Improving Groton Schools: Mary Morrisson Elementary

It’s still fairly new, but Assistant Principal Christy Post believes the new scheduled block created for extra help or enrichment will become more important as time goes by.

It’s called SRBI, short for “Scientific Research-Based Interventions,” and has been discussed mainly in the context of children who need extra help because they’re struggling or extra challenges because they’re excelling.

But Post said the block also offers something to the student in the middle: By removing children at either end of the spectrum, the remaining students end up in a smaller group for that time with a chance to receive extra attention from the classroom teacher.

“There’s a great opportunity for those middle-of-the-road kids to have some one-on-one time,” she said.

How SRBI Works

The SRBI block is about 30 to 40 minutes per day depending on the grade level. The block at Mary Morrisson happens at the same time each day.

All classes in given grade share the same SRBI block, but different grades have different blocks, so specialists can typically handle one grade at a time.

During the scheduled block, reading or math specialists pull students who need help from multiple classes in the same grade. Then they work with the children together, instead of jumping from one teacher’s room to another.

Post said other students may also be removed for special education services, or to pursue a special interest such as strings.

In the future, the district plans to build its activities for advanced students. The activities would start in middle school, and then expand in either direction, into the elementary schools and high school.

Smaller Classes

Jane Potts has 20 first graders in her class. During her SRBI block, four to five leave to get extra help with reading, and two or three leave for special education services.  That leaves her with 12 to 15 students, depending on the day.

“It’s huge,” she said. “We’ve never had a block set aside where, in my schedule, I know I’ll have 40 minutes to work on targeted skills.”

She adds that while she’s working with children in small groups, the students who leave don’t miss any whole group instruction.

Andrew Holmes, a special education teacher, said teachers also have common planning time, which allows them to compare notes.  For example, he said third grade teachers meet at the same time, and may also talk to other third grade teachers elsewhere in the district.

“To network and find out what other teachers are doing is valuable,” he said.

The improvement plan

Mary Morrisson's school improvement plan focuses on boosting reading and math scores and reducing office referrals for discipline. Post said she believes SRBI block will be an important part of meeting the goals.

The goals for the next three years are listed below:

•  Increase reading proficiency for students in all grades by a minimum of 15 percent.

•  Increase math fluency for students in all grades by a minimum of 15 percent.

•  Reduce office referrals for discipline by 15 percent.

The Targets

Below are the percentage of third, fourth and fifth graders at Mary Morrisson Elementary School who demonstrated proficiency or better in reading and math on the Connecticut Mastery Tests.  The federal goal for 2011 was 89 percent in reading and 91 percent in math.

Test results for specific groups of students, such as black students, Hispanic students or those receiving free or reduced lunch were not listed if there were fewer than 40 students in those categories.