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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:
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:
Please present additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact on students and/or teachers.
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.
9th Grade transition activities: A multitude of programs are in place to support the transitions from middle school to high school.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
List awards and recognitions your school has achieved:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/education/35-west-michigan-schools-%27beating-odds%27