School Information :: Summary
Lafayette Elementary is a friendly neighborhood school which has been a valued member of the Lafayette Community since the 1960’s. Our school’s mission is to achieve academic excellence and promote an understanding of diversity within a safe and nurturing elementary school environment. We value all of our students at Lafayette Elementary for their unique cultures, languages, abilities, talents, and needs. We believe in developing partnerships with families and the community to empower our students to achieve their potential, to love learning, and to become responsible citizens. Having welcomed many new families and a dozen new staff members to our school in the past few years, we embrace the momentum of our growing school community. Our curricular program uses the Boulder Valley School Districts’ standards-based curriculum taught by highly qualified teachers in all subject areas. In addition for the past two years Lafayette has been designated as a Talented and Gifted focus school. A full-time teacher of the gifted, in addition to a part-time TAG assistant, will continue to help identify gifted students and provide differentiated instruction for advanced learners. We saw great benefit from offering enrichment opportunities to all students, and we will continue this exciting curriculum enhancement in future years. This focus continues to be an exciting addition to the many diverse programs offered previously at Lafayette.
This year we continue to take the steps in literacy instruction that distinguish Lafayette as a school showing significant improvement. We strongly believe in linking assessment to instruction and implemented for the second year in a row Literacy Assessment Days before school starts in August. We use this one on one time with a teacher to gain current academic information to plan for individual programming the first week of school. During grade level literacy time students receive daily, explicit reading instruction to improve reading fluency, comprehension skills, and appreciation of literature. This year we look forward to continuing to implement a coordinated math program that stresses conceptual understanding, math reasoning, and computational skills. Teachers monitor individual student performance through daily work samples, informal assessments, district assessments and the state assessment program. Our highly trained staff is committed to providing differentiated instruction to meet the diverse needs of all, including second language learners, minority children, special education students, and gifted and talented students. As a part of the BVSD technology replacement cycle, in 2007 all new computers will be installed at Lafayette Elementary for teacher and student use. The bond issue, passed in 2006, will provide our school with $3 million in renovations, systems updates and state of the art learning spaces. “Pardon our dust” in the coming year, while we enjoy a partial “school make-over!”
Lafayette Elementary includes parents in informational meetings, Back to School Night, Literacy and Math Nights, parent/teacher conferences, special school events, committees, and as classroom volunteers. We are always open to visits and invite parent participation in all school activities. Lafayette Elementary is a fine learning community thanks to its dedicated staff, hard working students, and involved parents. Together we will continue to work toward our goal of creating motivated, successful students who will become respectful, contributing citizens of the future.
PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS
Lafayette Elementary School serves a wonderfully diverse population, providing a unique multicultural learning environment. We offer authentic academic opportunities, a strong sense of community, and a sense of belonging for each child through our programs, which include:
* Exceptionally strong Boulder Valley School District standards-based curriculum, including topics from the Core Knowledge social studies sequence
* School-wide focus on gifted and talented education which offers educational and experiential enrichment, challenges, and competitions for all students
* Special teaching resources targeted for literacy and math instruction;
* Small class sizes at Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades
* Additional special funding which supports special instruction for struggling readers
* A conflict resolution program, character education, class buddies, and motivational assemblies
* Exceptional extracurricular opportunities in music, physical education, and the arts
Several special programs support students with unique learning needs. In addition to a special education resource program for children with learning disabilities, our multi-intensive program supports children with multiple physical and educational needs, while another program supports children with identified affective needs. All of these programs are supported by highly trained specialists including a school psychologist, a speech language therapist, an occupational therapist, and a physical therapist. Additionally, we offer a preschool program for special needs and typical, peer model three and four year olds. Lafayette also offers school-aged childcare (SAC) for K-5 students needing after-school supervision. We also have “English as a Second Language” (ESL) resources for students who need additional assistance. The Kindergarten Enrichment program is an integrated childcare program, offered before or after a half day of Kindergarten.
Our school-wide focus on Talented and Gifted programming provides support for identified gifted students through differentiated instruction in the classrooms, flexible skill grouping, curriculum compacting, and acceleration. Grade level screening of all students for gifted identification will continue to take place this year. Enrichment opportunities are available for all students in the visual and performing arts, and through clubs, competitions, and interest groups.
Our PTA is an active group of parents and teachers who work to improve our school by promoting volunteerism, fundraising for materials and supplies for teachers, and parent/family involvement in the school community. This past year, they were a critical sponsor of activities designed to reach our equity goals in literacy. The School Improvement Team consists of parents and staff members engaged in the process of analyzing school achievement and climate data to set goals for continuous improvement.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Lafayette Elementary School has many ongoing activities throughout the school year. These programs are offered after school and some during the students’ lunch recess. Some of these programs include: Cougar Choir with concerts and a musical theater performance, Talent Show, Intramurals, Fitness Club, Climbing Walls, Instrumental Music, Learning Fair, Science Fair, All Culture’s Festival, Destination Imagination, Spelling Bee, Chess Club and competitions, Geography Club and National Geographic Bee, Drama Club, Shakespeare Plays, Student Council, T.E.A.M.S (Technology and Engineering to Enhance Science and Math), MESA (Math, Engineering, and Science After-school club), Computer Enrichment Learning, Summer Engineering Class, fifth grade Outdoor Education at Calwood; Spanish classes, Service Learning Club, and School Age Care. We greatly expanded our clubs as part of our goal to provide enrichment to all students. In the future we will develop additional extracurricular activities based upon student interest and availability of resources. Finally, the KIDS PARK project (a collaborative effort with the school district, non-profits, and Colorado State and municipal resources) has created a second fully accessible playground and sensory play park at Lafayette Elementary. We are grateful to all members of our caring community for supporting such an exceptional school.
Full School Accountability Report
The "2008 Fall Report on Lafayette Elementary" is available for download below.
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