Comprehensive School Assessment

Brittany Berry
Comprehensive School Assessment
Arizona State University
PPE 310
Dr. Hesse
February 7, 2016

Comprehensive School Assessment

School Assessment results via Gopher Sport.

Data Analysis
The information from this school health assessment tool shows that, at our school,
students health is not given the adequate attention needed in order to create a healthier
generation. At Conchos Elementary School, we do not provide enough time for students run
around and play, and we also not include physical activity within the curriculum. Students are
rarely given opportunities to move around during classroom activities, especially in a middle-

Comprehensive School Assessment

school setting. Although students receive approximately 15-20 minutes of recess every day, they
do not always use their free time for physical activities, instead they enjoy socializing. While
socializing plays an important role in the development of the whole child, students should be
encouraged to make healthier, active choices during their day while incorporating these social
skills. One area our school performed decently in was after-school programs. Our students are
given many opportunities throughout the school year to participate in a variety of clubs and
sports. Overall, the school I am placed in has plenty of room for improvement when it comes to
creating a healthy and active school, and I am excited to make as many changes as I can during
my time at here at Conchos.
Assessment
At Conchos Elementary School, there are quite a few areas of weaknesses when
considering the health and well-being of our students. However, we do boast an excellent array
of after school programs that allow students to participate in intramural sports such as soccer,
volleyball, cheerleading and basketball. These after school programs were the reasoning behind
our score of 60% according to School Assessment tool. The students at Conchos love playing for
their team, the Conchos Hawks, and are always eager to show off their jerseys on game day. The
competition energizes them inside and out of the classroom. We also recently started a physical
activity project called Jump Rope for Hearts ran by our physical education teacher. This
project reaches out to students and their families and invites them to participate in a jump rope
competition. It has been quite an exciting experience at our school recently, and I consistently
have students who burst into the classroom announcing how many jumps theyve completed
before they came to class.

Comprehensive School Assessment

Although we have our strong points, such as the aforementioned after-school programs
and family outreach projects, we do have a few areas that could use some refinement. One area
our school struggles with is the implementation of physical activities and movement within the
classrooms and curriculum. According to the School Assessment tool, Conchos only scored a
20% in this category. I have had many conversations with teachers at Conchos about this and
they have admitted that allowing their students to move around in the classroom is either too
distracting, too time consuming or too complicated to do in the crowded classrooms with such a
large group of students. We also give our students very little free time for recess, which has lead
to energetic, antsy students in the classroom and leads to disruptions during instruction.
In order to make the changes necessary to become a healthy and active school, we must
start with the administration team. I believe that our administration could hold our teachers
accountable for implementing physical activities throughout the day in their classrooms. It may
be difficult for teachers to adhere to at first, and tracking the participation will have to be
thoroughly planned out. Nonetheless, I believe that a change in our school must be fully
supported by our Principal, Vice Principal, and everyone involved with the administration team.
Another change in policy that I would like to see happen in my school is the time allotted
for physical activities. All of the students only receive 15-20 minutes of recess per day, and their
physical education special rotates amongst three other specials, meaning they only get one week
of physical education per month. The other three weeks are filled with art, music or the library. I
am sure that it would cause an uproar amongst educators if any more minutes are taken from
their instructional time, however this change is necessary in order to create a healthier, more

Comprehensive School Assessment

active school. It would be neat to include a morning activity where all students may go out onto
the lawn together and do yoga, or compete in relay races for 15-30 minutes.
I firmly believe that with the help of administration requiring teachers to implement
physical activities in their classrooms and giving students additional time to exercise, stretch and
play would benefit the health of our school immensely.
Stakeholder Involvement
In order to engage administration, teachers, parents, students and the community, we
must first create a need for change. Most of the aforementioned stakeholders are unaware of the
facts and statistics that go along with physical activities. If we were able to show them just how
many of our students will become diabetic or suffer from obesity in the near future, they would
understand. If we told them them that their childrens lives are expected to be shorter than their
lives, they would understand. According to Michelle Obamas campaign, Lets Move!, child
obesity has tripled over the last three decades and The numbers are even higher in African
American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or
obese. (Lets Move, 2010). African American and Hispanics make up most of our Conchos
student population. Once the families of these children are aware of this information and are able
to grasp the idea of how much danger their child is in just by making unhealthy eating choices
and not getting enough exercise, they will hopefully be inspired to make changes and help in
anyway possible. By using the evidence from our School Assessment Tool, we can advise
administration, teachers, parents, students and our community of the areas we lack proficiency
in, and allow them to collaboratively create solutions for these weaknesses.

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Signature Assignment
For my Signature Assignment, I have chosen to focus on Substance Abuse and its effect
on misbehavior, attention span, academic performance and overall health. I will be collaborating
with another student-teacher in my cohort, Abby Van Vianen, whom is also placed at Conchos
Elementary School. Student-teaching in this school has been eye-opening as the year has
progressed. I have seen students come and go within a matter of weeks due to behavioral issues
or difficult home and family situations. The home life of a student has a large impact on children
and can heavily affect a students behavior and academic performance. When choosing this topic,
I presumed it would be focused on students dealing with substance abuse. However, after
performing some light research, I have noticed that my assignment may lean more towards the
family and home life affect on students related to substance abuse. After receiving a grade of F
on the School Assessment Tool, I can see that the involvement of a students family is extremely
important in the childs success, and it is also a component our school struggles with. We could
improve our family involvement by reaching out to families consistently with monthly
newsletters, notes and reminders, and other communication tools that allow parents and the
community to be more involved in the success of our school and students. I believe that many
parents do not feel confident enough to actively participate in their childs school life, but with
their help and the collaboration of the student and teacher, every child can improve academically,
socially, physically, and emotionally.
Information
I am currently student teaching at Ignacio Conchos Elementary School in the Roosevelt
School District. The school is located in an urban area near South Phoenix. Conchos is a public,

Comprehensive School Assessment

Title I elementary school with classrooms serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
As of 2012, 7.6% of our students are receiving free or discounted lunches. We also provide
students with breakfast every morning, as well as snacks in the afternoon if they participate in
after school clubs or sports. Out of our 393 students, 84.5% of them are Hispanic. The remaining
student body is composed of 8.1% African American, 3.6% White and 2.8% American Indian.
The average class size at Conchos is 17 students, according to SchoolDigger.com. However, in
the middle school classroom I am currently teaching in, we have 34-38 students in each class.
The attendance rate is about 93% which may be attributed to the incentives provided by the
Attendance Committee at Conchos. Students who are at school and on time every day will
receive a free dress pass for the Friday of each week. (Arizona Department of Education,
SchoolDigger).

Also available via my E-Portfolio:

http://becomingmissberry.weebly.com/healthy-leadership.html

Comprehensive School Assessment

References
Arizona Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from
http://www.azed.gov/

SchoolDigger.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.schooldigger.com/

Let's Move. (n.d.). Retrieved February 03, 2016, from http://www.letsmove.gov/learnfacts/epidemic-childhood-obesity

Comprehensive School Assessment

Criteria

Exemplary: Points (5)

Assessment

SCORE:

School
Context
/Writing
Style
SCORE:

Proficient: Points (3)

A minimum of 2 strengths and 2

weaknesses were described
Assessment was completed online
and posted to your E-Portfolio
A direct link was placed at the end of
your document to the assignment in
your E-Portfolio
Suggestions to improve school
policies were clearly stated
At least 2 suggestions to engage
stakeholders were provided

School context contained detailed

information on
grade levels
% free/reduced lunch
enrollment,
proportion ELLs
average class size
urban/rural/suburban,
ethnic makeup
state test scores
AYP status
All of the following are listed in the
file document name submitted
Lastname.firstname.assignment#.cou
rse#
This rubric was added to the last
page of the document submitted
Your document was in APA 6.0
format, including cover page, body
and reference section with no errors

A minimum of 1 strength and 1

weakness was described
Suggestions to improve school policies
were stated but lacked sufficient detail
At least 1 suggestion to engage
stakeholders was provided
Assessment was completed online and
not in your E-Portfolio
A link was provided to your EPortfolio to this assignment, however
it wasnt a direct link to this
assignment
School context contained some
detailed information on
grade levels
% free/reduced lunch
enrollment,
proportion ELLs
average class size
urban/rural/suburban,
ethnic makeup
state test scores
AYP status
Most of the following are listed in the
file document name submitted
Lastname.firstname.assignment#.cours
e#
This rubric was added but not at the
end of the document submitted
Document was in APA, however errors
were found in formatting of the
sections

Ass
in y
No
ass
Stre
poo
Sug
wer
No
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Sch
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gra
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