Shaw Elementary Sundogs
About Us
Shaw is a school community striving to meet the academic, emotional, behavioral, & social needs of our students & families. We opened our doors in August of 2006 with 330 children enrolled in grades pre-school through grade 5 in an area north of Wasilla, Alaska. The opening of Shaw relieved over-crowded conditions at neighboring Larson & Tanaina Elementary Schools. Shaw serves a population that includes a high number of special needs students due in part to several district-wide programs, including Deaf Education, Special Education Preschool, Structured Learning, & Intensive Resource programs. Currently, 23% of our students are receiving services in Special Education. In addition, approximately 20% of our students are English Language Learners, predominately students whose first language is either Russian or Ukrainian. For the first three years, our Economically Disadvantaged percentage was just under the threshold for Title 1 services. Since then our school’s Economically Disadvantaged percentage has met that threshold, making Shaw a Title 1 school. This diversity brings richness to our school community & makes each day a new adventure in learning about each other’s learning styles, cultures, traditions, & family values.
We believe relationships are the foundation upon which we build our instructional practices. Our school believes in heterogeneous grouping of students in all classrooms and we spend a great deal of time during "DRAFT" day placing students in a classroom to best meet their needs. Every student is in full or partial-inclusion within the regular education classroom. We strive to continuously improve our instructional efficacy based on current research of best practices. Through the PLC framework, we engage in on-going professional development targeted towards the unique needs of our students. We believe providing an opportunity to learn is not enough; students must experience high levels of success in order to optimize student learning. When a student is not responding to our systems of support, we rise to the challenge to find the perfect recipe for success. If a child is not successful, it is not a problem ‘with-in’ the child, yet an undeveloped intervention or strategy within our systems of support.
We maintain strong liberal arts & technology programs within our school despite yearly reductions in funds & staffing. Our music & physical education department provides integrated performances every year. We have had Artists in Residence visit as well as welcome multicultural presentations in the form of artist, music, & dance. All students are enrolled in library/media arts, music, & PE. Before or after school, we are able to offer American Sign Language, robotics, Science Olympiad, reading, & math programs as well as numerous other sports & clubs to enrich our student’s lives. We explicitly teach character education through The Virtues Project. Each week, students learn & practice a virtue, including respect, determination, unity, & courage.
