by Mickey Smith

     JOHNSON – It was just about two years ago that Johnson Elementary School (JES) learned they had not met the requirements of the 2010 New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) testing. As a result they had been placed on the Tier 1 list and needed to make some changes.
     David Manning, who had begun his first year as principal of JES that fall, along with the schoolboard and Lamoille North administration hired consultant Ray Proulx to conduct an assessment of how the school's teaching styles handled academic needs.  From this report came a lot of ideas for change, that have since been embraced by the faculty, staff and administration.
     “It's really important to me that the teachers and staff are embracing the changes,” said Manning, “They're the ones open to these new ideas and making things move forward... they're making the changes.”
A grant was available for Tier 1 schools and the money awarded to the school was used to make the changes, including creating new positions and providing the students with new materials.
     JES is now in the second year of corrective action for reading and math and among the changes that have been made are new literacy centers designed to help students from kindergarten to sixth grade develop reading skills.  Students’ reading skills are measured in levels that are more precise than grades. Students in the same grade could be at different levels and the literacy centers help to allow instruction for the specific level.
     The students also have access to books, that are rated based on their skill level. Students’ progress is tracked, as each advances through the book skill levels. Plus, Manning said, there is a feeling of accomplishment as someone advances from one level to another.
     They have also brought in some math coaches, who are able to help teachers with planning their lessons. The two coaches float between classrooms and are able to provide an additional set of hands in the classroom. They are working to reach math benchmarks that have been created by the Lamoille North Supervisory Union which include information to be known at the end of each grade level.
    They have also brought in an education support coordinator who is working with the education support team that was already in place. Manning said this position helps make sure the team's practices are being implemented correctly.
     This team acts as a sort of safety net for students who may not be learning/getting one area as fast as they have others. He said it is designed for the students who don't have a learning disability per se, but are simply struggling in one area. He used as an example a student who may have been good at addition and subtraction, but hit a roadblock when it came to fractions. That student may need to learn some new education skills in order to understand something that doesn’t come as easy as the rest of their education has.
     “Every child hits a point when school gets hard for them,” said Manning. He pointed out for some students this comes in high school or college, but for others it can be in grade school.
     JES is also working to improve behavior at the school. They feel by rewarding good behavior, it will help make those kinds of decisions the norm and cut down on bad behavior. Expectations of how students should behave have been created and are listed around the building. When students are observed doing something that meets these expectations, they are awarded paw prints. The prints are then collected for individual, classroom and school-wide levels. The most recent level reached has awarded the students a pizza/dance party. At the time of this interview, the students were at 4,068 paw prints, on their way to the next goal of 5,000 – which will mean a school-wide movie.
     By the end of the year, if the whole school garners enough paw prints, they will go to the new water park at Jay Peak.
     They have also been improving partnerships with families, by combining teams of parents with staff members for such things as Family Math Night, which will be occurring on March 14 and the Four Winds Science program. Family Math Night gives parents a chance to see what is going on in the classroom and Four Winds brings parents and other community members into the classroom to teach science lessons.
     Manning said he is proud of the direction Johnson Elementary School is heading and has heard good things from the Vermont Department of Education regarding their changes.
     “I continue to be impressed with the work you and your staff are doing at JES on behalf of your students,” said Debora Price, ESSU School Improvement Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Education, in an email to Manning.
     Lamoille North Superintendent Joe Ciccolo said he often visits the school and sees the teachers engaging with the students. He said while his time as superintendent has come after the fact, through discussions with the Department of Education, he sees good things happening at the school and signs are pointing in the right direction.
     Manning said it feels good to know in two years they have gone from being one of the lowest performing schools to one being cited for the good work they are doing. The most recent NECAP results will be made available next month; he hopes those scores will reflect the hard work put in by the faculty, staff and students at Johnson Elementary School.