School Highlights

Engage and Thrive at Centennial Elementary

At Centennial Elementary, our strength comes from the close-knit nature of a small neighborhood school. Located in the suburb of Richfield, we serve and teach students grades PreK through 5. With a low student-to-teacher ratio, we provide rich and individualized learning experiences for each of our students, ensuring success at all levels. Our teachers genuinely care about and are committed to improving the well-being of our students and their families. We respect and value the cultural backgrounds of all our students and consider our diversity an advantage in the classroom.

We are a small neighborhood school that values all cultures and considers our diversity our strength.
Our focus is on ensuring students succeed at every level by providing strong core content and differentiated support to meet the individual needs of each student.
Our experienced and committed teachers genuinely care about the success of students and their families.
Small class sizes provide in-depth and personalized learning experiences for students.
Students have daily access to online learning opportunities using Chromebooks in the classrooms.
The talent development classes provide students with enriched and advanced learning activities (formerly known as gifted and talented).
We provide a variety of learning opportunities, including art, music, media and physical education.
State-of-the-art facilities and equipment to maximize student learning in the 21st Century will be completed in 2020.
We have a new, cutting-edge curriculum that was implemented in 2019.
We have a Beacons afterschool program, sponsored by Minneapolis Boys’ and Girls’ Club, which provides academic support and fun activities for students.
Before and after school child care is available on-site through Fun Club.

Key Partnerships

Wood Lake Nature Center
Boy’s and Girls’ Clubs of America
Richfield Rotary Club
Adopt a Classroom
Minneapolis/St. Paul Assistance League

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 Centennial School Improvement Plan (SIP)

The primary goal for both Math and Reading is to increase student academic growth and achievement. The primary goal of social emotional learning (SEL) strategies is to integrate them into schoolwide teaching and learning practices, so that students will learn, practice and model essential personal life skills that contribute to academic, vocational and personal success.

Area of Focus	Key Strategies	Activities
Math	Grades K-5 will implement explicit Math vocabulary instruction aligned to MN Math Standards and Bridges Math curriculum to support student typical or aggressive growth from 60% in May 2024 to 66% in May 2025 as measured by the FastBridge aMath assessment for grades 2-5.	Focus on math vocabulary during daily core instruction using Bridges Math curriculum and resources. Build Math word wall for student reference and review. Teachers will explicitly teach the vocabulary that accompanies the math curriculum. Students will be encouraged to use specific math vocabulary in their daily work with a focus on math writing and work.
Reading	Grades K-5 will implement evidence-based instructional strategies which focus on explicit phonics and word study instruction to increase the percentage of students demonstrating typical or aggressive growth from 59% in May 2024 to 65% in May 2025 as measured by FastBridge aReading assessment for grades 2-5.	The school schedule will support specific time each day for phonics instruction and vocabulary instruction. Teachers will embed supporting lessons and activities into the daily literacy block. Emphasis will be placed on vocabulary school-wide. Teaching teams will use best practices to provide strategies which focus on explicit phonics and word study lessons. Opportunities will be provided daily for Tier 1 & 2 small group differentiated instruction. Teachers will implement the new literacy curriculum with fidelity and meet as teams to plan and review data. Progress will be monitored using Fastbridge progress monitoring tools.
SEL	Through teacher implementation of Conscious Discipline brain states and powers including school family strategies, students will increase their problem solving and conflict resolution skills to support feeling safe and connected to peers, as measured by SAEBRS fall 2024 and spring 2025 assessments, minor referrals related to peer conflicts, count of student bully reports, and the school climate survey of students feeling safe with their peers.	Centennial will focus on community and emphasize the “school family” as featured in Conscious Discipline. All classrooms and common areas of the school will have a Safe Place which students may choose to use to identify feelings and safely regulate emotions. Teachers in all classrooms will teach the effective use of the Safe Place and encourage and support students when they use it. School-wide expectations include “Centennial Cougars are safe.” Expectations are read and discussed during daily announcements. Centennial will celebrate Unity Day/Week, a national anti-bullying campaign supported by PACER. Activities will include: wearing orange, taking the anti-bully pledge, a fun run, photos, and treats. Teachers will provide SEL lessons using the Second Step curriculum and other supports as provided.

Area of Focus

Key Strategies

Activities

Math

Grades K-5 will implement explicit Math vocabulary instruction aligned to MN Math Standards and Bridges Math curriculum to support student typical or aggressive growth from 60% in May 2024 to 66% in May 2025 as measured by the FastBridge aMath assessment for grades 2-5.

Focus on math vocabulary during daily core instruction using Bridges Math curriculum and resources.
Build Math word wall for student reference and review.
Teachers will explicitly teach the vocabulary that accompanies the math curriculum.
Students will be encouraged to use specific math vocabulary in their daily work with a focus on math writing and work.

Reading

Grades K-5 will implement evidence-based instructional strategies which focus on explicit phonics and word study instruction to increase the percentage of students demonstrating typical or aggressive growth from 59% in May 2024 to 65% in May 2025 as measured by FastBridge aReading assessment for grades 2-5.

The school schedule will support specific time each day for phonics instruction and vocabulary instruction.
Teachers will embed supporting lessons and activities into the daily literacy block.
Emphasis will be placed on vocabulary school-wide.
Teaching teams will use best practices to provide strategies which focus on explicit phonics and word study lessons.
Opportunities will be provided daily for Tier 1 & 2 small group differentiated instruction.
Teachers will implement the new literacy curriculum with fidelity and meet as teams to plan and review data.
Progress will be monitored using Fastbridge progress monitoring tools.

SEL

Through teacher implementation of Conscious Discipline brain states and powers including school family strategies, students will increase their problem solving and conflict resolution skills to support feeling safe and connected to peers, as measured by SAEBRS fall 2024 and spring 2025 assessments, minor referrals related to peer conflicts, count of student bully reports, and the school climate survey of students feeling safe with their peers.

Centennial will focus on community and emphasize the “school family” as featured in Conscious Discipline.
All classrooms and common areas of the school will have a Safe Place which students may choose to use to identify feelings and safely regulate emotions.
Teachers in all classrooms will teach the effective use of the Safe Place and encourage and support students when they use it.
School-wide expectations include “Centennial Cougars are safe.” Expectations are read and discussed during daily announcements.
Centennial will celebrate Unity Day/Week, a national anti-bullying campaign supported by PACER. Activities will include: wearing orange, taking the anti-bully pledge, a fun run, photos, and treats.
Teachers will provide SEL lessons using the Second Step curriculum and other supports as provided.

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

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School Highlights

Engage and Thrive at Centennial Elementary