decide what goals will be focused on.
Once each semester all teachers schedule individual conferences with each family to discuss student progress. Title 1 teachers discuss student Personal Education Plans and to outline goals, expectations, and individual progress for each student.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Using "The Change Matrix" (developed by "The Center for Educational Effectiveness, Inc.") we analyze every change proposed and initiated all the way through to success. I have found it to be the one tool in my 29 years of experience that works 100% of the time. This tool can help plan change and if used inversely, can analyze where plans go wrong and how to fix them. If we were to change as the wind blows, we would likely not make any meaningful progress and if we were to change only after we have seen others change, we would never lead. Every change, be it a schedule change or an entire curriculum change, is checked against this tool. We must have "Trust, Vision, Skills, Resources, Clear Payoff, Action plan, and Shared Values/Beliefs in order to succeed and move forward as a group. I forget who the famous American was that said, "Be careful not to lead your troops from so far ahead that you become confused with the enemy," but he was right.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Always to increase student learning and to increase student understanding of meaningful use of technology.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
It is simple but not easy. We hire and then nurture excellent, caring, intelligent adults. It is EXTREMELY rare for a teacher to leave Tustumena until they retire. We work together to create a culture that make this a great place to work because we make a difference.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
During the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years, Tustumena focused on two different components of the Personalized Learning “Core Four”: Data Driven Decision Making, and Student Reflection and Ownership. This greatly affected our ability to serve our students by providing a clear picture of where the student was at based on benchmark and classroom performance data, and this helped create a guide for teacher instruction based on students’ needs. By offering more time for students to reflect on their progress and incorporating goal-setting meetings with students, they are able to connect to the content more and take ownership of their learning, which encourages greater interest and performance.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Tustumena had a full time Title 1 teacher, 1.5 interventionists, and a 0.25 Gifted/Talented position. Part of the intervention time was used to support a large first grade class to ensure a strong foundation for beginning readers. Half of the Title 1 position was used to support pre-academic skills in preschool children while the other half was used to support reading skills in Kindergarten through 2nd grades for those students with benchmark scores below the 25th percentile nationally. The G/T teacher provided enrichment interventions to help push high-achieving students. Most teachers provided additional challenges to students in the classroom, using programs such as IXL and differentiated reading lists with more challenging literature to compliment interventions done by the G/T teacher. In summary, Tustumena Elementary School was able to achieve exceptional levels of growth because it prioritized targeted interventions for students on both ends of the achievement spectrum.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Tustumena has had the opportunity to implement Personalized Learning, and this has guided most of our professional development for the last two years. We have had the privilege of working with EdElements, a company with expertise in Personalized Learning. They were able to host trainings to district staff and teachers about the importance of the “Core-Four look fors” as well as provide teaching and feedback opportunities by coming into the schools and observing teachers and interacting with students. Tustumena teachers have also been focusing on a new testing program, MAPs, and have been broadening their knowledge base through trainings held by the district. New teachers at Tustumena also have the pleasure of working with a wonderful mentor teacher who offers advice, curriculum and classroom management support, and opportunities to observe veteran teachers.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Over the past two years, Tustumena Elementary School has prioritized high-fidelity academic interventions for students needing Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic supports in both reading and math. While Tier 3 interventions were always done in the small group setting, Tier 2 interventions were also done in small groups, where student engagement could be maximized.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Our culture is very positive. We have a wide socio-economic range within our community. Many households struggle while others are quite successful in oil and fishing industries. Regardless of class, they are all very supportive of this school. To improve this culture we reach out to bridge the gap between families. We invite and welcome, all families to attend events, volunteer in the classroom and on field trips. These families then see each other as equal stakeholders in the future of the community by supporting 100% of the children. A small example is our pre-school snack making time. Our PTO supplies materials and Pinterest supplies the ideas to manufacture fun snacks for the pre-school students. Once a week for 15 minutes all parents, with no regard to income, come in and make a fun snack. Parents talk and laugh with each other while they focus on making something nice for their child. The atmosphere of Tustumena nurtures this culture and it spreads throughout the community.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2019

  • Grades: pre k - 6
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 549
    Student Enrollment: 163
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 77%
    Hispanic: 1%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 6%
    Other: 15%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:16
    % Reduced Lunch: 48%
    % ELL Learners: 2%
    Founded: 1967
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Doug Hayman
  • CONTACT:
    58231 Sterling Highway
    Kasilof, AK 99610
    907-260-1345
    dhayman@kpbsd.k12.ak.us