Washington Elementary is committed to building the foundation of leadership in our youngest students. We are proud to be the first school in Northeast Iowa to offer the Leader In Me program. This leadership way of life is demonstrated every day by staff and students in the core belief that everyone can be a leader, everyone has genius, change starts with me, students lead their own learning and develop their whole person. Staff lead themselves and model the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People through their speech and actions to students. In turn, students have the opportunity to show leadership in their learning, classroom, school, home, and community.

Literacy – We implement the Iowa Core Standards in Literacy. The Core focuses on reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as foundational phonics skills. The district uses Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, and Units of Study Phonics, along with various supplemental resources, including high-quality children’s trade books and research-based instructional strategies to meet the rigorous expectations of the Iowa Core.

Mathematics – We implement the Iowa Core Standards in mathematics. The Core focuses on both mathematical understanding and procedural skill. To meet the rigorous expectations of the Iowa Core, the district has adopted the Investigations 3 math program, along with other various supplemental resources to provide rich mathematical and problem-based instructional tasks. Considerable time is given to the application and use of math skills, problem-solving, and quantitative reasoning exercises.

Social Studies - We implement the Iowa Core Standards in Social Studies. In Kindergarten, students will engage in learning about themselves, their school, city, and state. They will have opportunities to compare how life in the past is different from life today with respect to their own experiences. In First Grade, students will explore the culture of their own communities by examining leadership in their community, the role of goods and services play in a community, and the history of diverse cultures over time. In Second Grade, students will learn about choices and consequences. They will engage in thinking and conversing about their own responsibility to take care of their community, focusing on cooperation and citizenship. They will also learn about how the government plays a role in establishing and maintaining local community spaces.

Science - Each grade level uses three to four Inquiry-based units aligned to the Next Generation Science standards.
Science - Each grade level uses three to four Inquiry-based units aligned to the Next Generation Science standards.

In kindergarten, students develop understanding of patterns and variations in local weather and the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather, apply an understanding of the effects of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object, and develop an understanding of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive and the relationship between their needs and where they live.

In First Grade, students develop understanding of the relationship between sound and vibrating materials as well as between the availability of light and ability to see objects, of how plants and animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs as well as how behaviors of parents and offspring help the offspring survive, that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly the same as, their parents, and students are able to observe, describe, and predict some patterns of the movement of objects in the sky.

In Second Grade, students are expected to develop an understanding of how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination. They compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Students are able to apply their understanding of the idea that wind and water can change the shape of the land to compare design solutions to slow or prevent such change.

Ways we provide equity to all students at Washington:


PBIS Model School
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based three-tiered framework to improve and integrate all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. PBIS creates schools where all students succeed.

Leader in Me School
Leader in Me helps schools create well-rounded learners by developing the whole person and preparing students to become life-ready leaders.

MTSS
Multi-tiered Support system (MTSS) is a framework that our school uses to provide targeted support to struggling students. It focuses on the “whole child.”

Food Backpack Program
Our Food BackPack Program provides a sack of kid-friendly, nutritionally balanced food to children every other Friday during the school year. The food tides them over on Saturdays and Sundays, allowing them to return to school on Monday ready to learn. It is free to everyone.