logo
Teamwork, focus fuel award-winning gains at Great Lakes Elementary

Teamwork, focus fuel award-winning gains at Great Lakes Elementary

Yahoo20-05-2025

May 20—SUPERIOR — Three years of sustained student growth in math and reading test scores has earned Great Lakes Elementary School national recognition. It was one of 600 schools in the United States and Canada to be recognized as a Model PLC at Work.
The
recognition
is given by Solution Tree, a company that provides professional learning community resources to schools. A professional learning community, commonly referred to as a PLC, is a cohort of teachers that meets for training, goal setting and continued collaboration.
Principal Ryan Haroldson said a focus on learning, results and a collaborative culture fueled the progress — improved test scores in math and English language arts at all grade levels, in all categories, every year.
Third grade teacher Shelly Bong said Haroldson's trust in teachers has been key to making the professional learning communities successful.
"And sharing resources. It's not a contest of who's the best teacher. We're working together," Bong said, leaning on fellow teachers to learn about new resources and programs. "We collaborate in our grade-level teams, but we also collaborate across levels. ... That's a huge piece of it."
Each of the teachers is amazing on their own, Haroldson said, but by working together, they get better.
"I think teachers need to have autonomy to try different things, to learn from each other. That's the power of the team," the principal said.
That equals more resources for students.
"Instead of having 15 years of teaching experience, you could have 100 years of teaching experience," said Martine Ferg, reading teacher. "With Ryan, he empowers us to make those decisions, and we rise to the occasion. We feel trusted to make the right decisions for all of our students. And then we're able to really do what's best for the child."
The school's dedication to professional learning communities dates back to 2017. Initially, Haroldson said, they didn't see big gains. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Great Lakes Elementary School's state standardized test results were close to the state average. The school lost about a quarter of a percent in proficiency levels during the pandemic, according to Haroldson.
"We didn't have a lot of learning loss, but then we put the pedal to the metal with these processes," Haroldson said, even with the increased mental health and behavioral needs coming out of COVID. "I give credit to my staff because they mowed over that, and addressed those things and got (students) those skills in reading and math and continued to move the bar up every year, regardless. We didn't use it as an excuse."
Great Lakes scores improved steadily from 2019 through 2024, with testing requirements waived in 2020 due to the pandemic. While only three years of improved scores were needed to earn the award, Haroldson submitted four.
From 2019 to 2024, the overall percentage of the school's students scoring at meeting or advanced proficiency in English language arts rose from 45% in 2019 to 69% in 2024, moving the school's test results from 3.5% above the state average in 2019 to 17% above the state average in 2024.
The percentage of Great Lakes Elementary students at meeting and advanced proficiency rose from 43% in 2019 to 63% in 2024, which brought the school's test results from 3% below the state average in 2019 to 9% above in 2024.
Not only did the overall scores rise in both math and reading, but scores rose among students with low socioeconomic status and students with disabilities.
Great Lakes teachers from each grade level team up at the beginning of each school year to identify a focus for improving student performance.
For kindergarten teacher Becky Herubin, that means looking at the state standards and district requirements, then taking it further.
"We dig into there to set the essential learning standards that we want the kindergarten students to master before moving on," Herubin said.
Grade-level teams meet every Tuesday to assess these essentials and share instructional strategies for them. Students who aren't mastering the essentials are offered additional support to help bridge the gap.
While teachers do that, paraprofessionals step in to work with students who have already mastered essential skills, offering reading groups, writing exercises and more.
"Our students are as much a part of that success, not just our special ed students, but our regular ed students, because they work together," said fourth grade teacher Kristin Trianoski. "Last year, I had two students join my class that were non-readers. ... My students just naturally started helping those kids, you know, doing things, sitting by them so they can read directions. And those kids blossomed."
Great Lakes Elementary School saw a lot of change this year, from welcoming many of the students from the shuttered Lake Superior Elementary school to weathering staff cuts.
"I feel like we started a new school this year, and I'm really highly motivated to take this new cohort of students and do the same thing, and hopefully put together another three years of great growth with the new cohort and earn this recognition again in 2028," Haroldson said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells
Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Don't let a vocal minority silence Britain's ancient church bells

There used to be a tradition that ringing church bells would drive out evil spirits. Now it's the bells that are being driven out. The latest set of chimes to fall foul of complainers are in Mytholmroyd. It's a small West Yorkshire village, best known as the birthplace of Ted Hughes. Perhaps it was the bells of St Michael's Church that inspired the late Poet Laureate to write in one of his rhymes for children about a bell's 'clang of mumbling boom'. But that clang was far from mumbling for three residents who said they were being kept awake all night by the chimes, ringing every 15 minutes. A noise abatement order imposed on the bells means they now can't be rung at all, so for the first time in 100 years they have fallen silent. There have been similar ding dongs over church bells elsewhere in the past few years: in both Witheridge and Kenton in Devon, in Helpringham in Lincolnshire, and in Beith in Ayrshire, usually by people saying that chimes through the night in these rural neighbourhoods are ruining their sleep. As someone who lives in a city, used to police helicopters overhead, ice cream vans blaring their tinny tunes, trains rattling past, and crowds of students staggering home at night under the influence of numerous intoxicants, I have to say I do find the noise of the countryside rather disturbing. Here in the city, these noises are part of a constant soundscape. In the country, there is an enveloping silence, but then you will be jolted into wakefulness by a cockerel's piercing crow, or a huge piece of farm machinery rattling past, or a herd of cattle lowing their way to milking. But a church bell chime, surely, is in a minor key compared to these other rural interruptions? For me the sound of bells is, well, music to my ears. Despite the planes flying into Heathrow over my head and the police sirens blaring outside my door, I can still hear the sound of a bell nearby, which rings regularly to mark Divine Office being said in a local monastery as well as the Angelus at noon. On Sundays, a peal of bells sounds out at a nearby church, and on weekday evenings too you can hear the ringing, as the tower captain and his team practise Plain Bob Major or Grandsire Triples or one of those other extraordinary mathematical formulas, known as changes, that make up bell-ringing. But the kind of change we don't want is something so quintessentially English as bell-ringing to disappear because after a few people make a fuss, officialdom steps in. The bells of Mytholmroyd were silenced when just three people objected – but the 1,200 residents who wanted the chimes to continue had their petition ignored. It's a growing pattern: a few complaints put an end to chimes that had been loved by communities for generations. Yet there's more at stake here than bells. It sounds a death-knell for our tradition of going with what the majority want. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.

Discovery of 300-Year-Old Coins May Prove $17 Billion ‘Richest Wreck in History' Has Been Found
Discovery of 300-Year-Old Coins May Prove $17 Billion ‘Richest Wreck in History' Has Been Found

Yahoo

time10 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Discovery of 300-Year-Old Coins May Prove $17 Billion ‘Richest Wreck in History' Has Been Found

Centuries-old coins have been found by researchers looking into the San José shipwreck, thought to be located in the Colombian Caribbean Sea The wreckage is reportedly worth approximately $17 billion The 150-foot-long Spanish galleon ship was sunk by British warships in 1708Researchers believe they have uncovered coins from a 317-year-old shipwreck, which sank in 1708, containing treasure thought to be valued at approximately $17 billion. On Tuesday, June 10, a study was published in the journal Antiquity, stating that "hand-struck, irregularly shaped coins — known as cobs in English and macuquinas in Spanish — that served as the primary currency in the Americas for more than two centuries," were among the key finds amid the ongoing research into the sinking of the Spanish galleon ship, San José. British warships sank the vessel off the coast near the port city of Cartagena. As previously reported by PEOPLE in March 2024, Colombian authorities had decided to move forward with the recovery of the ship, which had a cargo full of treasure. The Times stated that the Colombian navy had identified a wreck that "appeared to be a good candidate" for the sunken ship in 2015, but noted that "its identity has not been conclusively proven." The 150-foot-long, 64-gun, three-masted ship sank with 600 men aboard while carrying 200 tons of silver and emeralds, 11 million gold coins, and porcelain pottery, Colombian Navy divers said in June 2022, according to ABC News. Only 11 individuals survived the incident. Per The Times, the sunken ship is "the richest wreck in history." The latest study, which included photos of some of the coins that had been found, stated that the wreck was situated "at a depth of 600m in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, a location that requires specialized underwater equipment for research." "The exact number of coins visible on the seabed is difficult to determine due to the dynamic nature of the site, but the cobs identified via high-resolution in situ photography conducted by a remotely operated vehicle have an average diameter of 32.5mm and probably weigh around 27g," according to the study. The results added that markings on the coins helped to identify their authenticity. An "L" indicated that they had been mined in Lima, Peru, while the presence of the number 8 represented the denomination in escudos, the highest value at the time. The coins were also marked with the letter "H', which was the mark of Francisco de Hurtado, the Chief Assayer in 1707. The study said that one coin displayed "a small pellet next to the '8', which is a mark of distinction of the cobs of this assayer." While on another, "three letters 'P. V. A.' can be seen marking the motto expression 'Plus Ultra', or 'Further Beyond' in Latin." "This motto was used on the coins as a reference to the expansion of the Spanish monarchy in the Atlantic. Finally, the year of minting is represented by three digits, 707, meaning 1707," the study tated. "The be clearly made out from the images, but on other coins from the same year and mint these bear a reference to King Philip V, the first Bourbon head of the Spanish monarchy," the study continued. "Most of the gold coins from this period come from shipwrecks." Daniela Vargas Ariza, lead researcher from Colombia's Naval Cadet School and the National Institute of Anthropology and History, said of the findings, 'This body of evidence substantiates the identification of the wreck as the San José Galleon,' per The Times. The recent study said that over the past decade, "four non-invasive campaigns" had surveyed the wreckage, "providing valuable insights into the age and provenance of artefacts found on the seabed." The study's conclusion added, "This case study highlights the value of coins as key chronological markers in the identification of shipwrecks, particularly those from the Tierra Firme Fleet. The finding of cobs created in 1707 at the Lima Mint points to a vessel navigating the Tierra Firme route in the early eighteenth century. The San José Galleon is the only ship that matches these characteristics." Spain, the United States, Bolivian indigenous groups and Colombia have all claimed rights to the shipwreck in past years. But in 2011, a U.S. court determined that the ship was the property of the Colombian state, per ABC News. The Times noted that an American salvage company, Sea Search Armada, had also claimed a share, claiming that it had located the wreck. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In 2015, then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spoke at a news conference regarding the shipwreck's initial rediscovery, telling attendees, "This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity," ABC News reported. Since it was sunk by British warships some 317 years ago, the vessel has been remarkably untouched, officials previously said. The Colombian government didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information. Read the original article on People

How Korean became Virginia's third most-spoken language
How Korean became Virginia's third most-spoken language

Axios

time11 hours ago

  • Axios

How Korean became Virginia's third most-spoken language

Korean is the most commonly spoken language in Virginia other than English and Spanish, per census data out last week. Why it matters: It's one of only two states where that's the case. The big picture: Virginia's Korean population is also the fifth-largest nationwide, reflecting the modern immigration patterns that have contributed to an increasingly diverse state. While the Commonwealth has over a century of Korean history, it wasn't until the 1960s and 70s when Korean immigrants began settling in larger numbers in Northern Virginia. And it would ultimately lead to Annandale becoming Virginia's original Koreatown.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store