• Numbers of 504 students
• Numbers of FARMS students
• LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students
• Special Education student enrollment
• Quarterly Assessments scores - English
• Quarterly Assessments scores - Mathematics
• PARCC Scores – Mathematics, ELA (Elementary grades 3, 4, 5)

Key Challenge #1: Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students

Since the 2014 – 2015 school year, the English Learner (EL) population at Central Elementary has consistently increased, and has risen from 2 students to 40 students.  CES students represent multiple languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, Georgian, French, Thai, Arabic, and Bengali.  Our EL students participate in the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) ACCESS assessment annually to better understand their development of English language proficiency.  The WIDA ACCESS assessment tool gauges our students’ progress in the language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  While we have seen growth in English language proficiency for students enrolled at CES, our EL student population is growing and we see discrepancies for this student group in academic assessments.  

Providing supports for international families has been a priority through our International Family Night events, which provide information on topics such as strategies to support students through homework, reading incentive ideas and community resources available.  We know that as our EL students improve their English language proficiency, their performance on academic assessments will also improve.  Our goal is to help students become more proficient and successful in school, and the CES school community continues to strengthen partnerships and collaborations to support our EL students and families. 

Key Challenge #2:  PARCC Scores – ELA, Mathematics (Elementary grades 3, 4, 5)

Our Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) English Language Arts (ELA) results indicate approximately 65% of all Central Elementary students scored in Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) 4 and 5 in ELA, with an additional 20% at PLD 3. In total,  approximately 85% of CES students scored at levels of approaching, meeting, or exceeding grade level expectations in English Language Arts.  Discrepancies in PARCC ELA results are noted for our students receiving Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS), students receiving Special Education services,  and students in our English Language Acquisition program. Deeper analysis of these results as well as AACPS Quarterly Reading Assessments reveal student difficulties with questions that have Part A and Part B responses when reading fiction and nonfiction text.  In order to address these needs, Central Elementary provides rigorous daily instruction within the AACPS ELA Curriculum as well as reading interventions at all levels.  In recent years, our staff has participated in professional development in the delivery of instruction through Guided Reading, Interactive Read Aloud, and Explicit Comprehension.  Staff has also participated in professional development on planning for higher level questioning (including Part A and Part B questions) and Advanced Learner Programs for ELA.  Furthermore, our teachers engage in instructional coaching in the use of progress monitoring tools in order to chart student progress and plan for instruction.  

Our PARCC Mathematics results indicate approximately 55% of all students scored at PLDs 4 and 5, with an additional 30% at PLD 3.  In total,  approximately 85% of CES students scored at levels of approaching, meeting, or exceeding grade level expectations in Math. Discrepancies in PARCC Math results are noted in our students receiving Special Education services and students in our English Language Acquisition program. Deeper analysis of these results as well as AACPS Quarterly Reading Assessments reveal student difficulties with questions that require to explain and justify mathematical reasoning.  In order to address these needs, Central Elementary provides rigorous daily instruction within the AACPS Math Curriculum.  Professional development and implementation of the CRA (Concrete, Representational. Abstract) instructional model has served to provide opportunities for students to have daily opportunities to draw representations of mathematical concepts and justify/explain/expand their mathematical reasoning.  Staff has also participated in professional development on planning for higher level questioning in mathematics instruction.  In order to support mathematics reasoning, our school improvement plan included the development of manipulative bins that are accessible to students throughout instruction and providing daily opportunities for students to explain and justify responses in writing.  Classes in grades 1-3 also implement flexible grouping for students during the mathematics block, while grades 4 and 5 utilize a full departmentalized model in both ELA and Math.  

Central also selected indicator 5 to increase the percentage of students that are reading on or above grade level by the end of second grade. Our current Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) trend data indicates that approximately 85% of CES second grade students are reading at or above grade level. Our School Improvement Plan focuses on increasing teacher capacity to confer with students during reading, to plan for instructional opportunities where students interact with complex text, and to plan for instructional opportunities to require students to demonstrate understanding of mathematical concepts and justify reasoning.  

• Limited English proficiency for students and/or families
• Changing Student Population
• Socio-Economic Issues (Split Families, Families in need of assistance)

• Increase/reduction in student enrollment numbers