U.S. Department of Education 2019 National Blue Ribbon ...

U.S. Department of Education 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

[ ] Public or [X] Non-public

For Public Schools only: (Check all that apply) [ ] Title I

[ ] Charter

[ ] Magnet

[ ] Choice

Name of Principal Mrs. Julie Martin

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., etc.) (As it should appear in the official records)

Official School Name Old St. Mary's School

(As it should appear in the official records)

School Mailing Address 1474 S. Michigan Avenue

(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address.)

Chicago

City

IL

60605-4836

State

Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)

County Illinois (IL) Telephone (312) 386-1560 Web site/URL

Fax (312) 386-1578 E-mail dsmith@

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part IEligibility Certification), and certify, to the best of my knowledge, that it is accurate.

(Principal's Signature)

Date____________________________

Name of Superintendent*Dr. Jim Rigg

E-mail jrigg@

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)

District Name Archdiocese of Chicago School District Tel. (312) 534-5200 I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part IEligibility Certification), and certify, to the best of my knowledge, that it is accurate.

Date (Superintendent's Signature)

Name of School Board President/Chairperson Mrs. Julie Marcus

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part IEligibility Certification), and certify, to the best of my knowledge, that it is accurate.

(School Board President's/Chairperson's Signature)

Date____________________________

The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and uploaded via the online portal.

*Non-public Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.

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PART I ? ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION

The signatures on the first page of this application (cover page) certify that each of the statements below, concerning the school's eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education and National Blue Ribbon Schools requirements, are true and correct.

1. All nominated public schools must meet the state's performance targets in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics and other academic indicators (i.e., attendance rate and graduation rate), for the all students group, including having participation rates of at least 95 percent using the most recent accountability results available for nomination.

2. To meet final eligibility, all nominated public schools must be certified by states prior to September 2019 in order to meet all eligibility requirements. Any status appeals must be resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.

3. The school configuration includes one or more of grades K-12. Schools on the same campus with one principal, even a K-12 school, must apply as an entire school.

4. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2013 and each tested grade must have been part of the school for the past three years.

5. The nominated school has not received the National Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018.

6. The nominated school has no history of testing irregularities, nor have charges of irregularities been brought against the school at the time of nomination. If irregularities are later discovered and proven by the state, the U.S. Department of Education reserves the right to disqualify a school's application and/or rescind a school's award.

7. The nominated school has not been identified by the state as "persistently dangerous" within the last two years.

8. The nominated school or district is not refusing Office of Civil Rights (OCR) access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.

9. The OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.

10. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district, as a whole, has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution's equal protection clause.

11. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.

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PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Data should be provided for the most recent school year (2018-2019) unless otherwise stated.

DISTRICT (Question 1 is not applicable to non-public schools)

1. Number of schools in the district (per district designation):

0 Elementary schools (includes K-8) 0 Middle/Junior high schools 0 High schools 0 K-12 schools

0 TOTAL

SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)

2. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:

[X] Urban or large central city [ ] Suburban [ ] Rural or small city/town

3. Number of students as of October 1, 2018 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:

Grade

PreK K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 or higher Total

Students

# of Males

40 15 34 26 30 22 16 20 20 13 0 0 0 0

236

# of Females Grade Total

53

93

34

49

14

48

18

44

22

52

20

42

31

47

28

48

25

45

14

27

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

259

495

*Schools that house PreK programs should count preschool students only if the school administration is responsible for the program.

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4. Racial/ethnic composition of

0 % American Indian or Alaska Native

the school (if unknown, estimate): 8 % Asian

7 % Black or African American

19 % Hispanic or Latino

0 % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

58 % White

8 % Two or more races

100 % Total

(Only these seven standard categories should be used to report the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.)

5. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the 2017 ? 2018 school year: 4%

If the mobility rate is above 15%, please explain.

This rate should be calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.

Steps For Determining Mobility Rate (1) Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1, 2017 until the end of the 2017-2018 school year (2) Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1, 2016 until the end of the 2017-2018 school year (3) Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] (4) Total number of students in the school as of October 1, 2017 (5) Total transferred students in row (3) divided by total students in row (4) (6) Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100

Answer 0

20

20 476 0.04

4

6. Specify each non-English language represented in the school (separate languages by commas): Spanish, Polish, Mandarin Chinese

English Language Learners (ELL) in the school: 4 % 21 Total number ELL

7. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 1 %

Total number students who qualify: 6

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8. Students receiving special education services:

5 % 24 Total number of students served

Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional conditions. It is possible that students may be classified in more than one condition.

1 Autism

2 Multiple Disabilities

0 Deafness

0 Orthopedic Impairment

0 Deaf-Blindness

1 Other Health Impaired

1 Developmental Delay

11 Specific Learning Disability

0 Emotional Disturbance

5 Speech or Language Impairment

0 Hearing Impairment

0 Traumatic Brain Injury

0 Intellectual Disability

3 Visual Impairment Including Blindness

9. Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school: 6

10. Use Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), rounded to nearest whole numeral, to indicate the number of school staff in each of the categories below:

Administrators

Classroom teachers including those teaching high school specialty subjects, e.g., third grade teacher, history teacher, algebra teacher. Resource teachers/specialists/coaches e.g., reading specialist, science coach, special education teacher, technology specialist, art teacher, etc. Paraprofessionals under the supervision of a professional supporting single, group, or classroom students. Student support personnel e.g., school counselors, behavior interventionists, mental/physical health service providers, psychologists, family engagement liaisons, career/college attainment coaches, etc.

Number of Staff 3 44 10 3

1

11. Average student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the FTE of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 11:1

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12. Show daily student attendance rates. Only high schools need to supply yearly graduation rates.

Required Information

2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014

Daily student attendance

98%

96%

96%

95%

95%

High school graduation rate

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

13. For high schools only, that is, schools ending in grade 12 or higher. Show percentages to indicate the post-secondary status of students who graduated in Spring 2018.

Post-Secondary Status Graduating class size Enrolled in a 4-year college or university Enrolled in a community college Enrolled in career/technical training program Found employment Joined the military or other public service Other

0 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

14. Indicate whether your school has previously received a National Blue Ribbon Schools award.

Yes

No X

If yes, select the year in which your school received the award.

15. In a couple of sentences, provide the school's mission or vision statement.

Old St. Mary's prepares students to be productive and responsible members of the world community, for lifetime service to God, and fosters a lifelong quest for knowledge.

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PART III ? SUMMARY

"Lead through Faith, Grow in Knowledge, Serve with Love". These important principles are emblazoned at the entrance of our school. For the Old St. Mary's community, it is more than simply a welcoming motto: it is a daily reminder of our core values, values that serve to guide each of our actions and decisions.

Old St. Mary's has a rich history. The OSM Parish was Chicago's first Catholic congregation and is the oldest parish in the city. The Old St. Mary's Parish community dedicated its current home in the South Loop neighborhood in 2002. At that time the neighborhood was in transition; becoming more popular with young professionals working in downtown Chicago. Young families moving into the area were searching for a quality, faith-based education. To meet this need, Old St. Mary's opened a school in 2004 with just eighteen preschoolers in a factory building adjoining the church and parish offices. Due in part to the steady growth of the South Loop neighborhood and in part to the stellar reputation of the academic programming, the school outgrew its original building and built a larger, energy-efficient school in 2011. A new state-of-theart Parish Center with gymnasium was added to the campus in 2016. Today, eighty-two percent of our students live in the South Loop, making it a true neighborhood school.

Our students lead through faith, which is reflected in a strong commitment to community. Students of all ages meet regularly for `Prayer Buddy' activities, fostering in them a sense of leadership and belonging. As a Responsive Classroom school, we teach our students to value community. We put a strong emphasis on the social and emotional growth of our students, ensuring that they feel safe and supported at OSM. To this end, for the last two years we have collaborated with a national anti-bullying expert. Under the guidance of our full-time counselor, our students, teachers, and parents were educated and trained to foster healthy relationships and positive communication.

Our students grow in knowledge every day. Each of our preschool, kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms are staffed with two certified teachers. This co-teaching model provides students with both personalized instruction and differentiated small group learning. As our students progress through elementary school, their independence is nurtured and strengthened. Our third through fifth grade curricula follow an inquiry-based model, allowing students to guide their own learning. Through our departmentalized middle school program, students receive specialized instruction in English language arts, math, science, social studies, Spanish, and religion. In middle school, students operate in a one-to-one environment, incorporating technology into all core subject areas. As an urban school, our students grow in knowledge in a variety of unique ways. With Chicago as a backdrop, our students learn through field trips to museums, theaters, parks, and other venues. These opportunities extend learning beyond the classroom to give our students exposure to hands-on and exploratory learning with professionals who are experts in their fields. During a space science field trip, for example, our first graders had the unique opportunity to engage with a NASA scientist!

Old St. Mary's students serve with love. Our middle school students lead a Social Justice and Service Committee, which is integral to our mission of serving others. Our students plan service projects, sponsor food drives, and respond to the needs of the underserved in our community. Our students partnered with the African Library Project, a book drive that stocked a new community library in Ghana and supported several under-resourced schools in Chicago.

Now entering our fifteenth year, four hundred ninety-five students in preschool through eighth grade call Old St. Mary's School home. June 2019 will mark the sixth graduating class from OSM and we take pride in the confident and successful students who go on to attend rigorous and selective public and private high schools. We know when they leave Old St. Mary's School, they are distinctly prepared for the future as they continue to lead through faith, grow in knowledge, and serve with love.

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PART IV ? CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

1. Core Curriculum:

1a. Reading/English language arts:

Old St. Mary's School's robust and rigorous curriculum is informed by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Office for Catholic Schools (OCS) of the Archdiocese of Chicago. For kindergarten through eighth grade, OCS Benchmarks, which are rooted in Common Core State Standards, serve as the foundation of our English Language Arts and Mathematics curricula.

Literacy blocks organize daily learning in English Language Arts. Differentiation is maximized through a variety of learning structures including individual, partner, and flexible small-groups. Teachers utilize research-based curricular resources to address the breadth of learning standards. These curricular resources include Making Meaning, Fundations, Words Their Way, Daily 5/CAF?, and Lucy Calkins' Units of Study. Our older students make real-world connections with literature through novel study and applied writing activities. For example, our eighth grade students are reading Bronx Masquerade and then telling their own stories by constructing fingerprint poems, culminating in a classroom poetry slam. Through our leveled book library, which includes texts across the wide spectrum of abilities, from emergent to advanced readers, students expand their vocabularies and employ a variety of comprehension strategies, such as visualizing, inferring, and making connections to effectively engage with a balance of fictional and informational texts at their individual levels.

In English Language Arts, students are assessed through formal and informal means. Our universal screener, Star 360, assesses students in kindergarten through eighth grade to ensure that they are meeting grade level benchmarks. Teachers also use subject area tests to evaluate student progress during individual units. An informal assessment that occurs during Lucy Calkins' Writing Workshop is writing conferences. In writing workshop, teachers meet with students to confer with feedback on student application of the concepts taught. Similarly, reading conferences are also used to assess students. Teachers meet one-on-one with students in order to assess fluency and comprehension. Peer assessment is another tool utilized by our faculty. Students meet in pairs to discuss and provide feedback for each other.

1b. Mathematics:

Our mathematics instruction focuses on engaging students in problem-solving activities emphasizing the process of solving a problem, rather than solely on the solution obtained. Writing in math is a priority for us, and students are taught to effectively explain their reasoning through modeling and support. Teachers are able to assess this using math journals and constructed short responses. Journal rubrics give students a set of expectations to follow. Teachers utilize Pearson enVision, a Common Core-aligned program, as the primary tool for developing math lessons and unit assessments. Teachers in younger grades also employ the Daily 3 structure to engage students in interactive skill-building activities. Daily 3 also gives teachers a chance to meet one-on-one and in small-groups with students to assess their progress through conversation and observation. Teachers employ daily formative assessment to confirm students retained the information from the day before. An Algebra 1 option is extended to our eighth grade students to differentiate preparation for high school; students complete an assessment to evaluate their algebra readiness, and the results of this assessment, in combination with teacher recommendation, determine student placement for their 8th grade math class. Our universal screener, Star 360, has a math component as well to determine student achievement in relation to grade level expectations.

1c. Science:

Next Generation Science Standards guide the OSM science curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to prioritize inquiry, investigation, and active student engagement. Instructional units are chosen carefully to provide students the opportunity to delve deeply into each concept, encouraging more robust understanding. Teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade base their science curricula on FOSS science kits. Teachers

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