Chestnut Accelerated Middle School South School Operational Plan

Transcription

1 Chestnut Accelerated Middle School South School Operational Plan Principal: Dan Sullivan School Address: 355 Plainfield St. Springfield, MA

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Focused School-Wide Priorities 1. Instructional Focus: A coordinated whole school effort to build knowledge through literacy and fluency by engaging all students in the comprehension of rigorous and complex texts and tasks in all subject areas will continue in SY All students will read actively, cite appropriate textual evidence, engage in rigorous lessons aligned to the CCSS and demonstrate understanding through their verbal and written responses to text across all content areas. 2. School Culture Focus: Create and maintain a sense of community and responsibility by emphasizing respect for learning, respect for others and respect for property. B. Rationale for Selecting these Priorities Instructional Focus: The rationale for our first focus priority is to improve comprehension of complex and rigorous text, based on the following performance data; 2015 ELA MCAS scores showed that only 17% of the students were proficient o SGP Grade 6-17%, Grade 7-18%, Grade 8-45% 2015 Math MCAS scores showed that only 8% of the students were proficient o SGP Grade %, Grade 7-21%, Grade 8-27% SY15/16 Interim ANET ELA assessment ( average A1-A3 )showed that only 36% of grade 6, 35% of Grade 7, and 34% of Grade 8 were proficient SY 15/16 Interim ANET math assessment (average of A1-A3) showed that only the average 36% of grade 6, 27% in grade 7 and 29% in grade 8 were proficient School Culture Focus: While behavioral incident data has significantly reduced from the previous year and student and teacher attendance data has improved, a focus on improving school culture will continue. We believe if students feel valued and safe, they will be motivated to come to school and engage in the learning process. Chestnut South is committed to continuing to build a common vision that includes a culture of high expectations for academics and behavior through improved student and teacher relationships Student Attendance 93.4% 94.3% Teacher Attendance 89.2% 94.5% Suspension Rate 36.8% 20.3% (Percent) Suspensions YTD (Number) For the school year, we will continue the work we began with our Student Life Coordinator. This 2

3 Director of School Culture will continue to focus school and community resources to enhance the nontraditional school experience to help students achieve their full potential. This Enrichment Program will document attendance, behavioral and academic successes based on growth mindset, essential skills, and habits that prepare students for college, career and life. Student will participate in evidence-based programs supported by community collaborations and partnerships. Implementation during the school year has resulted in improved attendance, a decrease in discipline referrals and improved academic achievement. With the full support of staff, parents and our community partners we have engaged our students in programs to support growth in spirit, mind and body. Our goal is to have 100% of our Chestnut South students involved in one or more extra-curricular activities during school and or after school. Financial and other resources will be identified and pursued to support transportation and other program equipment and materials needed to implement the programs. We will continue to expand our list of partners who have collaborated with Chestnut Middle School South to offer high-quality engaging opportunities for our students. C. Key Strategies to Improve in These Areas Instructional Focus: 1. Instructional Strategies for ELA and Humanities: Chestnut South will implement school wide instructional protocols across all content areas to improve comprehension of rigorous and complex text. Annotation strategies for reading complex text and Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) strategies for vocabulary, reading and writing to support ELL access to core content will be implemented in all content classrooms. Science teachers will work to develop higher order thinking skills through alignment of the state science standards with the CCSS ELA and math standards and require students to practice each dimension of the Next Generation Science standards that were recently adopted by the state of MA. Students will build back ground knowledge and vocabulary through use of in class Socratic dialogue, visuals and ideas from text to stimulate higher order thinking. A new curriculum will be purchased to support STEM practices and content connections. Mathematics teachers will receive high quality professional development and curriculum support to better align to CCSS and ANET s math schedule of assessed standards. They will work to develop additional instructional strategies to teach math using an inquiry-based model that is engaging and develops conceptual math understanding though collaborative lesson planning and data assessment. 2. Professional Development: ELA Instructional Specialist will facilitate full staff professional development on instructional strategies during August teacher professional development days. ELA and humanities teachers will receive monthly professional development and support from the Teaching and Learning Alliance an educational organization that designs and delivers professional development on differentiated literacy instruction for all learners TLA will support ELA and Humanities teachers to develop curriculum units and by sequencing units and lessons in a progression to maximize depth and rigor Full staff professional development on instructional focus and strategies that are being used, teachers will be updated on trends identified from learning walks, and looking at student work - Professional development is led by ELA instructional specialist during one extended day per month Department PLC will follow up on full staff professional development on instructional focus strategies to discuss what is working/not working during the implementation process. Math teachers will coordinate with Duggan Academy to receive high quality monthly professional development 3

4 3. Data Analysis: Teacher Department Meetings will be facilitated by Department Heads and ELA Instructional leadership specialist. Meetings will highlight learning from full staff professional development sessions, and teachers will analyze student work that is aligned to the instructional focus to monitor student progress. Intervention data will be analyzed every 5 weeks to determine placement of students in literacy and math intervention or acceleration classes. Complete data cycles will be utilized to examine, review and reteach ELA and math lessons based on assessment data. Supervision and evaluation processes will also serve as an opportunity to monitor implementation of school strategies and focus. Springfield Educator Evaluation Development System (SEEDS) will ensure there is an accountability system in place for implementation of best practice. All teachers will have a professional practice SMART goal that aligns with the instructional focus. All teachers will receive feedback on their progress toward their goal throughout the year. School Culture: School culture will be addressed by establishing behavioral expectations for students, and consistent implementation of school wide procedures and routines. Behavioral expectations will be established through a school-wide implementation of a Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS). The behavior expectations have been set through the creation and implementation of a Behavior Matrix for all 3 Pillars (Respect, Responsibility and Resiliency). In SY 16-17, Chestnut South will implement PBIS tools created in These include: a response to behavior flow chart, a guidance document to help teachers classify incidents (major and minor) to keep students in class, and implementation of the PBIS reward system. Morning Meeting was developed in SY15-16 to begin the school day as a whole school community. In SY 16-17, morning meeting will be planned and equally facilitated by students and staff to continue to highlight individual accomplishments and to reinforce school-wide expectations. Students will then have breakfast with their peers in homerooms. The Breakfast in the Classroom program has ensured that more students (86%) eat a healthy breakfast before school. They have more energy, less anxiety and can focus better on their learning. School wide implementation of consistent procedures and routines and instructional strategies developed to support a school-wide PBIS system as noted above. This is systematic method of addressing student behavior both inside the classroom, as well as in other school settings aimed at highlighting positive and constructive behaviors. All staff work to address behavior from a positive standpoint, focusing more on praising and incentivizing proper behavior as opposed to focusing on negative behavior. At Chestnut Accelerated Middle School South we implement the, 3 R s of Chestnut South to teach behavior- Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience. These character traits are at the core of school culture and were created collectively by Chestnut South educators. In the classroom students have the opportunity to earn stamps for their behavior in order to gain access to incentives such as a field trip to the bowling alley, in-school movies, holiday activities and more. Students have access to a wide range of incentives weekly. As a Tier 2 PBIS school, Chestnut South emphasizes the positive behaviors of students and work on teaching students how to live out these character traits in school, at home, and in the community. We have implemented classroom lessons and small groups aimed at making the right decision and 4

5 supporting a positive school culture. Many of the in-class lessons we lead are Lessons connected to a specific academic curriculum. A committee of teachers, counselors, and administrators meet monthly to discuss how behavior is being addressed systematically in the school and how our team can best support our teachers. Each member has their own focus in the planning and implementation process, including reviewing behavior data, creating incentives, lesson plan and curriculum development, and staff incentives. 5