Date when Plan Implemented___________________Plan Status: New Revised

School District Name:_______Alcorn School District ___________________________________

Address:______P. O. Box 1420_________________________________________

_______Corinth, MS 38835______________________________________

Title I Coordinator _______Bobby Null____________________________________________

Phone: __(662)_286-3202__________________FAX: (662)_286-1396_________

E-Mail Address: _______bnull@alcorn.k12.ms.us__________________________________

School Principal: _______Stan Platt_______________________________________

Phone: __(662)_462-5514__________________FAX: (662)_462-5004________

E-Mail Address: _______splatt@alcorn.k12.ms.us__________________________________

School Name: _______Rienzi Elementary School_________________________________

Address: _______21 School Street_________________________________________

_______Rienzi, MS 38865_______________________________________

Superintendent: _______Stacy Suggs __________________________________________

Phone: __(662)_286-5591___________________FAX: (662)_286-7766________

E-Mail Address: _______stsuggs@alcorn.k12.ms.us________________________________

School Enrollment: __152__________________

Grade Levels: __K-6__________________

Free/Reduced Lunch% __61.07%_________________

The planning for Schoolwide Title I began with a work session January 21, 2008. The Planning Committee is comprised of parents, teachers, community members, and administration. We investigated Schoolwide programs and discussed our individual situation. We distributed needs assessments to all school stakeholders. We listed our strengths and identified areas upon which to focus improvement. In addition to the work of the Planning Committee, the faculty and staff of the School have been focusing our staff meetings on school improvement. The staff meets regularly and grade levels meet additionally as needed.

The Schoolwide Planning Committee has been actively involved in providing leadership and support for the development of the schoolwide plan and will continue to play a critical role in the implementation and formative evaluation of the plan. Staff, parents and community have completed surveys.

Annually a meeting is held for all school stakeholders where the proposed Schoolwide Plan is presented. At this meeting, the tabulated results of the Opinion Surveys are reviewed and a discussion is held on how these results relate to the proposed Schoolwide Plan. Stakeholders are asked to provide suggestions, comments, and recommendations regarding the plan. The final written plan will be presented to stakeholders at the October. The plan is submitted to the District for School Board approval prior to being submitted to the Mississippi Department of Education. The approved plan is posted on the Alcorn District website on the school’ s web page. A copy of the plan is available at the School Office, Federal Programs Building, and Superintendent’s Office for review by stakeholders.

This year, parents/guardians were provided a copy of their children’s statewide assessment score reports on September 25, 2008. At this time the Schoolwide Plan was also presented for discussion and formal approval by stakeholders.

Our school participates in the school improvement process of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This process provides the structure through which all school staff, students, parents, and individuals representative of the community are encouraged to assist in the planning and decision-making process that guides site-based school improvement efforts. SACS Improvement committees, representative of all stakeholders, are on-going in nature and meet regularly throughout the school year. The work/reports of these committees are available to and utilized by the District annually in its development of the Consolidated Federal Programs Application process. School Title I Schoolwide Plans are posted on the district website and available to stakeholders in electronic format. Written copies of the plans, and the Consolidated Federal Programs application are available at the school and/or various district locations.

One hundred percent of stakeholders attending the September 25, 2008, meeting approved and support the 2008-09 Schoolwide Plan.

1. Provide a brief description of your school and the community in which you school is located.

Rienzi Elementary School is a public, rural elementary school serving grades K through 6 in the Alcorn School District. Rienzi is fully accredited by the State of Mississippi and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. During this Guided Self Study period, Rienzi was accredited by the state of Mississippi as a Level 3 school for 2007-2008. Rienzi has met the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) each year.

Our school serves 152 students in grades K-6. Rienzi is a small township just south of Corinth, Mississippi. This small school is the center of a small, close-knit community of caring families. The positive school climate at Rienzi enhances the self-esteem of students and staff. When Rienzi students complete the 6th grade, they move to Biggersville High School, which is a separate campus north of Rienzi.

2. Process used to collect and analyze data across the five schoolwide planning dimensions

The Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT), second edition, a criterion-referenced test for grades 3 through 8th, is given each spring. The MCT-2 evaluates student progress of students in the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks. The MCT-2 Assessment gives the Rienzi teachers/students/parents data need to determine program planning strategies. Rienzi’s goal for each student is a score of advanced.

Teachers at Rienzi use a variety of methods to assess student learning in their classrooms. These include: teacher made tests, textbook tests, rubrics for projects, checklists, observations, classroom discussion and participation, computer based evaluations (Accelerated Reader, Breakthrough to Literacy, Discovery Education Assessments, STAR Reading) and web based sites (EdHelper Reading A-Z), DIBELS and Math U as universal screeners for language arts and mathematics for K-2nd grade students, and a comprehensive assessment battery for students suspected of being dyslexic.

Rienzi has a small staff with one administrator and for the most part one classroom for each grade Kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a separate school in a small township. The Title 1 staff consists of one teacher and an assistant teacher.

Instructional and organizational effectiveness is measured by the Survey of Instructional and Organizational Effectiveness based on the Indicators of Schools of Quality (1997) developed by NSSE. One of Rienzi’s instructional and organizational limitations found during the 1997-2002 period was the lack of time that can be allotted for committee meetings without sacrificing instructional time due to the small number of staff to cover classes while they met. To address this, the schoolwide committee was restructured to fit the current number of staff and the time available for meeting. In addition, this restructuring allowed more staff, parents, and community to be involved on regular bases without interfering with instructional time and parent/community work schedules.

Parent surveys indicate that our parents and visitors feel comfortable with the school organization and how they are treated by our administration and staff. Parents and other guests indicate that they feel welcome.

Professional development at Rienzi Elementary will be ongoing and comprehensive. Professional development time will be embedded in the school day, offered before and after school and in the summer. Opportunities to extend teacher knowledge and apply effective techniques will be supported through graduate courses, workshops, professional reading groups and coaching. Classroom teachers and support teachers will be encouraged to work collaboratively to implement new teaching techniques. Professional development topics will include the five dimensions of reading as well as effective writing and mathematics instruction. Periodic staff meetings will be dedicated to examining student work to help establish common expectations for student performance and to sharing teaching techniques that help all students achieve the established standards.

All professional development is aligned with the Mississippi and National models for professional development. School administration and stakeholders recognize the critical role teachers’ professional development plays in the accomplishment of the district/school goals for improvement in instructional/organizational effectiveness and student achievement. Therefore, in accordance with the Mississippi model, the professi onal development provided:

Is an integral part of the school improvement initiatives;

Is grounded in knowledge about good teaching and adult learning principles; and

The District employs a Title I Academic Coach who will mentor/coach instructional staff (teachers and teacher assistants), train/mentor/coach persons serving as substitute teachers, and train/mentor/coach volunteer peer and adult literacy tutors. Based on the results of a Professional Development Needs Assessment completed by all teachers and teacher assistants, the Academic Coach will work with teachers to address the following:

Involving parents in their children’s education, and

Assessment/evaluation processes to be used to measure individual progress toward achieving

personal professional "capacity building" goals/objectives.

Rienzi uses the Alcorn District curriculum that is based on the Mississippi Frameworks, Instructional Intervention Supplements, and MS Benchmarks for each grade. Breakthrough to Literacy, the National Writing Project, SPIRE (supplemental reading program), and Accelerated Reader have comprehensive designs that include instruction, assessment, classroom management, professional development, and parental involvement. The programs integrate the language arts curriculum with technology and professional development for teachers. Research on these programs indicates they can have a significant positive impact on student motivation and on classroom community (Swain, 1996; Snow, 1990; Senge, 1990). Integration of technology across the curriculum will be emphasized.

Rienzi used adaptations of the National Study of School Evaluation’s (NSSE’s) opinion inventories to gather the necessary data from students, teachers, parents, and community members about the quality of education provided by this school. This formal surveying is done once annually and the results compiled and compared. Surveys are sent to all parents with students are rewarded for bringing the survey to school completed. Teachers and students are surveyed in their homerooms. Community members are surveyed by parent volunteers. Parent and community opinions concerning factors influencing dropout rates were collected through surveys and considered in developing a dropout prevention plan. Rienzi Elementary is providi8ng parents with a comprehensive parent information packet which includes information about DEA Benchmark assessments, state assessments, attendance homework, district and school policies, internet usage, current school events, and a yearly calendar.

A strength for Rienzi Elementary School is that it employs veteran, stable teachers and staff who are passionate about teaching and making a difference in the lives of the students they teach. Rienzi experiences minimal turnover in teaching staff.

The Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT), second edition, a criterion-referenced test for grades 3rd through 8th, is given each spring. The MCT-2 evaluates student progress of students in the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks. The MCT Assessment gives the Rienzi teachers/students/parents data need to determine program planning strategies. Rienzi’s goal for each student is a score of advanced and a grade level increase in scale score in each area. Analysis of the MCT Reading test scores from a school-wide perspective indicates that for the years 2004-2006, Rienzi students are not progressing at an equal or above rate to the overall students in the state of Mississippi in the areas of reading, language, and math. This has been the determining factor in Rienzi Elementary Accreditation Level being a Level 3 for 2007.