Brittany Woods Proposal

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Brittany Woods Proposal

• December 1, 2008

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Research Supporting Highly Effective Middle
Schools

• Characteristics that are critical for the
  teaching of young adolescents
• Physical
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Social (PIES)
• Moral

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Implications for practice for physical
characteristic

• Practitioners and parents need to recognize that
  physical developmental characteristics may affect
  young adolescents' emotional/psychological and
  social development. Teachers and guidance
  counselors can mitigate young adolescents'
  concerns about physical development by explaining
  that these changes are natural and common.
  Schools should provide health and science
  curricula that explicate physical changes and
  other educational programs that encourage sound
  nutrition, sufficient exercise, and healthy
  lifestyles

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Implications for practice for intellectual
development

• Teachers need to provide a wide variety of
  educational approaches and materials that are
  appropriate for their students' varied cognitive
  abilities.
• Teachers need to plan curricula around real-world
  concepts and supply authentic educational
  activities (e.g., experimentation, analysis and
  synthesis of data) that are meaningful for young
  adolescents
• To foster intellectual development, these youth
  need to interact directly with their
  worldthrough discourse with peers and adults and
  hands-on experience

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Implications for moral/ethical development

• Teachers need to plan instructional experiences
  that foster higher order thinking skills and
  higher levels of moral reasoning. For example,
  teachers can include assignments that guide
  students to articulate their thoughts and
  feelings in writing
• Young adolescents need opportunities to examine
  options of behavior as well as the consequences
  of these options. In the same vein, teachers need
  to plan experiences for this age group to
  contemplate moral/ethical dilemmas.
• Teachers can incorporate scenarios that prompt
  young adolescents to explore concepts of
  fairness, justice, and equity. Additionally,
  schools need to include programs and curricula
  that address societal issues such as racism,
  sexism, and discrimination.

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Implications for emotional/psychological
development

• Schools and teachers need to support young
  adolescents' quest for identity formation through
  curricular experiences, organization structures,
  instructional approaches, and opportunities for
  exploration. Advisory programs, in particular,
  can ensure that every young adolescent is known
  well by at least one adult and foster positive
  relationships among peers.
• Advisory programs and practices can promote an
  atmosphere of friendliness, concern, and group
  cohesiveness.
• Young adolescents need opportunities that allow
  them to play out their emotions as well as
  promote self-assessment

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Implications for Social Development

• Because of young adolescents' strong need for
  affiliation, they need opportunities to form
  positive and healthy relationships with peers.
  Teachers must recognize the importance of
  friendship and peer relationships and provide
  opportunities for peer interactions.
• Schools need to provide young adolescents with
  experiences that promote freedom and independence
  within a safe space. Student government, service
  clubs, and other leadership groups allow young
  adolescents to develop their own guidelines for
  behavior or their own projects.
• Teachers can plan activities that engage students
  in argumentation or debate in academic settings
  as well as those that simulate social situations
  through role-plays or simulations. Teachers also
  need to develop cooperative learning activities
  and collaborative experiences in which young
  adolescents can interact productively with peers
  .

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Research demonstrates

• The following elements need to be present in a
  middle school for it to be considered
  restructured in a way that is faithful to the
  middle school concept
• Reduced or eliminated departmental structure,
  heterogeneously grouped instruction, and team
  teaching.
• Academic achievement was defined as a composite
  score combining reading and math.
• Engagement was defined by measuring two
  variables
• the involvement of students in their academic
  work (e.g., homework, class work, preparation for
  and participation in class, and the like), and
• (2) the incidence of at-risk behaviors (i.e., the
  lower the incidence of at-risk behaviors the more
  engaged a student is).
• The results of this study can be divided into
  four categories
• student outcomes,
• student backgrounds,
• school demographics, and
• school restructuring

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• Felner and associates found
• (A) students in highly implemented middle schools
  outperformed students in partial and low
  implemented schools in all subject areas. Using
  teacher ratings of student behavior (aggression,
  anxiety, learning-related problems),
• (B) they found that students in highly
  implemented middle schools had lower levels of
  behavior problems. In addition,
• (C) students in more highly implemented middle
  schools reported lower levels of worry and fear
  and higher levels of self-esteem

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Brittany Woods currently

• Brittany Woods (BW) is a junior high format with
  443 students in grades 7 and 8. There are three
  teams of 4 teachers for each grade level as core
  teachers and numerous other allied arts teachers.
• BW is currently on a six period day.
• There is a principal and three assistant
  principals
• The 2008 Communication Arts MAP target was 51
  proficient and advanced. BW has 31.3 at 7th
  grade at this level as compared to the state with
  49.3, and at 8th grade BW has 29.4 proficient
  and advanced as compared to the state at 48.4.
• The 2008 Math MAP target was 45. BWs 7th grade
  proficient and advanced percentage was 31.3
  while the state was 49.8, and the 8th grade
  proficient and advanced percentage was 24.2
  while the state was 44.3.
• The school is now in its 2nd year of not meeting
  AYP

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Recommendation 1

• Move Brittany Woods to a true middle school
  utilizing the middle school concept as outlined
  in the research literature.
• Ensure an advisory for every child
• Ensure physical education on a daily basis to
  meet the needs of physical growth issues of young
  adolescents.
• Ensure exploratories that offer variety and
  challenge as well as new learning experiences.
• Ensure classes are taught using performance based
  curriculum and assessment.

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Recommendation 2

• Move to a block schedule. A block schedule with
  core classes having blocks of 90 minutes every
  other day will provide for the required 450
  minutes every two weeks per core and the
  aggregate of 1800 minutes for all four cores in
  two weeks. These blocks allow teachers who are
  well trained to utilize the time to provide the
  set, input, guided practice, checking for
  understanding that ensures all students have time
  to process information and skills before being
  given independent practice. This is a more brain
  compatible approach to learning for students and
  is responsive to the research on the physical,
  intellectual, social, and emotional needs (PIES)
  of young adolescences.

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Recommendation 3

• Based on all grades 6- 8 being present
  Attachment A sample schedule for eight block and
  Attachment B sample schedule for period day
  schedule.
• Utilize a schedule that requires 28 core
  teachers, 2 PE teachers, 3 music teachers, 1 art
  teacher, 1 industrial tech teacher, 1 FACS
  teacher, .5 computer teacher, .75 Spanish
  teacher, .5 French teacher, .5 Latin teacher, .25
  language exploratory teacher, and if desired 3
  teachers for academic assist for those students
  who are in dire need of assistance but do not
  fall into the SSD self contained classes these
  teachers must be able to teach all core content
  so would need to have elementary certification as
  well as intervention skills for academically
  deficient students.

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Recommendation 4

• specific recommendations
• Reading should be at all three grade levels
• All 6th graders should have reading every other
  day for a year or every day for a semester to
  ensure continued growth of skills and strategies.
• All 7th grade students reading 1.5 grade levels
  below should be enrolled in Scholastics Read 180
  every other day for a full year.
• All 8th grade students reading 1.5 grade levels
  below should be enrolled in Read 180 every other
  day for a full semester.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• READ reading for enjoyment and development
  should be provided as a reading recovery approach
  for older students (IEP or non IEP). This is a
  remedial reading approach focusing on skills for
  those who are extremely low (45 minutes a day all
  year long). Students could opt out of music and
  art in order to provide this intensive help prior
  to high school.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• Step Up to Success MAP support type class for
  students in the lowest quartile on MAP. (IEP or
  non IEP or new students to the district who
  teachers would recommend based on previous years
  MAP scores.) This course focuses on using MAP
  like items in basic communication arts, math and
  writing with social studies and science
  integrated (meet every day for 45 minutes and
  would replace vocal music, art, computers, or
  other related arts as an elective).
• Academic Recovery is for non IEP students (6,7,8
  1 class per grade level) who are performing
  below grade level in reading or math. Students
  enrolled in this course must be recommended by
  pervious years teacher (can utilize
  paraprofessional as support) but is a self
  contained class with the exception of
  mainstreaming for related arts. This would be 1
  teacher teaching up to 15 students as
  intervention, and the teacher would need
  elementary certification.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• Writing fundamentals should continue to be
  provided as academic recovery.
• Foreign Language
• 6th grade should be a cultural approach to
  various languages.
• 7th grade should have one semester of a foreign
  language (every other day all year)
• 8th grade should be all year long to prepare
  students for high school foreign language. If
  the District wants the 8th grade class to be
  Spanish I, French I, or Latin I the teacher
  must be certified to teach this and then it
  becomes a high school level class with credit
  awarded such that students move to Level II class
  as Freshmen.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• Health needs HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and safety
  education added to the course description to meet
  state requirements.
• Math
• 6th grade teams will need to offer one section of
  advanced math for each team
• 7th grade teams should offer one section of
  pre-algebra for each team
• 8th grade teams should offer one section of
  pre-algebra and one section of algebra for each
  team
• Math should be doubled so students have
  opportunities for additional assistance in
  becoming proficient and raising math scores.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• Choir can become a fine art in place of visual
  art (if student is enrolled in band and/or
  orchestra) and if the students excels in music.
• Choir could possibly change to have boys on A
  days, girls on B days and then combine them when
  preparing for a program. (flexible scheduling
  with other team members on the allied arts team.)
• Combine music appreciation into one course with
  fewer sections.
• Piano needs to be limited to one section with up
  to 15 students and/or make it a combine class
  with part of the students on piano and the other
  section of the class engaged in theory so that
  they rotate between piano and theory activities.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• District should begin orchestra at 5th grade.
• Jazz band could be offered prior to or after
  school with a teaching stipend (as could piano
  and advanced choir which would open up more
  teaching time. If a stipend is the route taken,
  performances could be required along with the
  teaching).

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Recommendation 4 continued

• DESE guidelines indicate 2 PE teachers are more
  than are needed for up to750 student however, to
  create common plan time for all teachers at a
  grade level, two teachers will be needed for the
  schedule.
• There may be a need for an additional of a
  teachers time for art with 6th grade being added.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• Class within a class should be rotated from
  team to team by year so teachers have CWC one
  year and not the next. This provides experience
  working with students of all abilities and
  provides encouragement for using differentiated
  instruction by all teachers.
• All SSD teachers should be assigned to a team and
  work with the core teachers as a part of a
  Professional Learning Community.
• FACS and IT should become a modular program
  moving to technology.

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Recommendation 4 continued

• The recommendations for Industrial Technology
  Paxton Patterson 15 modules from Grand Rapids,
  Michigan, and Gateway to Technology (through
  University of Missouri Rolla- School of Science
  and Technology)
• Gateway is basically free except for training for
  teachers, etc. Gateway can be woven into
  curriculum with Paxton Patterson modules.
  Emphasis in engineering and science. (Gateway has
  a high school component, also.) This would help
  prepare students for possible future admission
  into MU at Rolla. Other middle school IT
  teachers are very supportive of this program and
  believe it is good for students.
• The recommendation for FACS Paxton Patterson
  15 individual modules from Grand Rapids,
  Michigan Heavy emphasis on science and math
  very challenging to students align with MAP
  Tests. This curriculum is new but other middle
  school teachers of FACS have expressed strong
  support for this program.

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Recommendation 5

• Staffing1 librarian, 2 counselors, 2
  administrators all of these would be with
  grades 6, 7, 8 in the building and all are within
  or below state desirable standards.
• Utilize evaluation tools comparable to those
  outlined by Danielson and McGreal for counselors,
  librarians, and administrators.
• Utilize MO Model Guidance approach for counseling
  with integration into classrooms.

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Recommendation 6

• All teachers need professional development
  training in teaching in brain compatible methods
  and active engagement strategies.
• Cooperative learning training
• Active learning strategies, i.e., debates, role
  plays, scenarios, real-life engagement, community
  service
• 6 Trait Writing/Writing Across the Curriculum
• Reading strategies/ Reading Across the Curriculum
• Classroom management/ Boys Town Social Skills/
  Love and Logic
• Research based strategies
• Marzano strategies from Classroom Instruction
  that Works
• Pickerings vocabulary teaching strategies
• All teachers need development in how to operate
  as a professional learning community
• Cognitive coaching
• Protocols for looking at student work
• Curriculum Mapping
• Data Analysis
• Investigate Whole-Faculty Study Groups by Murphy
  and Lick.

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Recommendation 7

• Review curriculum for alignment to MAP and ensure
  that the GLEs are embedded into the curriculum.
• Design units with the Backward Design model to
  help embed formative and summative common
  assessments that are performance based and that
  allow teachers to discuss how all students are
  achieving.

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Questions