RICHVALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARD

BIGGS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

300 B Street, Biggs, CA 95917

(530) 868-5870

An annual Report to the Community

1999-2000 School Year

Dear Parents:

The School Accountability Report is a requirement of Proposition 98, an initiative passed by California voters in

November, 1988. This is an annual report issued by local boards for each elementary and secondary school in the state. Its purpose is to provide information to parents and other interested community members about the school, its resources, successes and areas for future growth. This report contains information pertaining to the 1999-2000 school year.

LaVonne Brown

Principal

Our School Philosophy...

The staff of Richvale Elementary School believes the learning environment must be an exciting, positive, safe place where children feel free to grow and develop. This requires a well-trained staff with a clear sense of their mission in working with our children.

Students need a strong foundation in the basic skills in order to function as productive members of society. These skills include the fundamentals of reading, writing and math. Students must also acquire knowledge and understanding of science, history/social science, fine arts, health and physical education.

Our School Profile...

Richvale Elementary is one of four school sites in the Biggs Unified School District. Richvale is a rural rice-farming community located seven miles north of Biggs. During the 1999-2000 school year, our school has four classrooms, three, which are used for classroom instruction, kindergarten through sixth grade. Special education students are generally transported to Biggs Elementary.

Our ethnic diversity has remained much the same over the past year and our 1999-2000 student population is portrayed in the graph below.

CONTENTS REPORT CARD

The fourteen areas required by Proposition 98, relating to the quality of the school's instructional program, are assessed in this report card:

1. Student Achievement

2. Expenditures and Services Offered

3. Class Size and Teaching Loads

4. Teacher Assignment

5. Textbooks and Instructional Materials

6. Counseling and Student Support

Services

7. Substitute Teachers

8. School Facilities and Safety

9. Teacher Evaluations

10. Classroom Discipline and Climate for

Learning

11. Training and Curriculum Improvement

12. Quality of Instruction and Leadership

13. Student Attendance Information

14. Salary and Budget

1. Student Achievement

The mandatory Stanford 9 (SAT 9) is given to students in grades 2 through 6. This “STAR” test is an individual performance test used to measure three main subject areas: reading, language arts and mathematics. Testing is done during the eighth month of the academic school year. Beginning last school year, all California schools are involved in a 10-year reporting period, regarding each individual child’s progress in language arts and math. The staff uses this information as well as other multiple measures to assess student achievement and to identify special needs.

Because of the small sampling sizes by grade level, we are unable to report grade level ranks.

SAT 9 scores are also used by the district as one factor in determining Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) eligibility. Test results are reported to parents at parent-teacher conferences each year.

2. Expenditures and Services

Offered

Based on the October, 1999 California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) enrollment of 58 students, Richvale Elementary spent $1,131 per student for all educational services including transportation, food services, health screening, instructional materials, special programs and maintenance. This figure does not include salaries for certificated and classified staff. Richvale Elementary received a total of $19,556 in funds for supplementary educational programs for the 1999-2000 school year. The special programs offered at the school and the number of students who qualified are as follows:

No. of

Program Students

• Gifted and Talented 4

• State School Improvement

Program All

3. Class Size

Richvale Elementary has three regular education classrooms, K-6. The average teacher-student ratio in regular education was 1 teacher to 16 students.

4. Teacher Assignments

Richvale Elementary School employed three credentialed teachers. In addition to the teaching staff there were:

• 1 Administrator (shared with Biggs)

• 1 District Music Specialist

(3 periods per week)

• 1 County School Psychologist

(2 days per week in District)

All Richvale Elementary teachers were appropriately assigned, teaching in the subject area authorized by their credential. Our staff has an average of 12 years of teaching experience per person.

A 3-hour instructional aide assisted each teacher in grades K-6. Parents are also encouraged to volunteer in assisting our staff to supplement our programs.

5. Textbooks and Instructional

Materials

Quality textbooks and instructional materials are adopted by the state on a seven-year cycle. All the textbooks currently being used at the elementary school meet these standards and were selected by committees of teachers and the site administrator. Textbook monies were used this year to purchase the Saxon Math Series K-6. Teachers will be inserviced and ready to use these textbooks early in the 2000-2001 school year.

Computers are used in a variety of learning areas, with an emphasis on typing and word processing. Students in grade levels 2-6 are exposed to computers and many curricular areas are supplemented by computer software.

As a county depository library, Richvale Elementary is allotted a specified number of books each year, on loan from the Butte County Media Resource Center. The county is also a good resource for classroom materials such as films, videos, and unit reading books. The addition of research materials to our library is an ongoing priority. Since Richvale Elementary did not have a full time librarian, our library was staffed daily by a library aide for 30 minutes each day.

6. Counseling and Student

Support Services

Special needs services offered at Richvale Elementary are:

• Gifted and Talented

• Limited English Proficient

Students needing these services are provided special assistance in several ways: within their own classrooms, in a pullout setting and through individualized instruction. The special services that these students receive support their successful participation in the regular program.

Enrichment and classes for Gifted and Talented Education are offered during and after the regular school day. Both primary and intermediate students enjoy after school enrichment classes, which are designed to also meet the needs of our identified gifted and talented children. The afterschool enrichment classes, which are offered to all intermediate students, provide many different activities in areas of interest such as: sports, drama, yearbook, science fair, Spanish and research. All these classes provide avenues for students to be involved in special interest areas.

7. Substitute Teachers

When teachers are absent, it is important to hire the highest quality substitute teachers possible. The continuity and quality of the program depends on the ability of the substitute to maintain the highest level of instruction. The elementary school maintains a current list of names comprised of Butte County approved substitutes.

Substitute teacher pay at Biggs Unified is $80 per day and $160 per day after twenty days, so that we remain competitive with surrounding districts.

In addition to maintaining a current list of qualified substitutes, Richvale Elementary has developed a form designed to evaluate each substitute so that only the highest quality people are requested to substitute.

8. School Facilities and Safety

The present Richvale Elementary building was completed in 1964. All campus buildings are maintained by the District Maintenance Department with matching funds allotted by the state, using a series of five-year plans.

Each year there are safety checks by the State Fire Marshall and by our insurance carrier. The district has met all mandates to correct any safety deficiencies.

9. Teacher Evaluations

Teachers at Richvale Elementary are observed and evaluated on a regular basis by the principal. Temporary and Probationary teachers are evaluated four times a year, and our tenured teachers are evaluated four times every other year. The process adopted by the Board of Trustees and the Teachers' Association conforms to State evaluation mandates.

Teachers are provided with a variety of inservice and staff development opportunities throughout the year to improve and maintain their professional growth.

10. Classroom Discipline/

Climate for Learning

Students need to work in an environment of excellence. Within such an atmosphere, students must develop high expectations, set realistic goals and work toward mastery levels of achievement. The Richvale Elementary staff recognizes that students need to develop a respect for other students, teachers, staff, property and the educational process.

Classroom teachers review school rules and behavioral expectations with students. Rules are posted in classrooms and all parents receive a copy.

Good behavior is rewarded in a variety of ways such as:

• Incentives

• Reward movies

• Special activities

• Citizenship Rewards

In addition to rewarding good behavior, intermediate students are recognized for academic achievements through the Honor and Merit Roll.

11. Training and Curriculum

Improvement

Tailored staff development activities are essential for maintaining and improving quality education. Teachers and aides have participated in staff development activities that enable them to improve their job-related knowledge and skills. The staff is involved in determining the needs of inservices and workshops. Staff members are enthusiastic in sharing information and skills gained through conferences, workshops and visiting programs at other schools.

In July, 2000, two teachers joined the Biggs Staff in attending a week-long seminar in the teaching of reading called RESULTS--BRIDGING THE GAP. Funded through the Governor’s Elementary Reading Initiative, teachers are trained on current research, assessments, and the most effective ways of teaching reading to English Second Language learners. These teachers will continue to be inserviced during the next school year. This assessment-driven program will assist teachers in creating effective strategies for academic improvement.

12. Quality of Instruction

and Leadership

With strong administrative and school board support, the staff at Richvale Elementary believes that the public interest is best served through assuring high quality education for all students, and that knowledgeable, well-trained and effective educators are essential to achieving excellence in education.

The staff is dedicated to and provides a high quality program through a combination of effective and innovative teaching.

13. Student Attendance

Information

Regular student attendance is a necessary prerequisite to a successful school career. Richvale Elementary School enjoys an excellent attendance record. The teachers, students, and parents are to be commended for such a fine attendance record.

In order to ensure that all students are either attending class or are on a legally permissible excused absence, the district has implemented a school attendance accounting system. The district continued to employee an attendance officer, who reviews daily attendance, confers with teachers, makes family contacts and when necessary, makes referrals to the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB).

14. Salary and Budget

The following figures show average salaries for teachers and administrators at Biggs

Unified School District compared to the State of California. They also show the percentage of the district's budget, which is used to pay those salaries.