School Highlights

School Highlights

Our specially trained teachers instruct students to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to identify, test and solve problems.
Through the W.O.W. room, students learn STEM lessons as they ask questions, search for meaning, and explain their thinking.
Science and engineering labs guide students to actively learn and explore the world in the same ways as scientists and engineers.
Partnerships with the Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota provide students with enhanced science experiences.

Title I

Overview

Title I is the U.S. federal government’s largest education program to support public schools. The purpose is to support learners in meeting the state's academic standards. Title I programming supplements our regular education programming. Students are selected to receive Title I services based on a number of factors, including performance on standardized tests, classroom assessments and teacher recommendation. The funds are used to provide academic support to students who attend Richfield Middle School, Sheridan Hills Elementary, Centennial Elementary, Richfield Dual Language School and Richfield STEM School. These students must have been identified as needing assistance in meeting grade-level expectations.

All of our Title I schools use Title I funding in a schoolwide model. In a schoolwide model, Title I funds are used across the whole school, supporting and supplementing state and local funds to improve the education of historically under served students. Title I funding must always supplement and never supplant the regular education program at school.

A percentage of the Title I funds at a school are used to support parents with involvement in their child’s education. Schools provide opportunities for parents to learn how to support their children in their school work and to be involved at the school through volunteering and decision making opportunities. Schools assist parents by removing barriers to involvement.

You can view our school report cards on the Minnesota Department of Education's website.

Other Uses for Funds

Other Uses for Title I Funds

A percentage of the Title I funds at a school are used to support parents with involvement in their child’s education. Schools provide opportunities for parents to learn how to support their children in their school work, to be involved at the school through volunteering and decision making opportunities and they assist parents by removing barriers to involvement.

Some ways Title I funds may be used to support parents include:

Translate school information into a family's first language
Provide interpreters
Host activities to teach families how to help children learn by building their capacity
Support for understanding student assessments or the curriculum in use
Provide transportation to academic meetings and/or school activities
Provide childcare for school meetings and/or activities
Offer parenting classes (e.g. Voices United)

We also allocate Title I funds to:

Provide training to administrators and teachers
Help special populations of students, including those attending non-public schools and students/families experiencing homelessness

Your Rights

Parent/Guardian Rights

As a parent/guardian, you have the right to:

know the qualifications of your child’s teacher
know when your child has a substitute teacher for more than four weeks and the qualifications of the substitute teacher
know how your child’s school is rated on state test scores
expect regular communication with your school in a language that you can understand
work with other parents and staff to develop a school-level parent compact between the school and its families
help plan how money for family involvement should be spent
work with teachers, parents and the school principal to develop your school’s family involvement plan
ask for a meeting with your school principal or your child’s teacher at any time

School Improvement Plan

Summary of the Richfield STEM School Improvement Plan (SIP)

The primary goal for both Math and Reading is to increase student academic growth and achievement. Our SEL activities provide additional training for staff on ways to reduce barriers so that all students can increase their level of growth and achievement.

Area of Focus	Key Strategies	Activities
Math	Effective teaching of mathematics establishes clear goals for the mathematics that students are learning, situates the goals within learning progressions, and uses the goals to guide instructional decisions.	Clear Goals: Share clear goals with students for each math lesson. Teachers will explain and share how each daily lesson connects with the unit and other math concepts. Learning Progressions: Teachers will share with students and families how math goals and lessons fit with student learning throughout PreK-5 math goals. Connections for Students: Teachers and students will discuss and connect the goal of the math lesson to the activities and work being completed. Instructional Adjustment: Teachers will use math goals to make plans for upcoming lessons and adjust instruction based on student needs while teaching.
Reading	Implement small group and individual instruction, using a variety of grouping strategies. Most often flexible groups should be formed and instruction targeted to children’s observed and assessed needs in specific aspects of literacy development.	Time: Teachers plan for students to spend most of their time actually reading and writing (or working toward this goal in kindergarten and first grade) Instruction: Teachers will provide direct, clear instruction in small groups based on students’ individual needs such as sounding out words, reading fiction and nonfiction books for meaning, and writing skills Groups: Teachers will provide opportunities for small groups, partners, or individuals to build on students’ knowledge and work together to better understand the meaning of texts (books, articles, etc.) Professional Development: Classroom teachers receive ongoing education in providing direct, clear instruction for students in small groups through RPS Practice Profile for PreK-5 Teachers Learning Targets and Success Criteria Assessments Literacy coach support
SEL	Utilize the CASEL guidelines (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) to support individuals in the following SEL strategies: self-awareness self-management social awareness relationship skills responsible decision making By developing SEL skills, individuals improve capacity to engage in academic learning and preparation to meet college and career readiness standards.	Explicit Instruction: Teachers will provide direct teaching about school behavior and expectations during the first six weeks of school. Teachers will provide additional review of expectations throughout the school year. Teachers will provide direct instruction on social skills and emotional health for the whole class throughout the year using the Second-Step curriculum. Build Community: Teachers and students will build a classroom community through daily morning meetings, deciding on classroom rules, and other classroom and building activities.

Parent and Family Engagement Policy (English) (Spanish)
Family-School Compact for Achievement (English) (Spanish)

Find it fast

Main Navigation - Desktop

Main Navigation - Mobile

Landing Nav

In This Section

School Highlights