2015-2016 A+ SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE™ APPLICATION COVER PAGE

Official School Name: Kyrene de las Brisas Elementary School

District Name: Kyrene School District #28 Level (highlight all grades that apply): Pre-K K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Previous A+ School of Excellence™ award winner (highlight): Yes No If Yes, Year(s): 2012

Name of Principal: Christie Winkelmann

School Mailing Address: 777 North Desert Breeze Boulevard East #1, Chandler, Arizona 85226

Primary School Phone: (480) 541-2000

Direct Principal Phone: (480) 541-2050

Principal Email address: cwinke@kyrene.org

Name of Superintendent: Dr. David Schauer If your school is selected to receive a site visit, the review panel members will need directions to your school and will need to know dates that will present potential conflicts. Please complete the following:

Street Address City & Zip of school (if different from mailing address): Same as Above Detailed travel directions indicating surface streets that lead to your school:

From Phoenix: Take I-10 towards Tucson; Exit on Ray Road, turn left; turn right on Desert Breeze

Blvd.; turn left into main parking lot, which is centered between Brisas Elementary School and

Aprende Middle School across from Desert Breeze Park

From Tucson: Take 1-10 towards Phoenix; Exit on Ray Road, turn right; turn right on Desert Breeze

Blvd.; turn left into main parking lot, which is centered between Brisas Elementary School and

Aprende Middle School across from Desert Breeze Park

From Scottsdale: Take 101 south; Exit on Ray Road, turn right; turn left on Desert Breeze Blvd.; turn

left into main parking lot, which is centered between Brisas Elementary School and Aprende Middle

School across from Desert Breeze Park

From Mesa: Take US-60 west to 101 south; Exit on Ray Road, turn right; turn left on Desert Breeze

Blvd.; turn left into main parking lot, which is centered between Brisas Elementary School and

Aprende Middle School across from Desert Breeze Park

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Calendar Information:

Best days of week, and times, to observe: We would welcome a site visit any day/time.

Time school buses begin arriving in the morning: Student drop-off begins at 7:15 AM

Time classes begin: 7:40 AM (first bell); 7:45 AM (school begins)

Time classes dismiss: 2:35 PM (first bell); 2:40 PM school dismissal)

Spring Break dates: March 7-11, 2016

Standardized testing dates: Assessment Schedule for February 8 – April 22, 2016, is as follows:

Testing Window Assessment Grade Level

February 8 – February 12 Middle School District Math Placement Assessment 5th Grade

February 8 – March 25 AZELLA for English Language Learners Varies

March 30 – April 1 AIMS Science 4th Grade

March 28 – May 6 AzMERIT Assessment 3rd-5th Grade

April 11 – May 6 Kyrene District Summative Assessment Pre-school

April 18 – May 6 Kyrene District Math Summative Assessment Kindergarten

Early release, overnight or all-day field trips or other out-of-the-ordinary activities planned that might interfere with a site visit for the period February 8 – April 22, 2016; indicate grade level(s) affected:

We have early release every Wednesday with dismissal at 12:35 PM. We have an extra Early Release

Day on Thursday, February 25, 2016 to conduct Parent / Teacher Conferences. Additionally, the

following activities have been planned that might interfere with a site visit for a period of time:

Date Time Activity Grade Level

Affected

February 12, 2016 1:00-2:30 PM Gecko Players perform Seussical, Jr. PK – 5th Grades

February 26, 2016 11:00-2:00 PM Mallet Masters at AMEA Awards 4th & 5th Grades

March 1, 2016 11:00-11:50 AM In-house Mountain Man Presentation 4th Grade Only

March 2, 2016 8:00-10:30 AM Field Day 4th & 5th Grades

March 15, 2016 8:00-2:30 PM SIP Quarterly Data Chat Mtgs (ELA) K – 5th Grades

March 16, 2016 8:00-10:30 AM Field Day 2nd & 3rd Grades

March 22, 2016 8:00-2:30 PM SIP Quarterly Data Chat Mtgs (Math) K – 5th Grades

March 23, 2016 8:00-10:30 AM Field Day K & 1st Grade

March 24, 2016 8:00-10:30 AM 3rd Quarter Achievement Assemblies K – 5th Grades

March 24, 2016 After School Parent / Teacher Conferences PK – 5th Grades

March 25, 2016 After School Parent / Teacher Conferences PK – 5th Grades

March 29, 2016 9:00-10:00 AM 3rd Grade performs Music Show PK – 5th Grades

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Preparation of A+ School of Excellence™ Application

Representatives of all relevant stakeholder groups, i.e. administrators, teachers, other school staff, students, parents, and community representatives, must be involved in the preparation of the application. List the individuals actively involved in preparation. List primary authors first.

Name Position/Title Stakeholder

Group

Christie Winkelmann Principal Admin & Parent

Janet Martin Site Council Representative Community

Patty Foster Kindergarten Teacher and Site Council Representative Teacher

Melissa Taugner Resource Team Leader Teacher

Nicole Burt 4th Grade Team Leader & Math Content Lead Teacher

Pricilla Chand Intervention Ass’t, Supervision Aide & Site Council Rep Staff & Parent

Nicole Gunning Intervention Ass’t, Supervision Aide & Site Council Rep Staff & Parent

Stacy Thomas Resource Teacher, Special Ed Lead Teacher

Janet Pancratz Kindergarten Team Leader Teacher

Ashley Pancratz 1st Grade Team Leader Teacher

Kathy Hawthorne 3rd Grade Team Leader & Site Council Representative Teacher

Nicole Dodson Media Specialist & Site Council Representative Teacher

Amanda Herting 5th Grade Teacher & ELA Content Lead, Club Sponsor Teacher & Parent

Alena Almendarez 5th Grade Teacher, Science Content Lead, Club Sponsor Teacher

Katie Koshick 5th Grade Teacher, Club Sponsor Teacher

Sandi Klotz 4th Grade Teacher & ELA Content Lead, Club Sponsor Teacher

Bobby Norman Educational Technology Mentor Teacher

Lori Jamer Structured English Immersion (SEI) Coach Teacher

Kristin Smith 2nd Grade Team Leader and Site Council Rep Teacher

Genniva Rios Secretary Staff & Parent

Christine Hightower Administrative Assistant & PTSO President Staff & Parent

Dino Katsiris Assistant Principal & Site Council Representative Administrator

Lynn Clapper Preschool Teacher Teacher

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PART I: DISTRICT AND SCHOOL INFORMATION

DISTRICT INFORMATION: 1. Total number of Pre K-12 students enrolled in the district: 17,632

2. Number of schools in the district: 25

Elementary: 19

Middle/Junior High Schools: 6

Pre-K-8: 0

High Schools: 0

TOTAL SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT: 25

SCHOOL INFORMATION: 1. Highlight the category that best describes the area where the school is located:

Urban or large central city

Suburban Suburban with characteristics of urban areas

Small city/town in rural area

Rural

2. Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school: 12

If less than three years, number of years the previous principal was at this school: N/A

3. Number of students enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in the school:

Grade level: Number of students:

Grade level: Number of students:

Grade level: Number of students:

Pre-K 29 4th 129 9th N/A

Kindergarten 85 5th 134 10th N/A

1st 121 6th N/A 11th N/A

2nd 148 7th N/A 12th N/A

3rd 133 8th N/A Total Students 779 4. Racial/ethnic composition of students in the school:

% Black or African American

% Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other

Pacific Islander

% Hispanic or Latino

% American Indian or Alaska Native

% White % Other; Specify

7% 9.3 28% 2.7% 46% 7%;

Multiple Races

5. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 8.7% (Calculate this rate by taking the total number of students who transferred to or from your school between October 1 and the end of the school year, divided by the total number of students in school as of October 1, and multiplying by 100.)

6. Limited English proficient students in the school:

Total number: 28 As a % of total student population: 4%

a. Total Number of languages represented: 12

b. Specify languages: Cantonese, Czechoslovakian, English, Filipino, German, Japanese,

Mandarin, Navajo, Polish, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese

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7. Students who participate in free/reduced-priced meals:

Total number: 266 As a % of total student population: 34%

8. Students receiving special education services:

Total number: 52 As a % of total student population: 7%

Specific Learning Disability: 8 students (1%)

DD/Health Impaired/Autistic: 15 students (2%)

Other (specify): 35 students (4%) includes ED, OHI, and SLI

Indicate if your school is the district site for any specific special education magnet program(s); if so, include student

enrollment for program(s). 4-day AM & PM Sections of Developmental Preschool Program – 29 students

9. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:

Full-time Part-time

Administrators 2 0

Classroom teachers 30 0

Specials: Therapists 0 3

Resource teachers 3 0

Other 0 8

Paraprofessionals 0 14

Other Support Staff 3 2

TOTAL FTE: 54.6256

10.

Criteria 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011

Average daily student attendance rate* 96.1% 96.0% 96.0% 96.5% 95.7% Average daily teacher attendance rate 96.92% 96.57% 96.04% 96.42% 96.60% Teacher turnover rate 8.7% 8.7% 15.22% 15.56% 3.92% Student promotion rate 98.6% 99.4% 99.4% 99.3% 99.1% Graduation rate (high schools) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

*as reported to the Arizona Department of Education

Report in percentages

In computing student attendance, both excused and unexcused absences should be tallied as absent.

For teacher attendance, include personal and business leave as well as sick leave.

You will be allowed space to explain special circumstances affecting any or all of these indicators (800 word total limit).

No Significant changes in the data reported in items 1-10 have occurred during the past five years.

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PART II: SCHOOL SUMMARY (not to exceed 2,000 words)

Provide a brief but coherent snapshot of the school to be used primarily as a public relations document. If the school is recognized, the summary statement will be made available to the press. Part II: School Summary will provide the panel with important background information for understanding the school.

Writers must structure the School Summary narrative as follows:

Include the school name, city, and state in the first sentence.

State the school’s Vision, Mission and/or Values; briefly describe the process used to develop them and the goals related to them.

Summarize the strengths and accomplishments focusing especially on what makes the school a unique and successful place for learning and worthy of recognition. Emphasize the key initiatives and accomplishments that distinguish the school.

Describe major challenges the school has faced in the past five years, how the community has successfully managed them, and what the community has learned from them.

Briefly discuss anticipated future challenges and the school’s plans to address them.

Provide an analysis of the school’s letter grade of “A” or “B” (under Arizona Department of Education’s A-F Accountability system) over the past several years. Explain patterns of increase or decline in test scores. Discuss implications of any special circumstances that may affect student outcomes and what the school is doing to close gaps. Identify district or site-based assessments that reflect student growth and achievement.

Conclude the School Summary with a strong statement about what makes the school an excellent place for students to learn, grow and thrive.

Kyrene de las Brisas is located in a quiet residential community in Chandler, Arizona, across from

Desert Breeze Park. Brisas means “gentle wind” and our school mascot is the gecko, both reflective of

our native desert habitat. In 1994, we opened our doors to 341 students; twenty-two years later, we have

more than doubled in size with 779 students. We have always been a child-focused, family-friendly

school that engages parents in every aspect of their child’s education!

Our campus is uniquely designed with Brisas Elementary School on one side and Aprende Middle

School on the other side with our shared library in the middle. Just inside our front gate is our Peaceful

Garden tended lovingly by students and staff. Our distinctive courtyard exemplifies our school’s spirit.

It contains a heart-shaped mosaic tribute to retired Brisas staff; four colorful mosaics handmade by

students; and families’ hand-painted legacy tiles which embellish the masonry walls that divide this area

used for instruction and school events.

The A+ application process in 2012 brought staff together to reflect on the past and plan for our future.

As a result of a yearlong collaborative process, key stakeholders came to agreement on our school’s

Mission, Vision and Core Values. Today, we still share a commitment to these same beliefs that drive

the work we do each day.

At Brisas, we believe in educating the whole child and take seriously our charge to give students the

tools they need for success in the 21st century. We are committed to our Mission… to do what’s best for

kids to ensure their success. This keeps us grounded and focused on what matters most, yet allows us

the flexibility to respond to students’ needs and adapt to changes that impact education. We take pride

in collaborating with all stakeholders to build relationships, define goals, face challenges, and plan for

the future. We build a successful tomorrow...one child at a time!

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We believe it is our responsibility to lead students to become responsible and productive citizens with

strong character. We strive to ensure students know that they are important and have unique gifts to

give the world. By empowering students to become the leaders of tomorrow, we make real our

Vision…to inspire students to love learning, empower them to reach their potential, and nurture them in

a culture of PEACE.

We are driven by Goals, embedded within our Vision, in our pursuit of excellence:

Inspire students to love learning – Our accomplished and dedicated staff light the pathway for learning.

They engage learners in ways that capture their imaginations and challenge their intellects. It is our goal

to inspire students to love learning, including the Arts which are valued as a crucial part of a child’s

learning experience.

Empower students to reach their potential – We believe in all of our students and teach them to believe

in themselves. Our students are challenged to meet and exceed rigorous curriculum standards. It is our

goal to meet their needs as individuals through differentiation and systematic, research-based

intervention.

Nurture students in a culture of PEACE – It is our goal to teach our students Lifeskills® and leadership

principles so they have tools to be successful as citizens and in life. These skills are woven seamlessly

into our school’s culture. PEACE is the watchword of our school behavior management plan as well as

the acronym for our Core Values:

Pride – We show pride in our school, pride in each other, and pride in our work.

Effort – We make the effort that is essential to learning and success.

Achievement – We strive to reach higher so we can achieve more.

Character – We believe in being the kind of person who will be a credit to society.

Excellence – We reflect an ethic of excellence in teaching and learning.

At Brisas, we set the standard for excellence in all that we do! We have a long history of outstanding

student achievement as evidenced by our Letter Grade of A by the Arizona Department of Education.

Past AIMS scores show we outperform other schools in the state. AIMS 2014 results proved an average

of 92% of students in 3rd-5th grade passed Reading and 83% of students passed Mathematics. More

recent, our AzMERIT scores surpassed other schools in the state with an average of 26% higher

achievement in ELA and 27% higher achievement in Mathematics. Moreover, when comparing our

students’ achievement to other students in the A-Rated Kyrene School District, Brisas averaged 61% on

the AzMERIT ELA assessment compared to other Kyrene students who averaged 51%. Likewise on

AzMERIT Mathematics, Brisas averaged 61% compared to other Kyrene students who averaged 54%.

Our students’ performance on standardized assessments is just one way to measure that Brisas is a

successful place for learning and worthy of this recognition.

As a PBIS (i.e. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) school, our culture is positive and

nurturing for all stakeholders. There is a special spirit that you sense as you enter our campus, an

obvious pride of ownership that this is our school and that we are a family. Families regularly attend

school functions. Many parents volunteer and take on leadership roles on our Site Council and PTSO.

We are blessed with parents who are actively engaged in our school, which is filled to capacity with an

astonishing 66.2% (516) of students who attend on Open Enrollment living outside Brisas boundaries.

Nearly one-third (246) of our total student enrollment lives outside of our District’s boundaries choosing

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to drive from Maricopa, San Tan Valley and as far as Glendale to attend Brisas.

Not only are our parents engaged in our school, but our students and staff are too! This is evidenced by

the Parent Satisfaction Survey (spring 2015) that stated 95% of parents are satisfied with the

opportunities to be involved in their child’s education. The Gallup Employee Engagement Survey

(spring 2015) attested Brisas employees are highly satisfied with Brisas as a place to work (4.41/5.0

mean). Our Student Survey (spring 2015) also noted 93% of 2nd-5th grade students feel positive about

their experience at Brisas with 68% who enthusiastically appraised “My school is awesome!” At Brisas,

we know that when parents, employees and students are actively engaged in teaching and learning a

successful framework for learning exists that supports our Mission!

We have many unique programs that distinguishes our school! We inspire, empower and nurture

students through abundant, varied educational programs. Student leadership opportunities include

Student Council, the Gecko Gazette student newspaper, and our exclusive SPARK Club service learning

program. Our Fine Arts programs - Mallet Masters percussion group and Gecko Players theatre group -

are top quality! As a part of our schoolwide STEM initiative, we offer Coding and Robotics during the

day and STEM Club after school. Also unique to Brisas is ABC Mentoring, SPOK Tutoring, Learning

Assistants, and Lens of Leadership programs, all of which positively contribute to our success making us

worthy of the A+ School of Excellence award.

In regards to challenges over the past five years, open enrollment has increased the size of our student

body which has brought more diversity in students’ needs; this challenge has been addressed with the

systematic implementation of Instructional Focus Groups, new intervention resources for

differentiation, and support programs that include mentoring, tutoring and counseling services.

Adopting the Common Core Standards has also required additional staff development so teachers can

understand the learning progression of each standard to increase the rigor of their instruction; this

challenge has been addressed with targeted professional development so teachers are well-versed in best

practices and students achieve at high levels. The safety of our school has always been of utmost

importance to us. After the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook in 2012, we faced the ever-increasing

challenge of school violence; this challenge has been addressed with enhanced security measures, i.e.

closing our playground to parents before school, remolding our front office, installing additional security

structures (e.g. fencing, video camera surveillance, keyless entry), adhering to a new visitor ID policy,

conducting more routine emergency drills in cooperation with law enforcement, conducting staff

training on active shooter scenarios, and our administrators becoming trained in FEMA’s National

Incident Management System.

Looking ahead to the next five years, we will address future challenges as a Professional Learning

Community. We will increase the rigor of instruction to meet the Common Core Standards, respond to

greater diversity of students’ needs, and answer to the ever-present threat of terrorism and school

violence all the while responding to the reality of a tighter budget and diminishing resources. While we

move forward in a collaborative and focused manner to address these challenges, we will also take

purposeful actions to maintain staff morale and our positive school climate. We will strive to implement

the Common Core Standards with fidelity and address the additional challenge of measuring our success

using the on-line format of AzMERIT. Through close examination of our district and state assessments,

we will address the achievement gap between Caucasian students and Hispanic, Black and Native

American students. By integrating equity strategies in our instruction, we will address this crucial gap

that also plagues the nation. We will continue to incorporate equity strategies in our School

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Improvement Plan and review achievement data by subgroups (e.g. race, gender, special education,

ELL) to monitor our progress. Additionally, we know that good crisis planning and preparation help to

mitigate traumatic impacts from school violence. Now that our principal is trained in PREPaRE – an

evidence-based school crisis prevention and intervention training curriculum, our Site Council will

conduct a school building vulnerability assessment to evaluate our current crisis planning and

preparedness. In response to findings, a comprehensive plan will be developed in cooperation with all

stakeholders to ensure all critical crisis components are securely in place.

For many years before the Arizona Department of Education’s A-F Accountability System went into

place, Brisas was labeled an Excelling school. In 2012, as we transitioned to this new system, Brisas

received the top rating of Excelling while also receiving the Letter Grade of B reflective of a 137 total

points (composite and growth score) that was 3 points shy of the Letter Grade of A. In 2013, Arizona

schools did not receive labels, rather only letter grades. Proudly, Brisas received a Letter Grade of A

with a gain of 12 points compared to the previous year, which was a result of our composite points

increasing from 85 to 91 and our growth points increasing from 52 to 58. Again in 2014, we received a

Letter Grade of A with an additional gain in total points in both the composite and growth components.

This is evidence of a pattern of increased test scores overtime. In 2015, due to the initial administration

of AzMERIT, schools were not given a letter grade. However, we expect to see continued gains in

future years that will continue to result in the Letter Grade of A as we support students in meeting the

high expectations of more rigorous standards. Brisas will continue to make data-driven decisions

through our school improvement process and work with stakeholders to ensure students reach their

potential. We will also continue to use District ELA and Math Summative Assessments, in addition to

AzMERIT, to monitor and ensure our students continue to grow and achieve.

The A+ application process has once again provided us with an opportunity to reflect on our

Mission…to do what’s best for kids to ensure their success. This reflection has given us a chance to

celebrate our successes and define future goals. We are still learning and growing as a school

community. However, one thing is certain, we will continue to embrace whatever discoveries lie on the

horizon and will work together to achieve our Vision…to inspire students to love learning, empower

them to reach their potential, and nurture them in a culture of PEACE. Thank you for considering

Kyrene de las Brisas once again for this special recognition.

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PART III: EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS EVIDENCE DOCUMENTATION

The criteria used for the A+ School of Excellence™ program are derived from reliable research about the efficacy of results-focused, effective schools. The guidelines in Part III are:

A basis for collaborative self-assessment: The criteria are a useful tool for self-assessment, strategic planning, and involvement of all relevant stakeholders in a common school improvement initiative. Self-assessment based on multiple sources of data is an effective school improvement strategy. Research and experience suggest that self-assessment benefits schools and fosters improvements in practice. Successful schools have a process for planning and reflection. Thus, the A+ School of Excellence™ criteria are valuable to schools assessing their current programs and practices in relation to those outlined in the program application.

Comprehensive: They are intended to address all important internal and external aspects of school operations, yet be broad enough to suit diverse school contexts and to accommodate new or changing goals and strategies within any particular school.

Interrelated: There is a dynamic link among the criteria. They address the multiple, embedded, and interacting contexts of school life. The systematic use of a broad composite of criteria helps to ensure that school improvement goals and strategies are balanced. The following must be embedded throughout all sections of Part III: professional development; the building blocks to college and career readiness through implementation of the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards and use of appropriate curriculum and effective instruction; and your school’s response to implementation of Arizona College and Career Ready Standards, teacher and principal evaluation systems, budget challenges, and other external influences.

Non-prescriptive: The focus is on results rather than on specific means or procedures. The A+ School of Excellence™ criteria and process may be used as a blueprint to help schools be more focused and more committed to specific school improvement strategies, implementation of Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards and teacher evaluation processes.

EVIDENCE: BE SPECIFIC; SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS. In the process of writing an A+ School of Excellence™ application, rich evidence of success and innovation is a key component required in ALL sections in Part III. Some examples of evidence include:

ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES, PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES; SCHOOL-WIDE FUNCTIONS

➢ Purpose, goals, outcomes as related to Vision, Mission, Values, Strategic Plan and Goals

➢ Evidence of effectiveness and success as related to Vision, Mission, Values, Strategic Plan and Goals

➢ Participation rates (raw numbers or percentages) compared to class size, grade level, overall student population, etc. disaggregated by grade levels, gender, other

➢ Evaluation surveys, participant feedback, anecdotes

➢ Well-documented, continuous, ongoing and sustainable assessment and improvement AWARDS/HONORS ➢ Date received, by whom, and community members affected ➢ Significance and relevance

MEETINGS ➢ Purpose of groups/committees as related to Vision, Mission, Strategic Plan and Goals

➢ Make-up of groups/committees and how that is determined

➢ Meeting frequency and attendance ➢ What transpired; outcomes

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A. Strong Instructional Leadership Describe a leadership style that is inclusive, collaborative and transparent. Describe (a) how the leadership centers the operation of the school on teaching, learning and working with stakeholders to improve all aspects of education at the school and (b) how the school’s Vision, Mission and Values propel the school to excellence.

A1. Leadership structure, roles and functions are important at the school (not to exceed 1,500 words).

Describe the role and style of the principal as instructional leader and lead learner.

Discuss how key stakeholders within the school have a voice in decisions of critical importance to the school and to themselves. Include other leadership roles and positions held by stakeholders to ensure a shared responsibility for the common good of the community. Talk about how these roles and positions are formed, selected and structured.

Describe how leadership ensures that policies, programs, relations and resources focus on promoting teaching and learning and meeting students’ needs.

Describe the process in place for leadership to create, promote, support, measure, and sustain specific, concrete goals to guide teachers’ efforts.

Our principal, Christie Winkelmann, leads our collective efforts to build and sustain a culture of

excellence. Her open-door policy and strong belief in collaboration unites our staff, students, and

community. Over the past 22 years, Christie has served in numerous roles in the Kyrene School District.

Prior to the last 12 years as principal at Brisas, she has been a special education teacher and district-level

administrator (i.e. Director of Community Education and Executive Director of Student Services). For

many years, she also served as a District Lead Principal, providing leadership for various districtwide

initiatives and consultation/support for her colleagues. As a multi-tasking marvel, she is a beautiful

burst of energy on our campus. In a typical day, Christie may direct morning traffic, present educational

research to her peers, observe and coach teachers, comfort a worried parent, lead a grade level data chat,

facilitate professional development at a staff meeting, and scoop up a student to give him/her a much

needed hug. Christie models excellence in every aspect of her leadership and administrative

responsibilities at our school!

Christie is committed to keeping students at the heart of our organization. She has an unwavering moral

commitment to student success, teacher growth and a quality school community. Our vibrant, healthy,

learning-centered culture is a result of her leadership as is our shared Core Values that focus on making

a difference for all students. Christie is our instructional leader and leads by example as a learner herself;

she has all of the same foundational trainings that she expects of her staff, such as DIBELS Next,

Cognitive Guided Instruction, and Thinking Maps. Along with all Brisas teachers, she is also taking

Write from the Beginning and Beyond, an advanced Thinking Maps training that supports our School

Improvement Plan in the area of Writing. In addition, she has taken a 16-hour advanced training in

Thinking Maps - A Language for Leadership to model these same critical thinking tools in her

administrative duties. Also evidenced by the Principal Survey (spring 2015), 96% of staff stated “My

principal is a leader who continually improves her professional practice.” She definitely sees the big

picture, but also keeps a close eye on the details. With three kids under the age of 13, all of whom have

attended Brisas from preschool on, she astonishes us all!

Today, schools cannot succeed in isolation. Christie recognizes this and is always working to create

community partnerships. She also works to develops teachers’ leadership capabilities by exercising her

support rather than her control. She creates leadership roles at the school and engages all stakeholders in

shared decision-making. Moreover, she engages stakeholders in a collective, purposeful manner,

effectively utilizing all available staff to accomplish critical learning goals as well as the daily work of

our school. Although Christie Winkelmann seems to be omnipresent most days, she truly believes that

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decision-making should be a shared responsibility of all staff and stakeholders within the school

community.

All teachers serve on 1 of 4 school committees which have representation from every grade-level and

special area. The members of these committees direct the scope of their work and make everyday

decisions of critical importance to Brisas. On the Principal Survey (spring 2015), 93% of staff said,

“My principal provides opportunities for staff input regarding the optimal functioning of the school.”

Our 4 schoolwide committees with broad teacher representation include:

The Team Leader Committee makes data-driven decisions that influence school-wide professional

development, establishes grading expectations, oversees budget and resource allocations, and

addresses policies that effect the overall management of the school.

The KSIT Committee reviews research-based interventions, establishes consistent school-wide

procedures for data collection, analysis, and use of data.

The Technology Committee analyzes the technology applications currently in place, resolves

technical issues, promotes grade-level use of technology across content areas, and assists staff in

learning and integrating new applications (e.g. Google Apps, Class Dojo, Socrative, and Plickers),

Educational Resources (e.g. Discovery Education, Tech4Learning, BookFLIX), programs

(e.g. Scratch, Minecraft, and Makey-Makey) and schoolwide initiatives (e.g. Hour of Code).

The Climate Committee analyzes our atmosphere and culture so as to improve safety and ensure a

positive learning environment for students, staff and parents.

At Brisas, we also have additional groups that engage teachers and administrators in our work. An

example is our Special Education Team which meets twice a month to monitor IEPS, schedule

evaluations, and receive updates on procedural changes. This team also analyzes, monitors and supports

at-risk students. As students respond to interventions, this team monitors their progress and adjusts

programming and support to ensure tier III interventions are in place.

Furthermore, students in our Student Council and SPARK Club help make decisions that impact our

school (see D4). Parents, teachers and students also have a voice when they attend Brisas PTSO

meetings. Last year, our 4th and 5th grade students, as well as their parents, had a voice in our final

decision to continue using a block schedule (e.g. surveys in the fall and spring). This year, students had

a voice in our decision to expand coding. Our Site Council consists of a community member, parents,

teachers and support staff. They provide oversight for our school improvement efforts, decide how to

allocate tax credit donations, and provide substantive input on all large-scale initiatives (e.g. office

remodel, significant changes to pick-up & drop-off procedures, parking lot expansion). Every spring,

the Site Council also conducts a Parent Satisfaction Survey to get feedback from parents on all aspects

of their child’s education. The Site Council considers our parents’ voice as they collaborate on decisions

of critical importance to our school.

Our staff is a Professional Learning Community (PLC) committed to collaboration, data-driven

decision-making, reflection, and shared responsibility for all students (see C1&2). Achieving our

Mission, to do what’s best for kids to ensure their success, would not be possible any other way. In

addition to committees, every grade-level team meets weekly as a PLC to collaborate on curriculum,

plan lessons based on assessment data, discuss student issues, identify interventions, and make decisions

to ensure positive experiences in the classroom. As grade level PLC’s, teachers routinely analyze student

performance, create common formative assessments, and respond to students’ needs for extension and

remediation through the use of strategically incorporated Instructional Focus Group (IFG) time (see C1-

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4). As a PLC, teachers also monitor their students’ progress on grade-level goals as a part of our School

Improvement Plan (SIP).

To ensure that policies, programs, relations and resources focus on promoting teaching, learning and

meeting students’ needs, our principal and/or assistant principal facilitate all school-wide committee

meetings. They also monitor the work of grade level PLC’s through required agendas and minutes that

are accessible on Google Drive. On the Principal Survey (spring 2015), 95% of staff indicated “My

principal manages the resources of the school (fiscal, operational, technological) in a way that focuses

on effective instruction and the achievement of all students.” Furthermore, through regular use of on-

line surveys, focus groups, and community meetings, our principal is able to measure stakeholder

support for various initiatives in order to improve and sustain all aspects of our school’s operations. For

example, parents have provided feedback on the effectiveness of parent/teacher conferences, the ease of

our pick-up and drop-off procedures following substantive changes, the flow of traffic before and after

school, and the block schedule used in 4th and 5th grades. Students have also engaged in focus groups

about the climate in the lunchroom, playground intramurals, and most recently about their experience

with coding.

Through an inclusive, collaborative framework of various Professional Learning Communities (e.g.

grade level teams, cross-grade level committees, councils with stakeholder representation), regular

review of data from multiple sources, and input from stakeholders, Christie is able to effectively create,

promote, and support our school’s Mission, Vision and Core Values.

A2. The school improvement process or Strategic Plan is organized and managed to ensure that the school is always moving forward (not to exceed 1,500 words). ● Explain how research findings and analysis of data inform policies and practices, programs, relationships, and use of

resources to establish priorities and prompt school improvements. ● Describe the school’s collaborative school improvement or strategic planning process and how major stakeholders are

involved in school-wide and classroom improvement initiatives. ● Tell how professional development and collaboration support and sustain teachers’ effort, commitment and

involvement related to the school’s improvement process. ● Discuss how data analysis and interpretation are used to identify, develop, implement and assess the effectiveness of

improvement or strategic plans. Give examples of specific improvements that have been implemented as a result of the identified improvement or strategic plan.

Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) is data-driven and organized by academic area with collaboratively

developed grade-level SMART Goals and Action Plans for Reading, Writing and Mathematics. We

begin each school year by reviewing student achievement data, which includes standardized assessment

results as well as district summative assessment results for ELA and Mathematics. We then drill down

to the standard-level to identify specific areas within each content area that require improvement. For

example, the results of last spring’s Kyrene Math Summative identified our lowest performance on

Operations in Algebraic Thinking standards in K-2nd grade and Fractions standards in 3rd-5th grades.

As a school, we then examined the progression of these standards across grade levels, the academic

needs of each specific cohort of students, and the strengths and weaknesses of each grade-level team to

pinpoint which standards we would focus on so our collective efforts could have the most impact. Our

School Improvement Plan for Mathematics is focused on Operations in Algebraic Thinking (i.e.

problem-solving in context) for K-2nd grade and Fractions for 3rd-5th grades. For Reading, we are

focused on Informational Text for K-1st grades as well as 4th-5th grades, while 2nd-3rd grades are

focused on Literary Text. For Writing, our improvement efforts are focused on Informative/Explanatory

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Text in K-3rd grades and drawing evidence from both Literary and Informational Text for 4th-5th grades.

At Brisas, 97% of staff said, “My principal guides the School Improvement Plan process by developing

clear and measurable goals that are focused on critical needs regarding improving overall student

achievement.” (Principal Survey, spring 2016).

Once we reach consensus as a school on the specific standards we will focus on, we then decide on

proficiency goals and what assessments we will use to measure our success. Teachers then work in

grade-level Professional Learning Communities to identify instructional strategies, implementation

timeline, methods to monitor progress, and indicators of success which they include in their grade-level

Action Plans for Reading, Writing and Mathematics. As the year progresses, each grade level also

creates common formative assessments that are administered every 3-4 weeks to monitor progress

toward achieving our goals. Teachers input this data for every student in a shared Excel document,

which is then used to analyze students’ progress in weekly grade-level PLC meetings. Teachers also

track their students’ performance on their SIP goals for Reading, Writing and Mathematics on graphs

posted in their classroom.

Our administrators, Literacy Coach and Math Coach meet with every grade-level team in Data Chats at

the end of each quarter to discuss student progress, offer ideas for additional evidence-based

interventions that research shows will yield academic growth, and help team’s make revisions to their

Action Plans. We also graph grade-level progress on each SIP goal each quarter and post this data in the

main hallway for students and parents to see. Our principal leads school assemblies at the end of each

quarter to celebrate students’ progress on our School Improvement Plan goals. Our Site Council,

consisting of representatives from each stakeholder group, provides oversight for our School

Improvement Plan. Moreover, 97% of staff validated “My principal guides our School Improvement

Plan work so that data are analyzed, interpreted, and used to regularly monitor progress toward school

achievement goals.” (Principal Survey, spring 2016).

Our teachers are able to access district-provided professional development as well as job-embedded

professional development throughout the year. At Brisas, we have a part-time Literacy Coach and Math

Coach who support teachers on alternating weeks. While at our school, our coaches plan with teachers,

mentor new teachers, offer workshops, model lessons, co-teach lessons, and gather instructional

resources for teachers. Their efforts are driven by the goals in our School Improvement Plan and

customized to meet the needs of individual teachers. This year, professional development has included

an examination of Mathematical Practices, strategies for appropriate use of academic vocabulary, the

use of Thinking Maps so students can record and represent their knowledge, and the use of the Close

Reading strategy so students are better able to process new information. Teachers have also been

learning different equity strategies, such as using Read & Write Gold. Both of our coaches have worked

with every grade-level team this year to deconstruct their SIP focus standards and guide their on-going

instructional planning.

Last spring, after an analysis of data and open dialog about current instructional practices and need for

resources, Brisas teachers committed to making writing our top priority for improvement over the course

of the next three years. Brisas teachers came to consensus on using Thinking Maps as the basis for

systematic writing instruction school-wide. Teachers made this decision on the fact that we had been

implementing this research-based strategy schoolwide and with fidelity for 4-years. As a result, students

in every grade level are now able to use the eight visual patterns with eight cognitive processes (i.e.

defining in context; classifying; describing; comparing and contrasting; sequencing; cause and effect;

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whole-part relationships; analogies) which has provided a common visual language for students and

teachers across grade levels and content areas to increase critical thinking skills. Evidence of students

applying Thinking Maps schoolwide and across content areas is displayed each year on a bulletin board

in the main hallway. Additionally, with three Thinking Maps trainers on staff who can serve as either

trainers and/or mentors, staff also felt strongly that by acquiring an advanced Thinking Maps training

centered on writing we would not only achieve a systematic, research-based, schoolwide approach to

writing but also obtain the instructional resources (i.e. training, mini lessons, exemplars) that teachers

desperately need.

Our principal immediately set out to secure $4,000 to purchase the first of three sets of training materials

as well as outlined a plan for how to implement the training over the next three years. After writing a

grant to the Kyrene Educational Foundation, which was not funded, she successfully secured funding

from Target and our PTSO to purchase the needed materials. One member of our PTSO, stated

“Christie is one determined lady when it comes to meeting all students’ needs! She prioritizes every

school dollar and when she doesn’t have the resources she needs…she finds them! She has written

grants, acquired donations, and formed partnerships. Whenever she asks PTSO for money, I always

vote YES because I know what she wants to do is going to positively impact teaching and learning.”

(Christine Hightower, President) Brisas teachers are in the process now of receiving professional

development on direct writing instruction, guided writing instruction, and how to optimize opportunities

for students to engage in more purposeful practice for the three genres outlined in the AZCCRS with an

advanced Thinking Maps training – Write from the Beginning and Beyond. This is just one example of

how data analysis and interpretation was used in a collaborative manner to identify and implement a

specific improvement as part of our School Improvement Plan. Additional improvements related to our

School Improvement Plan include the strategic use of the Close Reading strategy in all 2nd-5th grade

classrooms and the use of Read & Write Gold to meet specific students’ needs.

B. School Organization and Culture Teachers and students must feel safe to have the necessary energy for teaching and learning. Focus on elements of the school environment and context that provide the successful framework for learning: organization; culture; and interpersonal relationships. This is an opportunity to describe the feel of the school. This section should reflect that the school is a positive, nurturing place for all stakeholders – staff, faculty, parents and students. B1. Underlying values, beliefs and traditions ensure that people work together to solve problems and confront challenges (not to exceed 1,500 words). ● Describe how the school communicates the culture and values of the school to all stakeholders. ● Tell how the observable behaviors and actions of all stakeholders reflect a positive climate at the school. ● Describe the activities and celebrations that are routinely practiced to build positive relations among students, staff,

parents and the community.

At Brisas there is a dynamic interaction between our staff and the families we serve. We are united in

the belief that the beginning of a child’s education defines the future. We work together to give our

students the best learning experience possible during these critical formative years by providing an

environment that fosters learning and is grounded in our Core Values. “The teachers take a genuine

interest in the well-being of each student, considering not just the academic needs, but the social and

emotional development of each child. As a parent, I am grateful to know my children are in a nurturing,

structured and engaging environment daily that Brisas staff work hard to build and sustain.” (Layden

Puig-Ivonnet, parent)

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In addition to our principal communicating our school’s culture and values through The Gecko, our

weekly school newsletter, our stakeholders also know “Brisas” from our behaviors and actions. We

value the strong relationship and synergy we have built with our community and truly believe that

together we achieve more! Evidence of Brisas’ spirit is everywhere on campus; visitors feel it as they

come into our school and observe it in our staff and student body. We are a family! There is a ton of

positive energy that impacts student learning at Brisas. Our students achieve more because they know

they are supported and cared for. “Over 20 years ago, I attended Kyrene de las Brisas when they were

building the surrounding neighborhoods. There are so many reasons I decided to send my own son to

the same school. There is a certain feeling of family belonging that no other school offers; from the

kindness at the front desk, to the communication of the Brisas teachers, to the encouragement of parent

involvement in the classroom. It has helped me become closer to my son. Just from volunteering for the

Art Masterpiece program and holiday centers, I too learn the curriculum so I can better support him at

home. We love everything about this school and are so proud to have our child attend.” (Kristina Tee,

parent)

More specifically, our courtyard is evidence of our school culture and values enhanced with 4 colorful

mosaics collaboratively made by our inaugural study body, hand-painted legacy tiles added each year by

families, and a giant mosaic heart enriched with the handprint of each of our retired educators. A giant

mosaic gecko also welcomes students as they enter our playground.

Each school year begins with a new theme, such as space, safari, super heroes, enchanted forest,

nautical, etc. This year’s theme is “A World-Class Education”. Our hallways are also enriched with

special bulletin boards that recognize students’ academic accomplishments and leadership roles. They

also provide a historical remembrance of each year in our school’s story. “Brisas is an excellent

elementary school! I toured many schools feeling the pressure to consider charters and private options,

but none had the spirit of Brisas. Every year, the walls of Brisas are decorated to match whatever

theme the school will follow for the year, and every year my kids can’t wait to see what it will look like.

I can’t imagine how much time it takes the teachers; time they don’t have to give. The education that

the teachers provide is outstanding, but it is the heart that they put in that stands above the rest.” (Amy

Whittington, parent). Our spirit is also evident when our staff and students proudly wear a myriad of

school t-shirts and dress-up for several special events (e.g. PEACE Day celebrations, Decades Week, No

Name Calling Week) throughout the year. How we decorate our school building as well as our

behaviors and actions communicate our Core Values.

We sustain our positive culture through many traditions. Every year, we welcome students and families

at Meet the Teacher and Curriculum Night when staff model our values and communicate grade-level

expectations for teaching and learning. Grade levels, along with our PTSO, sponsor several annual

events that bring our community together. Our Ice Cream Social, attended this fall by 371 students and

their families, is a welcoming event for our community to interact and get to know each other. Our

popular Pumpkin Walk, attended this year by 583 students and their families, begins during the day

when most of the all parents come to carve pumpkins with their children and then return in costume that

night to find our courtyard aglow with more than 800 unique jack-o-lanterns. There’s always a record

turnout for our Turkey Trot; this year, we had 317 parents come to run with their children, and then

many stayed for lunch. Our Decades Dance is a chance for students to dress-up in their favorite decade

attire and dance the night away with food and fun for everyone. Spring brings our Art Walk, in which

families enjoy touring the hallways covered with artwork created by our talented students. At our Spring

Carnival, families enjoy games, bouncies, staff in the dunk tank, and our principal kissing a live animal;

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so far, Christie Winkelmann has kissed a pig, donkey, cow and even a spitting llama! Our end-of-year

traditions include a School Assembly with video tribute and a Staff vs. 5th Grade Kickball Game.

To realize our Vision, to nurture students in a culture of PEACE, we also have many schoolwide

activities and celebrations routinely practiced as a result of Positive Behaviors Interventions and

Supports (PBIS), which help us build positive relationships among students. For example, each day

during televised morning announcements, administration reminds students to resolve conflicts in a

peaceful way. Every Friday, one student from every classroom who exemplifies peaceful behaviors (i.e.

respect, responsibility and safety) is spotlighted on announcements and then awarded a special

principal’s pencil and certificate. Every month, four exemplary students from each grade level are

recognized and choose from a menu of awards that includes taking care of one of our Peace Bears,

receiving a gift certificate, serving as principal or assistant principal for the day, etc. Every quarter, one

boy and one girl from each grade level are chosen to participate in a schoolwide activity usually with

their classroom teacher. These schoolwide activities have included throwing a pie in the principal’s

face, a snowball tossing contest, a scavenger hunt, a three-legged race, a tug-of-war contest, and even a

Let’s Dance dance-off! In addition to the above, one classroom each week is recognized for their

excellent behavior in the cafeteria. Gordon the Great Going Gecko travels to their classroom for a

week’s stay capturing all his adventures in his writing journal. We also track PEACE Days, days without

behavioral referrals to the office. When the student body achieves increments of 15 PEACE Days, all

students vote on a schoolwide celebration (e.g. crazy hair day, pajama day, sports day). When we reach

our top goal of 100 PEACE Days, we celebrate with a school-wide PEACE Parade and take a student

body picture. Past pictures have been in the shape of a peace sign, rainbow, heart, A+, smiley face,

boot, and “20” symbolic of our 20th school birthday! At Brisas, we have many school traditions that

sustain our Vision and exemplify our Core Values of P.E.A.C.E.

Lastly, our positive and nurturing school climate is evidenced by our substantial number of Open

Enrollment families who choose Brisas for their children. Of our 779 students, 516 attend on Open

Enrollment as they do not live within our school’s boundaries. Of these families, 246 (48% of students

on Open Enrollment) come from outside Kyrene School District boundaries and 270 (52% of students

on Open Enrollment) choose our school over their neighborhood Kyrene school. Currently, less than 1/3

of students who attend Brisas actually live within our school’s boundaries, yet our school remains at

capacity with limited space each year to accept new families on Open Enrollment. Our enrollment is

evidence of our highly sought after culture of excellence. One parent recently shared the following

testimony with administration via e-mail. “I want you to know that I used to drive from Buckeye (home)

to Chandler (Brisas) to Phoenix (work) round trip every day for a year just to keep Kaia at Brisas

because I love the school, I love the mission, I love the diversity, and I felt safe with my child (now two

children) attending Brisas. I now have centered my residence around Brisas and plan on buying a

house in the Brisas school zone.” (Dena Roberts, parent) Another parent recently shard, “Brisas is not

our “home” school. We specifically chose Brisas for our children and are very pleased with their

academic progress and extracurricular opportunities. My kids love going to Brisas! Annual themes,

family events, STEM opportunities, gifted and focus groups, art and music classes, intramurals, drama

and other onsite extracurricular activities make for a positive and exciting environment where my kids

are eager to learn and do their best.” (Sonja Blanco, parent)

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B2. The school environment or climate is conducive to learning for all and moves beyond the elimination of undesirable behavior (not to exceed 1,500 words). ● Discuss how the school creates and sustains collaborative, cooperative, and safe and orderly environments for all

stakeholders. Include professional development support that is in place related to this. Provide specific examples of how non-teaching staff members (i.e. counselors, administrators, paraprofessionals, transportation, maintenance, support, cafeteria, nurse, crossing guards, etc.) support and affect the school culture.

● Describe how the school fosters positive interactions, respect, cooperation, and collaboration between and among students and adults, and promotes a healthy peer climate among students.

We are purposeful in our efforts to create and sustain a collaborative, cooperative, safe and orderly

environment for all stakeholders as we live-out our Vision everyday modeling the shared Core Values

we hold dear in our hearts. Our inclusive, collaborative, and responsive nature is certainly key to our

success. As such, it is not surprising that Brisas staff are highly engaged. The Gallup Employee

Engagement Survey (spring 2015) with an N Count of 64 staff members showed our greatest strengths in

the areas of “Mission/Purpose” (4.31/5.0 mean) and “Commitment to Quality Work” (4.28/5.0 mean)

both indicators of a positive school climate that is conducive to learning for all. These incredibly high

scores also reflect our staff’s amazing commitment to Brisas’ Mission and Vision.

Our support staff serve an important role with our students. Our cafeteria manager gets to know every

student by name. All of our playground and cafeteria supervisors also serve in other capacities (such as

instructional aides, resource aides, crossing guards, and/or parent volunteers) so they interact with the

majority of students in multiple settings in a very personable way. Our three office staff and health

assistant are also cross-trained so they are familiar with all students, their parents, and their individual

health needs. Our support staff truly impact our Vision and Mission within their circle of influence;

having so many of them cross-trained also allows them to be much more aware of how best to

consistently support students’ learning inside and outside the classroom. They also make a conscious

effort each day to connect with our most at-risk students to acknowledge their presence and value at our

school. Noteworthy to share is that an astounding 91% of our non-teaching staff have either attended

Brisas themselves, have had children, or currently have children or grandchildren who attend Brisas!

Our support staff’s deep commitment to Brisas definitely plays a significant role in helping to sustain

our positive school climate overtime.

The positive school climate at Brisas is also a significant contributor to our low teacher turnover rate,

which in turn helps to build continuity within grade level teams and keep our underlying values and

traditions strong. Specifically, we have 4 core teachers who have school-age children and 100% of

them choose Brisas for their children’s education. “Four years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity for

my son, Lucas, to enroll at Brisas. This school a loving, safe community that allows children to grow,

while establishing who they will become as a person down the road. Next year, I am very excited to have

my second child begin kindergarten as I return for my twelfth year at Brisas.” (Megan Noppenberg,

parent and 5th grade teacher) We also have 3 more core teachers who have infants/toddlers who also

intend to enroll their children at Brisas when they turn preschool-age. “I can’t wait for my son to

experience Brisas. He has one shot at an education and as a parent I am looking for an environment

that will not only nurture him as an individual, but provide a high quality education while fostering his

social development. Lucky for me, Brisas far exceeds these expectations.” (Mrs. Almendarez, 5th grade

teacher) Moreover, as a whole staff, we currently have 16 employees whose children attend Brisas; 16

employees that had their children attend Brisas when they were school-aged; 3 employees whose

grandchildren now attend Brisas; 3 former Brisas students who are now employed at Brisas one of

which is a teacher; and 2 employees that are also mother and daughter. Our employees’ strong family

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connection to Brisas significantly contributes to our overall stable staffing, staff morale and their

commitment to quality all of which strongly influences our ability to sustain a positive school climate.

Brisas also encourages positive interactions between and among adults and students on a daily basis.

Students are taught about the Lifeskills throughout the year. Students in every classroom are assigned

one of the Lifeskills during the year which they then work together to teach to the entire student body on

morning announcements. Lifeskills are also modeled and reinforced by all Brisas staff each and every

day. “When walking into the school, the atmosphere is friendly, welcoming, and feels safe! I know my

kids are learning…not only skills academically, but life skills as this school values the belief that

students are more than just what a test score says.” (Mamie Feurion, parent) Positive peer interaction

and cooperation also begins early with our Learning Buddies. Our primary classes partner with upper-

grade classes to engage in various social and learning activities, such as Buddy Reading, throughout the

year. Each of our kindergarten and 1st grade classes also have Ambassadors who interact with students

like a trusted big brother or big sister at the start and end of every school day throughout the year. One

teacher shared, “Our Ambassadors are part of our classroom community! Not only do we start and end

every day with us, we also greet them in the halls, see them on their way to lunch, and they help us with

special projects and activities (e.g. Hour of Coding™, Thanksgiving Feast, walking field trip to police

and fire station).” (Audrey Yoshioka, Kindergarten Teacher)

For students who struggle with peer relationships, our school psychologist offers support groups with

lessons that help build social skills and self-esteem. We also strive to meet the needs of our special

education students through inclusion, and provide sensitivity training, as needed, to prepare all students

for a culturally and socially diverse environment. “Brisas strive to create a school community rich in

respect and appreciation for each child’s uniqueness. Not only do the teachers care about and

appreciate the children in their classes, they also work to create a school culture where everyone is a

friend and is to be treated with respect.” (Amanda & Ross Teske, parents)

We currently have 60 students who participate in the ABC (Aprende Brisas Cares) Mentoring Program,

which partners an Aprende Middle School mentor with a Brisas mentee to encourage social skills and

friendship every Tuesday morning; this program has been going on for 4-years (see E1). We also have

57 5th graders in our SPARK Club and 15 3rd-5th graders in our Student Council who serve in leadership

roles across our campus (see D4). One specific example of how SPARK Club promotes a healthy peer

climate among students is on national Mix It Up Day. One specific example of how Student Council

promotes a healthy peer climate among students is by planning fun and educational activities during

national No Name Calling Week. “Brisas has provided an environment that encourages academic

excellence and strong leadership skills. I noticed her positive transformation when she was given the

opportunity to be a part of the Student Council last year and SPARK Club this year.” (Jo Batac, parent)

These are just a few of the many ways we foster positive interactions, respect, cooperation, and

collaboration between and among students and adults.

Last but certainly not least, our school creates and sustains a collaborative and cooperative school

environment by continually asking our stakeholders for their feedback. Not only do we ask for their

feedback, we listen to it, reflect on it, and take action according to their input about our school. Every

person’s perspective matters to us! In addition to our principal conducting brief electronic surveys and

polls throughout the year, our Site Council also conducts an annual Parent Satisfaction Survey to collect

parents’ feedback on our school’s organization and culture. For the past 10 years, we have consistently

seen evidence of a positive school climate and high levels of stakeholder engagement. Our Parent

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Satisfaction Survey (spring 2015) with 635 parent responses (82% participation rate) showed that 96%

of parents gave Brisas an A/B grade with 81.7% (519) who gave the highest rating of an “A”. Results

further showed that 96% of parents feel teachers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity that

indicates respect that is needed for a healthy climate. Of parents, 99% stated that their child is taught

and encouraged to exhibit positive student behaviors and 95% believe that their child is safe from

violence at our school. On the Principal Survey (spring 2015), 100% of staff reported that our principal

works to provide a safe environment for students and staff. On the Gallup Employee Engagement

Survey (spring 2015), all staff also reported that they feel that either their supervisor, or someone at

work, cares about them as a person (4.22/5.0 mean). On the Brisas Student Survey (spring 2015) with an

N Count of 502 2nd-5th grade students, 93% of them gave our school an A/B grade with 68% who

validated “My school is awesome!” with an A grade. Also, 92% of students said “I am treated with

respect by adults at my school.” and 93% said “I feel safe at school.” Brisas is definitely a positive,

nurturing and safe place for all stakeholders – support staff, teachers, parents and students!

C. Guaranteed , Viable Curriculum and Meaningful Assessment A guaranteed and viable curriculum is a master plan for what teachers will teach and students will learn based on the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards. Meaningful curriculum assessment is carefully and deliberately planned and implemented to align with and accurately measure student learning.

C1. The Curriculum reflects the use of best practices across all grade levels (not to exceed 1,000 words). ● Describe the process the school has used in implementing the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards that might

not have been addressed in Section A: Strong Instructional Leadership. ● Tell how the school assures clear curriculum articulation as well as authentic teacher collaboration across and within

grade levels and to and from feeder schools. Tell how essential content (knowledge and skills) is defined, sequenced and organized so that students have ample opportunity to learn it. Include descriptions of policies and procedures that protect instructional time.

● Discuss the procedures and tools used to monitor the consistent implementation of essential curriculum including how curriculum is attained by different groups of students. Tell what process is in place to review the curriculum that reflects a commitment to continuous improvement.

● Reference research base(s) as appropriate.

“One of the most significant factors that impact student achievement is that teachers commit to

implementing a guaranteed and viable curriculum to ensure no matter who teaches a given class, the

curriculum will address certain essential content.” [Marzano, 2003] At Brisas, teachers implement the

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards in Professional Learning Communities. Our teachers

work collaboratively together every Wednesday afternoon for at least an hour to plan rigorous lessons

with clear learning expectations communicated to students through Learning Goals and Scales.

Consistent processes are in place (e.g. agenda templates, clear meeting purpose, specified desired

outcomes, and guidelines for documenting minutes in Google Drive) to help PLC’s use their

collaborative time to focus on topics that will have a positive impact on student achievement. Team

leaders are responsible for creating weekly agendas and ensuring minutes are taken at each meeting.

Each of our grade level teams are at a different point in their PLC development, but all share personal

practices, develop common formative assessments, analyze student learning, and are using Instructional

Focus Groups (IFG) to respond to students’ needs. They work interdependently to achieve goals related

to higher levels of student achievement and do their best to focus their time and efforts on discovering

the most effective ways to achieve their goals.

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To assure clear curriculum articulation and authentic teacher collaboration across grade levels, Brisas

teachers take an active role on the following district committees: ELA Steering Committee, Math

Steering Committee, Science Steering Committee and Social Studies Steering Committee. Two teachers

for each committee were selected for their leadership and content expertise. They meet regularly with

teachers from other schools across the District to discuss student learning needs, best practices, as well

as current research. They also work collaboratively to ensure essential content is well defined,

sequenced and organized so teachers can use district-developed resources (i.e. curriculum maps and

pacing guides) to ensure students have ample time to learn the standards. Teacher-leaders communicate

information back and forth between their committee and colleagues at Brisas. Specific knowledge and

skills for each content area are further defined by grade level teams who work collaboratively together in

Professional Learning Communities to write Learning Goals and Scales that align directly to Arizona’s

College and Career Ready Standards. We also protect instructional time by ensuring classes are not

interrupted with announcements or messages from home. All messages, materials, lunch money, etc. are

handled through the front office.

At Brisas, we use meaningful curriculum assessments to carefully plan and implement instruction as

well as accurately measure student learning. At Brisas, we utilize both formative and summative

assessments. Grade level teams create and use common formative assessments on an on-going basis to

inform them of the effectiveness of their instruction. In doing so, grade level teams are able to ensure

that students have access to the same essential curriculum, that they use common pacing, and that they

assess the quality of students’ work according to the same standards. This is evident for the standards

we focus on in our School Improvement Plan, but also for many other standards. We also administer

District summatives for ELA and Mathematics in the fall and spring that help us monitor the consistent

implementation of essential curriculum. Following quarterly assessments, administrators and coaches

meet with each grade level for a Data Chat; results are shared by teacher and by standard. Sub-group

data (i.e. ethnicity, gender, free/reduced lunch, ELL, gifted, and special education) is also analyzed.

These summative assessments are used to determine if students have met intended standards by a

specific time. They provide Brisas teachers with information regarding the strengths and weaknesses of

curriculum and programs as well as promote accountability. Our balance of formative and summative

assessments is evidence that Brisas teachers have procedures in place to monitor consistent

implementation of essential curriculum that reflect our commitment to continuous improvement.

C2. Indicators of Success: a coherent school-wide curriculum assessment program is tied to the school’s mission, which shows through multiple assessment measures that high levels of learning are achieved, or that there is significant growth in student achievement over time (not to exceed 1,000 words). ● Describe how data from the site-based, district and state assessments make issues of quality and equity part of the

everyday conversation at your school; discuss how this and all data are used to influence decisions. ● Describe the school’s overall approach to curriculum assessment and how the methods align with the school’s Vision,

Mission, Values and Goals of the school. Discuss pre-assessment and formative and summative measures that are in place.

● Describe how the school ensures that alignment exists between the intended, taught and assessed curriculum. Clearly reference data analysis.

● Describe the alternative assessments, if any, used by the school. Include a brief description of the assessment(s), discuss how assessment data are used to support student achievement, and tell why the school uses particular alternative assessments.

● Describe how all students monitor, assess and reflect on their own learning to guide their learning behaviors. ● Tell how the school assures the use of timely and ongoing information to teachers and other decision-makers for

individualizing student programs. Cite specific related professional development and use of available technology. ● Identify current issues and future direction in the area of site-based, district-wide and other assessments.

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Reviewing school, district and state assesent data is part of our everyday work as we are a Professional

Learning Community! In our PLC meetings, we use data to help make informed decisions and to drive

instructional practices. We have systems in place that allow teachers and administrators to access and

discuss assesent data; district systems include SchoolNet, DIBELS, and STARMath, while school

systems include quarterly Data Chats, use of Google Drive, Excel to record SIP data, and our weekly

grade level PLC meeting structure. When it comes to knowing how our students performed on a district

or state assesent, our teachers know if a student is meeting/exceeding standards or if a student is

approaching/falling far below standards. The use of this data influences how we respond to students’

needs (i.e. enrichment, skill review/remediation, or intense intervention) for Reading and Math. We

then place students in Instructional Focus Groups (IFG) for support 4x a week. Placement in these

flexible groups is reviewed regularly through systematic progress monitoring, weekly for intensive

students, so we can ensure students get the support they need for growth.

We are purposeful in our overall approach to curriculum and assesent. Brisas endeavors to have a

balanced assesent system influenced by the work of Rick Stiggins in Student Centered Classroom

Assesent: Doing it Right—Using it Well (Stiggins, et. al., 2009). We believe assessments are more than

accountability measures in that they benefit learning and help to achieve our Mission. We are constantly

analyzing data and using it to determine our next steps, instructionally in the classroom as well as

strategically as a school. At Brisas, we know that using a balanced assesent approach tells us how much

a student is learning and how well we are teaching. Our approach to assesent includes teacher-made

assessments (e.g. multiple choice, short answer, written and oral responses, essays) which are formative

assessments; student products (e.g. demonstrations, models, projects, oral and/or written presentations)

which are primarily summative in nature; benchmark assessments (e.g. DIBELS, STARMath, SIP)

which are formative or summative in nature, and then summative assessments (e.g. district ELA and

math tests, AzMERIT). At Brisas, we know that it is most beneficial to use assessments as instructional

tools while learning is occurring, but also value our summative assessments that help ensure there is no

discrepancy between our intended curriculum and our implemented curriculum.

Brisas uses multiple assesent measures to attain a comprehensive view of our school from multiple

vantage points. Classroom assessments utilize varied forms and methods (e.g., selected response,

product, skills, performance rubrics, and teacher observations) to measure mastery of content specific

curriculum. We use common formative assessments every 3-4 weeks in reading, writing, and math to

provide data on goals in our School Improvement Plan. We use DIBELS and STARMath assessments to

measure student proficiency of basic reading and math skills compared to national benchmarks. We also

use these same assessments as progress monitoring tools to measure students’ response to intervention.

We use summative measures, such as district assessments in ELA and Math as well as AzMERIT, to

determine student proficiency on Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards.

All district and state data is entered into Schoolnet to provide academic profiles of individual students,

classrooms, grade levels, and our school as compared to other schools in Kyrene. This performance data

is analyzed by individual teachers and teams in Data Chats. Additional academic testing or alternative

assessments are also used (e.g. skill specific screeners) to form specialized Instructional Focus Groups

(IFG) for intervention or extension, and to document students’ Response to Intervention (RtI). The

purpose of data collection is not only to inform instruction, but to live our Vision, to empower students

to reach their potential, by giving them the feedback they need to motivate them to achieve even more.

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We also regularly use Learning Goals and Scales which students use to monitor, assess, and self-reflect

on their own learning.

Brisas is proud of our history of excellent student achievement. Our previous scores on AIMS and SAT

10/Terra Nova consistently ranked well-above the State and among the highest performing schools in

the Kyrene School District. Our most recent AzMERIT (Spring 2015) results show that we out-

performed the state and most of our East Valley peer school districts. With an average of 61% of Brisas

students (51% in Kyrene and 35% in State) passing the ELA assesent and 61% of Brisas students (51%

in Kyrene and 34% in State) passing the Math assesent, Brisas continues to show significant growth in

student achievement over time. While we are proud of our students’ success, we can never be satisfied

when over one-third of our students are not proficient in Math or ELA. At Brisas we are focused on

continuous improvement. As a result, we expect to see significant gains in future years as we support

students in meeting the high expectations of more rigorous standards.

C3. DO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: (a) Select two curricular areas to discuss in depth, or (b) select one curricular area and one unique program apart from the selected curricular area to discuss in depth. Select these because of their central importance to the school’s stated Vision, Mission and Values, and their special significance to the school (not to exceed 1,500 words). ● Clearly identify and describe each of the two areas and the history of each one’s development and implementation.

Reference research base(s). ● Describe in detail the high quality, uniqueness and special significance of each area. ● Articulate how the rigorous curriculum in the selected areas goes beyond standards, maximizes student achievement,

meets particular school and/or student needs, exemplifies high expectations, and ensures positive outcomes. Relate these areas to the school’s improvement or Strategic Plan and to its Vision, Mission and Values.

● Tell how the effectiveness of these two selected areas is measured. Cite specific evidence of student achievement and progress.

At Brisas, we recognize that students must be proficient in essential content skills and knowledge, use of

technology, critical analysis, and problem solving to compete in the global marketplace of the 21st

century. We also recognize that all students benefit from the opportunity to learn about and experience

the Arts. In support of our Mission, Vision and Core Values, we have made a strong commitment to

high-quality, unique programs that go well-beyond standards, maximize student achievement, meet

students’ needs, and exemplify high expectations for all students.

In regards to student achievement, the first curricular area we have chosen to discuss in depth is STEM –

an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education. In our previous A+ Application

(2012), we highlighted our schoolwide implementation of Thinking Maps, a teaching and learning

strategy that promotes critical thinking, our successful math curriculum that centered on all teachers

being trained in Cognitively Guided Instruction, and boasted about being a leader in technology

integration evidenced by receiving national attention as reported in the New York Times (September 3,

2011), and by hosting the National School Board Association’s Technology and Learning Site Visits in

2008 and again in 2010. Despite this success, in spring 2013 we had to grapple with the realization of

our school’s poorest performance ever measured by the 4th grade AIMS Science.

To address this need, we collaboratively decided to focus on Science, Technology and Mathematics

together not only because the skills and knowledge in each discipline are essential for students’ success,

but also because these fields are deeply intertwined in the real world and in how students learn most

effectively. We recognized that STEM skills were becoming increasingly necessary for our students to

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be able to engage in a knowledge-based economy. There was also evidence to suggest that the fastest-

growing and highest-wage jobs in future years will be in STEM fields and that students will STEM

skills in a wide range of industries. Three years ago, this was the basis for our school’s decision to

implement STEM.

Systematically, we began implementing STEM during the 2013-2014 school year. During the spring

and summer of 2013, we engaged all of our 4th and 5th grade teachers in STEM professional

development. Teachers were trained in using Engineering is Elementary - a research-based curriculum.

Although we began implementing STEM in our intermediate grades, as the nation’s leading engineering

curriculum for grades 1-5, we decided to purchase every Life Sciences, Earth & Space Science, and

Physical Science unit. This decision provided our primary grades the resources they needed to gradually

incorporate appropriate EiE units into their current inquiry-based science program. Our teachers have

always supported student inquiry, encouraged problem-solving, and modeled the scientific method, but

now they also incorporate EiE units with their existing multimedia and hands-on experiments.

After our first year of implementing STEM, we realized that our instructional minutes had to change to

fully realize students’ potential. Extended blocks of time were needed to apply knowledge and skills

across disciplines to solve real world problems. This was the basis for our collaborative decision to

implement a block schedule for 4th and 5th grades. Extensive collaborative planning for this change

began in the spring of 2014. The planning involved community meetings with parents and a pilot

program with students to gain insight and support for this instructional change. During 2014-2015, we

began to provide all 4th and 5th grade students with three 90-minute instructional blocks for ELA,

Mathematics and Science/Social Studies. This program continues to thrive today!

To further promote STEM at Brisas, we also offer several unique extra-curricular experiences to support

and extend students’ learning. These supplemental programs provide remediation, enrichment and

extension. These programs include:

Our Learning Assistants program provides much needed support for 4th and 5th grade students to

excel in Math. This year, seven 8th grade students from Aprende Middle School who are enrolled in

Algebra 3/4 or Finite Math at Corona del Sol High School, use their unique talents and availability

everyday as Learning Assistants in our 1st period Math classes.

Our STEM Club provides students with additional opportunities to solve real world problems. This

after school program is made possible through grants from Science Education Arizona and

Integrated Device Technology (IDT). This year, 65 students participated in this extracurricular

activity. For two years, students in this club have also shared their design challenges at the City of

Tempe’s signature Sci-Tech event, Geek Night Out.

We currently have sixty 4th and 5th grade students who receive Coding during the school day (IFG);

fifty students participated in Coding after school and on Saturdays; in December, all K-5th graders

completed an “Hour of Code”. Additionally, this spring all 4th grade students will learn to use

Minecraft during their ELA class.

Our Robotics Team, comprised of 4th and 5th grade students, competed in the 2015 First Lego

League’s TRASH TREK Challenge finishing 7th place overall in their first-ever competition.

Each spring, all 3rd graders use Makey-Makey - a 21st century invention kit that turns everyday

objects into touchpads. For two years, this has been a successful effort to expose 3rd grade students

to project-based learning and STEM before they transition to 4th grade.

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For students to fully realize their potential, they must be able to apply, generalize, and extend their

knowledge across all disciplines. Through the integration of STEM, we believe Brisas students will

perform at even higher level to meet rigorous Common Core Standards. We are proud of our students’

performance in Mathematics and ELA as measured by AzMERIT with results that surpass the state and

district. Additionally, our expectations were exceeded this past spring with our most recent AIMS

Science results (spring 2015). Brisas jumped from 42% Exceeds to 59% Exceeds. Our Meets &

Exceeds combined went from 79% to 88%! Likewise, our Falls Far Below hit its all-time low (4%) and

our combined FFB and Approaches has never been lower (12% combined). We believe STEM was the

key contributor to our students going from their poorest performance in Science to outperforming the

District’s average in every Science standard, strand and concept assessed. In addition to ELA and Math,

we are now confident that we will become a top achieving school in Science, too!

In regards to student achievement, the second curricular area we have chosen to discuss in depth is the

Arts. Brisas is unique in that we extend the Arts to include the Performing Arts! We offer our students

two highly accomplished extra-curricular programs, which include the Mallet Masters and the Gecko

Players theatre group – both of which have special significance to Brisas.

The Brisas Mallet Masters began in 1999. For the past 15 years, this highly skilled percussion group

comprised of 46 4th-5th grade students have performed at numerous venues in our community. Students

practice after school to learn a rigorous curriculum beyond the standards. Our Mallet Masters have

performed at Ashley Manor for a charity event, San Marcos Resort for a “Concert 4 Peace”, Corona del

Sol High School for their percussion concerts, Tempe Town Lake for the annual Boat Parade of Lights,

Phoenix State Capital building, and the Arizona Music Educators Association conference, to name a

few. This year, students traveled out-of-state to perform at American Orff-Schulwerk Association

National Conference in San Diego, California. They were the opening act at the Tom Chapin Concert,

who wrote the song “Teaching Peace” which students march to in our annual Peace Parade. They have

also been selected to be the featured performing ensemble at the 2016 AMEA Conference awards

luncheon for an audience of approximately 800 music teachers!

The Brisas Gecko Players began in 1996. The vision and passion of our founding director, Dr. Joseph

Grube, set a high standard of excellence for this after school club. Our popularity grew with each

performance and continues today with outstanding productions! Throughout the years, we have had

thousands of students perform in thirty Broadway Jr., Rogers and Hammerstein G2K, and other original

musical productions. Shows have included Annie, Jr., Music Man, Jr., Into the Woods, Jr., and The King

and I, Jr. to name a few. Nicole Burt was a former Gecko Player participating in the first production as a

kindergarten student. She has stayed involved with this program her entire life, choreographing in

middle school and high school, and co-producing during her college years. Now as a 4th grade teacher at

Brisas, she has taken over the program with her mother as co-director – both of whom have been

involved in every production since the program’s inception. Currently, we have 72 students K-5th grade

students in Gecko Players. On February 12, 2016, they will perform Seussical, Jr. which astonishingly

will be their 31st theatre production!

C4. All students, including learners with unique needs, have the opportunity to learn challenging content and to achieve at high levels (not to exceed 1,000 words). ● Tell how programs for diverse learning groups relate to the overall curriculum and how students are integrated into the

mainstream classes and activities of the school when appropriate. ● Describe the process for identifying and placing students in various programs. Tell how student progress toward

desired outcomes is monitored and adjusted to ensure success.

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● Discuss systems in place to ensure that learners with unique needs achieve a successful transition to their next level of schooling.

Part of our Vision is to empower students to reach their potential by meeting students’ individual needs

through differentiation and intervention for all students of all ability ranges. This begins with our master

schedule and class placement processes. The strategic use of instructional time is a key factor in

supporting student achievement. For K-3rd grade, we ensure that every teacher’s master schedule

includes 110 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction daily (80 minutes for core + 30 minutes for

IFG) and 90 minutes of uninterrupted math instruction daily (60 minutes for core + 30 minutes for IFG).

For 4th-5th grade, we use a block schedule with three 90-minute blocks to teach ELA, math, and

science/social studies standards. Within the 90-block, a 30-minute math IFG provides for differentiated

instruction (extension and remediation) 4-days a week. Outside of the block schedule, all 4th and 5th

grade students get an additional IFG which supports students’ reading or gives students the opportunity

to learn Coding and/or join the Robotics Team. Data from several sources (i.e. DIBELS and

STARMath benchmark and progress monitoring, district summatives, grade level common formative

assessments) is used regularly to group and regroup students in Instructional Focus Groups (IFG) to

meet their needs for remediation and extensions. Students with unique needs are also clustered in

classrooms to maximize their opportunities for differentiated instruction.

At Brisas, we are serious about the growth of every student. Any student showing learning or behavior

difficulties receive some level (tier 1, 2, or 3) of differentiated instruction using our Response to

Intervention (RtI) model. Every grade level PLC team also functions as a Kyrene Student Intervention

Team (KSIT) when they meet weekly to identify students needing extra academic and/or behavioral

support, define goals and appropriate interventions, and track student progress (see E1). Our school-

wide KSIT Committee also monitors student performance and outcome data from specific intervention

programs to ensure consistency and effectiveness across grade levels (see A1).

Students who display characteristics of high intelligence are identified and evaluated through the Gifted

Program. Teachers with identified gifted students in grades K-3 are guided by Individual Learning

Plans (ILP) and supported with resources provided by the gifted teacher. In 4th-5th grade, a pull-out

model provides rigorous above-grade-level core instruction in mathematics for the full 90-minute block

and consultation and/or a 30-minute pull-out group during IFG to support reading. K-5th grade gifted

students are also clustered in classrooms with other high-ability learners to extend their infectious need

for challenge and growth into the general classroom setting.

English Language Learners (ELL) are identified by the Arizona English Language Learner Assesent.

They are given an Individual Language Learner Plan (ILLP) collaboratively written by the classroom

teacher and Structured English Immersion (SEI) coach with appropriate goals. Teachers work together

to design instruction that meets the individual language learning needs of these students aligned with the

Arizona State English and Language Proficiency (ELP) standards. These students receive instruction in

reading, writing, listening and speaking, vocabulary and grammar as prescribed in the SEI model (e.g.

mainstream into regular classroom with an ILLP for each student). All Brisas teachers also hold SEI,

ESL, or Bilingual endorsements.

For students with identified special needs that require more extensive remediation, our special education

staff provides a variety of instructional supports. Each qualifying student has an Individualized

Education Plan (IEP) that outlines the goals and any required modifications or accommodations the

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child may need to access the general education curriculum. For some students, the least restrictive

environment is either a co-taught model, in which the special education teacher teaches alongside the

general education teacher, or a full inclusion model. For some students, a pull-out model is most

appropriate for delivering specialized instruction. In some cases, it can be a combination of models. IEP

goals are reviewed and revised annually to adjust for learning and identify new goals. Based on

individual needs, students may also receive support services from speech, occupational, and physical

therapists, behavior interventionists, and assistive technology specialists. Some non-special education

students who have a life condition that requires special accommodations are eligible for a 504 Plan,

which is also reviewed annually to ensure that each student has optimal learning and assessment

opportunities.

At Brisas, our goal is early identification of students who demonstrate limited academic progress so we

can provide intensive interventions and close monitoring to decrease the likelihood of retention. From

time to time, circumstances lead to a decision that retention is appropriate for an individual student. This

decision is typically made in the fourth quarter by a team of teachers and administrators with parental

support. Students who demonstrate grade level competencies are promoted to the next grade. When

circumstances indicate that acceleration in grade placement is appropriate, the student's academic

achievement, mental ability, physical and social traits are all taken into consideration. In keeping with

our Mission, to do what’s best for kids to ensure their success, the needs of individual students always

influences our teachers’ promotion decisions.

C5. HIGH SCHOOLS ONLY: Curricular offerings provide rigorous educational opportunities that transition students to post-secondary education and/or careers (not to exceed 1,000 words). ● Describe outside and honors curricular offerings: International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, dual credit, virtual

learning, CTE and college courses. ● Describe any special programs or curricular offerings not previously discussed. ● Explain how these offerings relate to the overall curriculum and provide examples of these programs’ success.

N/A

D. Active Teaching and Learning A challenging curriculum is valuable only insofar as students are actively engaged in learning. Address the dynamic of student/teacher/content interaction that is the central core of the educational process. Describe how multiple and varied opportunities consistently ensure that students will acquire knowledge, skills and understanding related to targeted outcomes.

D1. Introduce this section with a description of a typical day of teaching and learning that visitors to your school might observe (not to exceed 600 words). Describe or discuss: ● Specific school-wide instructional strategies and active student engagement strategies one might observe. ● How teachers introduce the specific learning goal(s) for the day, including school-wide expectations for posting learning

goals, if appropriate. ● How teachers assess students’ progress school-wide with the learning objective during the lesson. ● How learning goals might be at higher level thinking or application levels. ● How teachers challenge students’ thinking; reference levels of questioning.

At Brisas, our classroom instructional strategies are based on sound research. Robert Marzano’s The Art

and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction (2007) has helped our

teachers become clear on the effective components of the teaching process.

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There are several school-wide instructional strategies (i.e. Thinking Maps, Close Reading, and

Mathematical Practices) and active student engagement strategies (i.e. multiple response rates, physical

movement, academic games) that one might observe on a typical day of teaching and learning at Brisas.

All teachers use Thinking Maps to engage students in higher-order thinking across the curriculum

especially in persuasive argument, literary response, and scientific inquiry. Students use Thinking Maps

to demonstrate a deeper understanding of content so they can be college and career ready. We also use

the Close Reading strategy in 2nd-5th grades to help students understand the central ideas and key

supporting details of a complex text. The use of Mathematical Practices can be observed as students

regularly reason and explain their thinking and use a variety of tools to model and make sense of

mathematics particularly in real world context. Brisas teachers also capture students’ attention in ways

that enhance their knowledge of academic content. They use games that focus on academic content,

inconsequential competition, and multiple response rate techniques (e.g. choral response, wipe boards)

evidenced by walkthrough data. Brisas teachers also use Brain Breaks to incorporate physical

movement thereby enhancing student engagement.

All teachers use Learning Goals to clearly communicate knowledge and skills to students. Teachers

distinguish between the Learning Goal, Learning Target and Activities & Assignments so students can

understand the learning progression. Learning Goals are posted in every classroom and referenced

during instruction. They can also be seen in PowerPoint slides and in student notebooks.

To assess students’ progress on a Learning Goal, teachers create a Scale that spells out specific levels of

understanding. In classrooms, teachers post a general Scale to give students the conceptual framework,

but then provide specificity either verbally and/or in writing. Some teachers also use checklists with

specific knowledge and skills that outline the progression of the standard(s) leading up to mastery of the

Learning Goal; these checklists reference the Learning Targets to help clarify for students what they are

expected to learn within a unit of instruction. Teachers and students also track progress towards the

Learning Goal using the Scale; all Scales have 4-points with the 3 being proficient on the standard.

Students frequently self-assess their performance level using the Scale as a formative approach, which

has proven particularly helpful when students are learning new content. Teachers also track students’

performance levels to inform teaching and celebrate success. All core teachers track students’ progress

on School Improvement Plan goals for reading, writing and math on bar graphs posted in their

classrooms.

All Learning Goals are written to align with grade level standards. However, by using a 4-point Scale,

all students at Brisas have the opportunity to achieve higher level thinking and application of learning in

their efforts to earn a 4. Teachers plan instruction so that the progression of learning includes extensions

beyond grade level standards (i.e. level 4) to encourage students to excel. Teachers use Webb’s Depth of

Knowledge (DOK) to help them identify the cognitive demand required for each standard. The DOK

guide also helps our teachers analyze their cognitive expectations for curricular activities and assessment

tasks during their instructional planning. Some teachers also use DOK question stems to help challenge

students’ higher level thinking (i.e. level 3 - strategic thinking and level 4 - extended thinking).

D2. The school tailors professional growth and support to address the differences in career experience and professional needs with a system for novice and experienced teachers to develop instructional expertise in the following areas: planning and preparation; instructional strategies and behaviors; assessment; reflection on teaching; and collegiality and professionalism (not to exceed 600 words). ● Describe how all teachers assure students’ deep understanding of content and context rather than simply coverage of

materials.

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● Detail specific school-wide strategies that are in place to ensure that core literacy skills and critical thinking are an integral part of instruction across all grades and subjects.

● Tell how all staff members consistently support agreed-upon high expectations for student learning during, before and after school. Identify the agreed-upon school-wide high expectations.

● Tell how the school schedule is organized to ensure that adequate financial, time and human resources are planned and allocated for ongoing professional learning.

● Describe the relationship between the teacher evaluation process and professional growth. ● Cite specific examples of ways in which ongoing professional development has improved teaching, school culture and

student achievement.

Teachers continually use assessments to help monitor student learning. Working as a PLC, grade level

teams create common formative assessments on a regular basis. They use the data to assess students’

progress and extend learning to deepen their application of knowledge. Teachers plan projects that

require students to apply their knowledge and skills at a higher level; for example, students may describe

how common themes are found across texts or analyze information from multiple sources. Effective

scaffolding of information when planning lessons and units is used to ensure students’ deep

understanding of content.

Teachers also use school-wide strategies, such as Thinking Maps and Close Reading, to ensure core

literacy skills and critical thinking are an integral part of instruction across grades and subjects. They

also use a variety of active engagement strategies to ensure all students are thinking and participating in

the learning activities (see D1).

Brisas teachers have high expectations for students. This is evidenced by activities offered before

school (e.g. Gecko Gazette), rigorous instruction during the day with support (e.g. Learning Assistants,

IFG), and additional support programs available after school (e.g. SPOK Tutoring). Students know that

we not only expect them to excel, but that we support them in this endeavor. Along with high

expectations, Brisas teachers provide tasks that are engaging and of high interest to students thereby

building self-esteem, increasing confidence and improving academic performance. We know that

student confidence is crucial because it is linked to student’s willingness to tackle challenging learning

activities. At Brisas, a high percentage of 5th grade students stated, “My teachers make me feel my

schoolwork is important.” (4.58/5.0 mean); “In the last seven days, I have learned something interesting

at school.” (4.46/5.0 mean); and “I have a great future ahead of me.” (4.5/5.0 mean) (Gallup Student

Poll, Fall 2015) This data is evidence of our staff’s high expectations for student learning and the

impact it has on students.

At Brisas, we are constantly engaged in professional learning. We utilize common planning so grade

level teams can meet quarterly with administrators and coaches in Data Chats to review student

achievement data, discuss trends, celebrate successes, decide on interventions, and assure consistency

with state standards. We have early release on Wednesdays which affords teachers time every week to

collaborate as a grade level PLC. Teachers also have four 45-minute planning periods each week that

are common across grade levels for planning and to receive professional development from coaches.

This time is also used to collaborate with other staff, such as instructional assistants, who provide push-

in or pull-out intervention support.

Our teacher evaluation system is also based on the research of Dr. Robert Marzano. Embedded within

this system, every teacher develops a deliberate practice Professional Growth Plan (PGP) which

identifies a specific strategy to focus on each year. Teachers are provided on-going feedback on their

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instructional practice through a minimum of 7 walkthroughs and 1-2 formal observations each year. We

also know that not all of the 41 elements in Marzano’s Teacher Evaluation Model have the same degree

of impact on student learning, so Brisas teachers chose to focus their PGP’s on one of the 7 strategies

that research shows result in the highest level of student cognition and rigor. As grade levels, teachers

chose the same instructional strategy so they could learn and grow together. Our principal and coaches

provide on-going professional development aligned to our School Improvement Plan. We also have 2

peer-selected teacher-leaders who serve as Classroom Practice Mentors (CPM’s); they provide teachers

with consultation, peer support, and professional development on effective components of the teaching

process.

D3. A purposeful decision-making process that is research-based governs all aspects of teaching and learning; there is a discernible link between instructional strategies and student achievement (not to exceed 600 words). ● Describe how teachers develop instructional units and lesson plans across grades and levels to engage students, reduce

duplication, and assure consistency with implementation of the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards. ● Tell how teachers consistently communicate to students what they are learning and why it is important. ● Discuss what consistently-used strategies address different learning styles and needs. Provide specific examples and

outcomes. Examples might include: expansion and modification of instructional time; double blocking; regrouping; co-teaching; flexible grouping; other diverse instructional practices.

We use Marzano’s Teacher Evaluation Model, which is researched-based, to govern all aspects of

teaching and learning. Instructional units and lesson plans are developed by teachers while they

collaborate weekly as grade level PLC’s. Teachers work together to effectively scaffold the content so

that it builds upon previous information, is logical, and progresses from simple to complex. They also

plan lessons within units to progress students toward a deep understanding of content; lessons align to

standards and units include application and extension of learning. Teachers also use district-created

curriculum maps and pacing guides to reduce duplication and assure consistency with the

implementation of Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards.

Teachers communicate to students what they are learning through the use of Marzano’s element #1

Providing Rigorous Learning Goals and Performance Scales. They also explain to students why

something is important to learn by using Marzano’s element #6 Identifying Critical Content. In other

words, teachers intentionally tell students what they are about to teach and why the skills or knowledge

are of critical value and importance. At Brisas, teachers highlight the clear progression of information

related to the standard. They also monitor in a variety of ways if students know what they are learning

and why; for example, teachers ask students to identify the Learning Goal, describe the level of

importance, explain the progression of the standard, and/or use formative assessment data to show that

students are able to attend to the critical content.

Our Vision, to empower students to reach their potential, is attainable through a shared commitment to

using school-wide strategies to address students’ needs. In addition to uninterrupted blocks of time for

core instruction, we also have common 30-minute Instructional Focus Groups (IFG) times by grade

level that are built into every teacher’s daily schedule to ensure differentiated instruction in math and

reading. Students are placed in flexible ability groups within the classroom or across the grade level.

Push-in and pull-out services by resource teachers and instructional assistants are aligned to IFG times

to maximize time and human resources. Some special education and ELL students are also double-

dipped for intensive reading intervention. We also have the same IFG time for 4th and 5th grades to

achieve increased flexibility for grouping. We use benchmark data to drive our decision-making for

remediation and extension; we also use progress monitoring data to regroup students as needed. Six

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years ago, Brisas adopted the cluster model of grouping students with specific needs (i.e., gifted,

resource, ELL) in classrooms to maximize their opportunity for personal growth through differentiation.

To ensure teachers’ strengths match students’ needs, cluster classroom teachers received additional

training to meet the needs of their class population and to network with other teachers across the district.

At Brisas, we have clustered students at nearly every grade level and teach with high expectations for all

students.

D4. Students have opportunities to apply learning to real world situations (not to exceed 600 words). ● Describe the opportunities all students have to integrate quality work-based experiences and experiential learning.

Examples might include: contextual learning; project-based learning; student leadership and service activities; work-based experiences; internships.

● Tell how school-wide teaching practices frequently and regularly provide for hands-on, investigative activities including independent projects, collaborative group projects, and real-life problem-solving experiences.

● Describe the student service-learning strategies and volunteer activities that enhance the curriculum with real-world experiences and provide connections to careers and the communities.

Our school’s Mission, to do what’s best for kids to ensure their success, requires students to have

multiple opportunities to apply experiential learning, solve real-world problems, learn to recognize

themselves as leaders, and engage in service activities that benefit others. Brisas provides a ton of

opportunities for students to apply learning to the real world!

During the school day, Brisas teachers plan instruction with hands-on learning so that students construct

meaning based on their own life experiences. For example, our kindergarten teachers plan experiential

learning opportunities that align with each of their instructional units (e.g., farm, police station, fire

station). Our 1st graders apply their learning of the desert by touring their neighborhood and identifying

plant life specific to the Sonoran Desert. Our 2nd graders apply metamorphosis of beetles and butterflies

by growing insects and releasing them into our Peaceful Garden. Our 3rd graders apply STEM

principles with Makey-Makey invention kits that turn everyday objects into touchpads. Lastly, our 4th

and 5th graders engage in several STEM engineering challenges.

Teachers also provide students with the opportunity for collaborative group projects. The Gecko

Gazette, our student newspaper, started 4 years ago. To date, we have 5 students that meet before school

to apply project planning, time management skills, and communication skills to report school events and

current happenings in our community. These student-journalists compile articles and photographs to

publish a monthly newspaper that is sent home with every student. Our Robotics Team, comprised of

ten 4th and 5th grade students, worked together this fall to design, build, and program robots using LEGO

MINDSTORMS technology. They applied real-world math and science concepts, as well as critical

thinking, team-building, and presentation skills to compete in the First Lego League TRASH TREKSM

competition. Girl Scout Troop #196 recently started a collaborative group project to help save the

environment. They elicited the support of students to get donations of gently-used t-shirts to make

recyclable grocery bags.

At Brisas, we are unique in that we also teach students essential leadership skills. KaleidoEye, an

innovative youth leadership program led by Mr. Sissel, is aimed at creating positive, sustainable change.

For the past 5 years with our PTSO’s financial support, Mr. Sissel teaches valuable leadership principles

to all 4th and 5th graders on a weekly basis and all 3rd graders self-awareness and self-management skills

once a month. Through his Lenses of Leadership program, he helps students address age-appropriate,

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modern day challenges (e.g. bullying) so they feel empowered with the skills needed to solve real life

problems (see E2).

Brisas students also have the opportunity for Service Learning. Our Student Council and SPARK Club

give students the opportunity to apply the leadership principles learned from Mr. Sissel to meaningful

community service. This year, we dissolved our National Elementary Honor Society - which for 5 years

recognized students for excellence in academic achievement, leadership, and service – and replaced it

with the SPARK Club. We now recognize 4 times the number of 5th grade students (57) for their

academic achievement, leadership and service. These students provide substantial service to our school,

which includes ambassadors, recycling crew, library crew, rainy day crew, and school activities crew.

Our Student Council has two student representatives from each 3rd-5th grade class, along with elected

officers. These 30 student-leaders meet once a month to discuss ways they can give back to the

community through charitable drives. They also help educate students by getting them to appreciate

their own lives while helping those less fortunate. This spring, SPARK Club and Student Council will

volunteer at Feed My Starving Children – as the entire Brisas staff did in August.

D5. Resources are available to teachers and students for instruction, gathering information and sharing the results of their efforts (not to exceed 800 words). ● Describe how available technology supports curricular goals and teaching and learning. ● Describe how the school ensures that both students and staff have the technical skills, available resources and

accessibility to use technology in content areas. Reference professional development opportunities in this area.

Brisas has many resources to enhance teaching and learning. Library is a weekly special (45-minute

block) for all K-5th graders which reinforce ELA standards, literature appreciation, and critical use of

media. It also provides teachers with access to professional books, training materials and technology

resources such as cameras, camcorders, assistive technology, listening centers, and audio equipment.

Every week, students also have a scheduled 15-minute check-out from our extensive collection of

38,199 books of which 21,454 books were in circulation this fall.

For years, Brisas has been a recognized leader in integrating technology across the curriculum. This is

evidenced by our National School Board Association (NSBA) Technology Site Visit in 2008 and 2010.

Today, each of our classrooms is equipped with a desktop computer, document camera, Proxima

projection system, and interactive SMART Board, as well as a LSU filled with a combination of wireless

laptops and ThinkPads (i.e. 6-10 devices depending on grade level) that teachers use in centers and share

with other classes to create flexible learning environments. Additionally, every 3rd grade teachers has 11

iPads with wireless access to AppleTV. Our school is equipped with 3 state-of-the-art computer labs,

each with 33 desk top computers, headphones, and a projection system that students access weekly for

research (using WORLD BOOK, Discovery EDUCATION, NBC LEARN, Destiny), project-based

learning (using Tech4Learning, Microsoft Suite, Blackboard), on-line reading (using BookFLIX,

BrainPOP), and technical skills (using Typing Agent). We also have a mini-lab for small group

computer-based interventions, such as Read Live. Overall, Brisas has 434 technology devices available

for student-use surpassing a 1:2 device to student ratio. Our students’ accessibility to and use of

technology helps prepare them to attend our sister-school, Aprende Middle School, who has a 1:1

initiative.

Teachers embed technology in their instruction, giving students opportunities to learn in fun, engaging

ways. Students learn skills to create multimedia products, presentations, and portfolios. They love

interactive applications like Salt River Project’s e-Journeys exploring wind, solar, and water energy.

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Communication and collaboration tools such as Blackboard and Google Docs are used to promote peer

collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Our campus has high-speed wireless internet so

staff and students can access dozens of digital resources. Our school website provides links to

classroom pages and online curriculum resources for student use for homework, classroom assignments,

and enrichment. Every staff member has full access to technology which includes a district e-mail

account. Overall, Brisas teachers demonstrate effective use of technology in all core curriculum areas.

Technology is simply a tool students use to research, think critically, problem-solve, and demonstrate

their learning. Integrating technology continues to be one of our teachers’ strengths in meeting the

needs of all learners.

Teachers and administrators use Schoolnet, our assessment database, to generate performance data to

support instruction and School Improvement Plan goals. For example, student assessment data is used

to compare performance across a grade level, cohort groups over time, and our school’s performance

compared to other schools in our district. In February, we will be switching from Schoolnet to

Illuminate, a more comprehensive assessment system.

Teachers use Synergy for their online grade book. Parents access their child’s school profile in real time

using the ParentVUE module. Parents use one login to see information for all their children;

communicate with teachers; update information like emergency contact or physician information; see

attendance and discipline records, health office visits, immunization compliance, etc. Grades are seen in

real time so students can stay on track academically; weekly homework assignments are accessed either

in ParentVUE and StudentVUE (K-3rd grades) or from teachers’ webpages using Schoolwires (4th-5th

grades). Mobile apps are also available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices. This available

technology supports curriculum goals as well as teaching and learning by helping to engage parents and

students in the educational process.

In Kyrene, staff are able to expand their technology skills by attending district classes to learn how to

use available software. Administrators provide embedded staff development during monthly staff

meetings, i.e. ClassDoJo, Socrative, QR Codes, Kahoot, and Plickers. Individually and as grade level

teams, teachers also receive training on how to integrate technology from our school’s Educational

Technology Mentor. For example, 2nd grade teachers are learning to use Share for student portfolios, 3rd

grade teachers are learning to use Scratch and Makey-Makey, while 4th grade teachers are learning to use

Minecraft to expand students’ coding experiences, and 5th grade teachers are learning more about

Google Apps. Teacher leaders also receive professional development during monthly Technology

Committee (see A1) meetings. Grade level representatives get trained and then assist their colleagues in

becoming versed, too. All teachers at Brisas are qualified to educate and assist students in using

technology. At Brisas, we ensure that both students and staff have the technical skills, available

resources and accessibility to use technology across content areas.

E. Student Focus and Support An effective school identifies and addresses both academic and non-academic needs of all stakeholders.

E1. The academic, nonacademic and cultural needs of the student population are addressed through a network of cohesive and integrated programs and services, which demonstrates a learning climate that is stimulating and nurturing to all students (not to exceed 1,000 words). ● Describe how the school identifies, assesses and meets the specific needs of all its students as defined by its

population.

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● Describe how all students are encouraged to build sustainable, caring relationships with each other, teachers and other adults on campus.

● Tell how the school prepares students to live successfully in a culturally and socially diverse environment. ● Discuss the strategies in place to ease transitions and provide support for transfer students, first-year students, family

moves, etc.

A major focus of our Vision is to empower students to reach their potential. Brisas addresses students’

academic and nonacademic needs through a cohesive and integrated process called KSIT (Kyrene

Student Intervention Team). To identify and assess students’ needs, we use universal screeners (e.g.

DIBELS and STARMath) for all children three times a year. When students struggle academically or

behaviorally, teachers begins the KSIT process using a Response to Intervention (RtI) multi-tier

approach. Students are provided interventions at increasing levels of intensity that are systematically

provided during Instructional Focus Group (IFG) time. Progress is closely monitored so teachers can

make educational decisions about the intensity and duration of interventions. Depending on the specific

needs of each student, the team may consult with our Special Education Team, Behavior Intervention

Teacher Specialist (BITS), or brainstorm with KATT (Kyrene Autism Training Team) who specialize in

supporting students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. When interventions are successful, classroom

teachers continue to collect data until interventions are no longer needed. When interventions are

unsuccessful, KSIT discusses the need for an evaluation. Our school’s KSIT Committee (see A1)

oversees the scope of this work and our school’s effectiveness in meeting specific needs of all students.

Five years ago, Brisas underwent a systems change process to become a PBIS (Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Supports) school. As a result, we now teach students behavioral expectations in the

same explicit manner as we do core curriculum. At Brisas, we focus on three behaviors: respect,

responsibility and safety. We label and teach these behaviors at the start of every school year. Each

day, we observe and praise students’ appropriate behavior with PBIS tickets. We also have weekly,

monthly and quarterly incentives for students who earn PBIS tickets. Now, students at Brisas know

what each of these behavioral expectations look like, sound like, and feel like in the classroom as well as

in all non-classroom areas (e.g. bathroom, cafeteria, hallways, bus). Students are excited to earn PBIS

tickets and to be recognized for their positive behavior at school. Each year, we monitor our fidelity by

administering the research-based SET (School-wide Evaluation Tool) designed to evaluate the critical

features of school-wide effective behavior support across each academic year. Our most recent SET

findings (fall 2015) confirmed that school-wide expectations are well-defined, appropriate behaviors are

taught, there is an on-going system for rewarding positive behaviors, and that data is being used for

monitoring and decision-making with a score of 100%. By using this research-based approach, Brisas is

able to foster respect that builds positive relationships between students and adults on campus.

Our ABC (Aprende Brisas Cares) Mentoring program helps to build and sustain caring relationships

among students on campus (see B2). This program began in 2012-2013 with less than 40 students. We

now have 60 Brisas mentees paired with middle school mentors in order to help them build positive

relationships, increase academic performance and improve self-esteem. Mentees are referred by parents

or teachers because of low self-esteem, lack of school connectedness, and/or reduced academic success.

Mentors are trained by Aprende’s school psychologist on how to be a responsible mentor; they then

work alongside their Brisas mentee every Tuesday from 7:45-8:25 AM.

At Brisas, we encourage our students to build sustainable, caring relationships with each other and the

adults on our campus. This is evidenced by the results of our Brisas Student Survey (spring 2015) with

an N Count of 502 students in 2nd-5th grades. This survey documented that 95% of students feel, “My

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teachers care about me.” and 93% said, “I have friends at school.” On the Gallup Student Poll (fall

2015), 5th grade students also stated, “The adults in my school care about me.” (4.35/5.0 mean) and “I

have a best friend at school.” (4.61/5.0 mean).

Every year, Brisas’ students get increasingly more diverse in their cultures, languages, abilities, interests

and learning styles. Brisas strives to engage students and parents from diverse backgrounds by fostering

an inclusive learning environment. From the first day of school, Brisas staff connect with students and

build authentic relationships with families that extend beyond the school. Teachers and administrators

examine race, gender equality and other factors as they relate to student achievement during quarterly

Data Chats. Teachers use culturally responsive teaching strategies to support and celebrate students’

differences. To help teach tolerance, members of our SPARK Club planned and facilitated Mix It Up

Day activities in the cafeteria to help K-5th grade students identify, question and cross social boundaries.

Members of our Student Council also lead activities during No Name-Calling Week aimed at ending

name-calling of all kinds and eliminating bullying in our community. (see B2 & D4)

In keeping with our Core Values, Brisas takes a personal approach to help incoming students and their

families feel welcome. Prior to enrolling in kindergarten, students and parents attend Kindergarten

Round-up where they visit each classroom and learn about the Brisas environment and expectations. All

year long, our principal gives individual tours of the school to prospective students and families. Our

Meet the Teacher event occurs prior to each school year for students to get to know their teachers and

visit their classrooms; this year, we had 98% of our students attend. Our Curriculum Night events occur

in August so academic and social expectations can be made clear and parents’ questions can be

answered; this year, 68% of K-5th grade students had parents in attendance. A few weeks into the school

year, we also offer a Kindergarten Meet & Greet social event; this year, we had 77% of parents come

mingle with other kindergarten parents and staff. To date, we have enrolled 43 new K-5th grade students

since the start of the school year; to ease their transition, we pair these new Geckos with Class Buddies

to help them feel welcome and learn the “Brisas Way.”

E2. The school addresses students’ physical, social and emotional needs, and intervenes when students’ personal needs are preventing academic success (not to exceed 800 words). ● Describe the non-academic services and programs that are available to support students; tell how they relate to

student needs and school goals. ● Describe systems in place to help students learn to handle frustration, anger, teasing bullying and other negative

interactions (e.g. counseling, character education programs, health services, student intervention assessments, etc.). ● Articulate school-wide systems in place to address and minimize the effects on school climate of factors such as

absenteeism, serious discipline problems, high turnover of students or staff or other negative factors.

Our Mission, to do what’s best for kids to ensure their success, includes meeting the nonacademic needs

of each student. Our teachers work with a district liaison to identify families who need assistance and

outreach services. The Kyrene Family Resource Center provides Brisas families assistance with food,

clothing, and school supplies. Our Student Council supports the Kyrene Family Resource Center’s

efforts with a food, toy and hygiene drive each year. Our Friday Food Bag program provides food to

students and their families who otherwise may not have food to eat over the weekend. Our cafeteria also

provides free/reduced breakfast and lunch to qualified students. Our health assistant provides vision and

hearing tests to all incoming students. Low cost health care plans, flu shots and free immunizations are

made available to families in need.

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Our school psychologist offers individual and small group Counseling Services based on students’

needs. Over the years, students have participated in Social Skills groups, which use ideas from Feeling,

Thinking, and Behaving by Ann Vernon (an emotional education/social skills curriculum focusing on

aspects such as self-control and interpersonal relationships) as well as materials from PREPaRE (a

school crisis and prevention response curriculum utilizing a method of direct social skill instruction with

modeling and role playing scenarios). Students have also participated in Anger Management groups,

which use materials from Seeing Red (an anger management and peacekeeping curriculum). When

needed, a 5th grade GIRLS (Girls In Real Life Situations) group has been formed to explore coping skills

and self-esteem within a small supportive network of female peers to help them transition to middle

school.

To support our Vision, to nurture students in a culture of PEACE, particularly focusing on our Core

Value of Character, each week a new Lifeskill is introduced and modeled by students on morning

announcements and then practiced and reinforced by staff throughout the week. The Lifeskills Character

Education program has been a part of our school since our inception 22 years ago; it has been

instrumental in creating a safe, nurturing environment at Brisas.

It is our goal to not only teach Lifeskills, but also essential Leadership principles. At Brisas, 396 students

in 3rd-5th grades benefit from Lenses of Leadership curriculum, a signature program developed and

taught by Mike Sissel. Students are taught lessons throughout the year that guide them through tasks

such as creating their own mission statement, discovering the power of positive influence, and role-

playing problem resolution strategies. He also provides individual coaching and trainings for parents

(see D4). Students recently stated: “Mr. Sissel taught me how to become a better leader. He’s taught

me about the ‘ripple effect’ and how my actions affect others.” (Erin Levy, 5th grade); “Mr. Sissel has

impacted my life with his lessons. For example, the ‘check up from the neck up’ lesson helped me with

my attitude.” (Chris Booker, 5th grade); “Mr. Sissel has taught me to not bully, but to be the nicer

person. I also learned not to be a bystander and to tell a teacher when someone is being bullied.” (Seth

White, 5th grade); “Mr. Sissel has helped me change my ‘lenses’ towards school and my everyday life.

That has helped me be better at home and school.” (Dylan Twomey, 5th grade); “Mr. Sissel uses real

life experiences to teach us to be better people. He helps us learn how to treat others. He also teaches

us how to handle our problems safely. He has left a great impact on my life and made me a better

person.” (Sean Geraghty, 5th grade)

At Brisas, we also make every effort to minimize the effects of negative factors on school climate and

student achievement. When needed, Brisas staff create Behavior Support Plans (BSPs) for individual

students. More significant behavior plans are created in conjunction with our Behavior Intervention

Teacher Specialist (BITS). Our assistant principal also ensures that serious discipline problems are

addressed immediately so learning can continue for all students. Our attendance clerk helps to minimize

absenteeism by checking on all students daily who are not at school. If a student has 5 or more

unexcused absences or tardies, parents are called and a follow-up letter is mailed from the principal.

Brisas also utilizes the Court Unified Truancy Suspension (CUTS) program to address our most serious

absenteeism issues. When previous measures taken by the school without court intervention fail, our

principal, attendance clerk, teacher and Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Officer participate in a

CUTS L.I.T.E. (i.e. Limited Intervention to Educate) conference with the child’s parent. Brisas makes

this conference available to parents before a truancy citation is ever written.

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F. Parent and Community Involvement Parent and community involvement activities that are effectively planned, coordinated and well-implemented result in substantial benefits to children, parents, educators, and the school. Students whose parents are actively involved in their education are more likely to succeed in school.

F1. Families, partnerships and the community play an important role in supporting learning (not to exceed 1,500 words). ● Describe the goals and priorities of school, family and community partnerships. Tell how they are articulated and

aligned with school priorities. Describe challenges, if any, the school faces in developing partnerships. Describe how partnership goals are collaboratively developed with all stakeholders; tell what strategies are used to involve people from all segments of the community in supporting education. Provide one (or more) example of a community partnership that resulted in the school being a respected and valued partner.

● Cite ways in which the school involves all families in school initiatives and programs to build a shared commitment to student success; reference participation rates and give evidence of success. Provide specific examples of how the school supports and enhances the parenting role and involves families in decision-making. Tell how the school establishes two-way communication and ensures authentic involvement of families from all segments of the school community in a way that respects diverse backgrounds and challenging needs of the families.

● Tell how volunteers are recruited, trained and made to feel like an integral part of the school.

We know that positive goal-oriented relationships with key stakeholders support student success. This

is why Brisas strives to continually increase parent and community input and involvement. The goal of

building strong and effective parent and family partnerships is to help children and families thrive. The

goal of building business and community partnerships is to achieve mutually agreed upon goals intended

to benefit students and ensure their success. These goals align with our school’s Mission, Vision and

Core Values (see part II).

At Brisas, we have well-over 50 partnerships that support our Mission, to do what's best for kids to

ensure their success. These partnerships are collaboratively developed with stakeholders, much of which

happens through the scope of work of our Brisas PTSO. For example, 11 of these partnerships are with

local restaurants and entertainment centers to support our monthly Community Builders. As partners, we

provide advertisement and patronage and the business donates a portion of proceeds back to our school.

Another community partnership that resulted in our school being a respected and valued partner was

with Arizona State University. More specifically, Brisas just completed a 5-year partnership with ASU’s

Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC) to conduct a longitudinal research study

focused on the development and improvement of reading comprehension in preschool through 3rd

grade. ASU benefitted from access to our students and use of our facility, students benefited from

evidence-based reading interventions and curriculum. Upon completion of this LARRC randomized

controlled trial, our school will also benefit from using their supplemental curriculum free of charge.

As a public school, we have experienced major changes in curriculum content, instructional methods,

delivery format, and expectations for student achievement over the years. We know that one of the most

critical components of teacher preparation is student teaching. In light of this and new educational reform

initiatives, Brisas is committed to partnering with institutions of higher education to support their teacher

education programs. These are mutually beneficial partnerships in that having additional adults in our

classrooms enhance student learning, while practicum-students also gain necessary experience to prepare

them for their own classrooms and their own students. Over the years, we have also been able to hire the

best of these student-teachers at Brisas and in Kyrene. This school year, we have had 5 interns and 15

student teachers from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and Wilkes University. We

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value working together as partners for student achievement and to insure that graduates are prepared to

meet more rigorous expectations.

Another one of our community partnerships is with the Kyrene Family Resource Center, which is the

benefactor for most of our Student Council drives. Our students learn to make a difference in the lives

of others by donating food, clothing, gifts, and school supplies to families in need in our community.

This fall, our Thanksgiving Food Drive collected twelve large containers of food. Our Holiday Toy

Drive, which contributed to Kyrene’s Winter Wonderland event, collected five boxes of toys for

children. Members of our Student Council also volunteered their time to wrap hundreds of gifts for this

community event, recently featured on the front page of the Ahwatukee Foothills News. This spring,

students will also conduct a Hygiene Drive to further support families in need.

We also partner with our Brisas PTSO, a 501(c)(3) organization, which fosters support, pride,

enthusiasm, and excellence for the success of our children's future. Each year, our PTSO provides

supplemental funds to improve the overall education, health, and safety of all our students. During the

2014-2015 school year, our Brisas PTSO raised a total of $99,897, which after event expenses provided

$53,561 in funds to support unmet school priorities; for example, PTSO funded KaleidoEye’s Lenses of

Leadership program ($12,000), courtyard enhancements ($647), technology equipment ($1,819), staff

appreciation/meals ($5,026), school supplies and printing costs ($9,847), music equipment ($479), and

school maintenance ($1,753) among others priorities. The most substantial financial support we

received last year from our PTSO went directly into classrooms to enrich students’ learning. A total of

$17,316 was spent on experiential learning, SPARK Club, STEM Club, teacher conferences, and

supplemental instructional materials (e.g. Scholastic News for K-2nd grades, Time for Kids for 3rd and 5th

grades, and Arizona Studies Weekly for 4th grade).

Brisas finds numerous ways to say to parents, “Come partner with us in your child’s education.” We

communicate at a moment’s notice through our Brisas Listserv which contains 1,687 e-mails to remind

parents about upcoming school events and meetings, request volunteers, etc. Every classroom also has a

designated Room Parent who communicates to parents via a classroom e-mail distribution list. We

communicate with our families through our Brisas Webpage, teacher websites, and Facebook. We also

have 718 parents who have subscribed to receive text messages from our principal through Remind. Our

staff speedily responses to any parent phone call or email inquiry and offers flexible conference

schedules to meet with parents. Our 4th and 5th grade students’ grades are accessible online, which helps

parents monitor their children’s academic progress in real-time through ParentVUE; students can also

monitor their own grades through StudentVUE. Our principal also continually elicits two-way

communication via surveys, polls, stakeholder meetings, town halls, etc. to ensure authentic

involvement of families from all segments of our school community (see B2). This is strongly

evidenced by our history of having the highest participation rate of all Kyrene schools for our annual

Parent Satisfaction Survey. Participation data over the past 5 years documents a continuous increase in

parents communicating their degree of satisfaction with Brisas, e.g. 2011 (454 parents), 2012 (526

parents), 2013 (571 parents), 2014 (567 parents) and most recently in 2015 (636 parents).

Our Brisas culture is enhanced by many contributions from our parent community. Family members

have an active presence on our campus and contribute in a variety of ways, including volunteering at

school events. This past fall, volunteers helped us on Picture Day (4), during our Read-a-thon (49), at

the Book Fair (30), Turkey Trot (51), Pumpkin Walk (65), Ice Cream Social (56), Holiday Shop (53),

Vision and Hearing Screening (15), and for the Art Masterpiece program (31). Coming up this spring,

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we will need the help of more volunteers for our Decades Dance, Art Walk, Spring Carnival, Field

Days, and end-of-year celebrations. Additionally, parent volunteers are utilized as classroom helpers and

field trip chaperones throughout the year. One noteworthy example of effective volunteerism is in our

staff workroom led by Sindy Lederman and Elias Valdez (parents). These volunteers are recruited and

trained on how to support teachers by making copies and completing other workroom projects. We show

our appreciation to all our volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Week. All volunteers’ names are

displayed in the main hallway and teachers give every volunteer a personal note of appreciation along

with a small token of our abundant thanks.

When school success is valued in the community, it gives people a reason to care, and caring is evident

in our community spirit at Brisas. We encourage all community members to visit our campus and share

their talents with us. We have an active community of diverse volunteers that include not only current

parents, but past parents, grandparents, past students, and community members. Two of our long

standing volunteers stated, "Twelve years ago, Brisas threw open its doors to me to help out where

needed. I can strongly say I won! Brisas continues to enrich my life and restore my hope in public

education. I have volunteered in the classroom, served on Site Council, and helped in my grandson's

class. I have many options to spend my retirement, but none better than Brisas. I know my tax dollars

are well spent at Brisas!" (Janet Martin, community volunteer) and the other volunteer shared, “My

daughter attended Brisas from 2005–2011. Brisas and her amazing teachers provided a valuable

stepping stone to her education as she has successfully progressed through middle school and now into

high school. Because I was so awed and impressed by her teachers, I have enjoyed volunteering with

my daughter’s former Kindergarten teacher every year for the last 10 years. Brisas continues to

provide an environment that encourages and fosters educational success for its students. I am proud to

be able to volunteer at Brisas and work with students at their earliest level to help them on their road to

academic success.” (Wendy Summers, past parent volunteer)

Classroom teachers actively recruit volunteers. Additionally, our Volunteer Coordinator trains

volunteers at our Room Parent Social and monthly PTSO meetings, while our Art Masterpiece

Coordinator trains volunteers at an orientation each year. At Brisas, we make sure our volunteers feel

like an integral part of our school. We also embrace the individual uniqueness of all the members of our

community and respect their confidentiality about educational and economic status. Many parents for

whom we have extended a helping hand by means of the Kyrene Family Resource Center return the

kindness by volunteering in whatever ways they can. F2. Educational resources in the school and the community are used to extend learning opportunities for students, teachers and families (not to exceed 800 words). ● Describe how the school partners with outside entities such as museums, public libraries, community enrichment

programs, performing arts institutions, nonprofit organizations, etc. to provide extended learning opportunities for students and/or professional development opportunities for staff. Provide an example(s) of an extended learning opportunity that demonstrates a positive effect on relationships, student learning, and/or improved student performance.

● Tell of services, if any, that are provided at or through the school in the areas of health and social services, adult education or referrals to community agencies.

● Tell of outside agencies that might utilize school facilities outside of regular school hours.

In support of our Vision, to inspire students to love learning, and as the hub of learning in our

community, Brisas provides multiple opportunities for students, teachers and families to extend learning

beyond the classroom.

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Teachers regularly make curriculum connections through special guest presenters, activities, and

assemblies. For example, Mountain Man presents information on Arizona history and artifacts to 4th

graders. The Chandler Fire Department has brought a model house to teach students about fire safety.

Every year during our ‘winter’ unit, all Kindergarten students ride the Polar Express train at Desert

Breeze Park. We also work with numerous outside entities to provide extended learning opportunities.

Though Community Education Services, we offer after school enrichment programs. A variety of

academic classes and recreational activities are offered throughout the school year and during school

breaks. These programs are designed to develop the “whole child” and promote student achievement.

Last year, we had 469 students participate in 19 different tuition-based enrichment classes. This fall, our

students’ participation hit an all-time high with 358 students participating in a variety of classes. Many

classes supported our STEM focus, e.g. Chess (29), Lego Engineering (18), Lego Exploration (11) and

Chemical Engineering (13). We also provided extracurricular activities related to the Arts, e.g. Art with

Legos (5), Mallet Masters (47), Piano Keyboarding (17), Quilting (6), as well as Drawing and

Cartooning (16). We offered Spanish (19) to support students’ exploration of a foreign language.

Intramurals and other physical activities this past fall included Tennis (27), Dance (16), Gymnastics

(37), Soccer (32), Boxercise (5), Kickball (43), and Ultimate Frisbee (17). All of these wonderful after

school enrichment opportunities would not have been possible without the help of our staff and

businesses partners.

Currently, we have 239 students enrolled in Kids Club, our district’s childcare program. It is offered on

campus to make transition from the school day to after school consistent, convenient and safe. We offer

flexible days and times to meet diverse needs of parents with busy schedules with either full or partial

day programs. This year, Brisas also provided Fall Break Camp (124 students), Winter Break Camp (97

students), and special day-long camps such as Staff Development Day (70) and Veteran’s Day (85

students).

Additionally, hundreds of families utilize our school facility for other kinds of activities. We regularly

have Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts who meet in classrooms after school or in the MPR in the evening.

Our Brisas Girls on the Run program this past fall had 16 girls in 3rd- 5th grades who met after school.

National Youth Sports (NYS) also offers programs (e.g. soccer, t-ball) at Brisas that result in hundreds

of families using our fields on weekends throughout the year. Brisas is also a long-standing community

voting site and in the past has hosted Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny’s neighborhood listening tour to

help him better understand issues facing our neighborhood. We are also fortunate to have the

opportunity to work closely with City Councilmember Rick Heumann who lives just a few blocks away

from our school. He is always actively involved in neighborhood issues and serves as Board President

for one of our Homeowners Associations.