Description of School

Montview Elementary is a four track, year-round school serving approximately 860 students in grades K-5. Montview serves a diverse and highly transient student population. In the 1996-97 school year, Montview had a transiency rate of 126%, the highest in the district.

Demographics

Student Racial/Ethnic Composition:

46% Hispanic

27% African American (not of Hispanic origin)

21% White (not of Hispanic origin)

5% Asian or Pacific Islander

1% American Indian or Alaska Native

LEP Students: 42%

Number of Languages: 9

Qualify for Free/Reduced Price Lunch: 77%

Receive Special Education Services: 13%

Background and Goals

Montview began its restructuring process five years ago as the regular education, Title I, Special Education, and ESL staff and administrators explored ways that would effectively meet the needs of its diverse student population and high-concentration of low-income families. Literacy was chosen as the thrust of restructuring based on the belief that the practices of teaching and learning developed through literacy would benefit the rest of the school curriculum.

Professional Development Design and Implementation

• Partnership with the "Literacy Learning Network." Using a model that parallels the literacy instruction and staff development in New Zealand, Montview has institutionalized a range of practices that integrate professional learning into teachers' daily work lives. Teachers participate in weekly coaching sessions with a teacher leader, and through analysis of student data, reflect on their practice and develop future goals.

• Quarterly Reviews. The entire staff has adopted a philosophy of "no excuses;" each teacher is responsible for improving the academic achievement of all students. Periodically, each teacher discusses the progress of his/her students in the areas of literacy and mathematics with a leadership team: an administrator, the teacher leader who is the presenting teacher's coach, and a team of specialists who support students in the teacher's class. These quarterly reviews serve several purposes: they provide the presenting teacher with opportunities for improved teaching strategies; they provide the overall support team with a focus for coordinated efforts; they provide the coaches and administrators with data for planning professional development programs; and they allow the administration to monitor the progress of students on a classroom-by-classroom basis. This system supports the school's transient student population by enabling Montview to provide a receiving school with useful information about a student.

• Restructuring Use of Title I Funds. Montview has redesigned its Title I allocations to support its professional development. Title I funds pay for teacher leaders, who coach other teachers, and for education specialists, who are assigned to assist teachers in classrooms based on the number of high-risk students.

Objective Evidence of Success

Montview utilizes multiple assessments to track student achievement. Classroom teachers maintain student monitoring notebooks in literacy and mathematics, which include observations and examinations of student work. Data on standardized tests show increased achievement; according to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, average scores in reading, language, and math have increased, and data on the Riverside Integrated Language Arts Performance Assessment, administered to every fourth-grade student in the district, showed a virtual elimination of gaps in performance between white and non-white students.

Contact Information

Montview Elementary School
Jane Dooley-Stuart
Assistant Principal
2055 Moline St.
Aurora, CO 80010
(303) 364-8549
(303) 340-0735 (fax)
janeds@montview.aps.k12.co.us

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