Melissa Carroll

Context and Needs

Assessment

About CMPS:
Cedar Mountain Primary School is a public school that caters to grades 2-4 in the
Vernon Township School District (VTSD) located in Vernon, New Jersey.
 Mission
CMPS Mission The mission of Cedar Mountain School is to
empower each student to reach his or her highest
and Vision individual potential, intellectually, emotionally,
socially, creatively, and physically. This mission will
Statements be accomplished through a safe, supportive, student-
centered environment in which each student has an
opportunity to develop a lifelong love of learning
and positive self-esteem. We, at Cedar Mountain,
truly believe that by working together with you we
can make your child’s educational experience a most
successful and enjoyable endeavor. We welcome
your support and involvement in your child’s
education.
“The important thing is not so much that every child
should be taught, as that every child should be given
the wish to learn.” John Lubbock, English financier
and author
Vision
We envision a passionate, evolving learning
community focused on developing resilient learners
by imparting skills that will help them achieve
personal academic success and responsible global
citizenship. Students will achieve their maximum
potential in a safe, nurturing, engaging, inspiring, and
challenging environment.
Students, parents, staff, community, and the board
of education are responsible for sharing, pursuing,
and achieving this vision.

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Location Cedar Mountain Primary is located at 17 Sammis Road,
Vernon Township, New Jersey. AN interesting fact is that
Cedar Mountain shares this stretch of road with four
additional Vernon Township schools. Rolling Hills
Primary School houses grades two through four and
includes programs that have been developed which
address the specific educational needs of our diverse
student population. Walnut Ridge Primary services
students from Pre-School through first grade. Lounsberry
Hollow Middle services the fifth and sixth grade students
add finally Glen Meadow is the middle school of the
district and houses the seventh and eighth grades.

Cedar Mountain Primary employs 49 employees,

Staff including: 15 full time classroom teachers creating a 9:9
student/teacher ratio, which is the lowest among 3
elementary schools in the Vernon Township School
District, 10 special education teachers, an occupational
and a speech therapist, reading specialist, math
intervention coach, as well as a music, computer, art and
robotics teacher and a media specialist. Rounding out the
staff is the principal, vice principal, school counselor,
secretary and custodial staff.

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 Cedar Mountain Primary is home to approximately 340
students in grades two through four. Cedar Mountain
Students Primary School has the smallest elementary school
student body size in the Vernon Township School
District. The student population has declined by 13%
over five years. The total spending per pupil in Vernon
Township is $21,084 which is 11.6% higher than the
average in state of New Jersey.
There are six classes per grade for third and fourth and
only three second grade classes.
Special Education
16% of all students at Cedar Mountain Primary School
are learning disabled and receive special education
services. This school's percentage of learning disabled
students is higher than the median across all reported all
elementary schools in the US (13%).
English Speakers of Other Languages
1% of all students at Cedar Mountain Primary School are
considered to have limited English proficiency, which is
much lower than the median across all reported
elementary schools in New Jersey (5%). This school's
percentage of students with limited English proficiency is
much lower than the median across all reported
elementary schools in the US (8%).

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 Demographics
86.4% of the student population at Cedar Mountain
Students Primary School identify as Caucasian, making up the
largest segment of the student body. A typical school in
Vernon is made up of 72.9% Caucasian students, so
Cedar Mountain Primary School has a slightly different
ethnic distribution compared to other schools in the city.
The demographic breakdown of Cedar Mountain Primary
School is drastically different from that of a typical school
in the state of New Jersey, which is made up of 47.7%
Caucasian students on average.

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 Socioeconomic Details
24.6% of K-12 public school students at Cedar Mountain
Students Primary School participate in the National School Lunch
Program (NSLP).
To qualify for free lunch, children's family income must
be under $15,171 in 2015 (below 130% of the poverty
line). 17.2% of students at Cedar Mountain Primary
School receive free lunch.
To qualify for reduced lunch, children's family income
must be below $21,590 annual income in 2015 (185% of
the poverty line). 7.4% of students at Cedar Mountain
Primary School receive reduced lunch.
The NSLP participation rate here is:
Lower than average for Vernon (44.3%)
Lower than average for New Jersey (36.7%)

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 Cedar Mountain prides itself on offering a comprehensive
educational experience that nurtures the academic, social,
Curriculum and developmental needs of all learners. With focus on
the “whole child,” they strive to offer an array of service
learning projects, in addition to a comprehensive
curriculum in world language, visual, performing, and
practical arts. CM also prides itself on its focus on
language arts/literacy and math instruction. A balanced
literacy program is used throughout the grade levels, in
tandem with reading specialists and instructional
interventionists to provide rigorous and research-based
instruction to learners of all abilities. Likewise, the focus
on science and math instruction is equally valued,
however , the students have struggled in this area, as seen
from recent test scores. Teachers and administration
want a more hands-on and pragmatic approach, with real-
world applicability, to underscore the math and science
programs. All programs are enriched with advanced
technology for teaching and learning. District technology
coaches help to service teachers in providing students
with 21st century approaches to instruction. SmartBoards,
document cameras, and a host of other web 2.0 tools are
readily used to enhance instruction and help foster a
distinct sense of pride at Cedar Mountain helping them to
continue to sustain a learning culture in which academic
excellence is paramount. Vernon Township School
District offers an array of progressive learning
opportunities from pre-school through 12th grade. In an
effort to introduce cutting edge programs for all of their
students, a Robotics curriculum has been erected at Cedar
Mountain.

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 The media center at Cedar Mountain is continuously a
buzz with activity. The students recently enjoyed a virtual
author visit through Skype with Lauren Tarshis, who wrote
Programs the I Survived series, where they were able to ask Ms.
Tarshis questions and interact with the author. They also
enjoy activities like publishing parties, Love of Reading
Week, Makerspace Presentation Parties and the annual
Book Fair.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, Cedar
Mountain hosts a number of programs and events during
the school year, including; the Future Chefs National
Challenge, Heritage Day, Earth Day Celebration,
Father/Daughter Dance, Spirit Day, Love of Reading
Week, Family Math Night, Rizzo’s Reptile Assembly, 50’s
Day, Holiday Concerts, Jump Rope for Heart Week and
ARTstanding to name a few.

Media Center Collection

The materials collection is relatively aged and is scheduled to
be weeded and updated in the 2017/2018 school year.
Collection selection, ordering, processing and maintenance
at Cedar Mountain are all handled by the school librarian.
There is a separate budget for the library and a book
program in place where a number of selections come in each
month from the district, already processed. The collection
consists of Fiction and Non Fiction books and a periodical
section. The Non Fiction section is classified with the
Dewey Decimal system which is clearly posted and taught to
students at the beginning of every year. The school database
runs on Follett and Destiny Quest search interface.
Along with the collection update, the library will have a total
renovation in the upcoming school year.
The media center also boasts a new MakerSpace area where
the students participate in a variety of projects.
The Robotics Team also utilizes the media center for its
weekly meetings.

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 After the recent test scores were released, most of the
district's schools were performing up to standard, Cedar
Testing Mountain Primary School however needs some attention
on the areas of math and science. In the third grade, the
Cedar Mountain students’ scores dropped in math and
science, with science scores dropping steadily over the last
five years. In the fourth grade, the number of students who
are only partially proficient also has steadily decreased over
the last five years. These combined scores caused the
school to not meet any of the state's progress targets.

Grade 4: Math and Science Test Scores

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 Because the students are not meeting the proficiency
Approach standards in math and science, I believe implementing a
STEM program would be extremely beneficial to this
population. Bringing STEM activities (and STEAM) into
the lessons of elementary students is not as intimidating as
it sounds. In fact, creating STEM activities and lesson
plans brings benefits to all students, at all levels of ability,
creating a truly inclusive and effective educational
opportunity. STEM is something everyone can learn and
benefit from. STEM is an approach to lesson planning that
presents lessons in an interdisciplinary way.
As a nation, our education industry has recognized a
shortcoming in our students. We’ve fallen behind other
industrialized countries in terms of STEM-related fields,
which include Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics. Not only does a STEM-focused education
open students to new subjects, it also allows for different
learning methodologies to be utilized. Research documents
that by the time students reach fourth grade, a third of
boys and girls have lost an interest in science. By eighth
grade, almost 50 percent have lost interest or deemed it
irrelevant to their education or future plans. At this point
in the K–12 system, the STEM pipeline has narrowed to
half. That means millions of students have tuned out or
lack the confidence to believe they can do science. Recent
research has recommended that every effort should be
made to start as soon as children enter elementary school.
Studies have identified the elementary years as the period
when students form their interests in STEM identities and
careers—much earlier than many people probably believe
to be the case. This is particularly important for science,
which gets short shrift in many elementary schools.

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 Resources

Cedar Mountain Primary School. (n.d.). Retrieved 2017, from http://www.vtsd.com/cedar-

mountain-primary-school/
H., & H. (n.d.). Cedar Mountain Primary School in Vernon Township, NJ 07462. Retrieved 2017,
from https://www.homefacts.com/schools/New-Jersey/Sussex-County/Vernon-
Township/Cedar-Mountain-Primary-School.html
Importance of STEM Education in Elementary School | College of Education - FSU. (2016,
August 01). Retrieved 2017, from https://education.fsu.edu/importance-stem-education-
elementary-school
STEM for Elementary School Students - How to Instill a Lifelong Love of Science. (2015,
August 13). Retrieved 2017, from http://blog.iat.com/2015/08/13/stem-for-elementary-
school-students-how-to-instill-a-lifelong-love-of-science/
Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved 2017, from
http://successfulstemeducation.org/resources/improving-stem-curriculum-and-
instruction-engaging-students-and-raising-standards
S., & Says, O. O. (2017, January 20). The Benefits of STEM in Elementary. Retrieved 2017, from
https://www.steampoweredfamily.com/education/stem-in-elementary/

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