Hoover Elementary School Profile

Hoover School is a community where all students, parents, and staff are involved in creating a positive, safe, and motivating environment.

Hoover School is noteworthy due to:

• Students who come to school prepared to learn

• Experienced, effective, highly-organized staff

• Supportive and involved parents

• High expectations for learning and behavior

• Multiple kindergarten options

• Continuity of teacher from 1st through 2nd grade

• PE, Music, and Artist-in-Residence programs

• Effective Learning Resource Center

• Up-to-Date Technology Lab

• Older/Younger Buddy Class relationships

• STRINGS classes

• After-School Opportunities:  Art Classes, Spanish Instruction, and the STARS program

• Student-run businesses: Student Store, Birthday Bash

• School & Classroom web pages to enhance home to school communication

School Philosophy -  At Hoover School we:

• Respect children with their individual backgrounds, knowledge, learning styles, strengths and interests.

• Emphasize the equal importance of all elements of learning:  social, emotional, intellectual, artistic, musical and physical.

• Value the uniqueness of childhood and celebrate the wonder and journey of learning.

• Develop active partnership of parents, school and community to enhance children's learning.

• Empower children and staff to become lifelong learners and contributors to the community.

Hoover School Beliefs:

• We RESPECT one another and our environment.

• We take RESPONSIBILITY for our own actions.

• We keep school SAFE for everyone.

• We SOLVE PROBLEMS positively.

• We do our BEST.

Hoover Academic Focus:

Hoover school provides a strong curriculum that goes well beyond basic knowledge.  Hoover students actively participate in challenging learning experiences.  Integrated instruction, hands-on mathematics, science inquiry and a literature-rich curriculum set the stage for students to reach their highest potential.

Family Involvement at Hoover:

A high level of family involvement is a hallmark of Hoover School.  Parents are involved in the everyday life of the school assisting in classrooms, Library and Technology Lab, preparing instructional materials, sharing their expertise, and in many other ways.  Hoover Parent-Teacher Organization (HPTO) also plays a vital role through family-involvement events including the annual Fall Ice Cream Social, School Carnival, and a variety of other fundraisers and activities.  HPTO funds classroom enrichment, technology support, Artists-in-Residence, library book purchases, playground projects and much, much more.

Hoover School is special because..........

We encourage students to take learning risks while supporting them in reaching high academic standards, mastering effective problem-solving skills and developing positive interpersonal relationships.

                                      ~ Betty Phillips, Teacher

 I have found the teachers and administrator to be very helpful and caring about the needs of the students.  I have been very pleased with the professionalism and dedication I have encountered - at every level at Hoover.  The emphasis is on the kids and what is best for them.

                                      ~ Vance Croney, Parent

District Goals - Hoover Accomplishments

Goal 1 - Learning For All

Engage all students in meaningful, challenging learning

• Student performance on math and reading content as assessed by 2003 state tests earned Hoover School an Exceptional rating on the annual Oregon School Report Card.

• Math problem-solving and writing performance were not assessed via statewide tests in 2003.  Nonetheless, these areas continued to be the focus of student learning improvement efforts.

Ensure that students are known, nurtured, and included in their school community

• The Hoover Student Council, which invites wide participation among students, coordinates school-wide endeavors to help children in need (e.g. Holiday Food and Toy Drive, the Mario Pastega House, children in Uhzgorod, and the Cristobal Colon School in Ecuador).

• Older and younger class-pairings of Buddy Classes help create an atmosphere of caring and understanding throughout the school.

• All students new to Hoover and all kindergarteners have lunch with the principal during the year as one way of ensuring that all students are known.

Improve instruction through coaching, evaluation and staff development

• Writing and math problem-solving scoring and teaching strategies have been a prime focus of staff development efforts.

• All licensed and classified staff evaluations were completed according to district timelines.  Supervision and coaching are continuous administrative endeavors throughout the year.

Goal 2 - Collaborative and Innovative Culture

Strengthen relationships within schools and across the district that promote collaboration and community

• We focus on monthly themes based upon important "Life Skills" (e.g. patience, common sense, initiative, courage, integrity, cooperation, curiosity) emphasizing consistent language and expectations across the school through school-wide activities, classroom lessons and Buddy Class projects.

Enhance communication among students, parents, schools, departments, and community members

• Staff members maintain our school website keeping it current with HPTO and school news.

• Many teachers maintain classroom websites and communicate electronically with families.

Expand community partnerships to create more learning options and services for students

• We take advantage of the availability of retired educators in our community and utilize their talents in classrooms. 

• Our partnerships with OSU and WOU allow us to enhance school-wide and classroom programs by utilizing services of student volunteers, practicum students and interns.

• Matching gift programs with a local technology company have allowed us to maintain a topnotch technology lab and to adequately meet classroom computer needs.

Goal 3 - Aligned Systems

Define and align curriculum

• Hoover teachers assisted in Social Studies alignment work during the summer of 2003 and presented the resulting curriculum to our staff for feedback and consideration.  Representatives from Hoover are helping with the next step of implementation of this Social Studies curriculum in 2004.

• Our kindergarten, first and second grade classes are uniform in their support and implementation of the Bridges to Mathematics curriculum and philosophy.

• A number of Hoover teachers have played key roles in planning and leading district-wide grade level meetings and staff development throughout the 2003-2004 school year.

Create a safe physical learning environment where everyone can grow

• One of our goals this year has been to integrate the school-wide emphasis on Life Skills with our existing system of positive behavior support through targeted teaching and reinforcement of behavior expectations as related to Life Skills.