• Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: 3 - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 13
    Student Enrollment: 85
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 6%
    Hispanic: 93%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:23
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 9%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Thomas Sanchez
  • CONTACT:
    421 Union Street
    Las Vegas, NM 87701
    505-426-2701
    thomas_sanchez@wlvs.k12.nm.us
Union Street Elementary School
Las Vegas, NM
Our success has to do with our staff and their endless efforts to serve the students.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
Success is evident through the initiated and strengthened activities that tie the community and our school working collaboratively with community Musicians, Artisans, and Historians. Through this process, our Bilingual Cultural Program has enhanced student, parent, and staff ties to cultural traditions to unify student academics within the community and school culture. Student, staff and community members present art, music, and historical performances during our monthly PAC, (Parent Meetings). Students are able to visit historical sites within the city to experience the past and present of our history.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
One of the most recent and successful alliances our school has made to initiate and strengthen ties in our community, is with The Armand Hammer United World College. College students from all over the world work with our students. They offer the ability to reteach, model, challenge, and enhance student learning. Currently, the United World College (UWC) is offering three programs; Tutoring, Robotics/Coding and Engineering. Our vision at Union is to inspire and explore through meaningful learning by incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, linking ethnic and gender gaps sometimes found in math and science fields. It is our hope to increase the roles of women and minorities in STEM-related fields. Working collaboratively with the UWC, creates real-world application, making learning meaningful.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Our school philosophy at Union Street Elementary is that all children are unique and must have a stimulating educational environment where they can grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It is our desire to create this type of atmosphere where students can meet their full potential. We provide a safe environment where students are invited to share their ideas and take risks. Teachers incorporate hands-on learning, cooperative learning, projects, themes, and individual work that engage and activate students learning.
Students are encouraged to be critical thinkers and self-advocates. Instilling a passion for learning, will inspire and guide students to become independent, responsible, and compassionate members of society. Students have the opportunity to achieve their maximum academic potential in school and in their future education, while developing confidence, skill, and character.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
Union Elementary has the reputation of being a school that strives for academic success. We would like to maintain that high level of standard not only for next year but for years to come. The dynamics of our school will change and become a 5th grade transitional school to prepare our elementary students for Middle School.
Our main goal next year is to continue to utilize Response to Intervention (RtI), and various instructional strategies to engage our students and help close the achievement gap among 5th grade students. We would like to see the percentage of students showing growth and students reaching proficiency in reading and math increase significantly.

Our second goal is to implement a strong Positive Behavior System and establish a Peer Mediation group to help students deal with behavioral issues. We want to build on an already positive school culture in which students can focus on academics and not have to worry about the pressures of their social environment.

What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
Unity and teamwork is the single most important factor for the great success at our school. Our vision and focus is to provide the most challenging, yet enjoyable atmosphere for learning. We are a group of colleagues who became friends and are now family. We support and encourage each other. We learn and benefit from each other’s learning. We are not afraid of challenge; in fact it is our greatest motivator. The difference between success and failure is a great team!
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement is Response to Intervention (RtI). RtI done daily with time dedicated to provide intense intervention. Students are aware of their goals, while tracking their progress. In addition, the use of Istation provides individualized tailored lessons that focus on individual goals. Students are progress monitored monthly and teachers use the data to redirect lessons as needed.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
The Title I funds are used to provide a part-time Reading Interventionist and parental involvement. The Reading interventionist is on site, two days per week, helping improve reading skills such as comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and text fluency. Parent involvement funds are used for SPTO/PAC meetings, to purchase books for parent/student activities, and also to provide planners for parents to communicate with teachers on a daily basis about their child. Title I funds are also used to provide for homeless or disadvantaged students the basic essentials to attend school on a regular basis. We will also connect the families with resources in our community for food distributions and utility deposits. Title I also provides help to foster parents to reimburse parents/guardians to transport students to and from school. When funds are available, summer program/school is provided for students in most need of remedial services.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
Our staff uses methodology for effective professional development to improve teaching and supports student learning. High-quality professional development creates space for teachers to share ideas and collaborate in their learning. Coaching and expert support includes the sharing of expertise about pedagogy, content, knowledge, and practice. Highly effective and exemplary teachers share their specialized knowledge as facilitators of group workshops or during Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings. Another incorporated component learned during professional development, is offering feedback and reflection. Built-in time for teachers to think about, receive input on, and make changes to their practice by allowing reflection and feedback. Feedback offered through analysis of lesson plans, demonstration of lessons or videos of instruction, which also provide opportunities for reflection.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
To ensure all students achieve, teachers systematically and routinely use data to guide instructional decisions meeting individual students’ learning needs. PLC (Planning Learning Community) weekly collaboration among teachers contributes to each step of the databased inquiry process, maximizing the benefits of data driven instruction. Teachers share effective practices, adopt collective expectations for students’ performance. To improve teaching practices and student growth for all learners, our school advocated for the complete software program and resources for our current Istation Short Cycle Assessment. This curriculum provides flexible teacher tool supports, diverse instructional approaches, including small- and whole-group instructional settings. With the use of the following strategies; formative assessments, data led instruction, personalized data profiles, school-to-home connection, and professional development added student success and achievement was demonstrated.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
The success of Union Street Elementary has to do with our staff and their endless efforts to serve the students. The best teamwork comes from individuals working toward one goal, with the same vision. Collaborating weekly has promoted unity. All staff members bring something unique to each child’s educational experience. We all have one thing in common, high expectations. As staff, we make no excuses and uphold the same level of expectation from our students. Although there is every opportunity to make an excuse, excuses are inexcusable. We are a focused and highly effective/exemplary group of instructors who work together to achieve, what most would think is impossible. We contribute individual commitment to a group effort, which is what makes our efforts work effectively and exceptionally.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." --Henry Ford
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: 3 - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 13
    Student Enrollment: 85
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0%
    White/Caucasian: 6%
    Hispanic: 93%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:23
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 9%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Thomas Sanchez
  • CONTACT:
    421 Union Street
    Las Vegas, NM 87701
    505-426-2701
    thomas_sanchez@wlvs.k12.nm.us