Title: ALIXMAC SCHOOL EDUCATION PLAN
1ALIX-MAC SCHOOLEDUCATION PLAN
Where no hurdle is too big to overcome.
November , 2006
2Alix-MAC School Who and What We Are
Vision
Learning and Growing Together
Mission
Alix-MAC is dedicated to promoting a learning
environment using innovative and collaborative
educational practices. All stakeholder groups
are committed to creating a culture with high
standards and expectations for all learners
reflected through appropriate levels of
accountability.
3Alix-MAC Demographics 05-06
- Teaching Staff
- Principal Mr. Rod Phillips
- Assistant Principal Mr. Travis Wessner
- ECS Mrs. Sara Graves
- Gr. 1 Mrs. Michelle LeBouthillier
- Gr. 2 Mrs. Stacey Sim (Leave)
- Miss Kandace Turnbull
- Gr. 3/4 Mrs. Tracy Chalmers (Leave)
- Miss Jackie Hirney
- ACOL Gr. 3/5 Mrs. Karen Stoupe-Trigg
- Grade 5/6 Mr. Jeff Strong
- ELAC/Resource Ms. Krista McDermand
- Gr. 7 Mr. Wade Rolles
- Gr. 8 Mr. Mark Richter
- Gr. 9 Mr. Russell Clemow
- Gr. 10 Mr. Mike Pitt
- Gr. 11 Mrs. Tammy Shapka
- Gr. 12 Mrs. Teri Lynn Amundson
- Music/Band Mrs. JoAnne Henry
- Support Staff
- Mrs. Elaine Moulton Secretary
- Mrs. Helen Olson Secretary
- Mrs. Terrie Huff Librarian Clerk
- Mrs. Laurie Clements Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Eleanor Henderson Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Dawn Huseby Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Janet Stanyer Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Jackie Healing Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Michelle Johnson Special Needs EA
- Ms. Jill Hillman PUF EA
- Mrs. Jean Siemens PUF EA
- Mrs. Jennifer Fournel PUF EA
- Ms. Carla Heintz FSL/W
Denotes new staff or change in assignment
4Alix-MAC Demographics 06-07
- Teaching Staff
- Principal Mr. Rod Phillips
- Assistant Principal Mr. Sean Madill
- ECS Mrs. Sara Graves
- Gr. 1/2 Mrs. Michelle LeBouthillier
- ACOL Gr. 2 Miss Keri Properzi
- ACOL Gr. 3 Miss Kandace Turnbull
- ACOL Gr. 3/4 Mr. Jeff Strong
- Gr. 5/6 Mrs. Karen Stoupe-Trigg
- Resource/Gr. 5 Sc. Mrs. Cheryl Heimdahl
- ELAC/Resource Ms. Krista McDermand
- Gr. 7 Mr. Wade Rolles
- Gr. 8 Mr. Mark Richter
- Gr. 9/AISI Mr. Travis Wessner
- Gr. 10 Mr. Mike Pitt
- Gr. 11 Mrs. Tammy Shapka
- Gr. 12 Mrs. Teri Lynn Amundson
- Music/Band Mrs. JoAnne Henry
- Support Staff
- Mrs. Elaine Moulton Secretary
- Mrs. Helen Olson Secretary
- Mrs. Terrie Huff Librarian Clerk
- Mrs. Laurie Clements Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Eleanor Henderson Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Dawn Huseby Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Janet Stanyer Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Jackie Healing Special Needs EA
- Mrs. Michelle Johnson Special Needs EA
- Ms. Jill Hillman PUF EA
- Mrs. Jean Siemens PUF EA
- Ms. Carla Heintz FSL/W
Denotes new staff or change in assignment
5Alix-MAC Demographics 05-06
- Student Enrolment
- ECS 20
- Gr. 1 14
- Gr. 2 22
- Gr. 3 11
- Gr. 4 13
- Gr. 5 12
- Gr. 6 11
- Gr. 7 16
- Gr. 8 24
- Gr. 9 19
- Gr. 10 35
- Gr. 11 23
- Gr. 12 14
- Total Students 234
6Alix-MAC Demographics 06-07
- Student Enrolment
- ECS 18
- Gr. 1 14
- Gr. 2 17
- Gr. 3 24
- Gr. 4 14
- Gr. 5 15
- Gr. 6 13
- Gr. 7 13
- Gr. 8 20
- Gr. 9 30
- Gr. 10 23
- Gr. 11 37
- Gr. 12 25
- Total Students 263
7Results
Britny Martens Great Kid Award
Britnys efforts to fundraise for the Kidney
Foundation is an example of the great kids and
work that goes on in the school. Britny is only
one example of the good things that go in this
school and the good students/people that make up
the school. As a result of the work of all
involved with the school, Alix-MAC truly is a
great place, full of great people.
8Concerns
- Working with inadequate funding
- Continued offering of senior high CTS courses
through a partnership with Lacombe Composite High
School and Genders Beauty Salon - Staff stability from year to year
- Difficulty of recruiting and retaining qualified
teachers with the need for specific expertise eg.
Sr. High Math/Sciences - Continuing to achieve success with combined
classes in elementary grades - Working to split senior level core courses
without creating conflicts with students who wish
to take Fine Arts and other non-core courses - Being able to timetable students to courses with
teachers in front of them rather than having to
set them up with Distance Learning modular
instruction - Stretching of assignments for teaching and
support staff to meet the needs and program
requirements of our students - To improve academic results and to instill a
desire in the students to do their best and
strive to achieve to their maximum potential - To continue to provide a holistic educational
program for our children/students while under the
challenges of a rural school - Addressing career and post-secondary education
opportunities. This can be dealt with through
the implementation of our new initiative of
setting up a Career Center in the school.
However, this will also necessitate taking a
teacher from another program area to work in this
area. - Alix is a community in transition. There is a
change in attitude as new people move into the
area but changes also bring about issues. We
have received a lot of negative publicity about
the village in both the newspapers and radio and
we need to work hard to ensure that we, as a
school, do not get caught up in this negativity.
We must continue to work proactively with the
community for the benefit of all stakeholder
groups. With our efforts, we can change the
negativity of Alixs growing pains towards a
positive outlook which will be attractive to new
families which may help our school grow in
numbers.
9Trends and Issues
- Current Trends and Issues derived from
Satisfaction Surveys - Parent Responses
- Satisfaction rates continue to be positive. They
indicate that parents feel - The school has a safe and welcoming atmosphere
- They have opportunities to be involved in school
decision-making - The School Council plays a meaningful role
- Help and support is provided to students
- The school promotes physical activity, health and
wellness - Satisfied with the overall quality of education
provided to students - Improvement necessary in the areas of
- Number of programs available to students
- A need regarding further commitment to improving
student learning (improvement from last year but
still could be further addressed) - Way discipline is handled (improvement from last
year but still could be further addressed)
10Trends and Issues (contd)
- Student Responses
- Satisfaction rates continue to be positive. They
indicate that students feel - Welcome and safe at school
- Cared about by staff and other students
- They have more access to information about
post-secondary opportunities (grade 10-12
students) - Improvement necessary in the areas of
- Learning opportunities needing to be more
interesting and meaningful - Having a greater variety of learning activities
- Being involved with decisions affecting their
student life (grade 10-12 students) - Providing more programs
- Staff Responses
- Satisfaction rates continue to be positive. They
indicate that staff feel - The school and jurisdiction is a good place to
work - Positive in the way people are welcomed when they
enter the school - Parent involvement and School Council is
important and meaningful - Positive about the involvement of parents within
the school community - Opportunities to use technology is helping
provide more powerful learning environments - Improvement necessary in the areas of
- Decision-making process within the school
11Alix-MAC School P.D. Plan
- Our Professional Development Plan will focus on
helping us to deal with our goals for the school.
Parts of each PD day will be devoted to our
Professional Learning Teams and to bring in
presenters to deal with the issues of school
culture, professional learning teams and
assessment for learning. - August 31st Discuss issues from last year
Satisfaction Surveys Lenciones The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team (summer reading) - September 1st Stiggins Book Classroom
Assessment for Student Learning - October 6th -Review and Input on School Ed.
Plan-Mission/Vision Reflection - -Introduction to AISI and identifying curricular
essential outcomes - - Lenciones The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
PART I - November 30th, December 1st, December 2nd
Leading for Learning Conference in Red Deer - January 30th Stiggins Book Classroom
Assessment for Student Learning - Part 1- Principles of Assessment for Learning
and Assessment Quality-Chapter 3 - March 5th Stiggins Book Classroom Assessment
for Student Learning - Part 2 Assessment Methods
- May 18th Stiggins Book Classroom Assessment
for Student Learning Planning for the end of
the current year as well as the next school year.
Part 3 Communicating Assessment Results- - At all PD Days, time will also be allocated for
wellness, team building (AISI) PLT time. - as a staff, we will also need to make up 11
extra hours due to the Earned Days Off. Some of
this time will be used from the extra hours of
the Leading for Learning conference. The
remainder will be used with plt meetings to be
held after school hours.
12GOAL 1 - Building a culture unique to our school
- To analyze and create a more effective culture
unique to our school, with assessment and student
learning as its focus. We will try to
incorporate this within a theme of dealing with
students through - Trying to limit combined grade settings or doing
so in the best interests of students and student
learning - Special programs to meet student needs
- Off-site courses (Cosmetology at Genders Hair and
Body Co., Mechanics and Fabrication Studies CTS
course at LCHS, students at-risk at our
off-campus site at the Alix Youth Center) - Implementation of an Inclusion model for our
Special Needs students to be a contributing part
of our regular school classrooms - Striving to timetable and retain programs highly
desirable by our students and community (e.g.
Art, Band, wide range of Athletics for Junior and
Senior High students) - Promoting exploration of alternative career
pathways through Green Certificate and R.A.P.
programs. - Invitation of Mirror Grade 7 and 8 students to
attend Alix-MAC and take an Introductory Band
complementary option class (11 students in
attendance) - We currently run the Alix Pre-school program out
of our Kindergarten room. In this manner, we are
able to have the students make a smoother
transition from pre-school to our school when
they officially enter it as a Kindergarten
student. This also allows us to build a
partnership with the Village of Alix and
especially our FCSS Program. - Having senior high students involved in the
Connections 25 program. This will allow a group
of students to accrue 4 CEUs but, more
importantly, to have these students learn more
about prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination,
etc. and work together to implement a school-wide
project that will deal with these types of
issues. Cost of the program will be covered by
the school but we hope that this type of program
will continue on and be self-sustaining due to
interest and self-efficacy.
13"The Special Educator"
When I see a child...I see possibility. And I
remember that differences are the qualities which
make us unique. Mistakes should be accepted
and acknowledged as opportunities to learn and
grow. When I see a child who is frustrated,
it reminds me to quiet myself, listen
and remember that learning can be hard
work. Defiance teaches me patience
and understanding. Stubborness gives me insight
into a child's fears, and tells me how scary it
is to try new things. When I see a child who is
angry, I am sensitive to their fragility and
the complexities of their lives. Loneliness and
isolation give me opportunities to reach out and
be a friend. When I see a child...I see
resiliency, and that gives me hope. I may never
know the impact of my influence, so I am
encouraged to open my heart and give freely of
myself.
by Colleen Nabata
14GOAL 1 - Building a culture unique to our school
Critical Evidence
- Working in partnership with the Village of Alix
(Xmas tree decorating, building of the Bull,
written articles for Pride in Alix, student
representation to Village Council)
15GOAL 1 - New Learnings/Discoveries
- Survey results indicate Staff and students want
to be at this school and that there are good
things going on in the school. Through our
efforts we need to prove and readily show that - We are committed to our school, our students and
our community - helping with the Village Bull, Christmas
trees, playground set up - promoting and supporting new programs
Connections 25 Administrative support to staff
supporting Student Council and School Council
ventures - We are committed to improving the school
- Setting up thoughtful and meaningful Professional
Learning Teams and topics - Looking at and acting on results of satisfaction
surveys - We need to recognize the diverse needs and skills
of our students and staff - Setting up teaching/working assignments based
upon the strengths of the staff members - Setting up Career Center for easier access to
information by students - Make students aware of who they are to see for
specific issues (counseling, timetabling,
testing) - We need to recognize staff and students for their
many accomplishments and the good things they do
for both the school and the community - Awards assemblies and nights articles and
pictures in the local paper SPUR Awards - Recognition of accomplishments both in and out of
the school - We need to continue to offer a holistic program
to the students, including a wide range of
academic (core and complementary) and athletic
(extra-curricular and intramural) opportunities - This goes hand-in-hand with out struggle to find
our identity. We need to continue to offer - the programs the students need, as well as
to continue to look at other - avenues/partnerships to offer those
courses which we do not have the facilities for - (Cosmetology at Hair Salon, Mech. and Fab.
St. at LCHS)
Graduate, artist, athlete, motocross racer
16GOAL 1 - Reflections
- We are a school struggling to find its identity
- Many in the community view us as a Fine Arts
school because of the programs and instructional
expertise we can offer in the areas of Art and
Band. - Yet, we also run a good athletic program and are
competitive with many larger schools in
activities such as volleyball, basketball, rugby,
soccer, badminton and track and field. - Further to this, we also have some students who
have come out of our school with strong academic
skills - Finally, we have a number of students who have
excellent leadership skills and have been
exemplary models of good citizens within the
community as well as student leaders in providing
Alix-MAC School with a positive and enthusiastic
school atmosphere - Our task is to find a way in which we can blend
all these skills and talents into our school
whereby all can gain from them without having to
choose one over the other. - Students have changed their views whereby they do
want to be here and they do enjoy coming to
school in Alix.
17Celebrations
Jump Rope for Heart
Elementary Awards Assemblies
Talent Night
Trochu School Band
Special Events
18Celebrations
MAC-Idol
19Celebrations
Hypothesis
Science in Action
Observations
Learning and putting theory into practice can
really be FUN!
Conclusions
20Celebrations
21Celebrations
22Celebrations
23Celebrations
We are ALL Champions!
24GOAL 2 Developing Meaningful PLTs
- To have staff members become involved in
developing and contributing towards meaningful
and effective Professional Learning Teams. These
plt topics will fall under the umbrella of
assessment for student learning and focus on our
Vision/Mission statements. - We have readily demonstrated the aspect of
bringing fun back into the school, now we need
to raise the bar and focus on the academics as
well as the fun stuff.
25GOAL 2 Developing Meaningful PLTs Critical
Evidence
- Assessment for Purpose, Meaning and Reporting
- Staff attendance at Leading and Learning
Conference - Look towards creating student portfolios
- Look towards moving to Student-Led
Interviews/Conferences - Working within confines of AISI Initiative with
overlying focus being Assessment for Learning - AISI facilitator Travis Wessner
- Essential outcomes of Math and Language Arts
courses. The initial focus will be at the K-6
level. More flexibility will be allowed at the
Junior/Senior High levels, but they will have to
meet with the elementary people to build a firm
foundation from K-12. - Creation of rubrics to be consistent between the
divisional levels (Div. I-IV)
26GOAL 2 New Learnings/Discoveries
- There is room for improvement in our teaching
which will hopefully result in better academic
results. - New ways of doing things may help us with
bridging the concerns of our education between
all stakeholder groups. Assessment techniques
and more effective reporting strategies will be a
focus for this year. We will explore the
possibility of implementing - Student portfolios
- Student-led Interviews/Conferences
- We have some excellent expertise on staff which
we will need to tap into in order to move towards
assessment for learning. - People are starting to work in a much more
collaborative environment and are looking to work
collaboratively with others (eg. Buddy groups
with computers or reading, extra-curricular
activities between and involving multi-grades -
swimming program, field trips, programs involving
other schools, especially Mirror for music and
athletics)
27GOAL 2 - Reflections
- Moving towards a new Mission/Vision will cause us
to look at changes in the way the school has
operated for many years - Collaborative and team teaching across grade
levels and perhaps even across divisions - New ways of assessing student achievement (report
cards) - New ways of reporting student assessment
(portfolios, student-led conferences) - Continuing to be in contact with the home on a
more regular basis in order to build a stronger
commitment to our students (phone calls, letters,
possible failures contacts) - Look at the entire staff in a team concept all
working for a single and unified purpose as
opposed to a number of groups all doing their own
thing - Flexibility of teaching/working assignments based
upon the needs of the students and the numbers of
students we have in specific grades. Working to
our strengths and not necessarily to our comfort
zone. - Listening to new ideas and breaking with
tradition if it is good for education and kids
(moving to fall graduation as opposed to spring
commencement) - Accepting new transient members and their ideas
into our teams. ACOL and people on term
contracts must feel a part of the school team no
matter when they got involved or for how long
they will be staying. - Professional readings of educational literature
will be a must to keep up to current trends and
findings - Using the expertise of our own staff members to
reinforce what we are attempting to do and ensure
that what we are promoting will work for us and
not just giving lip service to the divisions
mandate of assessment for learning - Professional Development focus on a school-wide
basis as opposed to individual interests (Leading
for Learning conference where all will attend, PD
school plan to focus on assessment as its
umbrella topic) - Incorporating goals of PLTs into teachers
Professional Enhancement/Growth Plan - Working towards the understanding and successful
implementation of the Wolf Creek Public Schools
7 Cs as they pertain to the school and the
division as a whole - We did have a good start on PLT's last year, but
had to make some adjustments with the changing
AISI focus. However, the theory and rational
behind why PLT's are important are understood by
staff despite the change. There has been a dip
in enthusiasm by staff toward PLT's because of
the change. Another change or further ambiguity
of PLT direction/AISI outcome (year 1) could
de-rail PLT's at our school.
28GOAL 2 Professional Growth Plans
29Celebrations
30GOAL 3 Improve academic results
- Our focus will be to improve our academic results
and to promote the importance of academic
achievement in the school and community.
Classroom instruction
Cooperative Learning
Independent Learning
31GOAL 3 Academic Responsibility
32GOAL 3 Improve academic results Critical
Evidence
- We continue to be a work in progress. Our
results are still not acceptable to what we want
them to be. Some of this may be attributable to - Turnover in staffing (non-retention of new
teachers due to budget cuts, ACOL positions for
one year or less, teacher transfers and fitting
in to the school/community culture) - New assignments and stretching personnel to
cover the course needs which often exceeds their
level of expertise (combining senior Math and
Science from 1.5 fte. to 1.0 fte.) - Combined class settings not conducive to large
classes, especially in the area of Math at the
grade 10 level for combining both Pure and
Applied courses - Issue of PAT tests, especially at Grade 9 level.
(apathy by students, floating cut scales by AB.
Education, teaching to tests) - Senior High students setting their sights too low
by shooting for the 100 CEU amount and risking
failure if they do not pass all courses - Overall, 2005-2006 was not a good year for us
academically. - Results in PAT tests at grade 3, 6 and 9 levels
were not good. Grade 3 results, which have
historically been very good were down, Grade 6
results were mediocre and Grade 9 results, with
the exception of Social Studies, were not strong. - Results of the Diploma Exams were low, especially
at the higher academic 30 levels - Grade 12 completion rate was down substantially
from the previous year. - High number of student failures, especially in
Grade 10 Math, Pure and Applied - We will need to address this issue in a serious
manner for the 2006-2007 school year.
33Results Provincial Achievement Tests June 06
Areas of Concern
Positive areas
34Results Provincial Achievement Tests June 06
Areas of Concern
Positive areas
35Grade 3 PAT Trends - History
36Grade 6 PAT Trends - History
37Grade 9 PAT Trends - History
38Diploma Exam Results 2006
- Diploma Exam Results June 06
- English Language Arts 30-1
- Total Number Writing 17
- Acceptable Standard 10
- Standard of Excellence 0
- English Language Arts 30-2
- Total Number Writing 0
- Acceptable Standard 0
- Standard of Excellence 0
- Social Studies 30
- Total Number Writing 0
- Acceptable Standard 0
- Standard of Excellence 0
- Social Studies 33
- Total Number Writing 1
- Diploma Exam Results January 06
- Chemistry 30
- Total Number Writing 5
- Acceptable Standard 1
- Standard of Excellence 0
- Social Studies 33
- Total Number Writing 3
- Acceptable Standard 2
- Standard of Excellence 1
- Social Studies 30
- Total Number Writing 3
- Acceptable Standard 1
- Standard of Excellence 0
- Diploma Exam Results June 06
Grade 12 Credits and Completion Rate Completion
Rate 9/13 students 69 Average Number of
Credits for Grade 12 Students 99 Range -
High 118 Low - 78
39GOAL 3 - Reflections
- With the use of Videoconferencing, perhaps we can
improve instruction by - Offering courses we might not normally be able to
(e.g.. Math 31) - Being able to split our combined classes (e.g.
Chemistry 20/30 Physics 20/30 Math 30
Pure/Applied) - We will plan to offer two courses this current
school year - - Physics 20 Periods 7/8 Semester 1
- - French 13 Periods ½ Semester 2
- We must keep in mind that with new initiatives
and plans always come the performance dips. To
do this properly and in an effective manner will
take time for all to get on board and for a true
sense of ownership to be taken by all stakeholder
groups. - Over the past two years, we have worked very hard
to create some hooks to hang our hats on. At
that time, the school was in need of a drastic
change of atmosphere. The school was viewed as a
non-desirable place to work and a school students
did not want to attend. Student enrolment had
dropped substantially as had staff morale. With
a great deal of effort and support by all, the
school has become a place where staff and
students now enjoy attending and coming to school
to work and learn. Parents feel welcome and all
groups feel positive that the school is a good
place to be and that it has the means to continue
to improve. Staff collegiality and collaboration
has grown which will allow us to take the next
step, that being to focus upon academic
improvement and growth. We continue to work to
improve our relationships with school, parents
and community. Professional duties and
responsibilities are carried out to ensure that
we work hard to make Alix-MAC the best place it
can be and to support our vision of Learning and
Growing Together.
40GOAL 3 - New Learnings/Discoveries
- Constant teacher turnover and shifting in
assignments has taken a toll on the quality of
instruction being given our students. As well,
ineffective teaching from the previous year
created some very serious problems for our senior
high students, especially in the area of math.
These problems are being dealt with and
corrections are being made, but it will take some
time before this damage has been overcome. - Perhaps the most important highlight to come
out of these results is the fact of knowing that
what we are presently doing is perhaps not
working as well as we may believe. Thus, the
move to a focus on assessment may be a timely
venture for us. - We will try to correct our problem areas by
- Moving into greater use of our Accelerated Reader
program at the elementary level and then moving
towards the junior high level - Implementing Reading 15 and Reading 25 courses at
the grade 10 and 11 levels in order to have the
students do more reading in an effort to improve
on this much needed skill - Looking to split our large class sizes in the
senior high Math and Science areas - Better counseling of senior high students as
to program and course choices. A number of
students seem to be taking programs which are
either too difficult for them (eg. Math Pure
instead of Math Applied) or not necessary for
their potential career needs. Our Career Center
may help with this problem. - We need to focus on what is important and
continue to do our best for all those associated
with our school and community
41Celebrations
Graduation Ceremony 2006
42Celebrations
Student Achievement Recognized at Awards Night
43Celebrations
Student Achievement Recognized at Sports Awards
Assembly
Athletes of the Year
Elem. House League Basketball
Sr. Badminton Team
Sr. Boys Basketball Team
1st Ever Senior Girls Soccer Team
44Celebrations
45Celebrations
Accelerated Reader Program
Educational Field Trips
46In Alix-MAC, We Pride Ourselves on Being
Team Oriented
Positive and Enthusiastic
Goal-setters for practicing life long learning
47Raising the Bar at Alix-MAC