Latest news with #SolutionTree
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teamwork, focus fuel award-winning gains at Great Lakes Elementary
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.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Port Dickinson Elementary School recognized for student achievement
CHENANGO BRIDGE, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – A local elementary is being recognized for making strides to raise student achievement. Port Dickinson Elementary was designated a Promising Practices Professional Learning Community at Work by Solution Tree. The Solution Tree program focuses on teacher professional development around three core areas: focus on learning, build a collaborative culture and create a results orientation. The Chenango Valley School District says the approach has had a positive impact on student learning. Port Dickinson Elementary School recognized for student achievement Infusion therapy business coming to Binghamton's Southside Federal cuts expected to affect local agriculture programs Remarkable Women: Ann Marie Bogart 'Bring it on': Riley to NRCC on Democrat target list Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Granite School District responds to DOGE allegations of misuse of COVID-relief funds
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Granite School District has responded to allegations of the misuse of COVID-relief funds — specifically, spending $86,000 on hotel rooms at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace during an educational conference. The allegations are part of an Elon Musk-led initiative to reduce government spending. Under Musk, the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alleges that there were a number of cases of misuse, in which schools 'spent nearly $200B of COVID-Relief funds with little oversight or impact on students,' DOGE posted on X. '$393K to rent out a Major League Baseball stadium, $86K in Caesars Palace hotel rooms, $60k in swimming pool passes, and even an ice cream truck. All of this money was drawn with zero documentation,' the post reads. Utah CEO killed in east Idaho helicopter crash DOGE said shortly after that the U.S. Dept. of Education will require all grantees to provide receipts of their purchases prior to receiving funding for those purchases. This means any and all expenditures must be paid by the states in advance and then submitted to the Dept. of Education for reimbursement. The Granite School District responded to the allegations in a statement released Friday afternoon, refuting any impropriety on behalf of its educators. District officials said the funding was used to participate in an educational conference held in Las Vegas. The funding in question was used to pay for hotel rooms for 123 educators from our district to attend a three-day professional educational convention hosted by Solution Tree in Las Vegas in 2022. Solution Tree is a highly reputable organization that provides effective professional development for educators from across the nation. In advance of getting approval for use of these funds in this way, the district conducted a comprehensive needs assessment and submitted our plan which was accepted by Utah State Board of Education (USBE). Our plan outlined that we would spend these funds on professional learning. While the host hotel had some resort functions, our participants had standard rooms at the government rate. The average hotel cost for each participant was $220 per night. At the time, the closest available conference location was in Las Vegas, which was also the most cost-effective option being only several hours from Salt Lake City. Other locations offered at that time were much further away and would have resulted in more costs for participation. To replicate the quantity and quality of speakers and resources provided at the conference in-house would be significantly more expensive than sending our educators to this nearby conference. This was a successful and beneficial conference for our educators. Due to positive feedback from attendees and continued high interest, we were able to convince Solution Tree to bring the conference to Salt Lake City in the summer of 2024, allowing more local school districts to participate and providing even more teachers access to this valuable instructional training. Prior to today, we have not been contacted by any members of the media with respect to this expenditure and refute that the district has not been transparent with our budgets and expenditures. The Fox News national story contains many factual errors and no one from their organization has ever contacted us to verify the facts of the report. To be clear, there is no investigation into the use of these funds, which were approved by the Utah State Board of Education in full compliance with all applicable state and federal guidelines. Granite School District has NOT been contacted or questioned by any state or federal regulatory agency about the use of these funds. We first heard of this concern on social media. As such, we were surprised to be accused of fraud without having some contact from anyone to verify the legitimacy of the expense. We have and continue to be committed to providing high-quality professional development for our educators, and we're confident that opportunities like the Solution Tree conference lead to better outcomes for Granite students. The public school district represents areas across central Salt Lake County, including West Valley City, Millcreek, Taylorsville, South Salt Lake, Holladay, Kearns, and Magna, as well as parts of West Jordan, Murray and Cottonwood Heights. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
