School Plan for Continuous Growth 2020-2023 (year 3)

School Mission: At Escuela John Paul I Elementary Catholic School, we are a faith community striving for personal excellence in academics. We pursue growth of mind, body and spirit by nurturing the potential and accepting the gifts and uniqueness of all individuals..
School Vision: John Paul I is a Christ centered community that provides a safe and respectful environment where students develop their true potential as critical thinkers through the application of authentic 21st century learning skills in a Catholic milieu.
School Charism: As responsible citizens we are: “Many members, one body. Many gifts, one spirit…Muchos miembros, un cuerpo. Muchos dones, un espíritu.

Priority:  Growing in Faith
Our students and staff will learn and live the Word of God through worship, witness, and service.
Key Strategies:
F.1 Re-engage families, parishes, and Catholic organizations to provide opportunities for growing in faith.
F.4 Provide formation opportunities for students and staff that further their participation in our faith and enable them to discern the presence of God in their lives.
Actions we will take
To live out our vision, ensuring that we center our education in Christ, and to continue to celebrate our faith, we will re-engage our parish and its clergy to provide opportunities for classroom visits and discussion. We will further this connection to our families by communicating parish news and dates for sacramental preparation. Social justice projects will be connected to Catholic organizations and classes will use these opportunities to discuss and discover our Catholic values and that which makes us unique. Individual class and/or whole school social justice projects (organization, purpose, how our initiatives will impact others) will be highlighted on bulletin boards around the school. To build on our understanding of First Nations, Metis and Inuit knowledge and perspectives, we will incorporate the 7 Sacred Teachings into our monthly focus. During morning broadcast and/or celebrations, students will share a prayer or reading that connects to the liturgical calendar (and that can then be further explained in their own words).
Performance Measures:
Our performance in this area will be evaluated using the following Local Measure:
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Catholic Identity.
  • -Students are able to explain their connection to their faith
  • -Students plan and lead social justice initiatives
  • -Students lead daily prayer and school wide celebrations
  • -Students can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the 7 Sacred Teachings and our Catholic Faith
  • -Increased family involvement in the Corpus Christi Parish with more students receiving their Sacraments.
Priority:  Student Success
Through a holistic approach, students will develop to their fullest potential through multiple pathways.
Key Strategies:
S.2 Implement teaching and assessment practices to deepen students’ understanding and to increase ability to target teaching and improve learning.
S.4 Continue to support students’ diverse needs through best practice and responsive and flexible programming.
S.5 Support student achievement by engaging in collaborative, whole school approaches to capacity building in First Nations, Métis and Inuit education.
S.6 Continue programs and enhanced academic and cultural supports for all students that lead to successful transitions and encourage life-long learning.
Actions we will take
Based on our ECSD assurance results, our school will ensure that there is a focus on mental health strategies and supports, with emphasis' on positive growth mindset skills to support student learning. With our multidisciplinary team (MDT) students and staff will continue to work on focus sequences to help with social-emotional regulation. Monthly bulletin boards will be used to offer several supports; for example means by which students can give feedback on how they are feeling, coping strategy suggestions to support their well-being, student-created whole-school mindful coloring centre, just to name a few. Teachers will embark and engage in professional development alongside consultants to develop a deep and comprehensive understanding of how to give clear and specific feedback to students in the learning process, as well as, how to support students in how to close the feedback loop (use feedback given to improve learning). We will continue to engage parents as part of our learning community and maintain consistent parent communication (PowerTeacher pro, weekly newsletters) so that both students and parents alike, develop a strong understanding of how learning intentions and success criteria, in addition to feedback, will relate to student growth and achievement. We will continue to grow in establishing deeper understandings of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) knowledge and perspectives by intentionally using culturally relevant literature. With the use of mandated Provincial and division-wide screening tools, teachers will collaborate to analyze and interpret the data to implement research-based strategies to improve student literacy (while at the same time incorporating both FNMI and culturally diverse literature.
Performance Measures:
Our performance in this area will be measured using:
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Student Learning (Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Exam Results)
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of High School Completion
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Citizenship
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Student Learning Engagement
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe Learning Environment
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Access to Support and Services
Local Measures:
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Access to Help, Support and Resources
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Student Engagement
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Safe and Caring Learning Environment
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis and Inuit
  • -Teachers will develop feedback strategies with and for students; teachers will communicate these strategies for their lessons
  • -Learning intentions and success criteria will be stated in daily plans and will also be available in Google Classroom for parents to see
  • -Students will clearly state what they are learning, how they will meet the learning goals, and how they used feedback to target their learning growth
  • -Increased Indigenous literature in classrooms and school library
  • -Improved parent understanding of accessing PowerTeacher Pro, and looking at assignment descriptions and comments to understand intentions, criteria, and how students are using feedback, thus resulting in greater knowledge of student growth and achievement
Priority:  An Excellent Place to Work and Learn
We will provide an optimal learning and working environment that fosters a culture of faith, trust, unity, inclusivity, confidence, respect, value and appreciation for one another.
Key Strategies:
E.6 Continue to create an excellent Catholic educational working environment through the provision of faith formation, health, and wellness opportunities and supports for all staff.
E.7 Begin to implement the ECSD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism Strategic Plan.
Actions we will take
Escuela John Paul I will continue to create an excellent Catholic educational working environment by intentionally planning our Thursday afternoons to include a variety of professional development sessions, teacher led collaboration and relationship building activities. We will use our ECSD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism (EDIAR) video boosters to centre discussion around how to build individual capacity to be able to address these areas, as well as how to connect these lessons into our classrooms. By connecting to our school charism, we will create opportunities for staff members to be recognized and celebrated for their unique gifts.
Performance Measures:
Our performance in this area will be measured using:
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Education Quality
Local Measures:
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Teaching and Assessment Practices
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Staff Engagement and Respect in the Workplace
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Overall Satisfaction with Edmonton Catholic Schools
  • -Strong collaborative relationships
  • -High staff morale
  • -Increased understanding of ECSD EDIAR strategic plan
Priority:  Building Our Future Together
We will engage in good stewardship of all resources through principled governance and engagement.
Key Strategies:
B.4 Continue to nurture collaborations, relationships and partnerships to provide programs and services for students from Pre-K-12.
B.5 Ensure decisions are data-informed; enable best practice indicators and transparency to ensure continuous improvement.
Actions we will take
In order to best meet the diverse needs of our student, we will continue to commit to a plan that is resourceful and transparent in terms of how to access and use the resources that are available to us in our schools and in the larger community. In determining access to resources, we will also work alongside our Division consultants to ensure that student programming is diversified, and individualized when necessary. Recognizing that we also have a Spanish language program, we will amplify our work with the consultant to ensure our program continues to target areas of growth - such as oral production in Spanish - and increase confidence with the language. We will work closely with parents on School Council to best allocate the resources they have available for the school's use to support culturally diverse literature, hands on materials and cultural residencies.
Performance Measures:
Our performance in this area will also be measured using:
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Parental Involvement and,
  • Alberta Education Assurance Measure of Budget-Actual Comparison
Local Measures:
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Parent/Guardian Involvement
  • ECSD Assurance Survey of Theme - Implementing Frameworks and Procedures
  • -Representation of diversity in classroom resources and library literature
  • -Teacher input into allocation of resources
  • -Collaboration with Parent Council on allocation of Council resources
  • -Increased collaboration with Division Consultants
  • -Diverse student needs are met through a variety of resources
  • -Increased Spanish Language and Culture resources in all Spanish Bilingual Classrooms
November Review:
-We continue to plan meaningful school wide celebrations led by the students -Morning broadcast allows for students to share the prayers that they have written in class in English and Spanish -Every Tuesday, a clergy member from Corpus Christi parish comes to visit our classes, these visits are assigned and the topic of the visit is chosen by the teachers and the students as it ties to their Religion curriculum -We continue to promote Social Justice activities such as a food bank food drive, cards for seniors and random acts of kindness throughout the school -We continue to promote the events happening at Corpus Christi through the school newsletter -Teachers communicate the learning experiences that have been taking place in their classrooms through the biweekly updates to parents -We have implemented a pilot project through the T-ELL ME MORE chromebook initiative for our level 1 and 2 English Language Learners -PowerTeacherPro and various means of feedback is provided to students in an ongoing manner -The school has increased the Indigenous literature in the library and created an identifiable area so their literature is accessible to all -Thursday afternoons continue to be an opportunity for teachers to collaborate and to learn from one another, work together and ensure that as the JPI school community is implementing good teaching practice, especially when it comes to the new curriculum -time at meetings is also allotted to the data analysis from the literacy and numeracy screeners that were done in September -As a staff, we will be continuing to grow in our learning and implementing of the ECSD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDIAR) Strategic Plan -The parent engagement evenings are shared and promoted with the JPI parent community -With the support of DIvision consultants, we are open to adapting our practices with their support as large group professional development as well as individual in our classrooms -We continue to work toward increasing the Spanish Language and Culture resources (ie. more books have been purchased) -We will continue to work collaboratively with the School Council to appropriately allocate the resources and support that we decide upon -We will continue to work towards ensuring that our students' needs are being met through the resources that we have at JPI through the Disciplinary Team (MDT) (ie. FSLW, EBS, TA-BT, TA-OT, TA-SLP)
February Review:
-Staff, in collaboration with Corpus Christi Parish Staff, continue to plan meaningful school wide celebrations led by the students -Morning broadcast allows for students to share the prayers that they have written in class in English and Spanish -Every Tuesday, a clergy member from Corpus Christi parish comes to visit our classes, these visits are assigned and the topic of the visit is chosen by the teachers and the students as it ties to their Religion curriculum -We continue to promote Social Justice activities such as Bissel Centre clothing donation collections -We continue to promote the events happening at Corpus Christi through the school newsletter -Teachers communicate the learning experiences that have been taking place in their classrooms through the biweekly updates to parents -We have implemented a pilot project through the T-ELL ME MORE chromebook initiative for our level 1 and 2 English Language Learners -Thursday afternoons continue to be an opportunity for teachers to collaborate and to learn from one another, work together and ensure that as the JPI school community is implementing good teaching practice, especially when it comes to the new curriculum -As a staff, we will be continuing to grow in our learning and implementing of the ECSD Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDIAR) Strategic Plan, staff have participated in training and the booster series -With the support of Division consultants, we are open to adapting our practices with their support as large group professional development as well as individual in our classrooms -We continue to work toward increasing the Spanish Language and Culture resources (ie. more books have been purchased) -We will continue to work collaboratively with the School Council to appropriately allocate the resources and support that we decide upon -We will continue to work towards ensuring that our students' needs are being met through the resources that we have at JPI through the Disciplinary Team (MDT) (ie. FSLW, EBS, TA-BT, TA-OT, TA-SLP)