Title I school-wide Plan for
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- Lindley 7/8 Academy Event Dates 2012-2013 August August 9
- September 4 -6 CogAT September 7-14
- October 31
- January January 22-March 5
- February 25
- Plans for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs to local elementary school programs and/or students entering middle school or high school
- Measures to include teachers in the decisions regarding the use of assessment to provide information on, and to improve, the performance of individual students and the overall instructional program.
- Including Teachers in the Decisions
- Coordination and integration of Federal, State, and local services and programs
- Activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering standards shall be provided with effective, timely assistance, which shall include
- Description of how individual student assessment results and interpretation will be provided to parents
- Provisions for the collection and disaggregation of data on the achievement and assessment results of students
- Provisions to ensure that disaggregated assessment results for each category are valid and reliable
- Provisions for public reporting of disaggregated data
- Plan available to the LEA, parents, and the public
Parental involvement is critical in the process to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. The goal is to change the culture of schools so that they invest in and define success as the academic achievement of every child. Here at Lindley, we have a Parent Facilitator to assist with increasing parental involvement. The duties and responsibilities of the Parent Facilitator include but are not limited to the following:
Our parent facilitator has devised strategies intended on securing the input of the whole family. Student and parent book clubs will foster a higher interest in reading. Monthly “Moms and Muffins” and “Dads and Doughnuts” dates paired with an academic focus are an inviting way to provide parents with a deeper understanding of educational programs and how the school works. Monthly Literacy/Math Nights are aligned to reinforce teachers’ professional learning sessions; thus establishing a connectivity between school and home (increased student achievement). An informational session on the Magnet Programs provided throughout the district has also been added to our events calendar to allow parents the opportunity to be informed about the magnet application process. Parental participation in our PTSA, invitations to lunch with their student on special holidays, heritage celebrations, literacy trainings, Family Fitness Nights will contribute to students’ positive attitudes and behavior. Parents are involved within the planning, review and improvement of our school-wide program as we welcome their input and solicit their assistance to improve the educational processes for all learners. Parental involvement in the yearly planning sessions allows for community input regarding operational and academic procedures. Banding with teachers and administrators to create instructional and informational sessions establishes a supportive school community. Additionally, the school works cooperatively with the International Welcome Center to provide English and Spanish courses for parents. By parent requests, we are also providing the opportunity for our families to begin a study of basic Japanese. (offered at the Lindley Sixth Grade Academy) Finally, parents are encouraged to play an integral role in decision-making, as well as being a part of the advisory committees to assist in the education of their student(s). Parents are also encouraged to complete Parent Compacts. In January, we also host four different curriculum nights 7th grade, 8th grade, ESOL, Enrichment (SWD population) to inform parents regarding their students’ current performance, as well as prior assessment data on the ITBS, CRCT. We also discuss post graduate opportunities with students and parents to ensure that all stakeholders establish and maintain goals for student success.
Parent Calendar Lindley 7/8 Academy Event Dates 2012-2013 August August 9 7th grade 3:30 – 5:00 Sneak- a - Peak 8th grade 6:00 – 7:00 Sneak- a - Peak August 23 6:00 pm - Enrichment Night August 23 7:00 pm – PTSA Committee Meeting September September 4 PSTA Membership Drive Celebration September 4 -6 CogAT September 7-14 7th Grade Students ITBS / Testing September 10 6:30 pm - Math & Literacy Night September 20 6:30 pm - PTSA / Open House & Annual Title I Session October October 8 6:30 pm - Math & Literacy Night October 11 6:30 pm - PTSA 6:30 pm- Hispanic Heritage Night October 22-26 Early Release Week (out 2Hrs early) October 31 Awards Day (various times) November November 5 6:30 pm - Math & Literacy November 5-16 Benchmarks #1 (Required) November 15 6:30 pm – PTSA December December 12 6:30 pm- Fine Arts Holiday Concert 6:30 pm- PTSA December 17 6:30 pm Math & Literacy Night January January 22-March 5 ACCESS (ELL students only) January 23 Writing Assessment 8th Grade Students January 24 Make-up Writing Assessment 8th Grade Students January 24 – March 21 Century Skill Assessment February February 13 6:30 pm - PTSA with 6:30 pm – Lindley’s Finest (Performing Arts Program) February 25 6:30 pm - Math & Literacy Night February 25 – March 18 Benchmarks #2 (required) March March 14 4:30 pm - Crunch Night 6:30 pm- PTSA March 25 6:30 pm- Math & Literacy Night April April 18 6:30 pm- PTSA April 22-May 1 CRCT Testing May May 2 6:30 pm -Volunteer Dinner May 9 6:30 pm-PTSA 6:30pm - Spring Concert – Mable House Amphitheatre May 20-22 CRCT RE-Test (8th Grade Only)
Transition for Preschool and Fifth Graders The transition from the 6th grade Academy to that of the 7th and 8th grade allows for rising 7th graders to become acclimated to the environment of the 7th and 8th grade Academy. Students are involved in many activities to introduce them to life as a student in the upper Middle School. Students participate in an articulation process where they come to the 7th and 8th grade Academy to tour the building and visit classrooms. Additionally, a parent information session is held to allow parents of rising 7th graders to gain insight into the 7th/8th grade Academy and offers parents an opportunity to participate in a question and answer session. We host summer transition programs which serve rising 7th and 9th graders. Students transitioning from 8th grade to high school also participate in a familiarization process. Key faculty members and students from Pebblebrook High School come to Lindley to discuss the high school experience, expectations and extracurricular activities with all 8th grade students. Parent meetings are held both at Lindley Middle and Pebblebrook High School to assist with the orientation process, address appropriate social skills and bring ease to the overall transition process. A guest speaker from College Bound Dreams will address such areas as goal setting and mapping out a 4-year college plan.
The ways that we include teachers in decisions regarding use of academic assessment are as follows: Including Teachers in the Decisions Data teams convene weekly to provide opportunities for teachers to address student needs, student performance, and to develop strategies to move students to a higher level of learning. Lindley teachers participate in the school improvement process through collaboration, subject-area meetings (vertical planning), grade-level meetings (horizontal planning), student academic reviews, professional development, and faculty meetings. Through this school improvement process, teachers cooperatively plan activities that support the School Strategic Plan goals and strategies. Along with planning lessons, teachers analyze data as a subject area and for their individual classes. All collaborative meetings focus on staff development and school improvement through the examination of data collected by common assessments and benchmarks that are aligned to GPS. This progress testing is aligned to GPS, state unit pacing, weekly skills taught and CRCT. Pretest, Quarterly Benchmarks, Mid-Year Review, Common Assessments, Checkpoints and Post-Test results are analyzed for use with indicating school-wide progress. This data is organized to illustrate trends for individual students, class period, team, and grade-level. Through analysis of this data, appropriate instructional and needs adjustments can be made, if necessary. Weekly student academic reviews of student progress, analyze/identify specific student needs, evaluate the effectiveness of lessons/teaching, plan/adjust instruction and develop (objective-focused) learning activities that engage/accelerate/challenge students to master analytical/critical-responsive thinking. We are increasing our focus on the area of making critical instructional decisions based on students’ data. Current research indicates that the single most important factor that affects student achievement is the teacher. Therefore, we deliberately include teachers within the decision-making process regarding professional learning, instructional resources to purchase, as well as the daily instructional operations that occur within all classrooms, for all students.
A. Lindley Middle School receives funding from various sources. Specifically, we receive funding from Title I, Title II, Title III, Impact Grant. We also receive community support from Publix, The Strand, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Cheesecake Factory. These funding sources and local services supplement our students’ instructional learning by providing resources, incentives and authentic experiences. Lindley addresses instructional extension in a variety of ways: Before School Extended Learning Program, Saturday School, and the Summer Enrichment Program, which are funded through a variety of federal and state sources. We are careful to be sure the resources, incentives, and experiences are coordinated to support student achievement based on data from both formative (class observations, etc.), as well as summative assessments. (ITBS, CRCT-new assessment, Middle Grades Writing Assessment) Title I resources such as Success Maker, Achieve 3000, Efolio, Write On, Reflex Math! Brainpop, Scholastic READ 180, etc. will be utilized to increase student achievement in key areas such as written expression, reading fluency, reading comprehension/vocabulary, logical reasoning, problem solving, numbers and operations, as well as specific scientific concepts for both life and physical science. The above-mentioned resources will serve as a guide for students to refine their current skills sets in designated areas. B. We offer many opportunities for our students to gain knowledge about career programs, community service programs and college awareness. Our school counselors plan the year’s events in alignment with the three counseling domains: 1) personal/social, 2) academic, 3) career. In order to comply with the mandates of The School-To-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, we ensure that all of our students receive instruction regarding career awareness. Specifically, our 8th graders participate in the Career Cruising initiative which offers tiered lessons, career inventories, skills inventories, learning styles and interest inventories, all of which are presented to our students. The data is compiled (individually) and students are provided with profile sheets which indicate their areas of career/skill strength. Additionally, these sheets are utilized to provide details for our students when selecting their high school electives for the ninth grade.
Activities to Ensure Mastery for Students Who Experience Difficulty Mastering Standards All lessons are planned utilizing Backwards Design. Through research, we understand that Understanding by Design (Backwards Design), presents information in a format which minimizes student incomprehension. By analyzing the data team findings, teachers identify if any specific students or classes still require further assistance. The strategies implemented as a result of the analysis of this data are constructed to address any unmet educational needs. Students who demonstrate continued difficulty are supported daily through the use of Sponge Activities as review for the CRCT and other key standardized exams. Tutoring is also offered in every content area for students who continue to experience difficulty. (both specific teacher/content tutoring and Extended Learning Program-Tuesdays-Math and Thursdays –ELA/Reading) • Provision to ensure that the assessment results are valid and reliable The weekly collection and evaluation of data through data team meetings and data talks ensures the validity and accuracy of that data. CRCT simulated testing samples are administered with accommodations. Performance-Based Instruction utilizes “Learning by Doing,” emphasizing exploratory activities, expecting students to use all resources (human/non-human) to demonstrate final products and proficiency as outlined by GPS, district, state, school, and teacher expectations. Acceleration is expected, planned, delivered and assessed for all students.
Parents are notified of their child's progress and performance in a variety of ways: personal and telephone conferences, progress reports, report cards, U.S. mail, individual or team group emails, and student academic review conferences. Additionally, parents are provided an opportunity to attend an informative, evening session with teachers and administrators to discuss the components of the CRCT. Scale scores are explicitly discussed with parents/students. Additionally, in January of each year, our school hosts four curriculum nights (7th grade, 8th grade, ESOL, SWD) to ensure that all stakeholders are informed about students’ academic performance, as well as set goals for post middle school opportunities. Each parent receives a folder which includes students’ CRCT/ITBS/MGWA scores, Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI scores), attendance, discipline, current report card. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that all stakeholders clearly understand how to read the results of given assessments, as well as gain insight regarding students’ academic/behavioral performance. Research indicates that students whose parents are involved within their educational experiences tend to experience higher levels of success than those who do not have parental involvement/support.
Lindley Middle School uses a variety of data to guide its decision making in order to provide focus on instructional and organizational effectiveness. The major sources of this data are assessments at state, county, and local levels. These assessments, referred to as standardized testing instruments, provide both norm-referenced and criterion referenced measures of student learning. The major assessment administered across all grade levels was the state required Criterion-Referenced Competency test. This assessment is administered each year which helps to document longitudinal results. CRCT results provide important data for the reporting required by the federal government’s No Child Left Behind legislation since this criterion referenced assessment is based on the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), Lindley Middle School uses the CRCT to identify and target areas for academic gains. During vertical planning meetings, teachers analyze prior year CRCT scores to determine areas needing improvement. The purpose of this analysis is to group students into subgroups according to academic needs. These subgroups are referred to as Level One, Level Two, and Level Three. Students in the level one subgroup did not meet the standards on the CRCT tests. They are given such services as Title I Reading/ Math, as well as receive supplemental reading instruction via Scholastic READ 180. These students are also enrolled in our Extended Learning Program. Level Two students met the standards in the required academic areas. They are provided with differentiated instruction which enables them to achieve at a higher level than previously shown on the CRCT. Level Three students exceeded the standards on the CRCT test. These students are identified and provided differentiated instruction, which enables them to achieve at a level aligning with their ability. Also, they are offered services such as Advanced Content in all subject areas. Specifically, increasing the number of students enrolled in Advanced Content courses is one of our primary goals for the 2012-2013 year. The analysis of data collected at the classroom level, school level, and county level will continue. Teachers will meet weekly in grade level collaborative planning meetings to develop data driven lesson plans. Teachers also meet in weekly data team meetings to analyze students’ performance on weekly common assessments. The core School Leadership Team will meet monthly to ensure that teachers’ instructional decisions are yielding student achievement.
The weekly collection and evaluation of data through data team meetings and data talks ensures the validity and accuracy of that data. CRCT-new Common Core Assessment simulated testing samples are administered with accommodations. Performance-Based Instruction utilizes “Learning by Doing,” emphasizing exploratory activities, expecting students to use all resources (human/non-human) to demonstrate final products and proficiency as outlined by GPS, district, state, school, and teacher expectations. Acceleration is expected, planned, delivered and assessed for all students. Teachers ensure that assessments are directly aligned to content standards, based on what students should know and be able to do.
Parent letters providing an explanation of the Lindley’s AYP status will be sent out. Additionally, student test results will be sent home with students along with an explanation of how to interpret them. A Town Hall Meeting will also take place such that conversations can be had centering on individual test results. This meeting and all public meetings will employ translators for non-English-speaking parents and guardians through the International Welcome Center.
This plan was developed for the 2012-2013 school year. It is subject to mid-year and end-of-year review by the county Title I office. The plan was developed in compliance with all state and federal mandates. The plan will be revised yearly.
This plan was developed and reviewed by the members of the School Improvement/Title I Team listed on page 2 of this document. The members of the team are stakeholders involved in various aspects of Lindley Middle School including team teachers, administrators, special education, and a parent.
In an effort to ensure that all stakeholders have access to the information included in this plan, Lindley will make this document available to the LEA, parents, and the public by providing a copy to Central Office personnel, keeping a copy in the front office, the Parent Resource Center, ensuring that all members of the PTSA board have copies, and making copies of the School Strategic Plan available at all PTSA meetings. Additionally, the plan will be available on the Lindley homepage at www.cobbk12.org.
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