Building Collective Efficacy: What process did your school take in developing your School Growth Plan?
Through out the 2022/2023 school year, our staff and school community worked collaboratively to review the BC Education Curriculum and District Strategic Plan. The purpose of this review was to renew and revise our school growth plan in order to meet the needs of our current learners. While reviewing school data, through the lens of our students' needs and their stories, our team determined key focus areas and aligned our school goals with the District Strategic Plan with a focus on Student Success, Leadership Excellence and Community Connections.
Evidence-Informed: What data is driving your goal(s)?
Hillview Elementary is a school that values social emotional wellness and mental health and well-being. We recognize how these factors contribute and impact the overall academic growth and success of our students. As a school team, we consistently analyze our school data based on multiple sources such as EDI, MDI, PM Benchmarks, ELP, FSA's and student created school-wide wellness survey. The data review and on-going conversations and observations serves to inform our practice, and helps to determine our next steps in supporting the growth and achievement of each of our students.
Student Success
keyboard_arrow_downStudent Success To provide many pathways for all students to pursue and achieve desired outcomes.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
- Improve literacy and numeracy
- Close the achievement gap
- Enhance early learning experiences
- Improve middle grade success and transitions to high school
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
Our staff have been working on deepening their understanding of current "best practices" for each student, pivoting to be responsive to each child's unique strengths and areas for growth. We will improve student achievement and well-being through high quality instructional practices. -Current literacy resources and strategies such as the Shifting the Balance, Heggerty, UFLI, Rhyme Magic, Adrienne Gear, Secret Stories, Author visits, Rhyme Magic, inquiry-based learning, guided reading, interactive read-aloud, whole and small group instruction, shared reading and writing tasks, -Current numeracy resources and strategies such as number talks, vertical surfaces, making thinking visible, open-ended math tasks, reasoning routines, choral counting and counting collections, mini lessons, whole/small group conferring, math apps (iXL) - Staff employing a variety of responsive literacy and numeracy strategies, including the use of technology, Reggio inspired instruction, Flexible Learning Environments, Inquiry-Based Learning and Culturally Responsive Practice. - Data informed tools such as Early Learning Profile, Numeracy Screener, PM Benchmarks, street data, FSA, - Working with the early learning support teachers in the class - Residencies with the learning coordinators - All teachers engaged in a year long Community of Practice that focused on 5 key areas - Early leaning, Middle years model, Writing instruction, Social Emotional Learning, and Inclusive practices - Embedded professional development during staff meetings with learning support team - Book clubs focused on literacy and numeracy instruction - Developing a deeper understanding of the BC Education systems recently released Learning Pathways models - Extra Curricular events and clubs (Monthly math challenges, chess club, reading club, Battle of the Books) - Support and intervention provided through discretionary teachers and reading volunteers (Reading Together Literacy Society) - Making literacy and numeracy relevant by inviting family members into the classroom to share careers, to be mystery readers and through place-based learning such as field trips within the community
Reflections & Results:
Students are engaged in setting personal learning goals for literacy and numeracy through conferring with teachers and parents throughout the year. Students are able to reflect on their growth and development and identify their strengths and stretches throughout the school year. Hillview staff continue to create and engage in responsive and inclusive literacy and numeracy teaching and assessment practices. Literacy: In reviewing our end of the year 2023/2024 literacy data, our results indicate that over 55% of our students in kindergarten to grade 7 are proficient or extending in literacy. Hillview continues to align with the district averages for literacy as seen in the data charts below. Numeracy: In reviewing our end of the year 2023/2024 numeracy data, our results indicate that over 65% of our students in kindergarten to grade 7 are proficient or extending in numeracy. Hillview continues to align with the district averages for numeracy as seen in the data charts below.
Next Steps:
Hillview staff will continue to respond to the needs of our students and monitor and analyze various sources of data for literacy and numeracy. Our school has been allocated a 0.3 FTE discretionary staff member to help support and improve the literacy skills of our students. Additional data from standardized reading assessments and district-based numeracy screeners further support our next steps of targeted intervention and classroom practice. For 2024/2025 school year, we will focus on decoding, reading comprehension and written expression and for numeracy, we will focus on counting sequences, partitioning and operations and fractions. Being able to communicate thinking in literacy and numeracy will also continue to be a key focus area.
Leadership Excellence
keyboard_arrow_downTo empower all staff to contribute to organizational excellence in the service of student success.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
- Embrace effective school governance
- Improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness
- Align facilities to support long-term student success
- Ensure that technology is accessible, functional, and supports learning
- Cultivate positive staff experiences, supporting professional growth and wellness
- Maximize transportation efficiencies focusing on learners and environmental impact
- Enhance evidence based decision making
- Increase strategic engagement with internal and external partners
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
Hillview Elementary believes that creating a positive learning environment for our staff and students is a key foundation of building a successful school. The mental and social well-being of our students, staff and community partners is of utmost importance and priority. We will ensure that all members of our school community have voice and choice in their learning and development. Students: - Social Emotional Programs for students embedded into classroom instruction (e.g., Open Learning) - Hillview Hero school-wide, shared expectations in classroom, on the playground, in the hallways, at lunch, in washrooms and during assemblies. - HERO tickets that recognize and reinforce the core competencies of communication, thinking, personal and social skills - Peer Leaders – lunch room monitors, student morning announcers, equipment monitors, playground monitors - Learning Resource Centre that is open and available to all students as a place to reset and regulate throughout the day - Clubs and committees that support inclusion and mental health and well-being (e.g., SOGI and You Matter club, Culture and Diversity Committee, Beading Skills in the Welcome Room) - Response to incidents and behaviour that is supportive, fair and restorative - Monthly school virtues highlighted daily during announcements - Monthly Assembly celebrating students and their demonstration of school virtues - Buddy classes - Positive and mindful routines and practices - Enhance mental health and wellness services for students Staff: - Collaborative Communities of Practice for staff based on professional interest and growth - Professional learning for staff (e.g., EASE training, Trauma-Informed Practice, Restitution, CPI) - Weekly Core Team meetings and School Based team meetings to meet individual needs of students - Open Parachute in 9 classrooms - Four Teacher residencies in 2023/2024 school year - High number of staff dedicated to coaching district sports - Enhance mental health and wellness services for staff
Reflections & Results:
Our Hillview team is working hard at building strong leaders in our school. We continue to have many intermediate students involved in leadership activities, and younger students are noticing and learning ways that they too can be leaders at Hillview Elementary. This year our intermediate students collaborated with staff to create a mental wellness survey that was administered to all students from grade 3 to 7. The questions focused on belonging and connection, safety and well-being, student choice and voice and culture and diversity. This important street data provided critical information about the everyday experiences and feelings of our Hillview students. This data, along with data from the EDI and MDI, will continue to be used to guide responsive practice, inform decision-making and support social emotional learning at Hillview.
Next Steps:
For the 2024/2025 school year, our team will work with the district counselling team to develop a comprehensive school wellness framework that focuses on character strengths and how to apply and maximize personal strengths in all areas of life. Our aim is to celebrate individual differences, increase confidence, happiness, positive relationships and reduce stress and anxiety.
Community Connections
keyboard_arrow_downTo build strong relationships amongst all community members in the service of student success.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
District Strategic Plan
- Commit to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
- Fulfill our public responsibility to Indigenous communities: First Nation, Metis, Inuit.
- Comit to the BC Human Rights Code - an environment free of racism, biases, and all forms of discrimination
- Increase collaboration between community, regional, provincial, national, and global partners
Actions: What will we do to support all learners?
The Hillview Elementary community is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and welcoming space for all our learners and community members. We work in collaboration with our community partners and commit to creating an environment free from racism, bias and discrimination. -Place-based learning opportunities allowing students to explore and experience community events and locations -Connections and responsibility to the land (e.g., composting and recycling programs) -Community organizations and events within the school (e.g., NOYFSS, Reading Society Volunteers, Young Entrepreneurs, Pen Pals with Seniors, Learn to Ride Bike program) - School community events (e.g., PAC Hoedown, Spring Carnival, Mug and Muffin, Christmas Concerts, Movie Nights, Salvation Army Food Drive, Senior Care Packages) -Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation by embedding Indigenous ways of knowing into all aspects of teaching and learning -Music program and Music Sharing with a strong Indigenous lens -Deepening student and staff connections and understanding about the Four Food Chiefs -Work alongside the district Anti-Racism team to increase our understanding of the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan -Oral Language Traditions reflected in classroom literacy instruction -Honouring Orange Shirt Day, Red Dress Day, Indigenous month/day
Reflections & Results:
This year our staff and students engaged in many land-based educational opportunities in our community that allowed students to develop a deeper appreciation of the land. As a school community, we believe in a specific set of core beliefs and values that highlight what it means to be a Hillview HERO. A Hillview HERO is Helpful, Respectful, Engaged and has an Open heart and Open Mind. The First Peoples Principles of Learning and environmental stewardship are integral to being a Hillview Hero. This year, students and staff continued to collaborate with community partners and deepen their understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and learning.
Next Steps:
Hillview will continue to make strong connections with our local community and seek out unique, meaningful opportunities for our students to develop respectful relationships with the land. Our staff and students understand that we are still have work to do with regards to anti-racism and First Peoples Principles of Learning.