Blades Elementary School

Blades
Elementary School

Academics

Special Education and Remediation Classes
Gifted Program and Enrichment Activities
Curriculum Enrichment Activities

Special Education and Remediation Classes
Blades has a highly qualified staff of special educators. They provide services to students who meet state qualifications for an Individualized Educational Plan. Classroom teachers have been trained to work with the Special Education staff in the areas of inclusion, "Class Within A Class," and Care Team staffings and interventions. Remedial reading classes also are offered, as well as Reading Recovery on the first grade level, which is funded by the Mehlville School District.

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Gifted Program and Enrichment Activities

A gifted program is available for students who qualify. This program includes many unique activities such as the STRETCH News Quiz, Invention Convention and Architecture Series.

Curriculum Enrichment Activities

Balanced Literacy Curriculum-Reading & Writing

Blades Elementary uses the Balanced Literacy program that incorporates many components of reading and writing. These components include: guided reading, shared reading, familiar reading, independent journal, writer's workshop, interactive writing, sound analysis, and many more instructional approaches.

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for children who have the lowest achievement in literacy in the first grade. Children meet individually with a specially trained teacher for 30 minutes each day for an average of 12-20 weeks. The goal of the program is for children to develop effective reading and writing strategies in order to work within an average range of classroom performance.

Reading Counts

Blades Elementary has a computerized reading incentive program in place. Throughout the year students read books and take Reading Counts tests on the computers. The programs are all based out of the Media Center, but can be used on any networked computer throughout the school.

Math Curriculum

Blades Elementary uses the Everyday Mathematics program (also known as Chicago Math). This program incorporates different content strands that are addressed throughout all grade levels. Each grade level builds and extends concept understanding of each content strand.

Tungsten Assessment

Blades students in grades two through five take this monthly assessment test on the computers. It tests students in the area of math and reading. The purpose is to help teachers plan more focused lessons in the areas in which the students need additional support.