Building a Legacy of Distinction One Student at a Time!

316 Lamar Street Mike Simmons, Principal Ashburn, GA 31714 Bernice Martin, Assistant Principal 229-567-4343 Joy Jarrett, Counselor Fax 229-567-9243 John Gamble, Athletic Director www.tcms.turner.k12.ga.us

Building a legacy of distinction one student at a time!

2014-2015

SCHOOLWIDE / SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Revised December 18, 2014

1 SWP Components

1. A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school that addresses all academic areas and other factors that may affect achievement.

A. We have developed our school wide plan with the participation of individuals who will carry out the comprehensive school wide/school improvement program plan. Those persons involved were the administrative team, team leaders, parents, and community members. They were involved in organizational structures that allow and encourage participation through both invitation and occupation. Our school’s administrative team, leadership team, school council, whole faculty, grade level, and content area study groups are all outlets for participation, along with Title 1 parent involvement activities. Stakeholders also provide valuable input through email, phone, and face-to-face communication. Minutes from logs and meetings are available for review and feedback. The Title 1 Comprehensive School Plan and School Improvement Plan are reviewed and revised yearly based on current data as well as school and system goals.

B. We have used the following instruments, procedures, or processes to obtain this information:

 Parent, staff, and student surveys  Standardized tests (EOG/ Georgia Milestones)  Teacher-created unit assessments  Instructional programs with progress monitoring (GRASP Reading and Math,)  Needs assessment brainstorming and suggestions at team, content, and administrative meetings  Power School

C. We have taken into account the needs of migrant children by ensuring that migrant children will have access to all services and materials of the school and the county through the Homeless Liaison and ESOL teacher.

D. We have reflected on current achievement data that will help the school understand the subjects and skills in which teaching and learning need to be 2 improved. The content area domains diagnosed as in greatest need of improvement are:

English Language Arts (ELA)/Reading: Reading and Literary Comprehension Grammar and Sentence Construction Mathematics: Algebra and Geometry Science: Earth Science and Hydrology and Meteorology Social Studies: Government/Civics and History

E. We have based our plan on information about all students in the school and identified students and groups of students who are not yet achieving to the performance targets.

 Economically disadvantaged students were identified as underachieving on areas of the CRCT: Language (88.6% meeting or exceeding), Mathematics (74.6% meeting or exceeding), Reading (95.9% meeting or exceeding) Science (64.2% meeting or exceeding), and social studies (73.9% meeting or exceeding).  Students from major racial and ethnic groups identified as underachieving on specific areas of the CRCT were white students in social studies and math (82.6% meeting or exceeding) and black students in science (57.8% meeting or exceeding).  Students with disabilities were also identified as underachieving on specific areas of the CRCT. The percentage of students with disabilities who met or exceeded were 72% language, 53.8% in math, 80.0% in reading, 32.4% in science, and 37.8 % in social studies.

F. The data has helped us reach conclusions regarding achievement or other related data.

 The major strengths we found in our program were: Reading – Reading Skills and Vocabulary Acquisition, Language – Research/Writing Process, Math – Number and Operations, Science – Life Science, and Social Studies – Geography.  The major needs we discovered were in reading comprehension, algebra, earth science, government, expository and persuasive writing, and attendance, specifically attendance of white/black females.  The needs we will address are reading comprehension (Lexile levels), math (specifically algebraic domains), science and social studies test (EOG Georgia Milestones) scores, and attendance.

3  The specific academic needs of those students that are to be addressed in the school wide program plan will be Lexile growth and math fluency.

 The root cause(s) that we discovered for each of the needs are the students’ lack of experience with and ability to navigate nonfiction and technical texts, prerequisite skills in math, and a lack of emphasis on education (attendance) in the home.

G. The measurable goals/benchmarks we have established to address the needs are based on 2014 CRCT and CCRPI accountability measures. We hope to increase all of our (EOG Georgia Milestone) meets and exceeds percentage scores:

 Reading from 94 to 97  ELA from 89 to 92  Math from 76 to 80  Science from 69 to 75  Social Studies from 76 to 80

H. We also plan to increase the number of students in the school who score in the “exceeds” category on (EOG Georgia Milestones):

 Reading from 29 to 32 percent  Language Arts from 24 to 30 percent  Math from 18 to 25 percent  Science from 16 to 25 percent  Social Studies from 32 to 35 percent

I. There were also some subgroup concerns:

 All subgroups needed to improve in science and math.  Students with disabilities showed an achievement gap in ELA, math, science, and social studies.  Economically disadvantaged students needed to improve in science and social studies.  More gifted students should score in the “exceeds” category in science.

The percentages given in this plan are based on SMART goal principles. Obviously, the migration from CRCT to Milestones, along with changes in

4 wavier performance targets, will require changes to these percentages of improvement later.

2a.The ways in which we will address the needs of all children in the school Particularly the needs of students furthest away from demonstrating proficiency related to the State’s academic content and student academic achievement standard are:

 Best Practices” high impact instructional practices Marzano”  EOG Georgia Milestones Analysis (through GLDS)  GRASP (Georgia RESA assessment of student progress)  GRASP Math Computational Fluency and Standards based  GRASP Intervention Probes  GRASP Reading Comprehension  STAR Reading  F.I.P Researched based Assessment Practices  Daily SSR  Thinking Maps  Accelerated Reader  Webinars  Hands-on activities/Project-based learning

2b. The following are examples of programs founded in scientifically-based research that support our effective methods and instructional practices or strategies:

 Best Practices – best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result. A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success.  Thinking Maps – “a theoretical and practical common visual language for teaching, learning and assessment that reflects what we know about how the brain works, learning, and cognition.” The New Hampshire Journal of Education  GRASP (Based on and guided by principles of formative assessment research by Paul Black, Dylan William, and others).  STAR – it has been found that “scores obtained from regular use of these measures were statistically significantly related to overall end-of-grade achievement markers.” 5 Algozzine, B., Wang, C., & Boukhtiarov, A. (2011). A comparison of progress monitoring scores and end-of-grade achievement. New Waves-Educational Research & Development, 14(1), 3–21. Available online from http://www.caerda.org/journal/index.php/newwaves/article/viewFile/51/29

 SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) – has been shown to improve reading fluency – DeVoogd, Glenn, and Garan, Elaine.The Benefits of Sustained Silent Reading: Scientific Research and Common Sense Converge. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), pp. 336–344.

 Accelerated Reader - Cleveland Metropolitan School District has 48,457 students in pre K-12 where 100% of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch. Since implementing Accelerated Reader districtwide, the percent of students scoring proficient on the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) has been on the rise . Renaissance Learning. (2011). Cleveland Metropolitan School District reading scores transformed by Accelerated Reader. Wisconsin rapids, WI. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED463177.pdf

 Hands-on activities/Project-based learning - “organized psychomotor participation increases the learning of a given technological concept. It can be generalized that hands-on activities are effective learning experiences for any applicable concept.” Jones, Arnold and Korwin, Anthony. Do hands-on, Technology-based Activities Enhance learning by Reinforcing Cognitive Knowledge and Retention? Journal of technology Education Volume 1, Number 2 Spring, 1990.

2c. We will increase the amount and quality of learning time by:

 Using the Learning Focused model with Thinking Maps  Daily SSR  Remediation Classes during Connections period/Rewards  Differentiated Instruction  SRA Reading  SRA Math

2d. We will determine if the needs of the students are being met by measuring whether goals are met by using the following instruments:

 Benchmark tests  GRASP (benchmarks and progress monitoring) 6  EOG Georgia Milestones  Accelerated Reading Test  STAR Testing – Reading  Every 45 days there is a School Data Review  Unit assessment results

3. We will provide instruction by highly qualified teachers who meet the standards established by the state of Georgia.

Certification deficiencies are addressed by consistently checking the status of the staff members’ certification. A copy of each staff member’s certification is on file in the teacher’s personnel file. Teachers who do not hold a provisional for a clear renewal certificate are placed on a long-term substitute status until provisional certification is obtained. If a staff member is not certified, the staff member must obtain a provisional certificate to continue teaching, successfully pass the appropriate state assessment, and upgrade to clear renewal certificate within three years. Parents of students with a teacher who is not certified will receive a letter stating that the teacher is not highly qualified. Letters and plans for becoming highly qualified are attached addressing staff who are in question of not being considered highly qualified.

3a. Strategies that will be used to attract highly qualified teachers.

 Provide a positive mentoring program using a teacher Support Specialist.  Peer observations and feedback  Shared governance  Encourage life-long learning by supporting national Board certification and post- graduate education  Team collaboration and planning

4a. We will provide professional development for teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and if appropriate, pupil services personnel, parents and other staff members to address the root causes of our identified needs in order that all students in the middle school are able to meet the state student academic achievement standards. The following activities are designed to address the root causes:

 We are using the best practices model of instruction. We are using the “train the trainer” model for redelivery. Teachers are being trained to use researched-based teaching strategies. As new teachers come in, they are brought up to speed. All

7 teachers are provided with Learning Focused and Thinking Maps follow-up training.  The Principal and his staff provide weekly professional development to teachers during grade level meetings. The following topics are being addressed: unit writing, data disaggregation, TKES standards, TLE dashboard, SLDS Training, Thinking Maps follow-up, and various Learning Focused strategies.

 All teachers will attend a series of training involving TKES. Topics included familiarization videos and group discussion, TLE platform orientation, TKES self-assessment on standards, videos, discussion, and follow-up on each one of the ten standards and pre-evaluation conferences.  SLDS training will be provided for all teachers to track student progress, ability, and attendance. Special emphasis was placed on the 2014 CRCT results and the “problem” domains. Teachers received training on how to identify these domains and secure resources to remedy the problems.  Math teachers attended training with Paulette Shoupe for vertical alignment and teaching strategies.  ELA, Science, and Social Studies teachers received training from RESA on formulating, facilitating, and grading constructed response questions.  Teachers will engage in FIP (Formative Instructional Practices) modules and follow-up to ensure the training made its way into professional practice.  The Ruby Payne training provides insight into the lives of students living in poverty. The training gives concrete strategies to effectively deal with certain issues. Teachers continue to implement these strategies.  This year we are reemphasizing our Thinking Maps training. New teachers are introduced to one of the maps every two weeks while veterans review the maps and their purpose. All teachers provide student examples from professional practice for follow up and commentary.  Unit and lesson planning in Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies are being developed with the assistance of private consultants.  Professional training in the use of the Renaissance Learning programs (STAR Reading, Accelerated Reader, OAS report types, GRASP, Common Core Elluminates Live).  The Principal and Assistant Principals attend monthly administrative meetings where we are trained to be effective leaders.

4b.We will align professional development with the State’s academic content and student academic achievement standards…

8  Balanced Assessments with grade level standards in Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies are being addressed during Professional Development meetings using RESA.

4c.We will devote sufficient resources to carry out effective professional development activities that are primarily job embedded and address the root causes of academic problems. For example (money, time, resources, etc.,)

 We are using RESA to help teachers develop units and write lesson plans in Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies and work on balanced assessments.  Weekly grade level Professional Development sessions are being held during grade level planning periods.

4d.We will include teachers in professional development activities regarding the use of academic assessments to enable them to provide information on, and to improve, the achievement of individual students and the overall instructional program in the following ways:

 EOG/Georgia Milestones  GRASP Math Computational Fluency  GRASP Intervention Probes  GRASP Reading Comprehension  STAR Reading  Accelerated Reader

5. Strategies to increase parental involvement:

A. We will involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in the planning, review, and improvement of school wide programs and the school parental involvement policy by employing a parent liaison that will be responsible for scheduling, contacting parents / community, and implementing all activities which look to increase stakeholder involvement, including but not limited to:

 School Council  Title 1 Curriculum Meeting  Web Site  Parent Survey  Parent “call home” system  School Marquee 9  Parent Resource Room/Data Room  Facebook

B. We have developed a school parental involvement policy, available on our Website, that:

 Includes strategies to increase parental involvement.

 Describes how the school will provide individual student academic assessment results, including interpretation of those results.  Makes the comprehensive school wide program plan available to the LEA, parents, and the public.  Includes required compacts.  Includes parent involvement checklist.

C. We have conducted an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to inform parents about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements and the school parental involvement policy, the school wide plan, and the school-parent compact and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend by:

 Advertising the event on the school website.  Advertising the event on the school marquee.  Placing personal phone calls to all parents.  Including messages about the event on school documents that parents will view (progress reports).

D. We will offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under Title I, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement by…

 Offering a number of Title one meetings for parent participation.  Offering childcare at these meetings.

E. We will provide parents of participating children with timely information about the Title I program, a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet, and provide opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions 10 relating to the education of their child, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible, by …

 Including in our Title 1 parent meetings information (both verbally and in pamphlet form) about the Title I program, an explanation of the school’s curriculum , information about academic achievement, and the proficiency levels expected in each.

F. We will jointly develop with parents of participating children a school- parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards by …

 Meeting with parents and the community at Title 1 events to discuss a shared responsibility for student academic achievement and the partnership necessary between parent and school. This information will be directly used to author a school-parent compact.

G. We will provide assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding the state’s academic content standards, the state’s student academic achievement standards, the state and local academic assessments including alternate assessments, the requirements of Title I, Part A, how to monitor their child’s progress, and how to work with educators, by …

 Including in our Title 1 parent meetings information (both verbally and in pamphlet form) about the Title I program, an explanation of the school’s curriculum , information about academic, and the proficiency levels expected in each.

H. We will provide materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by…

 Offering information on how to access Parent Portal, teacher webpages, and how to interpret assessment data at parental involvement events.

I. We will provide training to educate the teachers, pupil services personnel, principal, and other staff in how to reach out to, communicate with , and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions

11 of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school, by…

 Monthly parental involvement tips focusing on better parental communication are sent to teachers via email.

 We hold district-wide parental involvement committee meetings and Title 1 compact meetings with opportunities and information vital to improving staff communication with parents.  District officers provide training on parent outreach and communication during faculty meetings.

J. We will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by …

 Maintaining accurate and up-to-date information on Parent Portal to ensure parents are fully aware of their child’s progress.

K. We will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand, by…

 Information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities will be transmitted through several methods, including messages that appear on progress reports (sent home every three weeks), the school marquee, the school website, and personalized phone calls from teachers announcing important information.

L. We will provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and including alternative formats

12 upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand, by…

 TCMS sends forms of school communication home in the native language of the learner.  A list of students whose parents speak other languages is kept on file and maintained.

 Parental involvement coordinators work with the Title III representative and will, if necessary, make home visits with a translator.

6. Following are Plans for assisting 6th and 8th grade children in the transition from elementary to middle and middle to high school programs.

 Turner County Middle School provides a 5th grade orientation. All upcoming 6th graders come to the middle school during the school day for an assembly and tour of the school in May.  8th Grade students go to the High School for a freshman orientation to high school.  Students entering TCMS during the school year are given an orientation by the registrar.

7. Ways that teacher’s in the classroom will be included in decisions regarding use of academic assessments are:

 The Best Practices model has a balanced assessment piece built in. Teachers are being professionally developed on how to use assessment/and research based instructional strategies in order to make their classroom instruction more effective.  The teachers were instrumental in the development of subject area pacing guides. These pacing guides set the time line for assessments.  During grade level team meetings, teachers will continue to develop remediation and acceleration plans to meet the needs of individual classes.

8. We are providing activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering proficient or advanced levels of academic achievement standards shall be provided with effective, timely, and additional assistance. Those activities are (especially for those students who are struggling):

 RTI (Response to Intervention) identification based on teacher collaboration 13  Ranking of all students based on previous CRCT scores  Identification of at-risk students through GRASP screeners  Identification of the bottom 20 percent of Lexile and math scores on previous CRCT  Support classes for students failing CRCT/EOG Georgia Milestones  GRASP probes for remediation and practice

8b.Teachers will receive Periodic training for teachers in the identification of Difficulties and appropriate assistance for identified difficulties including:

 RTI training  GRASP Training  SLDS Training

8c. Parent Teacher Conferences and additional assistance available to parents:

Our teachers and administrators provide parents with several options for increasing student success facilitated through both the school (after-school tutoring, remediation,) and the home (providing information on how to access to Parent Portal, how to monitor grades and assessments, and checking to make sure students complete assignments/homework). Our teachers also maintain a record of parent conferences and document pertinent communication that transpires between parent and school.

9. The coordination and integration between federal, state, and local services and programs:

Coordinate and integrate Federal, State, and local services and programs, including violence prevention, nutrition, housing, HeadStart, adult education, vocational education, and job training. Further integration/coordination of state, local, and federal funding will occur at the district level once specific guidance is released from the Georgia Department of Education. Local accounting and resource allocation procedures will be modified based on state guidance.

9a. List of federal, state, and local agency programs:

Title I Special Education Title II-A QBE Funds Title III ESOL

14 Title I-C 21st Century Gifted

9b. Description of how resources from Title l and other sources will be used:

Funding Funding use Source FTE Funds Instructional staff (teachers, parapros), consumable supplies, Technology, expendable equipment, professional learning

Local Instructional supplies and student/teacher incentives Funds Title I, Part Class size reduction, Instructional staff (teachers, parapros) A consumable supplies, technology, expendable equipment, Professional learning, academic coaches Title II, Professional Learning Part A

9c. Coordination with other programs, including those under the School-to- Work Opportunities Act of 1994: TCMS plans to address community service through the implementation of our 4-H program.

10. How individual student assessment results and interpretation will be provided to parents:

Student progress reports are sent out every three weeks to keep the parents informed of their child’s progress during each grading period. This keeps parents up-to-date with their child’s performance and allows parents to keep their child from slipping during the nine weeks.

After completing a unit in each subject, students take a Unit Test so teachers can track the skills which need extra work and remediation.

We have Title I Curriculum meetings to explain what is involved as a Title I school. We send home CRCT Individual Results at the end of the year. We have a Data Room which is open to the public should they wish to see it.

Our school website includes the following:

15  Parent Portal, for parents to keep tabs on the progress their student is mastering in class.  The School’s Report Card  The School’s Mission Statement  The School’s Vision Statement  Grade Level Homework and Projects  Daily News Report or Classroom Activity  Teachers’ Web Pages

11. Provisions for the collection and disaggregation of data on the achievement and assessment results of students.

Turner County Middle School uses SLDS, GRASP, EOG/Georgia Milestones, a Data Room and Power School. These are designed to help us meet the needs of every student and improve student performance, by using these resources helps make sense of a huge range of data to provide longitudinal tracking and reporting of student assessment data, student demographic data, and program/event attendance, as well as professional development activities, paraprofessional activities, student grades and teacher data.

12. Provisions to ensure that disaggregated assessment results for each category are valid and reliable. Unit assessments are examined for reliability. Standards/questions with low percentage of mastery are examined to determine if it is an instructional problem or it the question does not address the standard.

13. Provisions for public reporting of disaggregated data. Turner County Middle School reports disaggregated data in several ways. First, we provide a link to our school’s report card on the school website. Parents and community members are encouraged to visit the site. Second, the School Council is a platform for us to let community members know how our school is performing. Third, we also discuss data during PTA meetings and Curriculum Title I Meetings, publish in The Wiregrass News, and post in a Data Room with links to CCRPI and Student Growth. Using these avenues we are able to inform the public.

14. Periodic revision of School Improvement Plan:

16 The School Leadership Team began the process of reviewing and revising the School Improvement Plan at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year. The 2014-15 School Improvement Plan includes strategies to be implemented during the school year and goals to be achieved by the end of the 2014-15 school year. The School Improvement Plan will be reviewed periodically by the School Leadership Team during the 2014-15 school year to determine need for revision and celebration. Plans are also reviewed periodically by district staff.

15. Measures taken to involve the community and those who will carry out the plan which will include teachers, principals, school staff, parents, and students:

A. Leadership Team meetings: TCMS Leadership Team members include the Principal, Assistant Principal, Counselor, and grade level, special education, and connections team leaders. During leadership meetings, the 2014-15 School Improvement Plan was evaluated for strength and weaknesses. Data was presented on all goals. Specific academic areas within content (i.e. domains) and sub-groups were identified and graphs showing previous year’s percentages, goal percentages, and actual percentages for each goal were presented in order to determine if the 2014-15 School Improvement Plan was effective. After determining the strength and weaknesses, new goals were set and strategies for improvement discussed. Team leaders were instructed to present the proposed 2014-15 goals to their individual teams for grade level input on strategies for school improvement. Information was brought back to the Leadership meetings and then incorporated into the 2014-15 School Improvement Plan.

B. Grade Level team meetings: During grade level team meetings, teachers were given the data on goals in the 2014-15 School Improvement Plan and the revised 2014-2015 School Improvement Plan. Discussion on strengths and weaknesses was held. Team leaders took notes on strategies and ideas which would help meet the 2014-2015 goals. The team leaders brought the information back to leadership meetings and then incorporated the determined effective strategies into the 2014-2015 School Improvement Plan.

C. School Council: The TCMS School Council members include the 17 Principal, Assistant Principal, parents, business partners and community members. During School Council meetings, the 2014-15 School Improvement Plan was evaluated for strengths and weaknesses. Parents and community business leaders were engaged in discussion about effective strategies for school improvement. Information was taken back to the leadership team for further review. In conclusion, TCMS has completed a comprehensive needs assessment with input from all stakeholders. Data was collected and analyzed. Discussions on strategies for improvement were held. The results of the assessment were used to create and implement TCM’s 2013-14 School Improvement Plan.

16. Availability of the School Improvement Plan:

The Turner County Middle School Improvement Plan is available on our school website as well as in the media center. During School Council meetings, the School Improvement Plan is discussed. The School Council uses the School Improvement Plan to guide them in selecting and setting goals for the year. Parent and business members are assigned the task of informing the community and getting input on the school improvement process.

17. Translation of the School Improvement Plan:

The primary language of the majority of students is English. Our School Improvement Plan will be translated as practicable in other languages as needed.

18. School Improvement Provisions:

Turner County Middle School is proud to announce that our School Improvement Plan was successful and we are not a focus, alert, or priority school this year! Consequently, we are not subject to Section 1116 provisions. We are not required to have developed flexible learning plans at this time.