The Educational Project is a strategic tool through which an educational institution can define and communicate to the educational community the policy orientations, the action priorities, and the expected results to ensure the educational success for all students, in both the youth and adult sectors. It reflects the characteristics and needs of the students who attend the educational institution and the expectations expressed in the community in terms of education. Resulting from a consensus, the educational project is prepared and implemented through the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders concerned with the institution: students, parents, teachers and other staff members (daycare service, secretary, etc.), as well as the community and school board representatives.
Groups Involved in the Preparation of the Educational Project
Collaborative management is based on team work; putting fruitful collaboration into action concretely and striving for consensus.
Our team consists of the three teachers who are the lead teachers of the core subjects: Sylvie Pouliotte (French), Karen Jones (ELA) and Marco DeFranco (Math). As well, our Governing Board is participating in the consultation process, which includes three teachers (Katie Luskey, Talia Kelly, Sylvie Pouliotte), one support staff member (Linda Spallin) and five parents (Stephanie Mullen Kavanagh, Lisa Semenoff, Sarah Clarke, Line Menard, Bronwyn Rayfield). The Educational Project will be also reviewed for feedback at School Council and staff meetings.
Consultations Held for the Preparation of the Educational Project
The educational project is a product of the community, so the governing board encourages the participation of students, parents, teachers, other school staff and representatives of the community and the school board. (EA, Section 7)
Our in-school team met on two occasions to work on the plan as a team of five. This plan was presented to Governing Board at two meetings in April and June 2019, after an initial general introduction to the concept of the Educational Project in November 2018. Staff was able to provide feedback on a few occasions in the spring once the draft was available.
School Context (internal and external environments)
- Overview of the education in the surrounding environment;
- Summary of promising actions in the community: the strengths;
- Overall picture of the results and areas of vulnerability;
- Student needs in the schools and centres;
- Main challenges related to the academic success of the community;
- Use of certain national indicators;
- Characteristics and expectations of the community, etc.
Mission: Inspiring Learners to Succeed
Vision
At Wakefield Elementary School, we strive to be a diverse and inclusive community of learners who inspire each other to find success. We are committed to working together to bring out the best in each other; valuing a strong academic foundation and developing our full potential through creativity, healthy choices and personal growth.
Outstanding Teaching
What does Outstanding Teaching look like at Wakefield Elementary School? The staff at Wakefield School has high expectations of all students, both academically and behaviourally. Quality teaching and learning are very important to us. We work as a cooperative team where we model positive habits for our students in and out of the classroom. We believe in supporting one another to be the best professionals we can be. We share resources, strong teaching strategies and best practices and are actively involved in professional development opportunities. We foster a positive and caring school culture where we put students first. We are committed to extra- curricular activities and value our partnerships with parents and the community.
Learner Qualities
At Wakefield School, we have asked: what are the qualities of a good learner? From there, we developed our Learner Qualities, based on the research of John Hattie and his work on Visible Learning. Visible Teaching and Learning occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and the model focuses on effective teaching practices that have an impact on student achievement. Our Learner Qualities are: Think, Persevere, Act, Wonder, and be Self-Aware.
Values
At Wakefield School, we value the 3 B’s: Be Yourself, Better Yourself, Believe in Yourself
Be Yourself
- Be kind and caring
- Be a positive influence
- Be curious about the world around you
- Respect and appreciate nature
- Have fun and persevere
Better Yourself
- Challenge yourself to learn
- Set your goal, follow your goal
- Be active and make healthy choices
- Connect and contribute locally and globally
Believe in Yourself
- Nurture a community that feels like a family where everyone belongs
- Try something new everyday
- Foster friendships
- Find your own path
Motto: Be Yourself, Better Yourself, Believe in Yourself
School and its community
The village of Wakefield has a hospital, a new medical clinic and pharmacy, dental clinic, bank, post office, community centre and library, a seniors’ residence and many thriving businesses. The school community extends to the village and other neighbouring areas like Alcove, Rupert, Lascelles, Masham, Farm Point and Edelweiss. The area population is about 3000. Wakefield is also noted for the artists who live in the region and draws people who tend to appreciate and value nature and outdoor living. As a result, Wakefield community’s current socio-economic standing relative to the rest of the School Board is 3, with 10 being the lowest. The Ministry considers this indicator as significant in predicting school success.
In September 2014, the school moved to its new building located on Riverside Drive after being located on Caves Road for almost 80 years. The school has a long-standing history as an anchor in the community.
Wakefield School benefits from having an active and involved parent community. There is a Governing Board and parents’ group, WEHSA, Wakefield Elementary Home and School Association. Parents are involved in fundraising efforts and volunteering at the school. As well, the community is invested in the school, and we have partnerships with such community organizations as the Wakefield Youth Centre (WAY), Fairbairn House Museum, DragonFest, and the Wakefield Library as well as with local artists and musicians.
Wakefield offers an extended French program of instruction, which is 60% of instruction in English and 40% in French across all grade levels. We feel that this approach works very well for our student population and its success is reflected in our student achievement results. There is an equal emphasis on the three core subjects of English, French and Math. Our focus is to develop reading and writing skills in both languages using a balanced literacy approach, as well as developing students’ math skills. Each year, we have over half of our Grade 6 cohort who choose to continue in the Enrichie program at Hadley (50-50% French), and several students are able to attend French high schools. A growing number of students also choose to attend St Michael’s High School. The school benefits from the Outdoor Education and Environmental Studies Program that teaches environmental protection and responsible outdoor physical education skills and ethics. This program fosters future citizens who care about the natural environment locally and globally. In order to reinforce the school’s positive and respectful culture, a school-wide philosophy of Tribes is promoted. A Tribes Learning Community emphasizes working collaboratively to problem solve and foster positive relationships using the four Tribes agreements: attentive listening, appreciation statements, mutual respect and the right to pass. As well, the school adopts the Neufeld approach to supporting students, a philosophy that focuses on building positive attachments between staff and students so that every student can reach their potential.
Students
In 2018-19, there are 319 students at Wakefield School. The school has an active 4- year old Kindergarten program where parents pay as well as being funded by a ministry grant. There are also classes from K5 and Cycles 1-3 (Grades 1-6). There are 45 students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which represents about 14% of the population. In comparison, the Western Quebec School Board has approximately 25% of its population with IEPs. About 10% of students come from homes where French is spoken as a first language. The student population continues to grow steadily every year by a small amount and it is not significantly diverse.
Classrooms
This year, there are 2 groups at each grade level. Our special needs’ students are fully integrated into all classes with support as required as per each student’s Individual Education Plan. Each classroom is equipped with white boards as well as Smart boards and several student desktops. The kindergarten rooms have their own storage room, sink area and washroom within the classroom space. The remaining classrooms are identical in design and layout.
School
The school relocated to its new site on Riverside Drive in September of 2014. It features a double gym with change rooms, a multi-purpose room, a library and computer lab and several resource areas. It is an environmentally friendly building with geothermal heating, grey water collection facilities and LED lighting. The majority of our students are bussed in to the school from surrounding areas. Since we have moved to our new location, about 40 students walk to school each day. Before and after school daycare programming is available, and is also offered on Professional Development days. The daycare staff organize interesting, creative projects for the students and activities that encourage a healthy and physically active lifestyle. During Daycare, there is always outdoor and gym time, and some time for homework. In 2018-19, about 38% of the students attend the daycare services regularly.
Staff
In 2018-19, there are 20 teachers on staff, with a balance of new and experienced teachers, and two male teachers. Wakefield School tends to have a fairly low staff turnover rate, which means more stability and consistency for students. The staff is particularly involved in professional development opportunities at the school and Board levels. The school has a full-time principal. There are two administrative assistants, one full- time and one part -time as well as a part- time daycare technician. We have three full-time aides and two part-time aides to support students in the classroom. There are six daycare educators involved in the operation of the daycare and lunch hour supervision. There are two full-time caretakers on site.
Families and Communities
Wakefield School benefits from an active Governing Board, as well as a Home and School Association. Both are involved in many aspects of school life, including policies, volunteering and fundraising. Our parents have raised funds for different school projects such as the playground expansion project, playground equipment, library books, iPads for classrooms, and to support the purchase of classroom materials such as books and math manipulatives. Their support is integral to the school’s success. A significant number of the parents commute to the National Capital region for employment. Many families have been members of the Wakefield community for several generations, however some of our newer families have moved to the area from urban centres. Parents generally are very involved with their children’s learning and school experience and have high expectations of the school.
Analysis of situation
Successes and Challenges
The school has good and stable success rates in the three core subject areas of English, Math and French across all grade levels, and has enjoyed this success for several years (see Appendix 1 & 2).
One challenge is to continue to provide the high expectations to achieve these results or higher. As well, it is important to provide adapted programming for those students identified as “at risk” so that they can be successful. Our goal is to ensure that our students are prepared for the next steps in their education- secondary school- and to eventually find success in graduating from their program. Another challenge is having teachers meet to more effectively analyze student data such as term marks, BAS and GB+ scores, exam results to make sure that each student continues to move forward in their learning. We also need to identify those who may require additional support in the three core subjects. It is also important that teachers meet regularly in teams to discuss curriculum, instruction, progressions of learning, assessment and evaluation. This occurs in both cycle and subject meetings.
| At Wakefield School: | Strengths | Challenges |
| Healthy and Safe Schools | Good connections with the community (.e.g. Fairbairn, Manoir choir visits, La Peche Forest, WAY) Many extra curricular activities (sports, PALS, choir, clubs, debating, DI, ME to WE)- student led clubs/teacher supported Caring, respectful adults healthy happy community – supportive, involved, similar values, parent volunteers Monthly virtues and assemblies, celebrations, daily announcements |
Meetings about students- resource, social emotional- improve communication and plans Staff meetings- time to share, meet in different rooms, problem solving/ challenge, following up after events (WWW/EBI), Tribes Anxiety- increase our understanding as a staff, resources, PD Close daycare on a PD day to attend staff PD- aides and daycare participate |
| Student Achievement | Academic results in 3 cores are above WQSB results and consistently very strong Collaboration amongst staff members (e.g. time for team meetings, FACET, Math institute) Mentor texts- fiction and non, poetry- prompting guides with guiding questions Curriculum experts in the school in core subjects- lead teachers Involvement at the board level in developing exams, validations |
ELA: student engagement with reading different genres (maps, instructions, technical reading, nonfiction, fiction, magazines, math)- related to independent reading and build classroom libraries with different genres Align /revisit curriculum mapping- work between cycles- all subjects Math: math fluency more consistency with math meetings- more focus, target, more math PD What do we do with weaker students in math? 55-65 range Build logical reasoning skills, math reasoning strategies- increase the focus on concepts – what are best practices related to this and then share. Effective use of manipulatives French: oral expression Having spontaneous conversations, make French more a part of our every day (e.g. announcements, assemblies) Bilingual approach – align ELA and French practices |
| Staff Development | There are a lot of opportunities to be involved in PD Strong leaders Curriculum experts Common Values: Caring, involved, approachable, positive, supportive, professional, empathetic, accepting, trust, communication, respectful, happy, dedicated, helpful, committed, collaboration, teamwork, high expectations, passionate, kind Growth Mindset: Learn from each other, team teaching/ support, learning as professionals/participation, people teaching where they are happy, always trying to improve, willingness to share ideas and resources, willingness to help one another, constantly striving to be better teachers, openness to new ideas, continued growth in programming Putting students first, students belong to everyone, always positive about student experience, student success at heart philosophy happy kids, happy teachers |
Time for people to share / improve communication Meetings need more focus Buy in for PD plan- Do the same process- strengths, challenges, priority, actions+ targets Align our practices and our knowledge in the three core subjects- curriculum maps updated Book clubs as a strategy for tackling a local problem, open discussion Conversations between grade levels re: success rates e.g. grade 3 to grade 4 same cohort with inconsistent results, discrepancies form one year to the next. Strategy: Look at data more closely. Conversations around marking/assessment- consistency. |
Achievement Data
The school has good and stable success rates in the three core subject areas of English, Math and French across all grade levels, and has enjoyed this success for several years (see Appendix 1 & 2).
Student Needs
As stated, we have about 14% of our population with an Individual Education Plan (IEP). We always need to assess the amount of technology we have in the school (iPads, laptops, desktops) so that these students have access to what they require for learning. We have several students who are waiting for additional psycho-educational testing. We have a growing number of students who need support to remain integrated in the classroom throughout the day, as behavior can be challenging. We have increased numbers of students who require breaks or a quiet location in our Student Support Centre. We have a steadily growing population and are not yet challenged for working space at the school.
Use of Grants Received by the MEES
Below is a list of grants received from MEES to be used at the school level, many of which are being used to support our objectives in the three core subjects of English, French and Math this year and have an impact on student achievement.
| Grant Allotment – Wakefield | |
| Description of Grant | Use in School |
| *School Success (School Initiatives) | Funds divided for three core subjects- aligned with PD plan+ objectives |
| *Additional Support – Gr 2-6 | Salary- to provide support to students (technician) |
| Supporting Parents in Primary | Workshop for parents |
| *Purchase class readers – K – C1 | Readers for K- Gr 1 classes |
| *Bon Pied/Good Start K5/Prim Yr 1 | Salary- support in K5 classes (technician) |
| *Bon Pied/Good Start K5/Prim Yr 1 | Salary- support in Grade 1 (teacher) |
| IEP Teacher Release | Release for teachers for working on IEPs |
| NTIC | Technology for teachers and classrooms (computers, smartboards) |
| *Anti Violence/Bullying | To support anti-bullying programs: materials for PALS program (playground leadership) |
| Healthy Life Style | To promote physical activity: yoga program |
| *Homework Assistance | Salary- to support 3 core subjects (teacher) |
| *Spiritual Animation | To support community, cultural programs: yoga program |
| *Library Books | Purchase library books- cost sharing grant 45% school- 55% MEES |
| Inspirational Schools | Field trips/outings |
| Cultural Outings | Field trips/outings |
| *Service d’accueil | Salary- French resource support- new students to QC (teacher) |
| *Agent Transition | Professional services to support students’ transition to school |
| *Reading Corner – French Materials | To purchase French readers |
| Integration of Technology in classroom | Provide teacher release |
| Teacher training- Coding | Provide teacher release |
| Leadership pedagogique | Provide release for PD for ICT teacher leader |
Read Wakefield’s full Educational Project > Educational Project- October 2022 (002)
Appendix 1: Wakefield Targets School Success > Appendix -Wakefield Targets School Success 2021-22- targets Nov 2022