“A Community Passionate About Student Success”

All BESD schools implementing PBIS program with great success and improved student outcomes!

All of Buckeye’s Elementary Schools were recognized with achievement awards for successful implementation of PBIS - Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) at the Behavior Education Technology Conference at the Desert Willow Conference Center in Phoenix on March 6, 2015. The purpose of the PBISaz Achievement Awards are to identify and recognize schools in the State for successful implementation of school-wide systems of Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. Criteria are based on effective implementation of the essential PBIS components. PBIS is a systems-based approach to behavior that works in schools to create a more effective learning environment by making schools predictable, consistent, positive and safe. PBIS provides a systematic approach to teaching and recognizing appropriate behavior in schools. The goal for the effective implementation is to reduce behavioral incidents and eliminate lost instructional time due to the need to intervene in students’ negative behavior. Creating a positive school climate through modeling positive behavior is also a goal of the system. Teaching and reinforcing expectations is achieved by establishing clear rules and routines and using reinforcement procedures. The successful implementation of PBIS comes as a result of comprehensive District and school planning teams. These teams agreed to have consistent rules district-wide that are enforced daily. They are: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Kind! Buckeye Elementary School District is in its third year of training staff and implementing Positive Behavior Intervention Supports across the district. All BESD schools have implemented the four school rules that apply to all areas of the school: in the classrooms, cafeterias, hallways, playgrounds and even on school busses! BES, Jasinski and West Park received a Bronze award and Bales, Inca and Sundance received Merit awards for their efforts. According to Joni Cesario, Director of Special Programs for the Buckeye Elementary School District, “The improvement of social behavior of all students is a high priority for all of us in BESD because it directly impacts academic achievement for students. We are so proud of our students, staff and families for their support of the program and for being BESD being recognized throughout the state for our outstanding results.”

Curriculum Connection FY14-15 Volume 3 Page 2

The 2014-1015 school year has been full of successful and exciting events

here at Inca! From Meet the Teacher Night to Kindergarten Round Up, we

have set our focus on the success of each and every student. Through

researching best practices we have implemented effective teaching

strategies that impact all our students! Inquiry-based math, Bell2Bell

strategies, Walk to Succeed and Thinking Maps are a few of these exciting

programs and techniques! Our students, parents, and staff have joined

together to participate in wonderfully successful Curriculum Nights that have

focused on Math/Science and Reading Around the World! We have seen

multiple recognitions of both students and staff. Our Inca Band has

performed and been recognized at several events, sports teams have

represented our campus as champions; win, lose or draw! Academic

excellence has abounded through our new GATE program, Math

contestants, Poetry Slam Winners, Spelling Bee winners and many more!

We have tackled and survived the new AZMerit as a total computer-based

campus! All these endeavors and so many more are the reason our Panther

Pride has been impossible to hide! We could not be prouder of our staff,

students, parents, and community for all they have contributed to truly

making Inca Elementary the most AMAZING place to learn and grow!

On Wednesday, April 22, Jasinski held a Title 1 night along with

the Physical Education Rhythm and Movement performance.

Parents were asked to come to the library to receive information

and demonstration regarding the online intervention programs,

Ticket to Read and VMath Live, offered by the district. We

emphasized the benefits for students being able to use these

programs over the summer. After parents attended the session in

the library, they made their way to the gym to watch the Physical

Education Rhythm and Movement performance for grades

Kindergarten through Third. Ms. Battaglia, Jasinski’s P.E. teacher,

choreographed routines for all grade levels that were participating

in the performance. There was standing room only, with over

1500 parents coming through the campus over the course of the

evening. Many in

attendance commented

on what a successful

night it was for Jasinski!

It’s hard to believe the school year is almost over! In

preparation for the last day of school on May 21st, Bales

Kindergartners have begun their annual ABC Countdown.

Each of the last 26 days of school is being represented by a

letter of the alphabet, and a corresponding theme and/or

activity. On ‘Q day’, they will be writing letters to the first

graders, asking them questions to help the kindergartners

prepare for first grade next year. On ‘V day’, they will visit a

first grade classroom. ‘L-day’ is Luau day! Kindergartners

enjoyed a luau party, complete with letter crafts, and a

Limbo competition. This is always a fun time of year for our

kindergartners, their teachers, and parents as well. Bales

Kindergarten wishes everyone a safe and happy summer!

Ole! The 4th Annual Piñata Festival and Title 1 Reading Night

held on Friday April 24th at Buckeye Elementary School was a tremendous success! The gymnasium exploded with families

and Buckeye community members coming to revel in an evening filled with art, student entertainment, reading activities,

food and the ancient art of piñata-making. Piñatas were made

by students, the BES band performed, student artwork was proudly dispersed throughout the gym, kindergarten and 1st

grade students performed the Mexican Hat Dance and 2nd grade sang Katy Perry’s song “Roar”. Buckeye Public Library was

promoting their summer reading program and the Buckeye Family Resource Center was giving eye exams. Mikey’s

restaurant graciously provided burritos and drinks for sale and Macy’s distribution center donated children books. “The Piñata

Festival and Title 1 Reading night united to produce a culturally

enriching event that was enjoyed by 457 people,” said Principal Roer. “Anytime we have the opportunity to bridge the

community, parents and school we send a powerful message about the importance of education to our students.”

Curriculum Connection FY14-15 Volume 3 Page 3

Being a good reader takes more than just luck! Sundance

celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a “Shamrockin’ Reading Night” this year. This Title 1 Reading Night was a great

chance for families to come to school and celebrate reading. There were a variety of reading games ranging

from phonics activities to poetry writing for students and

families. Families also had an opportunity to use our school technology to login to Ticket to Read and access the

Harcourt website and see many of the reading opportunities that are available to Sundance students. In addition to the

sites they were able to access that evening, families also received suggested resources for working on reading at

home. Sundance is lucky to have such a great community

working to develop lifelong readers!

WestPark Elementary hosted its annual Family Camp Out on

Friday, April 24th. This event was designed and sponsored

by PTA to accommodate families of all kinds, and provides a

wonderful opportunity to bond as a community. There was

a communal grill for all to prepare their dinners on, as well

as the makings for s’mores for everyone to enjoy. On the

inflatable movie screen, Night at the Museum: Secret of the

Tomb, played, while families played kickball, basketball, and

a variety of other games. The event was a success, and the

weather held clear despite the forecast, to allow for a fun

and safe night for all.

We are excited to announce that BESD will be offering a summer school opportunity for kindergarten through third grade students. We have a staff of eager, highly qualified teachers, who are ready to meet and work with students to strengthen reading abilities and enrich their lives with incredible curriculum. The program being used, TimeWarp Plus, is a fantastic platform that comes with many accolades. As cited from the VoyagerSopris website, “TimeWarp Plus is grounded in a decade of validated research to prevent and reverse summer reading loss. In a national study, students sampled from seven school districts made gains of 5–9 months during the summer program.” Over the four weeks of learning, we are sure to see student gains and growth both academically, as well as personally. This program will promote self-confidence with each step the students make, and they will truly enjoy the experiences that come with the lessons provided. The program will run from June 1st-June 25th, 7:30 A.M.-12:45 P.M., Monday-Thursday. It will be hosted at Buckeye Elementary School (for Bales and Buckeye students), Inca Elementary School (for Jasinski and Inca students), and Sundance Elementary School (for WestPark and Sundance students). Students will be offered transportation where available, as well as breakfast and lunch daily. The summer school program will also run alongside our annual Summer Food Program, which provides a free breakfast and lunch to all children up to age 18.

We look forward to a successful and fun-filled summer!

BESD will sponsor the 2015 Summer Food Service Program at three locations starting June 1st - July 24th to ensure that children ages 18 and younger continue to have an opportunity to receive meals at no cost, when school is not in session. Meals will be served Monday-Thursday (closed on Friday) from 7:30 AM-8:30 AM for Breakfast and 11:00 AM-12:30 PM for Lunch. Adults are able to purchase breakfast for $1.25 and lunch for $2.00.

The participating sites are:

Buckeye Elementary 210 S. 6th Street

Inca Elementary 23601 W. Durango Street

Sundance Elementary 23800 W. Maricopa

For more information contact:

Food Service Office (623) 925-3421

May 21 : LAST DAY of SCHOOL

June 1 - June 25 : SUMMER SCHOOL K-3rd

June 1 - July 24 : SUMMER FOOD PROGRAM

August 3 : MEET YOUR TEACHER NIGHT

August 5 : FIRST DAY of SCHOOL

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A Note From Dr. Randy Watkins…

In the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Week I would like express my gratitude to all of

our staff members for their tireless efforts to ensure that all of our kids are provided

the best education. Additionally, I would like to recognize our six Westside Impact

Teachers of the Year, which consist of one teacher per school site. They were

selected for this very prestigious award amongst our outstanding teachers throughout

the district...a very significant accomplishment! Congratulations go out to Yolie

Therkildsen from Bales, Thomas Gibson from Buckeye, Gail Oxford from Inca, Robert

Wehofer from Jasinski, Teresa Golihare from Sundance, and Robiah Nelson from

WestPark. These six teachers model how we are passionate about student success.

In April and May more than 3,000 3rd-8th grade students in the

Buckeye Elementary School District joined students across the state in taking the inaugural AzMERIT assessments in ELA Writing and

Reading and in Mathematics. Designed to meet Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards (AZCCRS), the assessments replace

the state’s long standing standardized assessments in ELA and math, AIMS. Students in 4th and 8th grade continue to take the

AIMS assessment in Science.

The AzMERIT assessments were made available as computer or paper based assessments according to the needs and capabilities of

Arizona’s districts. After much discussion between district administration, school administration and the district’s Information-

Technology (IT) department, it was decided that Inca and Sundance Elementary Schools would administer computer based

assessments while the other four sites delivered the paper version this first year of testing.

Arizona’s institution of a computer based state assessment is part

of a national move towards using more technology in classroom curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Buckeye Elementary

School District has begun using online scoring for DIBELS benchmarks and has used technology to deliver its Galileo

benchmarks. Buckeye Elementary School District has been increasing the number of technological devices available for

teachers and students steadily over the past few years in part to prepare for the requirements of the online AzMERIT. Headphones,

keyboards, laptops, tablets, and hardwired computers all had to be configured to meet AzMERIT. Despite the technological

preparations for the test, the overall online delivery was designed

to be user friendly for both students and teachers. “I think anything that is unknown can be scary and unsettling but students

and teachers adjusted easily,” said Sundance Principal Neva Burlingame. She noted that after teachers logged in for their first

test they found the interface easy to navigate. Inca Intervention Specialist noted that some adults were more nervous about the

transition to computer based testing than the students were. “To them (the students) it was just another day in the lab. I was so

impressed by their engagement in the tests and their ability to maneuver about.” While students are not allowed to discuss any

items on the tests, they did let Inca Assistant Principal Jennifer Dennis know they appreciated the online format. “They… said they

liked how interactive the test was,” she says. With a new delivery system some hardware and software glitches were inevitable, but

glitches Buckeye students experienced were small and were usually easy to troubleshoot by staff members. An AzMERIT help desk was

available to assist with any technical issues.

Both the paper and the online versions of the assessments were

expected to look quite different from standardized assessments of the past. Not merely a multiple choice bubble test, the AzMERIT

assessments feature unique item types in both math and reading to deeper assess a student’s knowledge of content areas while giving

a more engaging testing experience. Teachers and students had access to a Sample Test created by Arizona Department of

Education prior to the actual testing window. Sample Items included questions that asked for multiple responses as well as

evidential proof as to why an answer may be correct. Interactive working of mathematics problems on graphs, short written

responses, and “drag and drop” menus were all expected to appear within AZ Merit’s item types. A unique feature of the online version

was the ability to test listening skills through questions about oral presentations. Writing assessments were given to all 3rd – 8th

grade students as part of the English Language Arts assessment (AIMS only tested with writing prompts in grades 5, 6, and 7).

Prompts were expected to involve reading of multiple texts and to ask students to synthesize and cite evidence from the texts in

generating their response. This would be a departure from previous writing prompts that often asked students to write a

narrative or persuasive piece based on their own experience rather than crafting an argument supported by textual evidence.

BESD teachers and students have been preparing for the expected

increase in rigor of the assessments over the past several years by teaching to the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards,

aligning their curriculum to the new standards, and using performance based assessments in writing and math created by the

district Mapping Committees. Prior to the assessments each site

delivered a series of professional development sessions on how Thinking Maps could be used to analyze informational texts more

effectively. “I see (Thinking) Maps all over the place,” BES Intervention Specialist Tracey Stephens notes about her campus

walkthroughs and she expected students to utilize the tools during their testing.

As this is the first year with the new assessments, results are not

expected to be available until the fall. After the assessments are

normed, the results in subsequent years will be made available

before the school year ends to allow for more effective in

instructional planning for the following year. While schools will not

be receiving letter grades based on this year’s AzMERIT’s results,

the assessment will hold the same importance that AIMS has in the

past. Planning for student intervention groups, staff professional

development, and core curriculum instruction all take state

assessment data into account.