Springfield Park Elementary School

Infobox School
name = Springfield Park Elementary School


imagesize = thumb
established = 1996
type = Public Elementary School
principal = Tammy Jones
enrollment = 745 (as of 2006-07)
faculty = 39.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 19.1
colors = Blue and yellow
mascot = Kangaroo
location = 4301 Fort McHenry Parkway
Glen Allen, VA 23060
information = 804-527-4630
website = [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/ES/SpringfieldPark/ School website]

Springfield Park Elementary School is a public elementary school in Glen Allen, in Richmond, Virginia's West End, serving students in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade. It is located in the Three Chopt District of the Henrico County Public Schools division. [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/ES/SpringfieldPark/ Springfield Park Elementary School] accessed February 22, 2007] The school opened with 900 students in September 1996."Coming Together; '96-97 School Year Offers Some Things New and Some Things True", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", August 28, 1996] The school was formally dedicated in ceremonies held on March 9, 1997. ["Springfield Park Dedication Set Sunday", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", March 6, 1997]

Springfield Park has been recognized for its award-winning chess teams and its unusual German-English International Program.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 745 students and 39.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 19.1. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=5101890&SchoolPageNum=4&ID=510189001384 Springfield Park Elementary School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 14, 2008.]

Springfield Park runs a September to June school year schedule with no year round classes. The Elementary school also has two trailers in back of the school. According to the Virginia Department of Education, for 2005-06, 40% of the teachers here had advanced degrees and the average class size per teacher (FTE) was 18. [ [http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/cs_compare/va/?level=e&area=m&street=4301+Fort+McHenry+Pkwy&city=Glen+Allen&zip=23060&miles=1000&lat=37.6526&lon=-77.5693&sortby=distance&school_selected=897&ids=897,879,2485,2545,870,3020,885,854,859,877,886,3080,881,845,887,902,878,899,875,888,851,882,3287,889,3241&showall=1&tab=teach Comparative data for Springfield Park Elementary School] from GreatSchools.com, accessed February 21, 2007] A large majority of students in Springfield Park's attendance area are assigned to Hungary Creek Middle School in Glen Allen then to John Randolph Tucker High School in Richmond, Virginia. A small group of students also are assigned to Pocahontas Middle School, then go on to attend Deep Run High School.

Awards and recognition

Springfield Park Elementary placed second in Virginia's 2007 Knowledge Masters Open, an international computerized contest in which student teams compete to solve computerized questions. Springfield Park Elementary placed first in the state during Spring 2007 KMO. It placed fourth in the world and was the only team out of more than 700 teams to score all of the questions right. [ [http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149193301070 News About You News About You] , "Richmond Times-Dispatch", February 21, 2007, accessed February 23, 2007]

In 2004, Springfield Park was one of only 11 Twenty-first Century School of Distinction Award Semi-finalists from Virginia. (Virginia had no finalists in 2004.) [ [http://www.blueribbonschools.com/Default.aspx?tabid=74 2004 Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Twenty-first Century Schools of Distinction!] , accessed February 22, 2007]

Springfield Park was a winner in both the 2004 and 2008 Destination ImagiNation Virginia state finals. ["Springfield Park School Wins", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", April 27, 2004]

In 1999, the Virginia General Assembly and Senate approved a joint resolution encouraging local school divisions to take steps to prevent choking deaths in school cafeterias statewide, modeled on efforts initiated at Springfield Park Elementary School. In the resolution, the legislature recognized that the "PTA of Springfield Park Elementary School in Henrico County has led the effort to require local school divisions not only to train at least two staff members in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, but also to require that they be on duty in school cafeterias whenever students are eating." [ [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?991+ful+SJ321 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 321 of 1999] , accessed February 22, 2007]

In 1997, a kindergarten student at the school was one of ten grand-prize winners nationwide in the "Math Is Everywhere" essay contest organized by the "Reading Rainbow" public television program. ["2 Area Pupils Win in Math Contest", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", March 12, 1997.]

German language curriculum

Springfield Park Elementary School offers a German-English International Program, for children whose native language is German. ["German Immersion Praised; program Aids Children of Siemens AG Staff", "Richmond Times-Dispatch" by Janet Caggiano, October 22, 1997] The program was established at the start of the 1996-97 school year to serve the children of German-speaking employees of local businesses, many of whom are on temporary assignment in the United States. The program offers two hours of German instruction on a daily basis, provides English as a Second Language (ESL) support to help children with the English language, and acclimates children to the local school environment. Non-native German speakers must pass a German language proficiency test to show that they would be able to participate successfully in classroom subjects taught in German. The program continues for grades 6-8 at Short Pump Middle School. [ [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/es/SpringfieldPark/germanprogram.html German-English International Program] , accessed February 22, 2007] The program was designed to serve the children of employees of the German firm Siemens AG, which has built a $1.5 billion computer chip factory in the eastern Henrico County area. ["German International Program Draws Praise", "Richmond Times-Dispatch" by Janet Caggiano, August 28, 1996]

Extracurricular activities

* Chess Club – the Chess Club is sponsored by the Springfield Park Elementary School PTA. At the 2006 Virginia Scholastic Chess Championship in Roanoke, Virginia, Springfield Park Elementary School won the 1st place trophy in the primary school section, with their top four players all finishing in the tournament top ten, earning a combined 21.5 points to take the title. [ [http://www.richmondchess.com/spes-2006-champions.htm Springfield Park Elementary School Wins 2006 State Title] , accessed February 21, 2007] ["Best at chess", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", April 11, 2006] At the 2003 event, the school's kindergarten – third grade team came in first of the 27 teams entered, and had one of only two players in the section with a perfect 6.0 score, out of 166 players participating. The school came in fifth of 20 teams in the kindergarten – fifth grade section. [ [http://www.vschess.org/vsca-news/vsca-news.html Virginia Scholastic Chess Championships Draw Record Numbers] , March 10, 2003] The Virginia Scholastic Chess Association (VSCA) held its Summer Metro Youth Tournaments at Springfield Park on July 19, 2007. [ [http://www.vschess.org/calendar/index.aspx Virginia Scholastic Chess Association, VSCA Tournament Information & Events Schedule] Accessed 2007-02-22]

* Junior Achievement - Springfield Park is one of approximately 65 Virginia elementary schools participating in Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement's Elementary School Programs are designed to introduce students to the market system and its "relationship to democratic values and their responsibilities in this system." [ [http://www.jatoday.org/html/participating_schools.html Junior Achievement of Central Virginia] Accessed 2007-02-22.]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration include: [ [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/ES/SpringfieldPark/staffinfo.html 2007-2008 Staff] , Springfield Park Elementary. Accessed August 27, 2008.]
*Tammy Jones, Principal
*Kim Sower, Assistant Principal

References

External links

* [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/Schools/ES/springfieldpark/springfieldpark.html Springfield Park Elementary School Website]
* [http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/ES/SpringfieldPark/staffinfo.html Springfield Park Staff page]
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=henrico&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&SchoolPageNum=4&ID=510189001384 National Center for Education Statistics data for Springfield Park Elementary School]
* [http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2584 "The Far West End Press"] has monthly reports of Springfield Elementary news
* [http://www.pack736va.org/ Cub Scout Pack 736] primarily recruits from Springfield Park Elementary School