West Middle School

School Information

School Name:  West Middle School
School District: Portage Public Schools
School Address:  7145 Moorsbridge Rd, Portage, MI 49024                    
School Phone:  269.323.5800
School Fax:  269.323.5890
Principal:  Larry Killips
Principal E-Mail: lkillips@portageps.org
Web Address: http://www.portageps.org/schools/middle/wms/

Demographics

Number of Students:  652
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch:  11%
Percent of Limited English Proficient:  0.8%
Percent of Special Education: 6%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White: 82%
• Black: 5%
• Hispanic: 3%
• Asian/Pacific Island: 10%
• Other: 8%

 

Student Achievement Data:

Please see attached PDF document for data from West Middle School.

Please comment on any aspect of the data that you believe is particularly significant.

Historically, Portage West Middle School has been a high performing school in a high performing school district.  The initial challenge of justifying the implementation of PLC practices in an already high performing school were quickly overcome with the realization that a declining enrollment, decreases in state funding, increases in state and federal accountability, and changes in our District’s demographics would make it increasingly more difficult to maintain high performance levels.    Additionally, a realization that some sub-groups of students were not performing at high levels, and in fact were performing below state averages, helped provide the push that was needed to reinvent how we approached educating the children who walked through our doors.  WMS slowly began re-culturing the school to align with PLC practices about four years ago.   At that point, we began collecting and analyzing data from a variety of sources.  As we continue to struggle over, around and through the obstacles and challenges presented to us locally, nationally, and at the state level, West Middle School proudly presents the following facts about our data:

• Every year for the past four years WMS has scored higher than the state averages on the MEAP in every subject area at every grade level.
• Every year for the past four years WMS has scored higher than the district averages on the MEAP in every subject area at every grade level.
• Every year for the past four years WMS has demonstrated an upward trend in test scores in reading, math, and science at every grade level tested.
• Every year for the past four years WMS 8th graders have scored significantly above the National Norms on the ACT Explore test for all subject area composite scores and on college readiness indicators.
• Every year and every marking period for the past three years there has been a steady decline in the number of students at WMS earning grades below 70%.
• Every year and every marking period for the past three years there has been a steady increase in the number of students at WMS earning grades above 90%.
• Preliminary data indicates that students from WMS entering high school as 9th graders are performing at high levels with very few failing grades in the first semester (less than 1% in 2010-11) of the freshman year.

Please present additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact on students and/or teachers.

• We now have on-going and job-embedded professional development which has a significant and immediate impact on teaching and learning.
• Teachers are knowledgeable and skilled at diagnosing and addressing learner behaviors that impact school success.
• Teachers are knowledgeable and skilled at identifying and responding to learning gaps.
• The staff is more willing to explore alternative and creative solutions and less likely to see problems as roadblocks.
• Students are more involved in their own learning.
• The leadership capacity of our school has increased exponentially.
• Trust has been built, therefore allowing staff to have difficult conversations about student learning and teaching practices.
• Teachers have become more willing to share strategies and resources.
• No staff member works in isolation.  All staff members have a voice within their collaborative teams.
• Networking and partnerships within the District provide continuity for the students as they transition from the elementary level and on to the high school level.
• As our PLC practices have evolved, we are able to provide assurances and reassurances to parents that we have systems in place to address the needs of all students.

 

Please elaborate strategies you have found to be effective in the following areas:

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

Common curriculum:  The District has developed a common core curriculum that aligns with state standards.  This ensures that all students have access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum regardless of the teacher to whom they are assigned.

Common grade level assessments:  Common assessments have been created by collaborative teams of teachers which assess the essential learnings.  Common assessments have been written for each course at each grade level for all courses offered in our building.  In addition to the common assessments that have been developed in our building, the District has developed quarterly summative assessments which are administered in core academic areas.

Teachers have identified essential learnings in each course and are working toward common learning goals.  Most of the departments have created common summative assessments based on the essential learnings.   Common summative assessments have been created at both the District level and building level.  District Level assessments tend to be more broad, while building level assessments are more specific to essential standards that have been identified by content partners (teachers who teach the same subject and the same grade level of that subject area).  Both the District level assessments and the building level assessments serve to guide curricular planning and instructional decisions.

Realizing that summative assessments were only valuable in showing which students learned the content after the fact, departmental teams and content partners have been creating formative assessments to help guide ongoing instructional decisions.  Departments are at different stages in establishing common formative assessments.  Specific examples:  The Math department is clear on pre-assessments to determine prior knowledge and tracking student progress towards each learning target.  In addition, they utilize the results of common formative assessments as well as checks for understanding to guide instruction and interventions on a daily and/or weekly basis.  On the other hand, the ELA department has identified essential learnings by grade level, established common summative assessments, but is still working through solidifying the development and use of common formative assessments.  Much time and effort has been dedicated to helping content teams understand the difference between summative and formative assessments, as well as the use and purpose of each type of assessment in the instructional cycle.  While some individuals and departmental teams have an advanced understanding of the application and response to different types of assessment data, all teaching staff have a solid foundation of the basic principles.  With a firm foundation of the use and purpose of summative and formative assessment, departmental teams are making headway at a much faster and steadier pace than when we first began this process.

Common formative assessments:  Collaborative content teams are in the process of developing common formative assessments.  We recognize that the development of common formative assessments will help guide instructional decisions, in turn providing us with timely information to help us to better respond to the individual needs of our students.

Universal screening tools:  A school-wide universal screening process that includes detailed diagnostic testing is used to identify students below benchmark in reading.  This process includes the use of a variety of tools including components of AIMSWEB, Renaissance Learning’s STAR reading, Scantron’s Performance Series testing, as well as other diagnostic tools.

Quarterly grade reporting:  The school provides report cards to parents/guardians at the end of each 9 week marking period.  Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled to coincide with the ends of the 1st and 3rd marking periods which allows parents/guardians to receive more detailed information from teachers about their child’s progress in each course.

Parent Internet Viewer (PIV):   PIV is an individualized on-line grade book accessible to students and parents which provides current detailed grade information for each course.  PIV is an important communication tool between home/school and parent/child.  PIV is also used as a self-advocacy tool for students to become more involved in monitoring their progress.

Collaborative weekly monitoring:  In the 2009-2010 school year, a re-allocation of resources led to the development of a new full-time position (Student Assistance Program Coordinator) to help support our PLC initiatives.  One of the coordinator’s responsibilities includes weekly monitoring of the progress of every student in the building. 

Recognition of student progress:  Students who are currently receiving support through the building-wide system of interventions are continually recognized and praised for their efforts and gains no matter how small.  This recognition includes, but is not limited to, personalized notes addressed to the student, formal letters sent home to parents, and in-class celebration of individual success.  In addition to the frequent individual student recognitions, the teaching staff celebrates student success at faculty meetings periodically throughout the school year.

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

A PRTI Steering Committee, made up of faculty from each discipline and grade-level area, was established to guide the staff relative to PRTI.  This team meets several times per year to evaluate student achievement data and the effectiveness of strategies embedded in the PRTI process.  In addition, this group conducts research and investigates best practice interventions to enhance what is already in place (this may include suggestions for professional development). 

One recommendation from this committee was to include time during the school day for all students to receive extra support.  As a result, a 30 minute period for Extended Time and Support (XTS) has been worked into our daily schedule by taking approximately 4 minutes from each of the 7 class periods.   This time slot is the result of three years of hard and persistent efforts with our staff, administration and teacher’s union/association…the two previous years having utilized this time on a piloted, two/three times a week basis – for one semester or less.  This is the first school year that we’ve been able to start with the time in place for five days a week.  As a result of surveys and student achievement data, the school proceeded with a design in which each teacher agreed to take approximately 18 students…with an equal distribution of 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  These cross-graded groups were purposely seeded with a couple of 8th grade students from advanced Math and English courses who could then be used to assist with homework within an XTS group if/when needed.  Currently the 30 minute XTS period occurs between 6th and 7th hours, when the majority of our teaching staff is available in the building.  During this time, students can be “summoned” by a teacher (based upon a student’s demonstrated achievement or lack thereof), or make a personal request, to return to any course/teacher for which they may be experiencing difficulty.   Data has indicated that approximately 30% of our students are either summoned/directed by a teacher, or elect to go to a particular teacher for help on a daily basis. 

In addition, this time is also utilized for re-teaching concepts for small groups of students who had difficulty with a common formative assessment; need to re-take a test, or need more help with make-up work from absences.  Staff with the same courses will occasionally swap students in order to create more intensive, explicit instructional opportunities when needed.  For example, two teachers who have recently taught the quadratic equation may have found that 12 students had real difficulty with the concept.  The two teachers will agree on an alternate instructional strategy to re-teach the concept…and which of the two may best deliver the instruction.  One teacher will then take all of the XTS students in one class, while the other is then freed up to re-teach the quadratic to the twelve struggling students from their two classes…this is done at the direction of the teachers; not “voluntary” on the part of the student.  Similar swapping of students occurs across many of the content areas and is rooted in the four foundational questions:

1.   What do we want students to learn?
2.   How do we know if they have learned it?
3.   How do we respond if they don’t?
4.   How do we respond if they already know it?

For students who have been identified through our universal screener in Reading as needing more help – they have been directed to report to a reading teacher during XTS time who utilizes the time to deliver more intense, best practice interventions for reading.  The progress of these students is carefully monitored and adjusted as needed.  We’re currently in the process of implementing a similar intervention with such explicit, targeted help for students who struggle with Math as well as for students who simply “won’t do” (but are capable) as well.   

Students who do not need intervention on any given day use the time to work on homework or silent sustained reading.  We have also offered enrichment activities during XTS for students who have completed all of their homework and have achieved a certain grade (e.g. – B or better).  Such activities have included becoming a tutor to help other students, open basketball in the gym, various other physical activities, jazz band practice, additional time in woodworking and art, or to be engaged in student government and community service opportunities (knitting winter hats for needy).

Last and certainly not least, the school has re-shuffled its staffing in order to create a Student Academic Assistance Coordinator who monitors our entire PRTI process…from the system used to direct students where to go on a daily basis, to the specific interventions designed for our students with the greatest need…and everything in between.  The school frequently communicates the success and challenges of the PRTI program with staff and parents in a variety of ways.

6th Grade transition activities :  A multitude of programs are in place to support the transitions from elementary to middle school.    

• Parent Night:  A presentation for 5th grade parents about our curriculum and Pyramid of Interventions
• 5th Grade Visits:  A presentation and tour for the 5th grade students about the daily schedule, middle school expectations, and activities
• Data Transfer:  A report/compilation of data and anecdotal information provided by the feeder elementary schools for the middle school staff
• Orientation/Open House:  A hands-on opportunity for students to meet their teachers, get their lockers,  and become familiar with our building before school begins in the fall
• 6th Grade Party:  An after-school activity designed to help acclimate the students to future all-school events
• In-Class Transition Activities:  Teacher-led activities to acclimate the students to daily school routines (eg. Lunch procedures, familiarity with student handbook, passing time, time management, school personnel)

9th Grade transition activities:  A multitude of programs are in place to support the transitions from middle school to high school.   

• ACT Explore & EDP:  An interactive presentation for 8th graders tying their ACT Explore results and EDP together for  high school planning
• High School Counselor Visits:  A presentation for the 8th graders to learn about programming, graduation requirements, and 9th grade scheduling
• Parent Night:  A high school presentation for 8th grade parents about the high school curriculum
• Data Transfer:  A report/compilation of data and anecdotal information provided  for the high school staff
• High School Visits:  A structured group of at-risk students visiting their respective high schools to meet support personnel and tour the building

Extended Time and Support (XTS):  XTS is a daily 30 minute period during the school day for the purpose of providing additional time and support for students demonstrating need.

• XTS Objectives
• XTS provides opportunities for extended learning and intervention for all students. 
• XTS supports the WMS building goal of increased reading proficiency/fluency by providing more time for students to read through Sustained Silent Reading (SSR).
• XTS will provide time and opportunities during the school day to address the needs of students who have not finished learning in the time permitted during a regular class period.
• XTS supports the WMS implementation of the Pyramid of Interventions. 
• XTS supports the WMS building goal of increasing student achievement in basic skills which is essential for continuous improvement.
• XTS is for (including, but not limited to the following)
• All forms of intervention and extended learning
• Improving reading proficiency/fluency (SSR, PAR4, Six Min solutions, Vocab development, etc.)
• Test taking and re-taking
• Quiz taking and re-taking
• Skill reinforcing
• Concept practice/understanding
• Remediation
• Homework assignments
• Creating connections with kids
• Differentiated instruction for reluctant and struggling learners
• Extension and/or enrichment activities
• Organizational skills
• Math interventions
• Content collaboration

Team/parent meetings:  Team/parent meetings are held as needed to address the needs of individual students who may benefit from a more structured home/school partnership.

Network of Outside Resources:   Partnerships have been formed to address the needs of students who are impacted by social/emotional/academic struggles that are difficult to address with limited building resources.  These partnerships offer student support both at school and in the home dependent upon the individual student’s circumstances.  Some of these resources include District support (eg. Behavior intervention specialists, assistive technology specialist, AI consultants, Speech/language consultants, Liaison officer) and community support (eg. Community Mental Health, truancy officer, Portage Community Center, emergency support hotline).

Differentiated Instruction Initiative:  Teachers utilize a variety of tools, techniques and resources in order to differentiate instruction within the classroom and during XTS.  A District-wide initiative was launched last year to provide teachers with ready to use classroom strategies.

Pyramid Response to Interventions (PRTI):  PRTI integrates classroom assessment, universal screening devices, and interventions within a multi-level prevention system aimed at maximizing the academic achievement of all students.  Students who are identified as needing additional time and support are closely monitored and provided with evidence-based interventions.  The intensity and frequency of those interventions are adjusted depending on how the student responds to the intervention.  Below is a list and description of the various interventions in place in the 2010-11 school year:

• Academic Watch:  Students with grades below 70% are monitored weekly by the SAPC.  Students with three or more grades below 70% are monitored more closely by the student’s team of teachers, and the academic support team.  Students are provided with a list of missing assignments, current grades and PIV (online grade book) codes.  Students remaining on Academic Watch for more than two weeks are referred for more directed, strategic and intensive interventions.

• Homework Club:  Homework club is Monday through Thursday after school until 3:30 and provides a quiet place for students to work independently on assigned daily work and/or missing assignments in a supervised setting. 

• Positive Peer Mentor:  A Positive Peer Mentor attends XTS with a student 2-5 times per week to assist with organizational items, daily homework, and/or tutoring in a specific subject area as advised by the classroom teacher.

• Daily Check-in/check-out (CI/CO):  Students struggling with organization, planner usage and home work completion may be assigned to a daily check in/out.  CI/CO has three levels of support depending on the nature and severity of the struggles.  Level A is self- monitoring and has the highest level of independence for students.  Level B requires students to get teacher’s signatures each hour to verify the accuracy of the assignment.  Level C requires students to get teacher’s signatures, and to visually show each book and each assignment to check-out personnel. 

• Student Contract:  Student contracts are tailored to meet the needs of the individual student.  Contracts are used as a reminder system to students and as a means of communication between home and school.  Typically contracts are in the form of a daily check-list and are used to address a behavior concern that is interfering with the student’s learning.

• Strategic XTS:  The 30 minute eXtended Time and Support period allows students to access teachers for additional support as needed during the school day.  Students who are struggling in a particular content area or with chronic time management issues may be assigned to attend XTS 3-5 times per week with a particular teacher for more directed supervision and support.  Students may also be assigned to a Positive Peer Mentor during XTS as a less intensive intervention.

• Strategic XTS – Math:  Strategic XTS for math is part of the exit plan from Guided Study for math.  Students who are making appropriate gains in the targeted math skills will continue to receive support 2x/weekly during XTS with a para-pro.

• In-class Math Support: When available, a para-pro may be assigned to assist the classroom math teacher with differentiated instruction, small group testing, and supported homework time.  Students are identified for in-class math support based on formative and summative assessment scores.

• Guided Advisory (GA):  GA is for students who are not completing school work and for whom multiple classroom and team interventions have proven ineffective.  Students are scheduled into GA in place of one of their elective classes for a minimum of three weeks.  Students must be caught up on all missing assignments and all core grades must be above 70% before they will be allowed to return to their elective class.  Students exiting GA are required to have an exit plan/contract which often involves a daily check-in and/or check-out.

• Guided Study (GS) Math:  GS-Math is for students who have a demonstrated gap in math skills.  GS math has two levels of support.  At a strategic level, students work one-on-one or in small groups with an at-risk para-pro on specially designed lessons.  The lessons are primarily related to the current lesson and the para-pro designs the lessons.  At the intensive level students work in a small group with a certified math teacher on lessons designed to address a specific foundational skill needed to close the gap.  Students are scheduled into GS in place of one of their elective classes for a minimum of nine weeks.  Students exiting must demonstrate proficiency in both the deficit skill and the current related content, as well as have an exit plan which often includes in-class para-pro support or a strategic XTS.

• Tiered Reading Support:  Students are identified for Tiered Reading Support through a school-wide universal screening process that includes detailed diagnostic testing for students below benchmark on the screener.  Based on the results of the diagnostic testing and any previous reading interventions, students are placed in one of 5 targeted reading intervention groups.
• Intensive Intervention:  Reading Support Class

The Reading Support Class meets one hour per day in place of an elective class.  This support class is taught by a certified ELA teacher and/or a reading specialist.  Students work on comprehension, fluency, decoding, vocabulary and strategies for approaching unfamiliar content.  Each child has an individualized plan based on their specific needs.

• Strategic Interventions:  Fluency Building

The 6 Minute Solutions group meets 2-3x per week during XTS.  These students focus on increasing oral reading fluency, comprehension and word recognition and vocabulary building.  The group follows a very strict structure that is facilitated by a certified ELA teacher.

• Strategic Interventions:  Peer Assisted Reading (PAR4)

PAR4 meets 2x per week during XTS.  Students who are in PAR4 work on oral reading fluency, comprehension, summarization and vocabulary strategies.  All students who are in PAR4 read with a peer mentor in order to be able to have one on one discussions about what is being read.   The group follows a very strict structure that is facilitated by a teacher or a para-pro.

• Strategic Interventions:  Silent Reading Comprehension

The Sticky Notes groups meet 2x per week during XTS.  Students who are in this reading intervention work on the application of comprehension strategies using read aloud/think aloud strategies to process the strategies that they are using as they read.  This group works to build awareness and automaticity of reading strategies while reading.  This group is facilitated by a certified ELA teacher.

• Transition Intervention:  Content Literacy Strategies

The Content Literacy Strategies group is the last step before exiting the tiers of reading interventions.  Students in this group meet 1x per week during XTS.  These students practice various text handling techniques using informational texts.  Students are provided various graphic organizers that can be used independently with their content text books.  This group is facilitated by a certified teacher.

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

Collaboration time:  In past years, teachers had one class period per day to use for team meetings and collaboration.  Due to recent changes in the teachers’ schedules and contractual work times, that is no longer available.  In order to have collaborative work time during working hours, alternative and creative solutions were explored.  As a result, content teams are provided regularly scheduled time for the purpose of collaborating with content team members.  This time occurs twice monthly for one and half to two hours after school in place of staff meetings.  Additionally, once per quarter (or more often if requested by the team leader), teams are given up to a full day of release time during the school day.  The collaborative meetings are facilitated by a department building chair.  This time is used for establishing SMART goals, monitoring goal attainment, as well as for analyzing results from common assessments.  In the spring, each team is responsible for creating a year-end Pulse Point report detailing departmental work.

Job-embedded professional development:  We regularly utilize the expertise of the staff within our building to demonstrate how they have successfully used a researched best practice in their classroom. 

Action research:  When staff members hit roadblocks with student learning and don’t have and can’t find the answers, the staff is willing to try new and unfamiliar strategies doing “whatever it takes” to meet the needs of the students.  As staff members experiment with new ways of meeting the needs of all learners, effective practices are shared with collaborative team members. Staff members regularly consult educational books/journals, online resources, and professional development materials in order to bring innovative practices to the classroom.

Pyramid Response to Interventions steering committee:   In the fall of 2008, a steering committee comprised of teachers representing each grade level and subject area, building administrators, school counselor, and school psychologist was developed to analyze the feasibility of implementing a pyramid response to intervention.  The members of this committee had extensive training in PLC foundations and were developed as school leaders in this process.  Training consisted of some or all of the following:  Hope Institute conferences, Solution Tree summits and institutes, school site visits, county-wide professional development programs, book studies, and extensive building- and district-level dialogue.  This group helped facilitate the implementation of our XTS period, our working Pyramid Response to Interventions, and further building the capacity of the entire staff.  This group continues to be instrumental in navigating the challenges inherent in developing a professional learning community.

Timely publications and communications:  The building principal publishes a weekly electronic newsletter called “Nuts and Bolts” for all staff.  In addition to general “housekeeping” items, this publication regularly contains the following components: 

• A researched-based best practice quoted from a well-known, and current, instructional expert
• Recognitions for staff accomplishments
• A weekly calendar outlining administrators’ availability
• Upcoming collaborative meeting schedules
• Reminders and encouragement for professional expectations

PLC Training:  Since the journey began more than four years ago, every staff member has attended at least two workshops, institutes or conferences related to PLC foundations. 

Exceptional building administrative leadership:  The process of building a professional learning community which focuses on student learning did not happen by accident.  Our school is fortunate to have a building principal who is a life-long learner and is never satisfied with the status quo.  He continues to see the potential in our staff as a whole to raise the bar in an already high performing school.  The progress we have made so far could not have been accomplished without mutual, respectful give-and-take between both of our administrators and the teaching staff. 

Participated in the Solution Tree Progress Report:  In the spring of 2010, we contracted with Solution Tree to take part in the Solution Tree PLC at Work Progress Report.  The purpose of this site visit was to provide our staff with feedback on our progress toward building a professional learning community and to receive recommendations for next steps.  The staff utilized the recommendations in the report to:

• further develop SMART goals related to improving student learning 
• begin to develop common formative assessments in core content areas
• monitor student learning and place students in appropriate interventions
• maintain collaborative team time despite contractual constraints
• provide students with extra time and support on a daily basis (XTS)
• further develop our Pyramid Response to Interventions

List awards and recognitions your school has achieved:

• Top to Bottom List:  Area’s top performing school; Top 1% in the State of Michigan 09-10 sy
• A-1 Ratings for Choir, Band and Orchestra groups
• Completed Solution Tree Progress Report
• Recognized as one of 35 Schools to Beat the Odds

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/education/35-west-michigan-schools-%27beating-odds%27