Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400

1. Project Narrative
Project Inspire
The skills students need for careers, college, citizenship, even to enable one to earn a decent
living wage and raise a family in the 21st century and beyond are astonishing. Schools are
charged with the incredible challenge to provide learning opportunities for students to become
successful at achieving a level of proficiency to lead a rewarded life.
Many forces internal and external to the school program influence the ability of a school
program to deliver on its charge. Among these challenges at Campus Community School is the
ability to provide personalized learning to address unique individual student needs. Surrounded
by increasing blight, the community neighboring CCS is damaged by high poverty,
homelessness, illegal drugs, high crime, and under-performing, under-resourced schools.
Campus Community School (CCS), a fixture in this community for over 15 years, has recommitted itself to tackle these issues head on. CCS cannot ameliorate these conditions but we
can provide a pathway to assist our K-8 students in developing the foundational skills necessary
to achieve academic and personal success as a maturing individual.

The purpose of Project Inspire is to expand CCS offerings by providing broader opportunities of
individualized support for achieving academic excellence through personalized learning and
increasing the accessibility of a safety-net of non-academic and health and human services
for students and their families. Four opportunities of expansion are proposed: (1) planning a
model school library (2) purchase of curricula materials and accompanying professional
development. (3) Expanding the Communities in Schools (CIS) Mentoring Program to a full time
site partnership and (4) Saturday at CCS initiative.

Planning a Model School Library

Currently, CCS does not have what can be traditionally viewed as a school library. We have
about 2,000 books non-systematically placed on shelves. Even after some serious
organization and weeding, many books have publication dates exceeding 10 years of
circulation, contain huge knowledge and information gaps and much of the collection does not
speak to the life experiences of our growing racially and economically diverse student
population. Individually, teachers do their best to find on-line classroom support for their
students and each teacher has in his/her classroom a self-developed non-catalogued classroom

Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
library collection. The CCS Academic Excellence Work group has been working this year to
create a plan of action to reinvent our much needed school library.
We vision a shifting towards a personalized learning school-wide framework for teaching and
learning. To help accomplish this goal we vision the power of a flexible open space learning
environment rich with new and emerging technologies, a living learning lab of activities led by a
library specialist and technology champion a place of inquiry, communication and
collaboration a place where individual academic needs, interests, learning styles, and personal
ownership over goal setting, work and progress can be supported to inspire both student and
adult learners a space for thinking and tinkering and especially a place for personalized
learning.
Developing a library is evolutionary. This initial funding would be used to hire a contractor for
one year ( School Library Media Specialist) to serve as project manager for the design,
development and implementation planning for a CCS model library system including but not
limited to infrastructure, layout &design, furnishings, curriculum and technologies integration,
digital & school-wide collections, classroom and specialized collections, policies/procedures and
initiating a collaboration/partnership with the larger Delaware Library Catalog Consortium. This
collaboration, as recommended by The Rutgers Study of Delaware School Libraries will provide
for a seamless information landscape across our school and public libraries to support
student success creating a global community of learners who can enter virtual world
libraries. Funding would also be used to purchase approved changes to infrastructure,
construction and renovation, furnishings, curriculum, digital technologies, school wide &
specialized collections, and the costs associated with joining the Delaware Library
Catalog/Consortium. CCS commits to the full time staffing of this library with a highly qualified
School Library Media Specialist and a continuous search for sources of funding beyond the
initial fund period.
Purchase of curricula materials and accompanying professional development
Our journey towards pursuit of excellence in student outcomes involves an on-going
examination of the curricular materials we use to support student achievement. Funding
would be used to purchase a comprehensive core reading program for grades k-2. These
materials, SUPERKIDS, are developed by Zaner-Bloser, a leading authority of evidence-based
Reading programs. Funds would also be used to purchase Eureka Math, a k-5 evidenced based
curriculum that our teachers piloted during the 2014-2015 school year and found to be of
outstanding quality in helping students to understand mathematics more deeply. Both curricula
require professional development prior to implementation.
For the past two years CCS
has represented the state of Delaware at the National
History Day middle school level
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Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
competition. This is a yearlong student effort to conduct historical research on a themed
topic and create learning products such as documentaries, extensive research papers or
exhibit to showcase their learnings. Over 600 thousand students nation-wide participate in
this annual competition. Funds would
be used to purchase the learning materials, Making
History Series, so that all middle
grades CCS students can participate in this competition.
Expanding the Communities and Schools (CIS) Mentoring Program to a full time site
partnership
Communities in Schools (CIS) in partnership with Campus Community School currently funds a
part time site coordinator who provides non-academic assistance connecting
our most at
risk students and their families with a myriad of community social services
to help our
students come to school on time ready to learn and stay in school including
healthcare,
housing, and access to food and clothing, resulting in students more
prepared and ready
to learn. Additionally, CIS has instituted a one to one mentoring program which served 50
students in the 2014-2015 school year and provided
numerous out of school enrichment
and service learning opportunities. These activities were targeted to increase academic success
by addressing the risk factors that lead to problems with unacceptable behavior poor
attendance or failing academically. The
strategies focused on strengthening youth
developmental and social skills.
The importance of surrounding our most vulnerable at risk students with supports and services
cannot be overstated. Funding would be used to expand our program with CIS to include a
full time site coordinator enabling CIS/ CCS to expand its offerings to better
reach the
increasing number of students and their families needing additional supports
and
enrichment activities to achieve school success.
Saturday at CCS initiative
The community surrounding CCS provides limited opportunities for children to access a safe,
adult supervised and free of cost space to engage in fun or special interest activities. In the
2014-15 school year CCS opened its doors in a limited way on Saturday mornings to provide
such a place for our students to come and play. Sponsored activities, all led by volunteers,
included Girl Talk, ( a middle school group targeting social skills development), tutoring,
mentoring, computer use, Odyssey of the Mind planning, and free play in the gym. Funding
would be used to hire a site coordinator to oversee the building activities and expand the
offerings. Tutoring will be offered for struggling students. Girl Scouts has also committed to a
Saturday program this fall.
2. How the proposed project would drive improved student achievement
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Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
Since 2000, 24 school library studies throughout the nation and the Canadian province of
Ontario have demonstrated the positive impact of school libraries, including a qualified school
librarian, on school achievement. http://www.lrs.org/data-tools/school-libraries/impactstudies/ More recently, the South Carolina Association of School Librarians commissioned a
two part study (published June 2014 and October 2014), to assess the extent to which school
libraries transform schools by contributing to student success. Using survey results from
administrators, teachers and librarians and results from English language Arts state
assessments, their findings concluded that all students but in particular Hispanic, black and
subsidized and paid meals (i.e. poorer) students are more likely to have proficient or better
results on state assessments if their school had at least 1 full time librarian, had a large library
collection of e-book and print, large circulation of materials, students made frequent visits per
week and logged over 7,000 or more checkouts. Both phases of the study indicated a positive
association between the academic performance of students and having a quality school library
program.
Here in Delaware, at the direction of the Governors Task Force on School Libraries, Dr. Ross
Todd of Rutgers University conducted a study (2005) which confirmed that quality school
libraries do contribute significantly to student learning. The recommendations, similar to the
public library studies, also highlight the theme of capacity building in terms of certified
librarians, collections and strong networked technology information infrastructures.
As we move forward with developing our CCS approach to personalized learning we see a
model library as the hub of our learning community. It is a place and space where access to
quality resources provide students and teachers alike the tools to navigate unique needs,
interests and abilities and to engage all students to do and become their very best. Key to the
success of this library program is the trained staff who provides the leadership, guidance, and
collaboration to support the overall academic program.
In addition, driven by our approach to teaching & learning (inquiry-based and depth over
coverage) and our emphasis on performance assessments we have become more sophisticated
consumers of purchased curricula. We realize the need to align our learning goals for students
with curricula materials that will achieve that end. The selected Reading and math curricula do
just that.
Similarly, the research literature is replete with studies that document risk factors impeding
academic success e.g. low-socio-economic status, high crime rates, poor school behavior, and
attendance. There are also well documented evidence-based best practices and strategies to
improve student learning and social skills outcomes. As a standard of practice, Communities in
Schools employs these strategies in their model of success used at CCS.
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Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
Children need and want a safe place to play. Opening our school on Saturday affords children
the opportunity to do just that in an organized, supervised and safe place. The addition of paid
tutors and homework helpers to support struggling students is an important step in closing
achievement gap. Ample research supports the use of tutors to improve student academic
outcomes.
3. How the proposed project advances the Campus Community School mission
At CCS we believe that all children can learn, but all learners have different needs, experiences
and ways of learning. We believe that children will rise to expectations if effectively engaged in
learning tasks that are meaningful to them. We believe that excellent teaching is reflected in
high levels of student achievement and positive attitudes. Our mission is to provide a world
class K-8 education that develops the whole child by creating an academically rigorous safe and
caring environment allowing all students to maximize their potential in developing habits of
mind, acquiring knowledge and skills, and demonstrating individual and societal responsibility.
Investing in a library program and social skill development is investing in skillsets that will
positively impact lifelong choices.
4. How Campus Community School will evaluate the success of the proposed project
Campus Community School will evaluate the success of the proposed project activities
independently.
Planning a model school library: The goal of the model school library program is to plan develop
and implement a model library program within one year. Within the first academic quarter,
the project manager in collaboration with administration and the Academic Excellence Work
Group will submit a plan to open a model school library at CCS approved by the Board of
Directors. Elements of the plan would include a scope of the work, timeline, levels of
responsibility and actions to be taken. The plan will be monitored by the school principal. By
the end of the final year semester the library should be fully in operation. Second year
evaluations of the library program will be about administrative, teacher and student
satisfaction/usage with the library program. They would include metrics such as number of
books read, visits to the library, circulation downloads, trainings offered, Third year evaluations
will link student achievement on end of year assessments and library program usage.
The effectiveness of the CIS programs will examine student characteristics of attendance,
discipline, participation in service learning activities and numbers served at various functions.
Administrative teacher, student and parent surveys will be used to assess the value added to a
childs educational experience with the program activities.

Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
Tutoring will be assessed by examining improved academic performance over time as measured
by STAR and/or classroom-based performance assessments.
5.Budget details
See attached budget.

6. How the proposed project will enable Campus Community School to meet performance
objectives for high needs students
The activities proposed in this funding opportunity are proposed for all students. Since CCS is
designated as a Title I school all students are eligible to take advantage of the activities.
Students who are deemed highest risk are carefully monitored and assessed by the classroom
teacher and administrative staff. Students are referred to CIS for mentoring, tutoring or other
sources of non-academic assistance.
7. How Campus Community School will ensure that 100% of students to benefit from the
proposed project meet high need criteria
According to Kids Count in Delaware 2015, the changing demographics in our child population
is increasingly diverse in economic resources, racial and ethnic background and family structure
- with more kids living in poverty, more kids living in one parent families and increased
educational achievement gaps by race and income. We are experiencing this dramatic shift in
population demographics over time and it has caused the CCS family to take great pause.
Minority student enrollment at CCS has increased to 64% in 2014-15 compared to 26% in 2004,
just 10 years earlier. Additionally, CCS is a recipient of Title I funding, with 54% of CCS students
who qualify for federally free and reduced meals based on their family income. This is
compared to a reported 20% of low income students in 2004. One quarter of our students
participate in the backpack program, a Delaware Food Bank initiative that provides meals to
children to take home over the weekend. Eight families reported needing assistance with
homelessness this year. As stated in the KIDS Count report poverty has a negative impact on
child development, cognition, social and emotional health and future success in school.
Culture and climate issues are also a concern at CCS. Nearly one third of all students were
referred for discipline referrals in 2014-15 school year. Most of these referrals were for
disrespect towards another student, defiance and disobedience. Negative learning
environments contribute to poor learning outcomes.

Delaware Charter School Performance Fund 2015 2016

Submitted by Campus Community School - 957400
The proposed activities of designing a new library focused on personalized instruction, curricula
renewal and providing supports to address health and social skills development are meant to
serve the learning needs of all CCS students. We need to embrace every child and provide
them with a quality education one that celebrates their aspirations and inspires greatness.

WORKS CITED
Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton . School Libraries: Whats Now, Whats Next, Whats Yet
to Come. Published on Smashwords
RSL Research Group. How Libraries Transform Schools by Contributing to Student Success:
Evidence Linking South Carolina School Libraries and PASS &HSAP Results, Phase I (June 2014)
Phase II ( October 2014)
Kids CountDelaware,2015