2. Agenda
o Welcome
o Assessment Data (How did we do?)
o School Improvement Plan (Where are
we going?)
o Parent Partnership (How you can
help?)
3. Assessment Data
o What do we look at?
o Student progress
o Grade Level performance
o Why is it important?
o Support the learning needs of each student
o Develop a School Improvement Plan
specific to our student population
7. School Improvement Plan
o Literacy Coach
o Partner with teachers to develop highly
effective reading strategies for student
success
o Incorporate Technology
o Enrichment and skill development
o Customized student profile
o PLATO
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcnbTREISyU#t=165
9. Let’s Celebrate
Reading Gains Class Champion
o Mrs. Patterson’s 6th Grade Class (4th period)
Excellence in Reading
o Samuel Davis (6th Grade)
o Jessica Palentino (7th Grade)
o Tabitha Jackson (8th Grade)
Most Improved Player
o Jason Rivera (6th Grade)
o Aiden Smith (7th Grade)
o Angelica Schwartz (8th Grade)
Our school results show student progress at each grade level. It is important to review student progress by grade level to ensure each students learning needs are met and core instruction supports State Education standards. We also use this information to develop our annual School Improvement Plan. This plan establishes measurable goals and specific student centric resources that have been proven to drive student performance.
Now we will take a look at each grade level. Here is our 2007 through 2011 performance for 6th grade. Test performance shows up and down growth from year to year with the Dirstrict out performing our school results. This suggest that we have opportunity to identify strategies that will encourage growth and movement to or above the districts performance.
7th grade has shown growth year over year from 2007 to 2010, a drop was observed but was relative to the decrease in performance also observed in the district. We will continue to strive for growth in our performance and compare our results to the district.
8th grade also demonstrated growth from 2007 to 2010, mirroring the pattern in the district. There was a decrease observed in 2011. District performance has continued to increase year over year and stimulated the implementation of new strategies in our School Improvement Plan to aid our students’ growth in reading performance. The key component to our School Improvement Plan is to establish resources and strategies that will aid our school is meeting or exceeding district performance and demonstrates the academic talents of our students.
Our school improvement plan is developed to support student success and provides focus to our academic goals for the school year. We strive for measurable and attainable goals that are tracked through assessment check points and the end of year state reading assessment. Three research based strategies have been identified for this school year. They include:A Literacy Coach – we will welcome a new member to our Team to our school, Mrs. Blackwell. Her focus will be to partner with teachers and administration to identify highly effective reading strategies, specific to each grade level and student. We will also incorporate the use of Technology. We are excited to share that our school recently received a technology grant that provided funding for 4 netbooks per classroom and student licences for PLATO, an academic program used to meet students at their reading level. Let’s take a look at a video about PLATO and its use at schools.
Our third strategy is the implementation of a weekly Reading Skills Social. The social will be held every Thursday from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in our cafeteria. This is a voluntary program but weekly attendance is encouraged. Students will be partnered with a grade level peer and given mini-literacy projects to explore real world topics with core reading skills embedded in their investigation. Support is provided by a mentoring educator who will provide guidance on the activity and address any questions. This unique approach to tutoring will support improved class grades, provide academic enrichments, and develop confidence in completing independent homework.
We can not end our discussion on reading performance without celebrating the success of our Smith Middle School Team and student. I want to begin by thanking all of our educators and students for working hard every day to show our community that we are #1. It is with great pride that I now introduce our annual Reading awards. Reading Gains Class Champion…