WHO WE ARE:

Saint Paul’s newest neighborhood elementary school, located on the city’s East Side, is part of the Achievement Plus public-private partnership. Participants include the City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Saint Paul Public Schools, the YMCA and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. The State of Minnesota has provided significant financial support for the initiative, as have many foundations and corporations. The partnership focuses on raising student achievement in addition to providing students’ families with school, recreation and community services in one convenient location. The new East Side YMCA attached to the school is now open and serving the school and community. The school serves about 350 students and their families. Johnson Elementary also is the school district’s Best Practices Demonstration Site for writing, which means that Johnson Elementary teachers receive additional training and then share their knowledge of successful teaching strategies with teachers across the school district, state and nation.



SCHOOL PROFILE:

Welcome to the John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School website. In the same way we hope you will visit the school often, we hope you will visit this website often. It is here for you to keep up to date with what is happening at school. We plan to update the website weekly and include important information, from special events to lunch menus.

Many of you already know a great deal about the school. If you have never been to the building, the following brief information should be useful to you:

• Every day our students are told: Students are here to learn. Teachers are here to teach. These are not just words. We want our students to know there is a real, focused purpose to their presence in school every day. Students need to know, also, exactly why teachers come to this building every day!

•Johnson Elementary School uses a standards based educational program. This program helps the students take responsibility for their learning by stressing the following question,"How good is good enough?" The classroom instruction makes it very clear what is expected of the children in their work.

• The literacy program has reading achievement goals at grades K-3. Children improve their ability to read independently by reading material at their correct level. By the end of kindergarten we expect our children to read at “level B”. The goals for other grades are: level “I” at grade one, level “L” at grade two and level “O” at grade three. Classrooms have well stocked classroom libraries to provide children with a continuous supply of books.

• Good writers are almost always good readers. We spend a great deal of time on writing instruction (we call it writers workshop) because it helps our students become better readers.

• The school uses the Responsive Classroom approach to building climate and discipline. Children participate in daily morning meetings. Children are expected to follow the rules. Teachers are trained to respond quickly when children choose not to follow school rules.

• John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School is attached to the East YMCA. Children attend physical education classes in the YMCA.

• Achievement Plus supports our children and families by providing programs in extended learning and health and wellness.

Students are here to learn and teachers are here to teach. We take our teaching responsibility very seriously and we expect our students to work hard to do what they come here every day to do, to learn. That is the culture we work very hard to establish at John A.Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School. That is the school culture we want for your children.


I invite you to log on to this website often and use any of the links to inform yourself of the many school programs and community partners that work in the school.

Melissa Lehmann - Principal