Grant

Question link (3) (5)

· http://schoolinfosheet.lausd.net/budgetreports/linker?app_name=data_sum&cost_center_code=1320501&school_code=3205

· http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/DQReports.asp?CDSType=S&CDSCode=19647336016612

question (5)

· http://www.ed-data.org/school/Los-Angeles/Los-Angeles-Unified/Compton-Avenue-Elementary question #3 #5, #3, #2 and #4

· http://search.lausd.net/cgi-bin/fccgi.exe?w3exec=sarc20142015&which=3205

QUESTION # (3)

Mostly Students of Hispanic Descent

264 students, or 71.5% of the student population at Compton Avenue Elementary identify as Hispanic, making up the largest segment of the student body. A typical school in Los Angeles is made up of 74.8% Hispanic students, so Compton Avenue Elementary has a very similar ethnic distribution compared to other schools in the city.

The demographic breakdown of Compton Avenue Elementary is very different from that of a typical school in the state of California, which is made up of 53.3% Hispanic students on average.

StartClass Rating

StartClass evaluated 10,898 schools in California on several factors including college entrance exam scores, state assessment scores, and class size to determine a Smart Rating for each. Compton Avenue Elementary receives a rating of 5, which is slightly lower than the average rating of 6 for elementary schools in California.

Size & Student/Teacher Ratio

The average number of students for elementary schools in California is 531, so Compton Avenue Elementary is small. The student to teacher ratio is 21:1, which is significantly higher than the average for all US elementary schools (15.6) and significantly lower than the average for elementary schools in California (25.3).

Grades Offered

Students may enroll in Kindergarten - 5th grade.

Browse Elementary Schools in California ›

Location Details

· Generally speaking, the population in Watts is low income, largely comprised of children and teenagers (under 20) age group, and less educated.

· Program Improvement (PI)

· This school is considered a low-performing school by California's standards. As of the 2015-16 school year, this school is in its fifth year of PI and has been in the program since 2006-2007.

School Performance

2015 Adequate Yearly Progress Report

· Met 9 out of 9 possible criteria

· Met the 90% attendance rate target?

· Yes (95%)

· Met the 95% participation rate target for state exams?

· English: Yes (99%)

· Math: Yes (99%)

· Mostly Students of Hispanic Descent

· 264 students, or 71.5% of the student population at Compton Avenue Elementary identify as Hispanic, making up the largest segment of the student body. A typical school in Los Angeles is made up of 74.8% Hispanic students, so Compton Avenue Elementary has a very similar ethnic distribution compared to other schools in the city.

· The demographic breakdown of Compton Avenue Elementary is very different from that of a typical school in the state of California, which is made up of 53.3% Hispanic students on average.

· More Male Students

· Males outnumber females at Compton Avenue Elementary, where the student body is 53% male and 47% female.

· Compared to Los Angeles

· The average school in Los Angeles is 51.1% male, which means that Compton Avenue Elementary has a slightly higher than average proportion of male students compared to other schools in the city.

· Compared to California

· Most schools in the state of California are 51.4% male and 48.6% female on average.

·

· National School Lunch Program

· Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the National School Lunch Program. Children from families with incomes at or below 130% of the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty level are eligible for reduced‐price meals, for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents. 130 percent of the poverty level is $31,525 annual income for a family of four; 185 percent is $44,862 (different for Alaska and Hawaii, see ASPE for more details).

· The median household income in Los Angeles city is $49,745 per year. This city's median income is above the eligibility threshold for reduced price lunch, which may have an impact on the proportion of students eligible under the National School Lunch Program.

Substantially Lower Than Average Math Scores

Compton Avenue Elementary is in the bottom 10% of California elementary schools based on the percent of its students met or exceeded the state math standard (6%).

How Compton Avenue Elementary stacks up:

· Worse than average for Los Angeles Unified School District (25%)

· Worse than average for California (33%)

· Worse than average for elementary schools in California (33%)

· Average-Sized Gifted & Talented Program

· 4% of all students at Compton Avenue Elementary are enrolled in the Gifted & Talented (G&T) Program, which is average compared to the median for all reported elementary schools in California (5%).

· This school's G&T program is average compared to the median for all reported elementary schools nationally, (5%

· Large Percentage of Students with Limited English Proficiency

· 42% of all students at Compton Avenue Elementary are considered to have limited English proficiency, which is higher than the median across all reported elementary schools in California (27%).

· This school's percentage of students with limited English proficiency is much higher than the median across all reported elementary schools in the US (8%).

· Much Lower Percentage of Students with Learning Disabilities

· 7% of all students at Compton Avenue Elementary are learning disabled, which is much lower than the median across all reported elementary schools in California (10%).

· This school's percentage of learning disabled students is much lower than the median across all reported all elementary schools in the US (13%).

Watts

This public school is in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California with a population of 41,761 people and a disproportionately large children and teenagers (under 20) population.

· Watts is predominantly Caucasian. People generally speak Spanish at home.

· The most common commute method is driving to work and the average commute length is 35.2 minutes.

Questions & Answers

· Q: What school district is Compton Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles, California in?

· A: Compton Avenue Elementary is in Los Angeles Unified School District, located in Los Angeles, California.

· Q: What is the address of Compton Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles, California?

· A: Compton Avenue Elementary is an Elementary School located at 1515 E 104th St Los Angeles, California 90002.

· Q: How many students are at Compton Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles, California?

· A: Compton Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles, California has 369 total students.

Creative Inst. We are going to become a Stem academic school. We are changing our name.

(Steam) Science, Technology, Engineer and Math

STEM

First, consider the why and what of STEM education. Both private and public sectors report that 21st-century workers require skills that many of today’s graduates don’t have. Students need more in-depth knowledge of math and science, plus the ability to integrate and apply that knowledge to solve the challenges facing our nation. Children who study STEM also develop a variety of skills that are essential for success: critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, communication, collaboration, and entrepreneurship, to name a few.

A number of K-12 programs currently fly under the STEM banner. However, a 2014 study published by the American Society for Engineering Education identified several characteristics of quality STEM programs:

1. The context is motivating, engaging, and real-world.

2. Students integrate and apply meaningful and important mathematics and science content.

3. Teaching methods are inquiry-based and student-centered.

4. Students engage in solving engineering challenges using an engineering design process.

5. Teamwork and communications are a major focus. Throughout the program, students have the freedom to think critically, creatively, and innovatively, as well as opportunities to fail and try again in safe environments.

STEM, then, is a specific program designed for a specific purpose—to integrate and apply knowledge of math and science in order to create technologies and solutions for real-world problems, using an engineering design approach. It’s no surprise that STEM programs need to maintain an intense focus.

STEAM

Recently, the idea of adding the arts to STEM programs has been gaining momentum. Surprisingly, I’ve heard push-back from both camps:

1. From STEM proponents: STEM lessons naturally involve art (for example, product design), language arts (communication), and social studies and history (setting the context for engineering challenges). STEM projects do not deliberately exclude the arts or any other subject; rather, these subjects are included incidentally as needed for engineering challenges.

The focus of STEM is developing rigorous math and science skills through engineering. How can you focus on other subjects (such as art) without losing the mission of STEM or watering down its primary purpose?

2. From arts proponents: Engineering and technology can certainly serve the artist and help create art. But if we're talking about how one can use art in engineering… as an artist, it seems we're missing the point and devaluing, or not realizing, art’s purpose and importance. We have it backwards.

So how exactly can teachers fit the arts into STEM programs and do justice for both STEM and STEAM? What would an ideal STEAM program look like?

That’s what artist and educator-turned-STEAM-enthusiast Ruth Catchen is determined to find out. She currently works with a team of STEM writers and program developers who are using crowdfunding to develop and pilot a STEAM program in Colorado.

According to Ruth, the arts are a great learning tool and can serve as an on-ramp to STEM for underrepresented students. Engaging students’ strengths using art activities increases motivation and the probability of STEM success. She views art as a way of offering more diverse learning opportunities and greater access to STEM for all types of learners.

Art also provides diverse opportunities for communication and expression. Ruth believes that in our technically-focused world, we have a responsibility to educate the whole child to become a global citizen in his or her community. She aims to do just that while staying true to the specific purpose of STEM education.

How Do We Solve the STEM vs. STEAM Conundrum?

Let’s circle back to the question of how to include the arts in STEM in an authentic way. We could change the scope of STEM so that it focuses equally on learning in all subject areas—but why do that? We already have effective teaching methods for doing that: problem-based learning.

So let’s try another question. Can we combine art with just one of the STEM subjects—perhaps science—and ignore meaningful subjects like math and engineering? We certainly could—but that would be just art and science, not STEAM.

What about having students do individual STEAM projects? Again—that’s not faithful to basic STEM principles, which always include teamwork. So would that be STEAM or just a good individual project?

I propose we shape STEAM programs by exploring opportunities where art naturally fits in the STEM arena. Art can be treated as an applied subject—just like math and science. Here are a few ideas for giving STEM projects some STEAM:

· Design. Art can serve a practical function. Students might apply design and decoration to products that were created during the course of a design challenge. They could use computer graphics to create logos or stylized designs to include in communications or presentations. Through industrial design, students could improve the appearance, design, and usability of a product created during a STEM project.

· Performing arts, such as drama and speech. What about technical or persuasive writing? Those arts fit naturally into the “Communications” stage of the engineering design process. They would work well as part of a STEM project. (If you want students to get REALLY ambitious and creative, check out this video of students in Paraguay who made instruments out of discarded materials!)

· Creative planning. As students brainstorm solutions for an engineering problem, encourage them to adopt a playful, inventive, artistic approach. Calling on their artistic right brain can help them to generate more creative and innovative thinking.

Just one word of caution, though. Art is often touted as a method of adding creativity to STEM—but keep in mind that engineers are rarely lacking for creativity and ingenuity. Just look at the world around you for proof. The purpose of STEAM should not be so much to teach art but to apply art in real situations. Applied knowledge leads to deeper learning.

All of that is to say: I don’t yet have a clear picture of what an ideal STEAM project looks like. In my effort to find some clear examples, I wrote Dr. Howard Gardner to ask him if he had ideas for how to include art in STEM. He responded: “I don’t have strong views about whether arts should become a part of STEM or be self-standing. What is important is that every human being deserves to learn about the arts and humanities, just as each person should be cognizant of the sciences.”

I don’t think anyone could say it better than that. A STEM program is just one part of a child’s education, focusing on math and science. But our children need a well-rounded, quality education that enables them to make informed decisions that will impact the world and the way they live.

We need students who are motivated and competent in bringing forth solutions to tomorrow's problems. When push comes to shove, it’s not STEM vs. STEAM—it’s about making every student a fully-literate 21st-century citizen.

Creative Inst. We need apples computers, however Hp are cheaper. Please I need to answer question 4 very specific. Computer hardware, preferred operating systems, software, learning apps for students.

Professional Development: to trained teachers and students- Example or what we can write about providing a staff development for teachers in the school. .

As new technologies permeate our society, they are also becoming more and more of a factor in today's classrooms. The promise of technology in education is significant. Technology offers the potential of individualized instruction for every student as students become actively engaged in and responsible for their own learning. The capability to develop every student into a life-long learner is now even more achievable with developments in technology. Technology beckons educators with more opportunities for learning and increases in student achievement. In fact, many see technology as the new dynamic in the traditional student-teacher relationship. However, no one can argue that the most important influence in student learning and achievement is still teacher quality. So it stands to reason that the true challenge of effectively integrating technology in education is human rather than technological. While technology advances hold the promise of improved learning instruction, technology-focused professional development for teachers is critical if technology is truly to be used to promote learning for all students. While most schools offer teachers different levels of support, the ones that stand apart are schools that belong to districts that have long-term commitments to professional development as a major component of effective technology implementation. One-shot trainings and workshops are not effective. A comprehensive, well thought-out professional development plan that moves educators along the continuum from novice to integrator over time, regardless of their starting position, demonstrates investment, commitment and thoroughness on the part of the district. As teachers develop their core technology skills, they need on-going support through a professional development environment that is consistently interwoven with hands-on use of technology to reinforce their efforts and learning. Fostering a technology culture: A successful, comprehensive professional development program is based on a long term plan and vision that fosters a district technology "culture." Effective implementation begins with putting the vision onto paper � the actual map of where the district is headed. This involves a clear definition of what the learning goals are, including specific logistical and tactical strategies for implementing technology into the classroom. The districts where technology has transformed teaching and instruction are districts where the administrative leadership is committed to the use of technology to enhance learning for all students. The district administration's attitude toward the importance of technology in the classroom has a direct bearing on teacher effectiveness, and ultimately, on student performance. The plan must be "learner centered" and systemic, with the ultimate goal of increasing student performance. Professional development programs focus on changing teaching methods and making teachers facilitators and mentors in the learning process using a multi-dimensional approach, rather than the more traditional, one dimensional methods of instruction relying on just text books and teachers. Well-planned, sustained professional development for effective technology implementation requires systems change at the most fundamental levels in a district or school. Professional development is the key component to fostering the technology culture, because educators are needed to apply and integrate technology with the curriculum, and engage students in different learning projects aligned with their learning goals. Formal and informal supports help to create an atmosphere where technology integration is king. Successful districts look for opportunities on a daily and weekly basis for developing technology skills in staff, whether it is team planning time, team teaching, staff meetings � any and all opportunities for information to be shared and for staff to challenge each other to the next level. Savvy districts couple these learning opportunities with relevant incentives to ensure effective technology integration. Having computers in classrooms is pointless if teachers do not have the time to experiment with the programs and implement new practices in the classroom. Effective professional development programs utilize modeling and peer-coaching methods to help teachers integrate technology and become coaches and facilitators of learning with technology as the tool. Again, collaboration requires time during the day and the week to share ideas and experiences, successes and challenges. Community Consolidated School District 54 in Schaumburg, Illinois has an early-release practice for students on Wednesdays. During this time, teachers attend district and building workshops offered by Learning Technology Services and Assistive Technology Services staff. The training/workshop curriculum can come from a variety of sources, including materials from out-of-district conferences and technology vendor training materials. Well-thought out training and materials from technology vendors can be woven into the professional development program, but the district needs to assume ownership for follow-up and implementation. Seven years into implementation in Schaumburg all department buildings have staff members who can provide instruction and support to educators at their site. In addition, staff members are encouraged to take classes after school and on Saturdays on technology and teaching methods/strategies. Through the years, the drive to optimize investment in technology and improve the quality of teaching within the district has resulted in the development of specialized teams in School District 54. Teams are charged with reviewing software and Websites, creating curriculum resources, scanning text into a digital format, and developing tutorials. In addition, staff from Learning Technology Services and Assistive Technology Services work closely with Curriculum and Instruction on developing special projects and teams that include Kindergarten, Science, Pre-Reading Skills, Social Studies, Balanced Literacy and Bilingual Education. Teacher incentives: While regular and convenient class offerings are crucial, pairing them with the right incentives motivates teachers to increase their skills. In School District 54, teachers earn salary lane credits or credits towards the purchase of software for home/personal use. They receive the technology in their classrooms upon successful completion of their class and continue to receive support for implementation and integration strategies. This component is seen as a key way to ensure continued use of the technology and the teacher's mastery of their new skills. Teachers who take a leadership role at the building level can become members of the A-TEAM (Adaptive Technology Enhancing Academics through Modifications). A-TEAM members meet once a month for new resources, training, and collaboration. Using the training they receive, they are then paid to replicate the programs at their own buildings. Developing district curriculum resources: Building a school site or district intranet is an invaluable strategy for sharing activity ideas and successes. It encourages collaboration and the proliferation of the technology culture. Readily available ideas beget more ideas, and so the wealth of knowledge resources within the district grows. Again, incentives for sharing the best ideas bring kudos to the author and engender a "best practices" environment. In School District 54, technology supports created by the Learning Technology Services staff and the Assistive Technology Services staff as well as some of the specialized teams are available on the intranet. All areas of the curriculum are supported, and every building downloads the resources onto school computers for same-day use. Materials include supports for balanced literacy, digital textbooks, writing supports, modified tests, study guides and integrated language arts and math activities. Resource allocation: From a budgetary standpoint, literature suggests that somewhere between one-third and one-half of a district's technology budget be earmarked for professional development. Again, long-term planning is essential to re-skill teachers and to ultimately improve the quality of learning through technology. To help teachers become comfortable and familiar with technology, schools need to provide support at the departmental and building levels. Local support ensures that problems of implementation are addressed quickly and do not impede classroom instruction. At District 54, having the A-TEAM member accessible in the same building helps teachers get the "expert" help needed and also leverages the knowledge of their fellow-educators to expand their technology skills. This approach encourages ownership at the individual level, equipping teachers with the skills and resources they need and at the place and time they most need it. To create a district culture committed to learning for all students, administrators need to understand the dynamics of technology in the traditional teacher-student relationship. Technology is a tool, just like books, paper and pencil. Technology serves to enhance the effectiveness of teaching but cannot replace the role of the teacher. Therefore, educators � administrators and teachers alike � must be completely comfortable with all the uses of the tool in order to improve classroom instruction. The promise of technology for today's classrooms is tremendous, but it requires vision, commitment and leadership from the highest levels in a district or school to make it work for students. Teachers are the link � the variable and the hope � that tie the promise to reality. A comprehensive professional development program that is technology-focused can make or break the effort � more than any other single factor. Teachers are the backbone of any school system, and teacher salaries the most significant line item in the overall budget. Investing in their "professionalization" is pivotal to enriching the learning experience of students, in the short term, and for the long term � preparing them to become productive members of society.