Executive Summary. Monroe County Middle School

Transcription

1 Monroe County Schools Dr. Efrem Yarber, Principal 66 Thornton Road Forsyth, GA Document Generated On January 3, 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 5 Additional Information 7

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Forsyth is the county seat of Monroe County located close to the center of Georgia. As of 2010, the total Monroe county population is 26,424, which has grown 21.45% since The population growth rate is higher than the state average rate of 18.34% and is much higher than the national average rate of 9.71%. Monroe County's median household income is $48,297 in and has grown by 9.28% since The income growth rate is about the same as the state average rate of 9.42% and is much lower than the national average rate of 19.17%. Monroe County's median house value is $152,400 in and has grown by 47.10% since The house value growth rate is higher than the state average rate of 40.47% and is lower than the national average rate of 50.42%. About 15% of families live below the poverty line. (MCMS) has changed in structure within the last three years. From 2004 through 2012, Monroe County had two middle schools: William Hubbard Middle and Banks Stephens Middle. Each of these schools served students in grades sixth through eighth. In the year school year, the two middle schools consolidated and become. At this time, a sixth grade academy was created and sixth grade students were assigned to the Williams Hubbard Campus of MCMS. Seventh and eighth grade students were assigned to the Banks Stephens Campus of MCMS. This brought about many challenges, from reorganization to the merging of staffs and resources. Currently, has successfully transitioned into one school comprised of these two campuses. All three elementary schools in the system feed into the MCMS William Hubbard Sixth Grade Campus. This allows students a transition year between elementary school and seventh grade, and provides an environment that is uniquely tailored to the needs of sixth grade students. Following the sixth grade experience, all Monroe County seventh and eighth grade students attend MCMS on the Banks Stephens Campus. The focus at the Banks Stephens Campus is to provide an educational environment conducive to meeting the diverse needs of young adolescents while simultaneously preparing students for the ninth grade. In MCMS's third year ( ) of consolidation, a new principal was appointed. The current principal serves as head of both schools; however, there are also two assistant principals who serve full-time at each campus. is a Title I School that serves approximately 871 students ( ). There are 455 females (52.2%) and 416 (47.8%) males. Current demographics show MCMS is 72% Caucasian, 22% African American, 2.6% Multiracial, 2% Hispanic, and 1% other ethnicities. Additionally, 44% of our students are economically disadvantaged, 18% of our students are designated as Gifted, and 12% are Students with Disabilities (SWD). The staff at MCMS parallels the ethnic diversity of our students as 73% of staff members are Caucasian and 27% are African American. Our staff is further diversified by experience and educational background. The level of experience of the certified staff at MCMS shows 51% with 11 or more years of teaching experience and 45% hold advanced degrees. Currently, our diverse student population at academically performs in the top 3% of middle schools in the state. The two campuses undoubtedly provide a myriad of benefits for students. The expanded facilities adequately house all middle school students and provide a transition year following elementary school. This model is not without ongoing challenges, however. Creating a school culture that exemplifies that of a single school, for both students and staff, can be difficult, especially as the campuses are not in close Page 2

5 proximity. Efforts to unite the two and ensure continuity among grade levels and content areas are ongoing. Teachers at both campuses meet regularly for joint staff meetings and participate in vertical and horizontal planning. Page 3

6 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Mission: The mission of is to provide a strong foundation that enables ALL students to achieve their maximum potential. Vision: The vision of is to be recognized as a world leading middle school "Committed to Excellence" for ALL students. MCMS has an exceptional commitment to provide educational opportunities that meet the very diverse needs of adolescents. MCMS is a safe, happy, and healthy environment dedicated to the success of all students both presently and in the future. There are a variety of programs offered at MCMS that meet the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of students. At the classroom level, teachers and paraprofessionals differentiate content and instruction based on learning profile, readiness, and interest, as well as through flexible grouping strategies. Ongoing data collection of both formative and summative assessment pieces helps to provide teachers with information to determine acceleration and remediation opportunities. Students with more intense academic needs are provided remedial support through math and reading connections classes, tutoring, or other remediation programs throughout the year. Advanced learners have an opportunity to enroll in advanced academic courses through the Pre-AP program; furthermore, higher achieving eighth graders have the ability to take math and science courses for high school credit. In , we restructured our Gifted/Pre-AP Program to allow more students to enroll in the program if they desired more rigorous academic opportunities. This has provided us with the ability to meet the academic needs of our higher achieving students. Additionally, the eighth grade Pre-AP Science students take the Physical Science EOC for high school credit and currently have a 100% pass rate. This year, a cohort of students participating in our Accelerated Math Class will take the Algebra I EOC. MCMS promotes the whole child, and thus, offers many extracurricular activities as well. MCMS currently offers many athletics programs including football, competitive cheerleading, softball, basketball, soccer, baseball, and track. All students participate in one or more of MCMS's numerous club offerings. MCMS has a well-developed fine arts program in which students are able to participate in choral concerts, concert band, visual arts, and Marching Band. The school year also saw the implementation of a Robotics STEM program at the sixth grade level. The hope is to continue this program in consecutive years at the seventh and eighth grade levels. Through our school-wide positive behavior program (PBIS), PAWS Pride, we are able to promote and reward students, and staff, for positive behavior and work ethic. The staff at has high expectations for all students and has taken ownership in the development and implementation of our PBIS program. Page 4

7 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. Based on CCRPI data for 2014, ranks sixth out of 194 systems (Top 3%) of middle school programs. For 2014, MCMS had a CCRPI score of 85.6 comprised of 53.4 Achievement Points, 17. The overall CCRPI score for 2014 showed an increase of 6.7 points from the 2013 CCRPI score. State testing results for the last three years have shown considerable achievement in all academic areas. In , test results indicate that 94.5% of students in grades sixth through eighth met or exceeded in English/Language Arts, 96.3% met or exceeded in Reading, 91.2% met or exceeded in Mathematics, 82.9% met or exceeded in Science, and 85.5% met or exceeded in Social Studies. The school year showed an increase in students meeting or exceeding standards in all four academic areas. In , 95.5% of students in grades sixth through eighth met or exceeded on the CRCT in English/Language Arts, 96.7% met or exceeded in Reading, 91.4% met or exceeded in Mathematics, 85.1% met or exceeded in Science, and 89.5% met or exceeded in Social Studies. A further breakdown of the CRCT score data revealed that sixth grade scores increased from CRCT scores in all five academic areas; seventh grade scores increased in four of five areas; and eighth grade scores increased in all five academic areas. MCMS also saw a significant increase in the "exceeds" category on the CRCT in four of the five academic areas. The overall percentage of students who scored in the "exceeds" range for grades sixth through eighth were 46% in Mathematics, 43% in English/Language Arts, 49% in Social Studies, 46% in Science, and 54% in Reading. Our subgroup populations saw a dramatic decrease in achievement gaps and an increase in academic performance on the CRCT. Our Hispanic population earned a 100% meets or exceeds score in all academic areas; our African American and economically disadvantaged populations increased meets or exceeds performance in four of the five content areas; and our students with disabilities increased meets or exceeds performance in all academic areas. MCMS Students also saw many other notable achievements for the school year. For the past three years, we have offered an eighth grade Physical Science class that offers students the opportunity to take Physical Science for high school credit. Last year, ninetythree students in eighth grade took the Physical Science EOC for high school credit and 100% passed; moreover, 98% exceeded with a 90% or better on the assessment. For the school year, MCMS also offers an advanced mathematics course where students on the accelerated math track can take Algebra I for high school credit in the eighth grade. MCMS promotes many different aspects of the young adolescent from real-world connections, to behavioral and social skills. The school year saw an increase in technology as all Language Arts classrooms now utilize class sets of Chromebooks as a resource for students in reading, writing, and technology integration. MCMS also fully supports a "Bring Your Own Technology" policy, which encourages students to use their own technology for instructional purposes. We are in our fifth year of our Positive Behavior Interventions and Support system that encourages and promotes positive behaviors. This year, as part of this program, we have implemented a Tier III team to provide intensive positive behavioral supports for students who need those interventions. The areas of focus for are increasing student achievement in science, social studies, writing, and closing achievement gaps in all content areas. Each of these areas is embedded in our Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) and will guide our Page 5

8 instructional focus moving forward. Page 6

9 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. is dedicated to the success of students. It is the school's mission to create a collaborative environment that includes students, staff, parents and guardians, the Board of Education, and the community. Our school is constantly seeking new ways to include all stakeholders in the educational process. Our school utilizes a Parent Coordinator to get parents, guardians, and community members involved in school activities. We also have a School Council and a Student Council who participate regularly in selected school decision-making processes. As noted earlier, MCMS is committed to providing numerous opportunities for our students through a variety of programs. The last two years, we have implemented an extensive club program that allows 100% of our student body to participate in one or more clubs. Our clubs include FBLA, FFA, Y-Club, Yearbook, Young Men's and Young Women's Clubs, Classic Board Games Club, Science Club, FCA, Newspaper, Math Counts, Academic Bowl, Current Events Club, Yoga, 4-H, Volunteer Club, Book Club, Junior Beta, Outdoor Club, PAWS Promos, Best Buddies, Art Club, Virtuoso Training, and Music Leadership and Service Society Club. The staff at MCMS is committed to furthering their own professional knowledge in order to provide students in their classes with the most innovative instructional techniques available. Currently, our staff has a wide range of educational experience. The majority of the staff at MCMS has been in education for ten years or more; over 60% of the staff possesses higher-level graduate degrees. Other professional learning opportunities that our staff is participating, or has participated, in include Assessment for Learning, Math Design Collaborative, Teacher Leader Program, Gifted certification, MindSet Training, GRASP Training, and numerous other professional learning opportunities offered during our system-wide Leading Learners Summit offered in the summer. MCMS promotes many different incentives for our students throughout the year to increase positive school climate and culture. We have a Fall Festival and Spring Fling, as well as a Valentine's Day dance that garnered the participation of upwards of 90% of the school population in the school year. We have offered content area parent nights where students, parents, and families could experience different aspects of the curriculum through hands-on activities. In , MCMS implemented a Tier II program to assist students who needed extra behavioral support in order to be more successful in class. The Tier II Team provided resources to teachers that supplemented the in-class instruction. In , we have implemented a Tier III program to provide more intensive support to students who were continuing to not find success under Tier II. To meet the needs of these students, we have created a "Skills for Adolescents" class that focuses on encouraging positive behaviors and decreasing negative behaviors. Tier III works as a fluid group where students can move in and out depending on their success in meeting their behavioral goals. Page 7