NORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL

Whatever It Takes!

Welcome to Berkeley County, WV – Home of North Middle School

Approximately, 5 hours to Charleston, WV and 1.5 hours to Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD

North Middle School

Located in Berkeley County within city limits of Martinsburg

542 students

67 % Low SES

25% Minority

17% Special Education

9 principals in 15 years

WESTEST DATA2009-2010

RLA Math0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

SchoolCountyState

GOALS To increase the number of students at

mastery in the All Group on WESTEST2 in Reading Language Arts by 5% for 2010-2011Increase from 36% to 41%

To increase the number of students at mastery in the All Group on WESTEST2 in Math by 5% for 2010-2011Increase from 29% to 34%

3 Focus Areas

Develop and sustain Professional Learning Communities

Improve the climate and culture

Increase high expectations for achievement

WHAT PROGRESS ARE WE MAKING?

Focus 1 -Professional Learning Communities at North

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #1WHAT IS IT OUR STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW AND BE ABLE TO DO? Students should know WV Content Standards

and Objectives Students should complete assessments

based on the WV CSO’s aligned to Berkeley County Schools’ Curriculum Maps

Students should be engaged in higher order thinking skills based upon Instructional Practices Inventory

Instructional Practices Inventory

Observation #1 1-11-10 Observation #2 10-12-10 Observation #3 2-8-11 Observation #4 4-13-110.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

40.00

45.00

50.00

14.612.51

21.99

32.05

5 - 6

Observation Dates

Perc

ent

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #2HOW ARE WE GOING TO KNOW IF THEY HAVE LEARNED IT?Common Assessments WV Writes AcuitySTAR Reading and Math

Common Assessments NMS content departments have worked

collaboratively to create and use common formative assessments to drive instruction all year.

In language arts, both regular classroom teachers and inclusion teachers have worked together to streamline the vocabulary instruction, writing assessment, and informal and formal skill testing provided in class.

New lesson ideas, instructional strategies, and even bell ringers have been shared through a common files drive on the school network to increase the number of resources each teacher has in his/her plan book.

WV Writes Writing assessment practice prompts were chosen by

consensus during RLA collaboration, and the same instructional resources were used to guide classroom lessons for each type of writing prompt.

The use of colored paper for prewriting/mapping, a shared strategy for helping students organize their writing, and a printed “Grammar Guide” were all used this year to help students focus on quality writing.

The results of each practice test were analyzed to see which writing dimensions needed more focus before the next prompt was assigned. WV Writes was used each grading period leading up to the writing assessment, which really helped students build confidence with the online testing process while improving their ability to create quality essays.

Acuity Administered Acuity in 3 benchmark

assessments Aligned with the Berkeley County

Curriculum Maps Data analysis of results to determine

interventions EnrichmentRe-teach

S. Johnson – Sixth Grade LA Tracking Dimensions for WV Writes 2010-2011

Analysis 1/27/2011

= highest mark achieved in the category

Period 1 10/28

DSC 11/18 INF

11/30 PER

12/16 NAR

1/25 NAR

2/9 PER

*1/14 NAR

Organization 2.8 2.8 3.4 3.3 4.1 4.1 Development 2.5 2.6 3.6 3.6 4.0 4.2

Sentence Structure 2.6 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.9 4.1 Word Choice/Grammar 2.7 2.6 3.4 3.1 3.8 4.4

Mechanics 2.7 2.6 3.5 3.4 4.0 4.3 Overall Holistic Score 2.7 2.8 3.5 3.2 3.9 4.2

Period 2

10/28 DSC

11/18 INF

11/30 PER

12/16 NAR

1/25 NAR

2/9 PER

*1/14 NAR

Organization 2.5 2.8 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.9 Development 2.7 2.7 3.5 3.8 4.1 4.1

Sentence Structure 2.5 2.6 3.1 3.2 3.8 3.9 Word Choice/Grammar 2.8 2.6 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.8

Mechanics 2.5 2.5 3.2 3.2 3.8 4.0 Overall Holistic Score 2.7 2.5 3.5 3.4 3.7 3.9

Acuity Benchmark 1, 2, and 3

5146 44

53 5246

54

4246

6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

Reading Language Arts - Benchmark 1/2/3Benchmark 1 Benchmark 2 Benchmark 3

Acuity Benchmark 1, 2, and 3

3438 38

52

43

34

42

30

38

6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

Math - Benchmark 1/2/3Benchmark 1 Benchmark 2 Benchmark 3

STAR Universal Screener

6th grade

7th grade

8th grade

5.2 5.4 5.6 5.8 6 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8

STAR Math Assessment

AprilJanuary

STAR Universal Screener

6th grade

7th grade

8th grade

5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5

STAR Reading Assessment

AprilJanuary

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #3WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF THEY DON’T KNOW? Pyramid of Interventions Specific Interventions NASEP (North After School Enrichment

Program)

Pyramid of InterventionsSmall group – grade specific interventions with specialists during callback

Homework

LunchRead

180Math Interventions/Fast Math

After School TutoringCorrective Reading

Data Driven Differentiated Instruction

Specific Interventions Fast Math Read 180 Homework Lunch Counselor’s groups/study skills

Student Support Services Interventions

Corrective ReadingRemediation during Callback with LD teachersRemediation during Callback with Interventionist

Extended Day - NASEP

North After School Enrichment Program (NASEP)

Targeted partial mastery students in reading and math

Incorporate Study Island to reinforce basic concepts for reading and math

1:7 teacher student ratio

ESSENTIAL QUESTION #4WHAT DO WE DO IF THEY DO KNOW? Offer enrichment

Foreign LanguageAlgebraGeometryHonors SectionsMath and Science Achievement Academy

Spanish I Students making piñatas

PLC Survey ResultsVery True True Some-what

TrueNot True

We have an agreed upon set of norms in our PLC team 79% 21% 0% 0%

We follow our meeting norms consistently at PLC meetings 36% 64%

0% 0%

We have clear tasks to perform at our PLC meetings50% 50%

0% 0%

Our tasks relate directly to student learning goals 50% 50% 0% 0%

A large majority of our PLC time (80% or more) is spent on tasks related to student learning goals 21% 72% 7% 0%

I feel a strong sense of attachment to my team 64% 29% 7% 0%

I have improved as a teacher as a result of the conversations and work we have done in our PLC 50% 43% 7% 0%

I have made changes to my teaching practices as a result of the work that we have done as a PLC 36% 57% 7% 0%

Focus 2 –Improving the Climate and Culture at North

Recognizing Staff and Students

Improving Entrance and Office Area

Embedding Mission Statement

Improving Weak Areas of the

School Climate Survey

Staff and Student Recognition

Welcoming Entrance

Embedded Mission

 Whatever it takes means different things to different people, but at the root of the statement is the students.

  We, the teachers, will set high expectations for ourselves,

students, and parents.We will go outside our comfort zones for the success of

our students.Each individual teacher will determine what they need to

do to step up to the challenge. 

 By putting together all of our talents, time, and resources to achieve something greater, we will be able to do

whatever it takes to ensure the success of our students. 

What does “Whatever It Takes” mean?

Engaging Parents in the Learning Process Parent Nights Active PTA Band Boosters Edline and NTouch for parent notification

GradesSchool related events

•Culture Survey Data Pre and Post School Year 2010-2011

Collab

orativ

e Lea

dersh

ip

Teach

er Coll

abora

tion

Profes

siona

l Dev

elopm

ent

Unity o

f Purp

ose

Colleg

ial S

uppo

rt

Learn

ing P

artne

rships

Efficac

y Fac

tor0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.5

SeptemberApril

Weakest Areas Targeted for Improvement

September AprilTeachers do not take/have time to observe other teachers teaching

2.19 3.08

Teachers do not feel students engage as learning partners

2.32 2.95

Parents and teachers do notshare the same expectations for student performance

2.83 3.18

Focus #3 - High Expectations for Student Achievement

Counseling Work Plan Attendance Achievement Celebrations

Counseling work plan Guidance Counselor

Provide monthly lessons that encompass social skills and reinforce good study habits Anti-bullying task force Friends of Rachel All Girls Group

Student Support Services Investigate truancy issuesWork directly with parentsProvide extra support for at-risk students

Attendance

Baseline 2010 October, 2010 November, 2010 December, 2010 January, 2011 February, 201191

91.5

92

92.5

93

93.5

94

92.1

93.6

92.4

92.8

93

92.8

NMS Attendance

Series1

Acuity RLA Benchmark 3

32 34

42

52

4246

55

47 45

6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

Reading/Language Arts - Benchmark 3Westest 2010 School District

Acuity Math Benchmark 3

3230

25

42

30

3841

29

37

6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

Math - Benchmark 3Westest 2010 School District

Celebrations 6th Grade Academy Professional Learning Communities Response to Intervention Website for School Counselors 9-Week Awards Assemblies Bright Spots-Faculty Awards Student and Staff Member of the Week

Celebrations from Staff We have an excellent

dedicated Leadership Team.

Teachers are talking about and working on improving student achievement and instructional strategies more than ever before.

My students are excited about learning math.  They will be super excited that they out-scored the county!

We have a clean, organized front office.

Communication has stepped up several notches.  It rocks to be in the know.

There is a more positive climate in the school with a greater sense of unity among the staff.

The level of happiness has increased since the beginning of the school year

We have a dedicated and caring staff.

We have a focus and an agenda to get there.

We share great ideas, best practices, support, laughs, and responsibility for the success of our students.

We have committed staff members that love students and our school.

Data is reviewed, used, and made relevant this year and scores have gone up because of this.

Jalapenos were added to the salad bar!

Next steps

Sustain the PLCs Sustain Climate and Culture

Improvements Continue to focus on High Expectations Differentiated Instruction Teacher Academy Focus on our Core Beliefs

Great Things areHappening

AtNORTH MIDDLE!

QUESTIONS?