Latimer Road »

Latimer Road is a dual track program (community school and Montessori) located in the Cloverdale/Clayton area of Surrey.  Our expected enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year is approximately 450 students distributed between 22 divisions.  This past year, Latimer Road gained a Vice Principal to help support the increasing population. There is a strong sense of community at Latimer Road which is evidenced by a large PAC and parent volunteerism. Our motto is “Everyone ROARS with success!  

R – Respectful

O – On Track

A – Always Kind

R – Responsible

S – Safe

We have a diverse community of learners who are supported by a collaborative team of teachers committed to creating an environment that promotes both academic and social/emotional growth.  Our team believes that a mindset of  “meeting the students where they are at” rather than a one size fits all model of instruction, best supports personal/academic growth and a willingness by students to be active participants in their own  learning. 

In the 2017-2018 school year, Latimer Road staff will be in their first year of an inquiry process to guide school planning.  Staff are committed to developing inquiry questions that will help drive our school plan forward. The inquiry questions will be derived from the initial , collective discussions around what we know about our learners. Our focus for the upcoming school year will be three-fold: 1) continue to support the social/emotional well-being of our students,  2) continue to help move our students forward in developing competencies that support individual and group needs and 3) to make teaching, learning and assessment more visible.

What do we know about our learning community?

• Students are learning how to be engaged in  the learning process and self-assessment 
• Students are demonstrating an understanding of “Social/Emotional” learning
• Students are thriving on a “show what you know” model of instruction/learning
• Students are developing a sense of social responsibility
• Our students can be problem solvers
• Our students are eager to use technology
• Our students are peer oriented – highly social

In the 2017-2018 school year, Latimer Road staff was in the first year of the inquiry process to guide school planning.  Staff began working around inquiry questions that would help drive the school plan forward. In June last year (2018) staff (teaching and support) engaged in a round table conversation reflecting on last year’s plan as well as spent some time looking at the 2018 Learning Surveys. Through these conversations, staff collaborated both in small groups and with the larger staff.  Teachers acknowledged that there is: 
A school-wide commitment to building positive relationships (student to teacher, student to student, staff to staff) 
A continued use of R.O.A.R.S, Zones, celebrating “Be Kind” initiatives – working through interpersonal relationships issues 
   
Areas requiring attention that emerged from staff conversations as well as the Learning Surveys were in the areas of: 
  
Students ability to care for their mental heath 
Students feeling good about themselves 
School being a stressful place  
 
There is a discrepancy between students’ understanding of expectations (which is high) and the overall staff feeling that there are inconsistencies in expectations  
A significant number of students from the surveys said they didn’t consistently feel cared for or that they belonged   

How can we increase the overall well-being of our students in order to increase their reading and writing skills? 
Goal #1 
Support students who have experienced trauma while they are at school with us. 
Support traumatized students who act out as well as those who withdraw 
Create a socially and emotionally safe environment where children can learn, teachers can teach and administrators can successfully manage the school  
How can we increase written output; including structure, ideas and expression at both primary and intermediate levels. 
Goal #2 
Formulate 2 inquiry groups interested in pursuing data driven research that will provide concrete evidence of growth in this area. 
Inquiry Question (in progress) 
1) Group 1 – How will regular participation in “Story Workshop” develop a student’s accurate understanding of beginning, middle and end of stories as demonstrated in their ability to tell and retell stories in oral and written form? 
2) Group 2 – Will providing written instruction for 40 minutes 3 x a week over a period of 10 weeks of “6 trait-based writing skills” lead to improved student written output (including correct sentence structure and grammar)? 
 
4.  What professional learning do we need? 
Provide articles to staff regarding the efficacy of understanding the relationship between trauma and learning 
Invite interested staff to participate in a monthly lunch and learn to discuss the book “Trauma-Sensitive Schools” by Susan E. Craig 
Bring in guest speakers from within our district or outside our district 
Identify resources (primary and intermediate) that support direct instruction in written output. 

Provide articles to staff regarding the efficacy of understanding the relationship between trauma and learning 
Invite interested staff to participate in a monthly lunch and learn to discuss the book “Trauma-Sensitive Schools” by Susan E. Craig 
Bring in guest speakers from within our district or outside our district 
Identify resources (primary and intermediate) that support direct instruction in written output. 

Goal #1 
Increase our understanding through literature, videos and various print resources (articles will be shared during our weekly “In the Know” memos and at staff meetings) Timeline: Ongoing 
 
Staff who are interested are participating in a Book Club “Trauma-Sensitive Schools by Susan E. Craig Timeline:  April – June 2019 
 
Where appropriate and while maintaining confidentiality have staff familiarize themselves with student files with the support of admin and counsellor. Timeline:  June (when filling our Pinks and Blues and August/September and as new students begin 
 
Identify students in each division who teachers feel require our attention.  Identify the behaviour that is most worrisome from a trauma lens.  Identify their strengths and create an action plan between the exiting teacher and the new teacher  
Create opportunities for all staff to connect with those identified students.  Eg.  Admin to take over the class so teacher can work through the challenge with students in a private place rather than defaulting to sending the student to the office and having the admin deal with the issue 
 
Provide opportunities for inquiry that match with student interest and passion 
 
Proactive approach with parent communication – connect with good news 
 
Schedule monthly “Family Grouping” meetings led by teachers in order to strengthen personal relationships across all grade levels and alleviate some of the anxiety teachers feel when approaching students from different classes/grades  

Goal #2 
Assessment – Gr. 1 – oral recording (and written sample in late fall if able) in Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec March and year end.  Gr. 2 – Same but in addition to telling a story with a beginning, middle and/or accurate retelling of a story, the sample will be used to assess student’s ability to express a complete idea and construct an idea with proper sentence structure.