JT Brown Elementary 23-24
OUR CONTEXT
JT Brown Elementary is at the heart of a small and diverse community. The playground is a hub of the neighbourhood and is consistently busy after school hours with students, future students and their families. Many extended family members including grandparents, aunts and uncles, gather at JT Brown to connect and socialize.
The learners at JT Brown Elementary are diverse and we have many students who speak more than one language. More than half of our students are English language learners ranging from beginning to bridging. More recently, we have noticed an increased diversity in the languages spoken at home other than English.
At JT Brown Elementary, we strive to create a climate of belonging and connectedness. Our priority is to make all students feel welcome, and to make sure their voice is heard. Many of our students are new to Canada and both staff and students are always excited to welcome new families to the community. We work closely with district and community organizations such as the Welcome Center to help support families as they settle in Canada.
We love to learn about, and celebrate the diverse cultures in our community. Students are proud of their culture and excited to share what they love most. When the Leadership Team interviewed students about their favorite part of their culture, the answer was overwhelmingly "the food!"
At JT Brown, we understand that students need opportunities to practice leadership. Students engage in a wide range of leadership activities that are both formal and informal. Formal leadership opportunities include lunch monitoring, spirit team, sports day committee, technology crew, environmental duty leaders, walk and roll challenge leaders, and daily announcers. Informally, our learners understand how important their community and environment is, and know that helping others is important.
Our students are friendly and supportive, and they understand being new can be difficult. We are always ready to invite new friends to play, give a tour of our building, or help learn a new language.
Building community and connections has been a focus at JT Brown Elementary. Our students attend Tamanawis Secondary from grade 8 to grade 12. Student leaders from the high school are welcomed and encouraged to attend events, help with learning and help with coaching.
Students and staff at JT Brown are committed to learning the history of the First Peoples. Our school community understands the importance of sharing history, culture and stories that celebrate and educate. We look for, and use authentic resources, created by Indigenous authors, and look forward to learning during the First Peoples' Week in Residence. Our learning about First Peoples' experiences, culture and history is woven through each day at JT Brown.
Every Tuesday, Leadership Students from Tamanawis walk over to JT Brown Elementary to play games with the younger children. Teachers sign up for a block and the Leaders are provided with board and card games. This has been a very popular activity among students and staff. The goal is to help students build conversational and vocabulary skills, in addition to some math and social skills such as turn taking for younger students or students with diverse needs.
Every spring, the staff at Tamanawis Secondary host events that bring the grade 7 students from the feeder schools to become familiar with the high school. Grade 7 students participate in a basketball tournament and a scavenger hunt at the "Tamazing Race". The grade 7 students are made to feel welcome and valued as "future Tamanawis Wildcats".
Being active is important for all community members and at JT Brown, we encourage students and staff to try new things. Many students try sports for the first time in elementary school, and many staff members learn to coach here too! We are so proud of our student athletes and their coaches.
At JT Brown Elementary, we are a strong community that is committed to making students and families feel valued, safe and like they belong...and we have a lot of fun!
OUR LEARNERS
Literacy is a fundamental life skill. It is the ability to read, write, speak, and think in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world. Communication – a core competency embedded across all areas of learning in BC’s curriculum – is central to supporting our learners develop their literacy skills as they collaborate, problem solve, share ideas, exchange information, and express their individuality. Evidence of our learners' many gifts, attributes, and competencies are highlighted below.
Overall, the students at JT Brown are progressing. From the 2021/22 school year to the 2022/23 year, the number of students who were proficient and on track overall increased by 6.5%. In addition, the the percentage of students extending expectations increased from 0%.
Our students understand that communication is key to building relationships, expressing their needs and ideas, sharing stories, and expanding their understanding of the world around them.
Students learn to support their ideas by practicing writing. The use language to identify, create, and share ideas, feelings, opinions, and preferences. The students understand the importance of using words to express their thoughts, and that it takes effort to ensure others comprehend their writing. They prepare for learning by acknowledging that it will take perseverance and time.
Our Learners can communicate their ideas in writing. Primary students and new English language learners work hard to understand the connection between letters and sounds. This awareness of letters and their corresponding sounds is called Phonemic Awareness. In the beginning stages of writing, students memorize the letters and sounds which creates a "code" called phonics. Using this "code" or phonics, students begin to form words by listening to the sounds of familiar words and writing down the letters that they hear. Teachers often refer to this as phonetic spelling as it might not be the proper spelling, but it may reflect all or some of the sounds they hear, or their phonemic awareness. As students progress, they learn more about words and apply knowledge of phonemic patterns to their spelling and reading.
Students write the first sound they hear in their friends' names.
The students understand the importance of using words to express their thoughts, and that it takes effort to ensure others comprehend their writing. Students are able to explore vocabulary and integrate interesting words to make stories enticing and exciting. They are able to access help and support in learning new vocabulary and applying it to their writing.
"They feel confident when they are able to ask for help in spelling words that are unfamiliar. This allows students to take more risks...especially our students who are learning English or struggle with writing."
- LST Teacher
Through story writing, students explore language and are able to express imaginative ideas. They create stories to deepen awareness of self, family, and community. Visual prompts and the time to plan help students create interesting and exciting stories that engage their peers and other audiences. Students use every opportunity to write exciting and interesting stories based on their experiences and/or imagination. The students use many techniques and prompts to create ideas and transform them into writing.
Students spend time developing their ability to express their ideas and thoughts by writing about what they know and understand, about what interests them, and especially about themselves.
Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves, our families, and our communities. In order to communicate, students require an understanding of words and language. They use a variety of strategies, such as translation apps, dictionaries, peer and staff support, to help them translate or define words that help them communicate meaning. Beyond communicating needs and wants, language is used in creative and playful ways to understand how language works. Our students were introduced to a word each week and encouraged to define and use it in a variety of contexts. They learned about different forms, tenses, the root and pattern. To further understanding, the Teacher-Librarian finds, and displays books that relate to the word and teachers are provided with fun videos defining the word. Teachers use each word in their daily instruction, challenging students to extend their understanding.
OUR FOCUS
Communication – a core competency embedded across all areas of learning in BC’s curriculum – is central to supporting our learners develop their literacy skills as they collaborate, problem solve, share ideas, exchange information, and express their individuality. Having access to a robust and varied vocabulary helps students express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, build and maintain relationships, and to demonstrate creativity and knowledge. We aim to build literacy skills including and beyond vocabulary in students so they feel confident and powerful to express themselves.
Building vocabulary will help achieve the following goals for our learners:
- Students communicate to express their needs and seek help when they need it, and to advocate for themselves.
- Students communicate to share and build on one another’s creative ideas.
- Students communicate to build and sustain positive relationships with diverse people, including people from different generations.
- Building background knowledge in language supports writing and creativity.
Writing takes many forms.
Students use words in many ways such as poetry, letters, scripts, descriptions, etc. In combination with building a large vocabulary, students are practicing putting words together in a way that provides meaning.
Students use a variety of strategies to help them organize their thoughts and to build their writing skills. How do these strategies help students, and in what ways? Can different strategies help with different forms of writing? Students use visuals to help guide them in organizing their thoughts and words to assist with communicating information.
Students write about things they know and about what interests them. They are encouraged to express what helps them improve their writing. How does background knowledge support student writing? Do our students have enough words and knowledge to write and express themselves effectively? We introduce words to students weekly and teachers use those words to introduce the possible definitions and forms.
The word of the week is celebration - we brainstorm as many forms as possible and came up with celebrate, celebrating, celebratory, celebrated...how is the word celebrity related?
- Upper Intermediate Teacher
In addition to using fun ways to build vocabulary, students understand that writing is a process that takes patience and time. How do we scaffold teaching writing skills and strategies? What is making the most difference in students' ability to write? In the early years of school, students learn to use processes to organize their thoughts and revise their written work. With support from teachers, students learn to incorporate new vocabulary, revise their punctuation and grammar, and to improve clarity in their written communication.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Literacy is a fundamental life skill. It is the ability to read, write, speak, and think in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world. Communication – a core competency embedded across all areas of learning in BC’s curriculum – is central to supporting our learners develop their literacy skills as they collaborate, problem solve, share ideas, exchange information, and express their individuality. Overall, our students are progressing with language development and literacy skills. We want to increase their access to a variety of opportunities to communicate, express their ideas and thoughts, and enhance and demonstrate creativity.
FSA results show us that Literacy skills are trending upwards to pre-Covid levels. It should be noted that there was an exceptionally low number of participants in the FSA during the 2020-21 (7-gr. 7)(7-gr. 4), 2021-22 (0-gr. 7)(8-gr. 4), and the 2022-23 (6-gr.7)(12-gr. 4) school years. Participation increased significantly in the 2023-24 (34-gr. 7)(28-gr. 4) school year. Results from the 2023-24 school year show that students are generally improving, and are following the district trend.
The FSA also indicates that, while the percentage of students who were proficient/extending decreased slightly from 2022-23 to 2023-24, we also see that students who are extending increased from 0% to 10.71% in grade 4 and from 0% to 2.94% in grade 7. It is also worth noting:
- There was an increase in students who are ELL in 2023-24, which could explain the increase in the number of students who demonstrate emerging skills.
- The participation rate increased significantly in 2023-24 from prior recent years, therefore the data prior to 2023-24 is not as reliable.
Our cohort demonstrates a similar trend, with students making a slow, but steady progress over the year. There was a significant increase in the number of students who were proficient in the spring (+15%) compared to the fall. The primary group was provided with significant instruction in writing strategies that focused on organization of information and ideas. 
Collecting Writing Data
In the beginning of the school year, students were asked to write about something that interested them, and were encouraged to use as much detail as possible. They were then asked to write a similar piece in the spring, using as much detail as they could. Staff carefully considered how to present a topic to the students. They established that considering the significant number of students who were English Language Learners, the topic must be accessible by all. Students were given some choice as to what they wrote about and the theme was based on an interest (i.e. favourite activity, artist or ideal holiday, etc.). Early learners were offered a picture to write about, while older students were given a written topic.
Primary teachers noticed that students didn't write stories about the pictures, or personal experiences related to them.
They wrote lists of what they saw in the picture...there is a tree and a bike and grass, etc. rather than writing a story or about an experience. My students love to write lists!
- Early Primary Teacher
Our students have demonstrated progress in writing skills across grades. Occasionally, we have noticed an increase in the number of students who are emerging/developing at the end of the school year compared to the beginning of the year. We believe there are a few variables that contribute to this increase:
1) Influx of new students who are new Canadians and new English language learners
2) Missing background knowledge or experience in the topics they are asked to write about
3) Less variety in vocabulary
Small Group Analysis
Data collected from writing samples in an upper intermediate group where students were followed for 2 years showed a significant increase in proficiency when writing topics related to a previous novel study.
Writing sample 3's topic was about the Perfect Summer Vacation which allows students to write primarily on what they know and their preferences. 4 out of 6 students were assessed at a more proficient level than the previous two samples. Writing sample 4's topic was related to a focus in Social Studies that the students had recently been immersed in. While only 2 out of 6 students improved their writing, 5 out of 6 students were at a proficient level. Writing sample 6's topic was significantly related to a novel the students had recently studied which provided them with ideas and vocabulary. 5 out of 6 students' work were assessed at the proficient level, while 1 was assessed as extending.
I have noticed a significant improvement in their writing when they have recently studied a related topic. They have more vocabulary, deeper connections, more various ideas and an ability to organize their thoughts due to increased understanding.
- Intermediate Teacher
It is worth noting that there is a small population of Indigenous students at JT Brown Elementary. Regardless, when we present writing topics that allow students to access background knowledge or interests, we see improvements. With an increased focus on providing instruction that encourages students to write about themselves (culture, experience, interests, knowledge, etc.), we also see that students who are Indigenous create writing that is more full, complex and robust, therefore assessed as more proficient.
Typically, students spend time learning English over the years and they move from level 1 (beginning) to level 5. With new Canadians arriving at JT Brown Elementary over the year, we see adjustments in the percentage of students who are on track or extending.
What Next?
Upon analysis of the results and efforts, staff feels that a focus on reading and comprehension would be more effective for building literacy skills in the students at JT Brown Elementary. Reading high interest text that is at students' levels regardless of age helps them build confidence, vocabulary and knowledge that will be transferred to written output.
"We have shifted to a heavier phonics focus in teaching reading...how is that affecting students' literacy skills? It feels like we need to focus on reading to help build background knowledge and vocabulary."
- LST Teacher
In addition, there has been a shift in literacy that focusses more on phonemic learning and awareness. Our staff is curious about the effects this shift is having on our learners. Regardless, teachers recognize that there will continue to be a benefit to writing as we shift our focus to reading:
"Reading and writing are intertwined and knowledge and skill building in one area is reflected in the other."
- Kindergarten Teacher
Moving forward we will continue to provide opportunities for all students to build language and literacy skills in the following ways:
- We will shift our Student Learning Plan focus to reading
- Students will have access to a variety of high interest literature will receive support and targeted instruction to deepen their understanding of language.
- Continue to explicitly teaching strategies related to vocabulary; strategically highlighting words and expanding our knowledge of them.
- Building student confidence in asking for clarity when needed.
As students develop their language skills, we notice connections between the confidence in expression and student well-being. We would like to assess the effects that success in writing and language development has on connectedness and self-advocacy/value. We will further explore the connection between literacy skills, communication skills and students' connectedness and value.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
