Standard 4: Resources and Support Systems

Standard 4:  The school has resources and provides services that support its purpose and direction to ensure success for all students.

4.1 The employees at SSES are highly qualified teachers. Teachers either hold a degree in education or they are currently undergoing mandatory training with a portfolio to prove qualifications. Proof of such matter can be obtained from http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/. Throughout the course of the year, administration sees that all teachers receive proper professional development training. Each class size is maintained at or under the state requirement of 18 students. All SSES teachers are provided with Lead Money to help purchase classroom materials to help foster student success.

4.2 SSES teachers see to it that all instructional time is geared toward student success. Students have the opportunity to attend Morning Enrichment after breakfast which supports academic learning. Every teacher is supplied with focus calendars and school schedules so that every student has the opportunity to succeed. Parent questions can be obtained from our school website http://www.sses.gcps.k12.fl.us/. All instructional calendars and materials are adopted from the district, which are aligned with State and National Standards.

4.3 SSES's head custodian maintains and ensures that our facility is safe, clean, and healthy at all times. If there is a maintenance need from any teacher or employee our head custodian, Mr. Isaac McCall contacts the necessary office personnel who submits work orders through the

School Dude website. The district's maintenance crew then comes to our school and performs the necessary procedures. The district's maintenance department also completes regular and routine checks for child safety and cleanliness. Every classroom has emergency procedures posted for student safety. Emergency drills are also conducted regularly.

4.4 SSES students and school personnel use a range of media and informational resources to support the school's motto "Where Children and Learning Come First". Students at SSES are given every opportunity to reach their highest level of success. Classrooms in grades 2nd -5th are equipped with Smart boards to engage student learners. Teachers use such websites as Success Maker http://10.30.190.24/lms/login.home.view, Accelerated Reader https://hosted229.renlearn.com/60560/, Think Central http://www.thinkcentral.com/index.htm, and Imagine It! http://www.sraimagineit.com/. The district website also provides internet resources to help students at home as well as resources for beginning and veteran teachers.

4.5 SSES faculty, staff, and students use an immense amount of technology daily. Majority of the classrooms are equipped with Smart Boards and classroom computers. Staff members are provided professional development opportunities for the technology that is implemented in each classroom. Teachers, parents, and students must sign a Code of Ethics and Technology Policy granting students permission of technology use.

4.6 SSES personnel have clearly defined processes in place to determine the physical, social and emotional needs of each student enrolled in our school. Once defined, we provide programs, services and activities to support students and parents. Evidence is shown through data and observations taken by the school's guidance counselor and other staff members. Student Study Team meetings are scheduled, held and testing is done to evaluate students. Specialists are housed on campus for students with special needs. Visits are made from state agency personnel to also aid in the support of our students. Charitable activities are coordinated to support students, to enrich their lives and to give them a sense of community, whether in helping others or receiving assistance themselves. Assemblies are held to reward their educational and civic achievements. Character education programs are in place to provide a social foundation and deter mischief. Our partnerships in the community also allow us to provide services to our students. These partnerships include, but are not limited to, the local Sheriff's Department, T.C.C.'s 21st Century After-school Enrichment programs, Religious Partners, Juvenile Court Partners and our Community Mentor Program.

4.7 SSES provides services that support the counseling, assessment, referral, educational, and career planning needs of all students. This is evident in our clearly defined IEP process, the numerous counseling and therapy professionals that sign in weekly to meet the needs of our students and the plethora of academic programs that provide data necessary to frequently progress monitor students in order to help each student improve academically. The IEP process is clearly defined from the initial recognition phase all the way to the IEP implementation and reevaluation stages. As evidenced by the signatures on the IEP, a multidisciplinary team (Student Study Team) including parents, teachers, administrators, and others meet to create an IEP best suited for each student's success. In addition to the IEP process, Successmaker, Accelerated Reader, Acaletics, Write Score, and FAIR are just a few of the programs used to progress monitor our students academically. These programs are researched-based and have been proven effective in helping students meet their learning goals.