Explain the activities in which your school will participate to increase your overall rating. Include specific details.

As evidenced in the SES Band Data, which content area(s) will be the focus for improving student achievement and why was this area chosen?

Social Studies: The content area that is the focus for 6^th and 8^th grade social studies will be ELA strategies. Here, these social studies teachers will use content-driven, ELA strategies to support student achievement for the FSA ELA state assessment. The Civics content will also be of focus because this content area is aligned to the Civics EOC assessment. The Literacy department and social studies team is working closely in collaboration so that cross-curricular lessons are being implemented across the board.  Social Studies: The percentage of social studies students scoring proficient or higher in Civics will increase from 63 to 70 by the end of May 2019 as measured by the Civics EOC, and the percentage of social studies students scoring proficient or higher in 6th and 8th grade history will increase from 41 to 56 by the end of May 2019 as measured by the ELA portion of the FSA.

Math: The Math department will focus on using reading strategies in our content area to improve student achievement.Reading comprehension is vital for understanding the depth of knowledge in our content area to deconstruct work problems. Mathematics: By the end of June 2019, the percentage of mathematics students scoring proficient or higher in math will increase from 45% to 55% as measured by school wide standards mastery assessments.

Science: Reading in the content area will be the focus for improving student achievement. This was chosen due to the fact that every subject area requires competency in reading on grade-level texts in order to understand questioning. Students will use content related texts to answer questions and will be required to provide the evidence from the text, along with their reasoning. Science: The percentage of science students scoring proficient or higher in science standards will increase from 34% to 42% by the end of May 2019 as measured by Science SSA scores.

Literacy: Literacy will be focused on improving ELA proficiency and learning gains for student achievement. This area was chosen because all students must have critical thinking and literacy skills in order to meet learning gains in all subject areas in their middle school and beyond years of education. Literacy teachers are focused on reading, writing, and speaking in response to text at varying levels of complexity, and both nonfiction and fiction genres. English Language Arts: The percentage of English language arts students who achieve a learning gain will increase from 53% to 65% by the end of May 2019, as measured by the ELA portion of the 2019 FSA.

Diversified Arts: The percentage of Diversified Arts students scoring proficient or higher will increase from 37% to 47% by the end of May 2019 as measured by the ELA portion of the FSA. Diversified arts will focus on SEL and project-based learning to support all students to meet this goal.

Guidance: The percentage of behavior referrals will decrease from over 1100 to under 900 by the end of May 2019 as measured by the school wide Discipline Management System.
 
 

What specific BEST Practice(s) will be implemented or scaled-up to improve teaching and learning in order to increase performance within the SES Band?

Social Studies: Best practice #1 was chosen because it is at this area, teachers can come together to share and discuss ideas about lessons, best practices and use data-driven materials to reinforce student achievement. It is here that teachers can dissect data to determine the weaknesses in the lower 30% of students, students with disabilities and the ELL population that need remediating, implement differentiated instruction in the class and by learning new practices within the PLC. Data chats will be the key focus for the 2018-19 school year.

Math: Through our Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) our focus will continue to be on analyzing student data; then using this data to create small groups for individualized instructions. In addition, we will continue to be proactive by identifying students that need TIER 2 or 3 interventions.Also, we will be focusing on questioning to deepen our students’ level of understanding of the concepts.

Science: Student-centered learning environments will be organized by student readiness, based on data of common formative assessments. PBL activities will be used to engage students in understanding real-world applications of content.

Literacy: Best Practice #1 was selected. Teachers will collaborate on curriculum and share best practices for student achievement in their Professional Learning Community (PLC). Specifically, PLCs are focusing on the Shifts in Literacy: Core Action 1, 2, and 3 in order to increase performance within the SES Band.

 

Describe in detail how the BEST Practice(s) will be scaled-up.

Social Studies: Best practice #1 will be scaled up by utilizing time wisely, showing up on time and bringing the proper materials to the PLC. Sharing out best practices from teachers, inviting instructional facilitators from the social studies district department, ESE department and ESOL department will help ensure we receive quality instruction during the PLCs. The social studies department will also be conducting data chats with the Dr. Drake, the department chairperson with individual teachers to analyze data based on the students of focus. Consistent, cohesive and collaborative grade level support structures will also be the focus so that teachers are working and supporting each other through the various pieces in the C.A.R.E. cycle.  

Math: During our weekly PLC’s, we will analyze the data to identify best practices.  Teachers will then be provided the opportunity to collaborate among themselves and share these best practices.  Also, they will be involved in professional development geared towards the standards-based instruction.  Teachers will ask open ended questions to probe students’ thinking and deepen their understanding of the concepts.

Science: Teachers will use PLC time to analyze student data to identify students who are in need of remediation, re-teach, and enrichment activities. Students will then be grouped accordingly and given opportunities to revise and elaborate their thinking. The online learning system, Canvas, will be used to allow students explore the content at their own pace. Teachers will introduce projects in which students need to create solutions to real-world problems. 

Literacy: This BEST practice will be scaled up from previous years in order to strengthen teacher practice to help deepen student engagement, particularly as they work with text. This process will lead to increased performance and learning gains. The Literacy team is focused on improving the process from previous years, by focusing all discussions around planning text-based curriculum, evidence-based strategies, developing text-based questions, and remediation and enrichment for students based off the CARE Cycle. There will be cross-curricular PLCs with Literacy supporting both the Social Studies and Science departments, while the Civics team works with 7^th grade Literacy teachers on content to help with the Civics EOC proficiency.

 

What specific school-level progress monitoring data is collected and how often?

Social Studies: After every test (MPM), data will be distributed and analyzed through each grade level, discussing what needs to be remediated and/or enriched. The data will be collected through Quia. In addition, data chats focused on the teacher’s students will be created and taken from BASIS onto an excel spreadsheet.

Math: Standard based common formative assessments will be conducted once or twice for the month using iReady.  Administrator will conduct monthly Rocket Talks (data talk) to ensure that teachers are reviewing student’s data and individualizing the instructions with the use of technology.

Science: Common formative assessments (CFA’s)  for each grade level are given to students at the end of each unit. These CFA’s are 5-6 times throughout the course of the school year. 

Literacy: Common Formative Assessment (CFA) data is collected during each 6-week cycle through Quia. Language Arts teachers assess writing with a tool that allows them to evaluate and classify individual student writing samples that allows them to group students for remediation appropriately. Additionally, Reading teachers collect and analyze FAIR-FS data three times during the school year. Reading teachers are implementing Achieve 3000 with their students. They are able to monitor student Lexile growth monthly, and a midyear reevaluation will be administered in January, 2019.

How does the school ensure the fidelity of students not progressing towards school and district goals?

Social Studies: The teachers are expected to progress monitor students that are failing to report these findings to the parents and the student. If the student continues, the parents and teacher should have a conference to discuss the academic issues. Depending on the circumstances, an academic RTI should be created. If the student has an accommodation or is in the ELL group, the teacher should be sure to follow the proper accommodations and should have conversations with the corresponding ESE or ELL instructor. During the PLC, the teachers will learn about varying ESE and ELL strategies.

Math: Teachers are expected to utilize additional instructional strategies for those students who do not meet standards mastery. Furthermore, students who are consistently struggling are referred to the RTI process if they are not benefiting from participating in our pull-out or push-ins programs.  

Science: To ensure the fidelity of students not progressing towards school and district goals, teachers will use small group instruction to remediate those students who are at risk. In addition, RTI strategies will used to identify and service those students.

Literacy: Reading teachers generate Progress Monitoring Plan (PMP) letters that are sent home at the end of the first quarter. These letters inform parents of the areas a student has a weakness, and the assessments that have been used to make this determination, as well as interventions that are in place to help students make improvement. All Literacy teachers are trained in how to create an Response to Intervention (RTI) referral for academic concerns. The Literacy Coach is a member of the MTSS committee and is able to offer support for all tiers of intervention needed to help support the students. Literacy teachers are required to earn their ESOL endorsement in order to best support ELL students with various strategies to help them read and write English.

How does the school ensure that all classroom instruction is accessible to the full range of learners using Universal Designs for Learning (UDL) for effective instructional design (planning) and delivery (teaching)?

Social Studies: Using UDL, teachers will be using the three principles in the Universal Designs for Learning: engagement, representations, actions and expressions. Teachers are expected to move away from a “one size fits all” lesson and focus on the whole child. This includes utilizing SEL strategies, inviting a culturally friendly lesson, meeting the needs of the ESE/ELL population and committing to teaching the lesson based on the different learning styles of students. All of this begins with understanding and analyzing their student needs and preferences for learning. 

Math: We will ensure that classroom instruction is accessible to all learners through classroom visits from our math coach and administrator. Also, teachers will submit their lesson plans quarterly.

Science: To ensure that all classroom instruction is accessible to the full range of learners, administrators and department chair persons utilize observations, formal and informal. Also, teachers will submit lesson plans detailing the accommodations, as well as remediation and enrichment activities used.Professional development opportunities will be available to teachers to further their understanding of how to design and deliver differentiated lessons.

Literacy: Teachers will use the UDL to ensure their lessons are planned and delivered in order to reach all students. They plan text-based lessons that will incorporate various learning modalities and activities to engage the students. Teachers are bringing more Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies into their classroom to help develop children into well-rounded, and confident life-long learners.

 

How does the school ensure Tier 1 Standards-Based classroom instruction is being implemented properly and effectively?

Social Studies: The social studies department is committed to the curriculum maps, which is derived from standards aligned to their corresponding grade level, K-12 ELA standard, SEL standards and WIDA. In addition, the PLCs analyze test questions and lessons to determine that the standards are aligned. Monthly curriculum council meetings that focus on discussing standards-based instruction and administering walkthroughs allows the administrator and department chair to provide constructive feedback.

Math: In addition to classroom visits, the administrator will conduct monthly Rocket Talks (data talks) to ensure that teachers are reviewing student data. During that time, teachers will discuss students’ progress and how they are individualizing the instruction with the use of technology and the implementation of small group learning.

Science: Teachers will receive training in unwrapping standards and how to develop learning scales. Learning scales, along with daily objectives, will be shared with students to identify critical content. During PLC time, teachers will be asked to share student artifacts as evidence of standards-based instruction. In addition, administration and department chairperson observations will be used to offer teachers feedback to improve instruction.

Literacy: The Literacy team implements District supported curriculum and textbooks for both Reading and Language Arts. Additional resources such as vocabulary.com, Newsela, Achieve 3000, and G’Metrics have all been vetted and approved by BCPS for classroom instruction. Teachers receive both District and outside professional development (PD) to ensure they are aware of the most recent classroom instruction trends and how to best support student growth. ELL and ESE students are given equal access as determined by 504 or IEPs and language classification from either IPT or WIDA Access assessments. Administrators and other curricular leaders meeting monthly to conduct classroom walk-throughs and debrief their findings to ensure all teachers are on target with their instruction.



 
 

Describe texts used for core, supplemental, and intervention programs at each grade level. How does the school ensure students have access to a balance of literary and informational text in a variety of mediums?

Social Studies: Teachers use a vast amount of resources that are not limited to: Each of the resources provided are examples of using balanced array of different materials for students to use at home or at school. With all social studies teachers now having access to computers, these teachers will be utilizing more technology in the classroom. Homework Help in the media center after school from 3:45-4:45 p.m.. Harmony, SSO resources, Quizizz, Quia, iCivics.org, History.com, Ted Ed, 6^th - 8^th grade school textbooks, Civics EOC Review workshops for students after school in the 3^rd quarter, JA World workbooks, Vocabulary.com, Computer access in the classroom and in the media center, Recordex & Promethean board technology, Core and supplementary materials via Canvas, Sharepoint and Onedrive  

Math: Math department will utilize the tiered worksheets from Florida Go Math textbook for interventions at each grade level.  In addition, they will also use iReady for informational text, Cpalms and other online resources. 

Science: Students in science classes will be using STEMScopes instructional support materials. Students will have both digital and textbook materials available. Teachers will also use online resources, such as Newsela.

Literacy: The core text for Language Arts is Collections and Intensive Reading uses the Inside text. Developmental Language Arts uses the Keystone textbook as the core program. Supplemental resources include: vocabulary.com, Newsela, Achieve 3000, G’Metrics, Naviance, Code.org, Scholastic Action magazine (DLA). The textbooks are accessed either with a physical textbook, or online through Canvas. Students have access to informational text for each content area through the media center and other resources. Students have access to student editions of newspapers and magazines in addition to informational text available for digital download to student devices through the media center. Teachers ensure students can navigate digital resources from classroom-based laptops and student-owned devices within lessons on digital literacy. This is partly accomplished through the integration of curriculum into the online learning management system Canvas. In addition to the rich informational text provided, students have access to relevant informational text online using Newsela.com. Newsela is used in Literacy courses and other content areas. The courses that allow students to earn a digital tool for IC3 integrates Newsela text to help students across grade levels learn about careers and interests they identified using Naviance. Another web-based tool being used is Everfi which connects learning to the real world by equipping users with the skills they need for success beyond the classroom. It is informational text that supports both reading skills, ability to learn about different careers and make real world connections, and is supportive of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Teachers use vocabulary from the content being taught to create lists in Vocabulary.com on which students practice these words lists in order to learn vocabulary terms and broaden their lexicon.



 

Please complete this section based on 2018-2019 end-of-year results.
Instructional Implications: Discuss the success of specific strategies/activities and provide a rationale as to why those academic improvements occurred as a result of those strategies.

English Language Arts: The percentage of English language arts students who achieve a learning gain will increase from 53% to 65% by the end of May 2019, as measured by the ELA portion of the 2019 FSA. ELA learning gains decreased from 53% to 51% based on the ELA FSA. 
 
Social Studies: The percentage of social studies students scoring proficient or higher in Civics will increase from 63 to 70 by the end of May 2019 as measured by the Civics EOC, and the percentage of social studies students scoring proficient or higher in 6th and 8th grade history will increase from 41 to 56 by the end of May 2019 as measured by the ELA portion of the FSA. Civics proficency increased from 63% to 75% based on the Civics EOC. 
 
Science: The percentage of science students scoring proficient or higher in science standards will increase from 34% to 42% by the end of May 2019 as measured by Science SSA scores. Science scores increased from 34% to 35% based on the Science FSA. 
 
Mathematics: By the end of June 2019, the percentage of mathematics students scoring proficient or higher in math will increase from 46% to 55% as measured by school wide standards mastery assessments. Mathematics profiency decreased from 46% to 42% based on the Math FSA.