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École Harwood is a K-7 school that is located in the heart of Vernon, B.C. We are the HEAT which stands for Healthy Encouraging Academic Team.
Our school’s mission statement:
Our mission is to provide a caring and supportive environment for students to develop a lifelong love of learning and prepare them to become responsible citizens in a changing world.
Harwood’s ‘Belief System’ is centered around our values of Respecting Oneself, Respecting Others and Respecting the Environment. These values guide us in working with students to develop the attitudes and attributes that guide and help grow students that reflect our mission statement.
Our student catchment is from the Harwood area of Vernon with the exception of our French Immersion programming where students apply from across the district. Currently, our student body is comprised of 20% indigenous students and our French Immersion students make up just under 22% of our student population.
We currently have 21 Divisions; two of which are Late French Immersion and two of French Kindergarten. Our staff includes:
Principal
Vice-Principal
21 Classroom Teachers
2.4 FTE School Based Resource Teachers
0.7 FTE Teacher-Librarian
1.0 FTE Arts Ed teacher
0.7 FTE Physical Education Teacher
0.7 FTE Counsellor
12 Educational Assistants
Aboriginal Support Worker
0.7 Literacy Specialist
0.5 Discretionary Staffing
We continue to have a strong focus on early intervention and literacy with various programming and goals centered around student growth and success in literacy.
Our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is active throughout our school providing support through community/school events and fundraising. We are very thankful for the time and financial resources they provide to support school programming that enhances the educational experience for our students. The PAC meets the first Tuesday of every month.
At Harwood School we believe that student success is built on an engaging and responsive school culture where school and community work together for students to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. When the learning environment is safe, provides appropriate interventions and engaging experiences for all levels of learners, students will grow to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens. At Harwood School our staff strive to create an environment of belonging that supports the individuality and creativity of all students as well as provides experiences to teach and instill the core competencies. When our students at Harwood display the attitudes and attributes of our mission statement and live out our school values, we know they are experiencing success.
We recognize this success through weekly awards at virtual assemblies. Staff are consistently watching our students to reward them with HEAT STARS that recognize the efforts students put into displaying behaviours related to Healthy, Encouraging, Academic, Team. We also hand out certificates for Student of the Week to honor those that have consistently displayed our values.
At Harwood, we have a staff that care and take ownership of all students in the school. Our staff understand the importance of developing the whole child and work hard to provide engaging experiences to keep students first. Our staff believe in working together and collaboration to grow professionally and best meet the needs of students.
Early and ongoing intervention is important at our school. We provide various interventions for our K-Gr. 3 students to ensure they have the greatest opportunity to be supported and grow as they move through these grades. We provide reading intervention programs, social skills programs and gross motor skill development. Through collaboration and data analysis we are able to provide flexible and responsive groupings of students to best meet their needs. Our classroom teachers, SBRT’s, discretionary staffing and support staff all work together to target and program for student success. We all support students through conselling, NOYFSS, OT and SLP.
We also have various community supports that help prepare and supply food for our breakfast, snack, and 1 to 1 reading programs. All of these help in providing support for some of our most vulnerable students. We are very thankful for all our community partnerships and volunteers.
Our Parent Advisory Council is an integral part of our school’s culture and success. We appreciate the hard work of our caring parents and the positive impact they have on our school to support our students and teachers. We also appreciate the funds they provide to run various programming across the school.
Can students answer the following 4 questions:
We recognize that our school is a ‘hub’ within the Harwood community and it is important that we continue to find meaningful ways to reach out to our community. With a continued focus on student growth and success, we will continue to explore ways in which to share and involve parents and community into the learning.
We also understand that technology can be an engaging tool to be used with students and have developed a three year technology plan to increase not only the amount of technology in the school, but empower our staff in utilizing it in meaningful and engaging ways. As we explore and employ various new technologies, we want to ensure we are preparing our students to be digital citizens in an ever changing world.
École Harwood is a K-7 school that is located in the heart of Vernon, B.C. We are the HEAT which stands for Healthy Encouraging Academic Team.
Our school’s mission statement:
Our mission is to provide a caring and supportive environment for students to develop a lifelong love of learning and prepare them to become responsible citizens in a changing world.
Harwood’s ‘Belief System’ is centered around our values of Respecting Oneself, Respecting Others and Respecting the Environment. These values guide us in working with students to develop the attitudes and attributes that guide and help grow students that reflect our mission statement.
Our student catchment is from the Harwood area of Vernon with the exception of our French Immersion programming where students apply from across the district. Currently, our student body is comprised of 20% indigenous students and our French Immersion students make up just under 22% of our student population.
We currently have 21 Divisions; two of which are Late French Immersion and two of French Kindergarten. Our staff includes:
Principal
Vice-Principal
21 Classroom Teachers
2.4 FTE School Based Resource Teachers
0.7 FTE Teacher-Librarian
1.0 FTE Arts Ed teacher
0.7 FTE Physical Education Teacher
0.7 FTE Counsellor
12 Educational Assistants
Aboriginal Support Worker
0.7 Literacy Specialist
0.5 Discretionary Staffing
We continue to have a strong focus on early intervention and literacy with various programming and goals centered around student growth and success in literacy.
Our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is active throughout our school providing support through community/school events and fundraising. We are very thankful for the time and financial resources they provide to support school programming that enhances the educational experience for our students. The PAC meets the first Tuesday of every month.
At Harwood School we believe that student success is built on an engaging and responsive school culture where school and community work together for students to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. When the learning environment is safe, provides appropriate interventions and engaging experiences for all levels of learners, students will grow to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens. At Harwood School our staff strive to create an environment of belonging that supports the individuality and creativity of all students as well as provides experiences to teach and instill the core competencies. When our students at Harwood display the attitudes and attributes of our mission statement and live out our school values, we know they are experiencing success.
We recognize this success through weekly awards at virtual assemblies. Staff are consistently watching our students to reward them with HEAT STARS that recognize the efforts students put into displaying behaviours related to Healthy, Encouraging, Academic, Team. We also hand out certificates for Student of the Week to honor those that have consistently displayed our values.
At Harwood, we have a staff that care and take ownership of all students in the school. Our staff understand the importance of developing the whole child and work hard to provide engaging experiences to keep students first. Our staff believe in working together and collaboration to grow professionally and best meet the needs of students.
Early and ongoing intervention is important at our school. We provide various interventions for our K-Gr. 3 students to ensure they have the greatest opportunity to be supported and grow as they move through these grades. We provide reading intervention programs, social skills programs and gross motor skill development. Through collaboration and data analysis we are able to provide flexible and responsive groupings of students to best meet their needs. Our classroom teachers, SBRT’s, discretionary staffing and support staff all work together to target and program for student success. We all support students through conselling, NOYFSS, OT and SLP.
We also have various community supports that help prepare and supply food for our breakfast, snack, and 1 to 1 reading programs. All of these help in providing support for some of our most vulnerable students. We are very thankful for all our community partnerships and volunteers.
Our Parent Advisory Council is an integral part of our school’s culture and success. We appreciate the hard work of our caring parents and the positive impact they have on our school to support our students and teachers. We also appreciate the funds they provide to run various programming across the school.
Can students answer the following 4 questions:
We recognize that our school is a ‘hub’ within the Harwood community and it is important that we continue to find meaningful ways to reach out to our community. With a continued focus on student growth and success, we will continue to explore ways in which to share and involve parents and community into the learning.
We also understand that technology can be an engaging tool to be used with students and have developed a three year technology plan to increase not only the amount of technology in the school, but empower our staff in utilizing it in meaningful and engaging ways. As we explore and employ various new technologies, we want to ensure we are preparing our students to be digital citizens in an ever changing world.
Checking
Have we made enough of a difference?
How will we know?
Considerations
Checking
Have we made enough of a difference?
”The problem comes when people think that data paints a full picture, leading them to ignore what they can’t see. Here’s my approach: Measure what you can, evaluate what you measure, and appreciate that you cannot measure the vast majority of what you do. And at least every once in a while, make time to take a step back and think about what you are doing.”
Ed Catmull (2014) – Creativity Inc. Understanding the unseen forces that stand in the way to true inspiration.
How will we know?
PM Benchmark Assessments Primary – We assess all primary students three times a year using the PM Benchmarks so know where all of our primary student are at with their reading levels. We use this data to inform our literacy practices and interventions within the classroom and to inform school wide supports.
For intermediate students with rely on PM Benchmark Assessment and Fontes and Pinnell Assessments. Any intermediate student who needs support with their learning in the area of reading receives a reading assessment to support their learning and guide reading intervention.
Kindergarten Screener: Teachers use the Kindergarten Screener to assess the early development of our 4 and 5 year old’s. This data is used to support teaching and learning interventions.
Student Satisfaction Survey: We use this survey to consider what we need to focus on to improve literacy outcomes in our school.
Considerations
Scanning
What is going on for our learners?
Considerations
Scanning
What is going on for our learners?
Literacy
We continue to promote and guide our school in the adoption of our literacy beliefs, best practices, and school-wide initiatives.
FSA Data- Grade 4 % on Track and Extending
| Reading | Writing | Numeracy | |
| 2017/2018 | 73% | 61% | 46% |
| 2018/2019 | 84% | 81% | 58% |
| 2019/2020 | 75% | 80% | 57% |
FSA Data – Grade 7 % on Track and Extending
| Reading | Writing | Numeracy | |
| 2017/2018 | 81% | 80% | 63% |
| 2018/2019 | 85% | 85% | 72% |
| 2019/2020 | 76% | 82% | 45% |
PM Benchmark Proficiency Data
| Grade | Nov. Proficiency Level Needed | Nov. PM Proficient | Mar Proficiency Level Needed | March PM Proficient |
| 1 | 4 | 16/40 | 9 | 15/40 |
| 2 | 15 | 23/42 | 19 | 24/42 |
| 3 | 23 | 17/42 | 24 | 26/42 |
| 4 | 26 | 24/38 | 27 | 23/38 |
| 5 | 29 | 12/34 | 30 | 15/32 |
| 6 | 30+ | 15/43 | 30 | 24/45 |
| 7 | 30+ | 30/37 | 30 | 29/37 |
Culture
We continue to work toward a culture of belonging, where students enjoy coming to school and feel safe.
Student Satisfaction Survey Results 2020-21
Grade 4 Survey Responses
| Questions | Positive Response Rate |
| Is school a place where you feel like you belong? At school 2 or more adults care about you Do you feel welcome at school? Do you feel safe at school? Does school make you feel stressed or worried? |
66% (24% no response/don’t know) 45% (45% no response/don’t know) 78% (10% no response/don’t know) 78% (15% no response/don’t know) 54% (12% no response/don’t know) |
Grade 7 Survey Responses
| Questions | Positive Response Rate |
| Is school a place where you feel like you belong? At school 2 or more adults care about you Do you feel welcome at school? Do you feel safe at school? Does school make you feel stressed or worried? |
82% 66% (15% don’t know) 88% 86% (2% no response/don’t know) 53% (4% no response/don’t know) |
Considerations
Focusing
What will have the biggest impact?
Considerations
Focusing
What will have the biggest impact?
Literacy
75% of the primary students (Gr. 1-3) will demonstrate 1 year of growth by June 30 or will be reading at grade level. Tool: PM Benchmarks
For collecting data on our intermediate students who are reading below PM 30 a plan will be implemented in 2021-22 to identify which students are reading below PM 30 and then how we will use this data to inform practice and intervention.
Culture
90% of students in grades 4 and 7 will feel that at least two adults in the building care about them.
85% of grade 4 and 7 students will respond positively to the question: I feel safe at school.
85% of grade 4 and 7 students will respond positively to the question: I feel I belong at school.
Considerations
Developing a Hunch
What is leading to this situation?
Considerations
Developing a Hunch
What is leading to this situation?
At Harwood, we continually refine our teaching practice using our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to take us through the stage of developing our hunches. Teachers dig into data and explore our educational beliefs. Hunches that are developed in this process are then brought to all staff for consideration. Further, as a staff we are refining our approach with the Gradual Release of Responsibility model. Each teacher in our school has committed to focus on: guided; independent; modeled; or shared. All of our current hunches that guide our inquiry create the areas faces and our action plans.
Th past 18 months have been difficult for all students. We have seen a significant drop in literacy rates through the pandemic and the amount of missed school. We recognize that helping students regain the missed literacy exposure at an early age will be a priority for our staff.
Considerations
Learning
What do we need to learn?
Considerations
Learning
What do we need to learn?
We believe that implementing our Spirals of Inquiry process throughout our learning communities drives our learning as educators and supports improvements for all students in our learning community. Learning in our inquiry model is supported by providing collaboration time and time to focus on learning during our staff committee meetings. During PLC time teachers are working on learning ways to support improved outcomes for our students. Further, we are also learning ways to use technology to improve learning in our school while examine topics such as Digital Citizenship. We work impactfully to support learning in the area of health and wellness. In addition, we have a team working to implement our Mission/Values/Beliefs.
Our learning areas in 2020-21 include:
Considerations
Taking Action
What can we do to make a meaningful difference?
Considerations
Taking Action
What can we do to make a meaningful difference?
Student Engagement Action Plan:
Literacy
Next Steps
Resources to use to determine focus:
Technology
| Focus | Actions | Resources | Time Frame |
| Educate students on digital literacy | Have students circulate with Mr. Taylor during library time | Literacy Continuum |
Resources to use to determine focus:
Considerations
