COUNTRY SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
First Graders enjoy snowshoeing during PE class, February 2013
Country Elementary School
Weston, Massachusetts
April 25, 2013
Third Graders create a scavenger hunt for other classes at the Library’s Weston 300 exhibit
Country School Core Values
We want all of our students to be:

Caring for each other,

Curious about learning,

Confident in themselves,

Competent in what they know, can do and understand.
Country School Council Membership 2012-2013
Faculty: Tom Flaherty-Dawson, Katharine O’Dell
Parent Representatives: Joy Federico, Kent Lundberg, Resh Ramulkan, Denise
Wilson-Joutras, Katie Young
PTO Chairs: Robyn Ewald, Kristen Kenney
Community Representative: Laura Sher
Chair: Christine Price, Principal
I. Overview
It had been another busy year at Country School! Once again, the weather kept
us guessing, with Hurricane Sandy visiting us in October and more snow than
we expected in the late winter and early spring. Despite Mother Nature’s
surprises, this has been a highly engaging, exciting year in the school, from our
weaver in residence, to our new engineering studies, to our return to the
DeCordova Sculpture Park, to our Spring Concertn “tour” at the High School,
our learning community has worked together to develop and strengthen
foundational academic and social skills, fostering communications and
connections to Weston and the wider world
.
II. Membership
The Country School Council membership welcomed seven new members, as
some parents of graduating Third Graders stepped down and our faculty
representatives’ terms of service expired. Joy Federico, Kent Lundberg, Katie
Young, and Resh Ramulkan joined us, as did Kristen Kinney as our PTO cochair. New faculty representatives are Tom Flaherty-Dawson, our Integrated K
teacher, and Katharine O’Dell, our Literacy Specialist. Returning members
included Robin Ewald, PTO Co-Chair and Denise Wilson-Joutras. Our new
members brought fresh energy and perspectives to the Council’s monthly
discussion meetings.
II. Meetings
School Council meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of the
month from 3 to 4 p.m.. The Council scheduled nine meetings during the 20122013 school year, though one of our meetings had to be cancelled due to an
urgent meeting for Dr. Price.
The meeting dates were as follows:
October 17, 2012
January 9, 2013
April 10, 2013
November 12, 2012
February 13, 2013
April 24, 2013
December 12, 2012
March 13, 2013*
*cancelled
May 29, 2013
A Third Grader builds a robot as part of our new digital engineering unit
Goals Work for 2012-2013:
Initiatives, Outcomes, and Recommendations
In May of 2012, the School Council set goals for the 2012-2013 school year,
focusing on four major areas of school life: Academics, Facilities and Conditions
for Learning, Communication and Community, and School Climate. We opted to
set fewer, more specific goals for this year, with the fervent hope that having a
narrower focus would help us successfully achieve them.
Below is the summary of our progress over the year, and recommendations for
goals for the 2013-2014 year to come.
 Academic-related Goals:
Goal: Support communication re: Progress Monitoring, year 2
 Working with Amber Bock, Grade Leaders, and Curriculum Specialists,
faculty continue to use tools to inform instruction; discussions currently
underway regarding sharing progress monitoring data with parents
Actions taken: Teaching teams spent the second year of our Progress
Monitoring initiative refining assessment techniques and data analysis, both
individually and in teams. Discussions over the year focused on avenues to
share data collected with parents at regular intervals. Most importantly,
teachers became more adept at using their findings to focus direct instruction.
Responsible Parties: Country School faculty, Christine Price, Amber Bock,
Grade Leaders, and Curriculum Specialists
 Goal: Analyze MCAS results from Spring 2012 and appropriately plan interventions
 Results used to inform instruction, test readiness strategies, and collaboration
with Curriculum Specialists
 SPARK initiative continued in Spring of 2013
Actions taken: As we did with our 2011 results, the Country Third Grade team
worked closely with the Curriculum Specialists in analyzing the results of the
2012 MCAS to enhance instruction and pilot new strategies to address
specific areas of academic concern. We saw improvement in our Math scores
in particular between 2011 and 2012; ELA saw slightly better performance
across the scores. Giving children many opportunities over the year to see
MCAS-type questions, and to refine approaches to open-response questions
proved very valuable, and we hope that will be reflected in the 2013 scores.
We continued with our SPARK- inspired physical activity before all tests; on
an anecdotal basis, children felt more energized and confident about taking the
test when they had exercised just before it.
Responsible Parties: Third Grade team, Jason McCarthy, Christine Price,
Curriculum Specialists, Amber Bock
 Goal: Create resource guide for parents on social curricula at Country
 Social Curriculum coffee presented by Amy Black and Christine Price in
February 2013
 Guide to be published in Fall of 2013
Actions taken: In response to parent interest in 2012, our School Counselor
and Dr. Price presented an informational coffee for parents on our Social
Curriculum, detailing how our Open Circle program dovetails with Social
Thinking and Responsive Classroom strategies we have implemented. A small
but enthusiastic turnout suggested having it at a different time of year may
lead to increased participation. There is clearly interest in social curricula and
fostering pro-social behaviors in the early elementary years, and we will
schedule at least one coffee focusing on social skills next year. The guide for
parents will be published on-line, with the hope that it will be available for the
grade-level forums in October.
Responsible Parties: Amy Black, Christine Price, Grade Leaders
 Communication and Community-related Goals
Goal: Publish Monthly Newsletter on-line
 Slated to begin May of 2013, continuing into 2013-2014
Actions taken: This goal was solely Dr. Price’s purview, and unfortunately,
was not realized. This goal will be carried forward into 2013-2014.
Responsible Parties: Christine Price
 Goal: Hold periodic informational coffees throughout the year
 Coffees held in December and February
 Well received by small but enthusiastic audiences, will continue in 2013-2014
Actions taken: As noted above under our Academic Goals, the opportunity for
parents to meet and have informal conversations-- sometimes related to a
specific topic, sometimes not—was well received. Our December
conversation followed the sad events at Newtown, and offered parents the
opportunity to reflect and share their concerns about their children’s safety. It
also gave the staff the opportunity to review the district (and building)
response to the tragedy, and the projected security upgrades the district needed
to make. Having meetings with a flexible agenda ensured that timely
concerns or ideas could be addressed; we are planning to schedule at least two
coffees in the next school year.
Responsible Parties: Dr. Price, Amy Black, PTO Chairs
 Facilities and Conditions for Learning-related Goals
 Goal: Expand school garden, partnering with Food Services
 Trial raised bed affected by hostile weather; new raised beds planned for
2013-2014 with grant from CLGC
Actions Taken: We piloted a raised bed for squash, to be harvested for use in
our Cafeteria, but the dry, hot weather adversely affected the crop. After much
discussion and consultation with Asta Garmon, our Healthy Foods consultant,
we have made a new plan for 2013-14, which will involve better soil
preparation, planting, and irrigation, with squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and
herbs as our crops. Parents and children have volunteered to care for the
garden over the summer, as was the case last year. Hopefully, we will have
some produce to share with the Kitchen come September! The Second Grade
will continue to use the garden in their Science curriculum, and integrating the
food crops into their ornamental plantings is a great extension of that unit of
study.
Responsible Parties: Asta Garmon, Christine Price, Second Grade Team,
volunteers from the community
 Goal: Dialogue with stakeholders re: maintenance of Devlin Field and Beds
 Dialogue on-going; St. Julia’s volunteers cleaned beds before Fall service
Actions taken: For the second year in a row, St. Julia’s Church has used the
Devlin Field as the site for its September outdoor Mass, and parishioners have
cleaned up the Memorial Beds prior to the service. Continuing this townschool connection has been most beneficial; the next step in terms of
community connections will be discussions with town Recreation groups who
use the space to ensure they are well-kept. Within the school, weeding has
been an intermittent recess activity for children, but the goal is that a formal
stewardship arrangement is made with a specific grade or grades. This is not
yet realized and should be moved forward to 2013-2014.
Responsible Parties: Christine Price, liaisons with St. Julia’s and Recreation,
Country School Faculty, Weston Buildings and Grounds, Jerry McCarty and
Gary Jarobski
 Goal: Explore options for indoor garden spaces
 Indoor garden space in First Grade foyer is now sculpture installation
Actions taken: In response to 2012’s Council discussions and following our first
All-School trip to DeCordova Sculpture Park, Colleen Lucas viewed the indoor
garden spaces that were underutilized and developed an installation for the space
in the First Grade Lobby. The colored tin hearts complemented the existing
ceramic heart mural on the wall; this piece cheers and invites viewers who spy it
in the Lobby. A success!
Responsible Parties: Colleen Lucas, Art Classes
 Implement Bus Buddies program
 Bus Buddies tabled until 2013-2014
Actions taken: Plans for connecting older children to younger children on our
school buses were tabled for this year, as it was Dr. Crimmin’s first year at
Woodland. We are planning to implement in the Fall of 2013, with the goal
that increased connection and familiarity will reduce negative bus behaviors.
Responsible Parties: Christine Price, Cynthia Crimmin, Matt Lucey, CS, WS,
and FS faculty to support; CS, WS, FS families
 School Climate-related Goals
 Goal: Continue to incorporate Social Thinking and Responsive Classroom into Open
Circle
 Training in Social Thinking and RC continues, School wide adoption of
common language very successful
Actions taken: Following 2011-12’s school-wide focus on the Social
Curriculum, the Country School faculty and staff continued to monitor how
social curricula instruction was generalized across the school. Including
common lessons from Social Thinking (5 point scale; expected/unexpected
behavior/ whole body listening) and Responsive Classroom (Morning
Meeting, logical consequences) ensured that there were common expectations
and language across the school. We also incorporated the R2I framework for
social development: helping children become resilient, responsible, and
independent. This was also a successful initiative, offering teachers an
opportunity to both observe and foster children’s growth in these areas.
Responsible Parties: CS faculty and staff, Christine Price
 Goal: Support enhanced Community Service partnerships
 Bristol Lodge Project continues to thrive; fully integrated with Math, ELA,
and Social Studies
Actions taken: The Second Grade team continued its expansion and
integration of its Bristol Lodge Food Drive, incorporating it into Math,
Language Arts, and Social Studies curriculum. Children sorted and graphed
food donations, met the directors of Bristol Lodge, and wrote about the project
extensively; working in teams, children regularly collected food from bins left
in each classroom, then updated their collection data accordingly. Second
Graders led the All-School Meeting that culminated in giving the donations to
Bristol. We will continue our partnership next year!
Responsible Parties: Second Grade Teaching Team, Second Grade Room
Parents
New and Good: Innovations 2012-2013:
As we do every year, we piloted a number of new initiatives in 2012-13. These included:
 New Science and Engineering Units
In First Grade, there was a new exploration of Simple Machines, this year from an
Engineering point of view. With Science Specialist Pam Bator’s guidance, the Country
First Grade team expanded the existing program to include opportunities to design, build,
and test “machines.,” as well as to explore the world of solids and liquids.
In Third Grade, children had the opportunity to work on a digital engineering unit, using
programmable Legos to build vehicles that could move in a wide variety of different
ways. Understanding the relationships among design, program, and function made the
study rich and intriguing! We will continue this program next year as well!
 Before School Fitness Program [BOKS]
Thanks to the Terry family, who moved to Weston at the beginning of the year, we had
the opportunity to work with the Reebok corporation and bring their before school fitness
program, or BOKS, to Country School this year. PE teacher Jason McCarthy led this
initiative, and, working with five other faculty members, offered a before school fitness
and physical activity program two days a week from December to June. This has been
well received and is slated to continue next year.
 Weaver in Residence
Our Creative Arts team brought a wonderful artist, Sarah Haskell, to Country for a real
STEAM experience. Children had the opportunity to learn to weave on handlooms,
standing looms, and a real 6 harness floor loom. The 4 weavings the children created now
decorate our Cafetorium, and reflect our seasonal theme.
 Taste Test Tuesdays
Our Food Services team, led by Asta Garmon, offered monthly “taste tests,” in which
children could sample new foods and vote on their favorites, with the data being used by
the Food Services department to add new menu items. Parent volunteers enthusiastically
joined Asta on designated Tuesdays to offer samples during each lunch period. Oranges,
lettuce, and kale were among the tested items this year.
 Snowshoeing in PE
Thanks to a WEEFC grant written in 2011 (when we had so much snow), we were able to
take advantage of this year’s snowfall and introduce snowshoeing as a PE activity in all
of the grades. With an energetic cadre of parent volunteers, each grade got to snowshoe at
least twice; now that the logistics have been established, we plan to offer snowshoeing
regularly once we receive appreciable snowfall next winter. Kudos to Jason McCarthy for
his leadership on this initiative.
Proposed goals for 2013-2014
Based on the work done this year and the outcomes described above the 2012-2013
Country School Council is proposing the following goals for next year:
 Academic-related Goals:




Support new learning programs that serve a range of learners [ACCESS, LBC,
Hearing Challenges}
Ensure access to curricula presented in Café and Gym spaces through
technology [Facilities]
Analyzed Spring 2013 MCAS results to assess interventions and inform
instruction
Create resource guide for parents on our social curricula
 Facilities and Conditions for Learning-related Goals:




Develop specific protocol for presenters and performers in Café and Gym to
provide greatest access to students (e.g. FM systems, video)
Assess and address sound equipment needs in Gym and Café spaces
Revisit past reports, data, and discussions re: cooling mechanisms for 2nd floor
classrooms in warm weather
Raise awareness of “No Idling” green policies in carpool line
 Communication and Community-related Goals






Publish monthly newsletter on line
Continue to hold informational coffees at regular intervals through year
Revisit discussions of parent conference schedule to explore adding a spring
conference
Develop concise resource page on website: “Who to see when you need what”
Establish monthly date for school tours for prospective parents, led by trained
volunteer parents
Expand volunteer opportunities for parents with BOKS program and tour
guides
 School Climate-related Goals:


Implement Bus Buddies program with Field and Woodland Schools
Support on-going initiatives in the social curricula
These goals and initiatives may prove to be multi-year projects. We will continue to
seek feedback from all constituencies to set priorities and address arising concerns or
issues. This year’s work has put the school in an excellent place and we are working
collaboratively to build on the firm foundation in the coming year.
Country School Council Membership 2012-2013
Faculty: Tom Flaherty-Dawson, Katharine O’Dell
Parent Representatives: Joy Federico, Kent Lundberg, Resh Ramulkan, Denise
Wilson-Joutras, Katie Young
PTO Chairs: Robyn Ewald, Kristen Kenney
Community Representative: Laura Sher
Chair: Christine Price, Principal
Addendum FYI: Country School by the numbers
Enrollment 2011-2012
Grade & # of
Boys
classes
PK 2
19
K
4
38
1
4
45
2
4
37
3
5
55
Totals
194
Enrollment 2012-2013
Grade & # of
Boys
classes
PK 2
15
K 4
43
1 4
41
2 4
46
3 4
40
Totals
185
Girls
Total
10
33
29
42
49
162
29
71
74
79
104
356
Girls
Total
13
36
38
32
44
163
28
79
79
78
84
348
Grade 3 2012 MCAS Performance: English Language Arts
Performance
2009
2010
2011
2012
Level
Above
19
25
24
26
Proficient
Proficient
55
50
48
51
Needs
24
24
23
22
Improvement
Warning
1
1
5
0
Grade 3 2012 MCAS Performance: Mathematics
Performance
2009
2010
2011
Level
Above
40
34
13
Proficient
Proficient
34
48
57
Needs
19
17
24
Improvement
Warning
7
1
6
2012
46
34
20
0
Country Schoolers enjoying the All-School Field Trip to DeCordova Sculpture Park,
March 2013