THE WORK OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN 2018-2023

When each school began to plan their important work based on AACPS’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan during the spring of 2018, school teams reflected on their school culture, their community, and the key factors contributing to student achievement.  Each school was then asked to consider which Strategic Plan Indicators would have the greatest positive impact for their students. School leadership teams selected indicators and developed plans to focus and guide their efforts.  Please come with us on our journey as we describe why, what, and how we do our work to serve our students and families of our school.

PERSHING HILL ELEMENTARY'S SCHOOL STORY

Pershing Hill Elementary, situated in the heart of Fort George G. Meade Army Installation (Ft. Meade), is home to over 600 students in grades 1 through 5.  Over ninety-five percent (95%) of our students live on Post and have one or two parents serving in the Armed Forces.  The typical length of enrollment for our students is about three years before their families “permanent change of station” (PCS) to locations around the globe.  Our families are hard-working and highly supportive of our school. On average, our parents and community members donate over 6,500 hours of volunteer service every year.  With several Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, and Coast Guard units on Post, we are fortunate to have an endless supply of volunteers for field trips, projects, and events. Pershing Hill Elementary and its surrounding community are an ideal location for families seeking a true partnership in their child’s education.   

WHO WE ARE: OUR COMMUNITY AND SCHOOL CULTURE

Each of our schools’ leadership teams analyzed the factors that impact their students’ ability to engage deeply and achieve academic success. They shared stories of their students and families, some of whom are facing serious challenges associated with physical wellness, social-emotional stability, unique learning needs, family security, mental health, violence, and food/housing uncertainties. They discussed the obstacles that their students face daily when preparing to come to school on time, ready to learn.

Questions such as the following drove discussions around Anne Arundel County: 

• What are the challenges and obstacles that negatively affect our students’ engagement and achievement most significantly and why?

• Are we analyzing our data and listening closely to learn about all of our students when we seek to understand our learners’ social-emotional and academic struggles?

• How do cultural differences, language challenges, transportation difficulties, health problems, and frequent family relocation (mobility) serve as obstacles to school success for our students?

• What resources and supports are available within AACPS and across our county to support students and families in need?  How do we help our families receive the supports they need?

Our School Culture

Below is the school’s story as seen through the eyes of school leaders. They discuss the culture of their school and the community.

The job of educating children in the 21st century requires a collaborative effort between parents and school staff.  Our staff remains committed to helping each and every student achieve their potential.  Students at PHES demonstrate empathy, ethical decision making and social responsibility all while creating positive and supportive relationships with each other.  Our staff supports this by holding daily community-building circles where students are encouraged to listen and speak to their classmates. 

To further support our students, PHES holds new student orientations and hosts an ambassador program that helps welcome new families. Students at PHES are encouraged to solve conflicts through Restorative Practices, which allows them to build trust through meaningful conversations.  As a Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) school, we direct our students’ focus upon being respectful, responsible, and safe every day; and encourage all of our students to embrace our Pershing Hill Elementary School Promise.  

The theme of our Enhancing Elementary Excellence (EEE) program is Arts and Humanities.  Through this program, our students are challenged to participate in project-based learning opportunities that seek to solve real-world problems.  As a school supported through Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) grants, many of our after school clubs focus on Cyber Security and technology.  The DoDEA grants also provide funding for our teachers to spend extra time refining and improving their craft. 

CHALLENGES TO STUDENT SUCCESS

The leadership team in each AACPS school reviewed all of the factors that may influence their students’ engagement and achievement in school; these challenges include academic data elements, community history, and socio-economic aspects of each community. The school’s leadership team identified the following elements as impactful for their students.

KEY CHALLENGES TO STUDENT SUCCESS

The students who attend Pershing Hill Elementary School are influenced daily by events, situations, and circumstances that occur at home and in their neighborhood.  While there are numerous factors that contribute to student achievement at Pershing Hill Elementary, the school leadership team has narrowed its focus to the following challenges to student success, with the acknowledgement that this is not an all-inclusive list and that some students may be affected by other opportunities or issues in their young lives. 

This school's key challenges to student success are also noted in the boxes shown below.

STRATEGIC PLAN INDICATORS

After each school leadership team reflected on its school culture, community, and the key contributing factors to student growth, they used this information to select the Strategic Plan Indicators that would have the greatest positive impact for their students.  Each school was directed to select two to six indicators on which to focus during the 2018-19 school year.  Certainly, we all know that if we focus narrowly and deeply, we are more likely to realize positive results.  The indicators that this school’s leadership team selected are noted below.

STRATEGIC JOURNEY

Throughout the next 3 years, schools will focus on their chosen Strategic Plan Indicators as the drivers to increase student engagement and achievement within their schools. They will choose strategies to help them grow or increase within each indicator and will monitor and evaluate the student and school changes that take place along the journey.  Below you will see what this school imagines their students and school to look like in 2021 after having focused and worked on their chosen indicators for three years.

Our Vision of Success: 2021

Pershing Hill is a dynamic community of students, parents, and staff.  Our goals will continue to be aligned with strategies that work to overcome our challenges by capitalizing on our numerous assets.  Students and families that transfer to PHES will be greeted and welcomed by a staff that recognizes the unique needs of military-connected children.  Students will feel supported and cared for by the PHES staff; and we will support families by upholding the expectations of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.  The Compact ensures that children of military families receive the same opportunities for educational success as other children, and are not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals by inflexible administrative and bureaucratic practices.  

As we work to increase the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations on standardized assessments in math and reading, we will welcome children as they are, where they are, and move them forward with compassion and thought.  Recognizing the variety of educational experiences that our children bring with them, we will ensure that our students are challenged at their instructional level and moved forward as they reach their academic milestones. 

Ultimately, when our students leave us, we expect that they will have progressed to a level that will lead them to future success.  If our Pershing Hill students are respectful, thoughtful, and contributing members of their community, we will have done our small part to help them realize their dreams.   

Demographics