School Improvement Plan

School Improvement Plan

2007-2008

Snohomish School District #201

Centennial Middle School

Scott M. Peacock

Introduction

Demographics and Special Programs

Centennial Middle School serves the 7^th and 8^th grade students from the north end of Snohomish School district. Though our enrollment for the 2007-08 school year has dropped to about 700 students, we served 770 students during the 2006-2007 school year.

Our demographic breakdown, as of October 2006 included:

· 53% male students/47% female students

· 1.6% American Indian/Alaskan Native

· 2.6% Asian

· .9% Black

· 4.3% Hispanic

· 90.6% White

As of May 2007 our special programs incorporated the following:

· 12.1% free or reduced price meals

· 11.5% special education including:

o District middle level Life Skills program

o District middle level Deaf/Hard of Hearing program

o District middle level Asperger’s (Connections) program

o Building behavioral support program for students with behavioral disabilities

o Building resource program to support students with specific learning disabilities

· Transitional Bilingual education serving .7% of our students

Our Community

Due to the diverse needs of our students, there is a strong commitment to community and partnership at CMS. For the past six years we have continued to define the values that we share with students around the ideal of Respect –toward oneself, toward CMS, and for other people. Our conversations with students always center upon the need to accept responsibility for our choices, with regard to how those choices deepen a sense of belonging that we all must feel. This focus has been fundamental to an extraordinarily positive school climate, a strong sense of safety, and student ownership over our school.

This focus on Respect has also led to clarification of the roles that our school, parents and students share in our educational partnership. Three years ago we developed and published our “Partnership between CMS, Students and Parents”, which appears in every newsletter. The definition of each party’s role in the education of our students has led us to restructure our after-school conferences in ways that require the student to lead the conversation with parents and teachers present. We have also implemented such things as our annual panel discussion for parents/students each August focusing on “Transitioning into Middle School”, a WEB mentor program, along with a comprehensive Pyramid of Interventions for struggling students which provides levels of intervention from the classroom to the school-wide level, while sharpening the quality of communication and involvement in the home. Respect and partnership form the foundation for every decision, action and interaction within our school.

Background

For the past five years, the Centennial staff has continually enriched the quality of our conversations and deepened our professional relationships through a commitment to collaborative learning. In February 2003, we embarked on the School Improvement Planning Technical Assistance Project (SIPTAP). This comprehensive school improvement training process, facilitated by ESD 189 and at the building level by our CMS School Improvement Team, jump-started our collaborative focus on improvement using a broad range of data—test scores, discipline data, Healthy Youth Survey data, student, parent, teacher surveys, departmental minutes, and newsletters, etc. Over the course of the next year, through the 2003-2004 school year, we (certificated staff, classified staff, parents and students) explored our effectiveness by looking at data within each of the Nine Characteristics of Effective Schools, ultimately developing consensus around a school improvement plan that focused on research-based best practices designed to improve student learning in reading and math.

Our school-wide goals, outlined below by year suggest that the process we use to develop them, and the strategies that we use to further them, have shifted significantly over time. Our awareness of how we can improve student learning at the individual classroom, teacher and student level has increased, moving us from a focus on school-wide goals to collaboratively developed team goals that support literacy and critical thinking in each content area. Our school has adopted, in structure and practice, the fundamental principals of a professional learning community.

Our Goals

2004-2005

· CMS will improve the achievement of ALL students in reading by raising the average RIT score 4 points (from 6-7^th and 7-8^th grades) on district level tests AND increasing by 5% students meeting standard on the 2005 WASL.

Strategies:

o School-wide read-aloud time

o Reading mentorships for struggling readers (focusing on fluency and comprehension)

o Development of an accelerated reading class for struggling readers taught by a reading specialist

o Focus on school-wide reading culture (read-aloud, book fairs, “Battle of the Books”)

· CMS will improve the achievement of ALL students in mathematics by raising the average RIT score 8 points (from 6-7^th and 7-8^th grades) on district level tests AND increasing by 8% students meeting standard on the 2005 WASL.

Strategies:

o Focus on mathematical communication process (vocabulary development, written responses, interactive learning)

o Implement student math portfolios for organizing and managing learning.

2005-2006

· Extension of reading and math strategies and goals outlined for 2004-2005 to 2005-2006.

· CMS will improve student learning in all of the content areas (reading, science, language arts, math and social studies) by focusing on a professional development and planning process which supports deep alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

Strategies:

o Create common planning time for core content areas each day

o Building leadership team/departmental team leaders focus on improvement of student learning (no separate School Improvement Team)

o Each departmental team develops its own goals, strategies and action plans based on best practices

o Each team develops learning targets and common assessment practices to expand data beyond WASL and level tests. (Greater focus on formative assessment and instructional practices.)

o As much as possible, limit teaching assignments to the fewest preps possible and into specific content areas in order to maximize collaboration.

2006-2007

· CMS will increase the number of students meeting departmental and state standards in literacy through all curricular areas by at least 5% each year as measured by classroom-based, district and state standards.

Under this goal, each team—math, language arts, reading, social studies, science, history, health/fitness, and electives developed goals and action plans designed to increase achievement in their areas by focusing for fully on learning targets, assessment and instructional practices likely to address identified student needs. Previous school improvement goals and strategies (in reading and math) were incorporated and adapted into team goals.

Collaborative team goals:

o Math--Math department will identify students at level two or below on the WASL and move 5% of them to level three.

o Lang. Arts—In 2007, the percentage of seventh and eighth grade students who score a 9 or better on the WASL writing assessment will increase by 5% from the previous year.

o Reading—CMS will improve the achievement of ALL students in reading by increasing by 5% the number of students meeting standard on the WASL and classroom-based assessments each year.

o Science—10% more students will meet the 8^th grade science standards as measured by the WASL.

o History— In 2007, the percentage of seventh and eighth grade students who score a 9 or better on the WASL writing assessment will increase by 5% from the previous year.

Elective teachers also identified the following goals:

o Health—All 8^th grade health students will be able to list 8 of the qualities of Emotional Quotient (EQ) and will give a specific example for four of the EQ qualities that they have and use by the end of the semester.

o Life Fitness—All CMS Life Fitness students will demonstrate their understanding and knowledge verbally and in written form, with 80% accuracy, a bank of 20 life fitness terms.

o Band—90% of Cadet Band students will earn a score of 90% or above on a rhythm test where they independently count eight bars containing quarter note/eight note syncopations, and eighth note/sixteenth note combinations by 3^rd quarter.

o Art—All art students will be able to draw a picture with 3 dimensional perspective by correctly using shading and two point perspective by the end of the quarter.

Organizational Growth and Outcomes

By focusing on team goal-setting based on competencies fundamental to each discipline, teachers have been able to implement assessment techniques and instructional strategies that meet student needs and represent educational best practices. Instead of relying on a building study team to gather data and identify broad strategies, teams have been able to do that work themselves with a high level of ownership that fits well within their disciplines. As teams and teachers have focused on what students need to know and be able to do, they have all focused on how to assess learning. This has led to an almost universal reliance upon rubric development and assessment planning. All core content areas (math, science, language arts, reading and history) have committed to the development of common assessments, thus allowing them to measure student learning throughout the year and adjust instruction accordingly.

District training in mastery learning (Guskey), Understanding by Design, WASL stem question training, Professional Learning Community Institutes have all provided critical information that has been integrated into our school improvement process at the team and building level with a relevance that teachers have never experienced before. In fact, team planning/goal-setting has allowed teachers to identify where they need more training—such as in the areas of developing essential understandings and WASL item scoring.

Over the course of the past five years we have seen impressive growth in all areas. From 2002-2007, WASL results show growth in the following areas as percent of students meeting standard on 7^th grade WASL:

2002 2007

Math 32.7 55.8 (+10.7% last year)

Reading 48.8 67.4 (+10.6% last year)

Writing 61.1 78.6 (+7.8% last year)

On 8^th grade WASL we only have two years of data for reading and math reflecting the number of students meeting standard:

2006 2007

Reading 59.4 57.9 (-1.5% last year)

Math 44.8 53.6 (+8.8% last year)

For 8^th grade science, we have had testing since 2003 with the following results:

2003 2007

Science 44.9 55.4 (+10.8% last year)

At least according to WASL data, we easily exceeded our school improvement goal of improving literacy in all content areas by at least 5%, with the exception of the surprising and unsettling drop in 8^th grade reading. Even in the areas of special education, where growth is so difficult that in both 7^th and 8^th grades, we increased the number of students meeting standards by 13.8% in math and by 7.2% in reading on the 2007 WASL.

Current Situation

As illustrated in the previous section outlining background, our data has been showing a general and significant upward trend in student achievement, as reflected in WASL scores. As a school, we are pleased with that, but have been concerned over the years that though WASL may be a useful indicator of our school’s academic effectiveness when we receive the data the following fall, that it is not a very helpful tool when it comes to guiding teachers in selecting instructional strategies, or providing information that allows us to support individual students.

Level tests provide us with more timely information about information, along with growth data, and are broken into strands that align with WASL. However, they are limited in that they are only multiple choice, and do not provide our teachers with the ability to measure critical thinking, which can only be assessed through extended response answers more typical of WASL.

As a result, we are currently deepening our work in the development of learning targets, disciplinary standards, and common assessments in each area. Starting last year on our own, then continuing the work this year with Valley View Middle School staff, we are identifying the essential understandings (Big Ideas) and learning targets in every discipline. We are then using those learning targets to develop formative assessments that are to be given several times during the year. These assessments align with WASL in that they measure what students know and are able to do in on tasks not measured by WASL, but that are also important. They also measure student performance on important skills measured by WASL, thus allowing teachers the opportunity to sharpen student skills before taking state tests in the spring.

School district support has been and will continue to be critical in our work. The following district initiatives have reinforced the work we are doing at Centennial and are listed with the building initiative in school improvement planning (in italics):

o Mastery Learning (Thomas Guskey) and Classroom strategies that work (Pickering)/Common planning time and the collaborative development of common assessments and assessment tools

o Understanding by Design/ Development of essential understandings, learning targets, and common assessments throughout the building

o Math Curriculum and Instruction (Rick Jennings)/Continued clarity of essential understandings, learning targets, best practices and assessment development, implementation of Bridges to Algebra program and Math Tutorial classes

o Continuous Improvement Techniques (ESD 189)/Common planning time focusing on classroom strategies that work, focused learning targets, and student involvement in assessment.

o Professional Learning Communities/Common planning time, common assessments, classroom strategies that work, developing school-wide support systems such as the Pyramid of Interventions

By planning school improvement and focusing our research and conversations around best-practices in each discipline, teachers have been able to effectively integrate district initiatives into classroom instruction. They are involved in seeking out ways for our district to deepen its involvement and support of broad initiatives as they take shape at the building level.

Action Plans

School goal: CMS will increase the number of students meeting departmental and state standards in literacy throughout all curricular areas by at least 5% each year as measured by classroom based, district and state standards.

School Math goal: 85% of students will increase levels test scores by at least 6 points from Spring ’07 to Spring ’08.

Strategies you will use:

Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Timeline		Your plan for monitoring effectiveness	Resources you will need/use	Evaluation
Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Start	Finish
Math tutorial grade 7	Tutorial teachers	District math consultant Kevin Berry	Deborah Cuevas Kevin Berry	8/07	6/08	Level test scores WASL scores Bridges to Algebra data Common assessments Common planning	Bridges to Algebra Best practices training Common assessment training Common planning time Additional staffing for tutorial classes	WASL Level tests
Math tutorial grade 8	Tutorial teachers	District math consultant Larry Taylor	Jill Smith Larry Taylor	8/07	6/08	Level test scores WASL scores Bridges to Algebra data Common planning	Same as above	WASL Level tests
Additional curriculum planning with Math 7 and Math 8 teachers	Deb Cuevas (Team Leader) Rick Jennings	All math teachers	Math team	8/07	6/08	Ongoing planning and feedback	District math consultant Best practices training Math curriculum CIT training Common planning time	Team feedback
Development of common assessments	Deborah Cuevas	All math teachers District math consultant	Math team	9/07	6/08	Common assessment results WASL Level tests	Common planning time PGF	Common assessment WASL Level tests
Score common assessments	Deborah Cuevas	All math teachers	Math team	9/07	9/08	Ongoing assessment results	Common planning/PGF for scoring and calibration	Same
Use data from assessments to drive instruction	Deborah Cuevas	All math teachers	Math team	9/07	9/08	Ongoing assessment results	Common planning/PGF District math consultant	Same
Integrate WASL items into units	Deborah Cuevas	Math team	Math team	9/07	6/08	Assessment results	Assessments Common planning PGFs	Same
Develop common, daily entry tasks	Deborah Cuevas	Math team	Math team	8/07	6/07	Feedback on tasks Assessment results		Same
Revise and continue Continuous Improvement Techniques	Deborah Cuevas	Math team	Larry Taylor Jill Smith Jacqui Aos Principal TLS dept.	9/07	6/08	Classroom data from run charts	CIT handbook and CD	CIT class data WASL Level test

School Reading goal: Improve students’ knowledge and skills in Reading as measured by a 10% increase in students’ overall scores between classroom-based assessment (CBA) #1 and CBA #3.

Strategies you will use:

Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Timeline		Your plan for monitoring effectiveness	Resources you will need/use	Evaluation
Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Start	Finish
Review reading CBAs	Shelley Barker Heather Bird Kathy Williams	Language Arts and Reading teachers	Shelley Barker Heather Bird Kathy Williams	9/07	6/08	CBA results	CBAs Two half-day trainings for teachers to learn how to use the CBAs	WASL Level test results
Implement CBA-focused lessons into current curriculum	Shelley Barker Heather Bird Kathy Williams	Language arts and reading teachers	Language arts and reading teachers	9/07	6/08	CBAs	District literacy specialist PGFs/planning time	Student responses on CBAs Level tests WASL
Administer CBAs in 7^th and 8^th grade in a controlled environment	Shelley Barker Heather Bird Kathy Williams	All 7^th grade reading teachers and 8^th grade language arts teachers	All reading and 8^th grade LA teachers	10/07	1/08	CBA results Monitor test environment	Curriculum department CBAs	Team feedback
Score CBAs	Heather Bird Kathy Williams	All LA and reading teachers	All LA and reading teachers	10/07	1/08	Team feedback	District literacy specialist Building reading specialist PGF	N/A
Make curricular and instructional decisions based on data	Shelley Barker	LA and reading teachers	LA and reading teachers	10/07	6/08	CBA results	District literacy specialist Building reading specialist PGFs Common planning	Analysis of reading level tests from 7^th to 8^th grade CBAs WASL
Implementation of Continuous Improvement Techniques training	Shelley Barker	Shelley Barker Jackie Lacy Karen Taylor Kathy Williams	Shelley Barker	8/07	6/08	CIT data Team feedback	ESD 189 CIT materials	Reading WASL CBAs Level tests

School-wide Strategy: Develop a research team that explores early adolescent development and effective middle school structures. This team will recommend research-based strategies consistent with our values and the needs of middle school students for implementation in the fall of 2008.

Rationale: Our practices and structures must reflect the unique developmental challenges of early adolescents, as articulated in our values.

Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Timeline		Your plan for monitoring effectiveness	Resources you will need/use	Evaluation
Activities	Lead Person	Others involved	Person accountable	Start	Finish
Formulate a middle school structures team (MSST)	Scott Peacock		Scott Peacock