Webster School - General Information
You may have read recently about Manchester schools being designated as schools in need of improvement. This designation is based on results of the New England Common Assessment Program given to students in the fall of 2006. The assessments in reading and math are given to students in grades 3-5. Additionally, grade five students are given a writing assessment. Parents received their children's individual results upon the release of scores in the spring of 2007. In late August, schools were informed as to whether they made Adequate Yearly Progress in terms of meeting expectations set by the New Hampshire Department of Education and the US Department of Education.
Although Webster Elementary is designated as not making Adequate Yearly Progress, I am pleased to inform you that we made progress in comparison to the previous assessment. We met the designated benchmarks in both reading and math as a whole school and in all but one of the subgroups. In essence, we are categorized as a school in need of improvement because one of our cell groups did not meet the benchmark. Below, please find the various subgroups listed.
(CI) is an indication our scores fell within the Confidence Interval, a statistical indicator. (SH) indicates Safe Harbor levels, (10% improvement) were met. N/A indicates there were not enough students in this group to create a cell. All indicators are the same for both reading and math.
| Department of Ed. Groups | AYP |
| Whole School | Yes (CI) |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | N/A |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | N/A |
| Black /African American | Yes (SH) |
| Hispanic/Latino | Yes (SH) |
| White (non-Hispanic) | Yes |
| Economically Disadvantaged | Yes (SH) |
| Educationally Disabled | No |
| Non/Limited-English Proficient | Yes (SH) |
We can assure you we are all making every effort to ensure our scores continue to rise.
The majority of field trips taken require a nurse, LPN or RN, be in attendance. We are unable to send the school nurse and thus we are required to hire from a private agency or the Manchester Health Department. The District can no longer cover the cost and thus this must be absorbed by individual schools.
It is much less expensive to use nurses provided by the Health Department, however, there is a lack of substitute nurses and thus we are forced to call upon those of the higher priced private agencies. If you are a nurse and you would be willing to help us out on field trips, we are asking if you would consider signing up as a substitute nurse with the Manchester Health Department. You can designate that you only be assigned to Webster School field trips and you would be paid.
We appreciate any qualified nurses considering helping out as I anticipate this added financial burden will result in classes being able to participate in fewer field trips. If interested, please contact the school.
We are very excited about this writing program in which we participate along with Smyth Road and Hallsville schools. Reading Specialist, Priscilla Drouin describes the program below:
Webster is fortunate to be one of three Manchester schools participating in the nationally recognized writing model "Picturing Writing." Webster, Hallsville, and Smyth Road schools have been selected for a UNH study involving Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art, a comprehensive art and literature based instructional model. Picturing Writing was created by UNH professor, Beth Olshansky and offers students visual, kinesthetic, and verbal modes of thinking at each stage of the writing process. In 1993, the US Department of Education validated Picturing Writing as an "innovative and effective literacy program."
Teachers from the three Manchester schools received training from UNH over the course of the last three years, to implement Picturing Writing in their classrooms. Students are immersed daily in rich literature, vocabulary, soothing music, and art in their journey as authors and artists during Artists and Writers Workshop. Hands-on art experiences with watercolors, poster paints, crayons, and salt trigger students' imagination as they write their books.
Picturing Writing studies in California and NH have already demonstrated significant reading and writing achievement gains for children participating in this writing model. Picturing Writing is aligned to NH state standards and the Manchester School District Language Arts curriculum. Read all about Picturing Writing and the studies on the website: www.picturingwriting.org.
Last updated on September 22, 2009