SPARC Example: Cranston

Suppor t Per sonnel Accountability
Western Hills Middle School (6-8)
Eve Bonitati—Counselor
400 Phenix AveNUE Gail Campellone—Psychologist
Cranston, RI 02920
Jim Flaxinton—Counselor
(401) 270-8030 Fax: (401) 270-8635 Erin Phillips—Counselor
Peter Nero—Principal
Patti Sammartino –Social Worker
Home Of The
Administrator’s Comments
As a new administrator, I am
constantly learning and growing.
As Assistant Principal for
Student Services, I supervise
school counselors who show.
tireless commitment to their
students, parents, and fellow
teachers. Through advocacy,
collaboration and leadership,
the guidance staff enhances the
academic, personal/social, and
career success of all students.
Students feel welcome in the
guidance office.
Counselors often support students
and fellow teachers by
delivering developmental guidance
lessons to both small and
large groups. One topic often
dealt with is Harassment and
Bullying. We are proud of progress
our students have made in
eliminating this “typical middle
school behavior.”
Somehow this wonderful staff
also finds time to be the link
between teacher and parent.
Our counselors assure that their
services are both proactive and
responsive to students’ needs.
-Kim Magnelli
Community Partnerships
Academic
Homework Help Club
Cobra School Newspaper
Sylvan Learning Center
Alternative Placements
Career
Career Day
Vocational and Charter
School Visits
School to Career Program
Personal/Social
Cranston High School West
Big Sister Program
Department of Children
Youth and Family
Local Mental Health Agencies,
including Cranston
Community Action Program
The members of the Support Team include the school Psychologist, a Social Worker, an
Assistant Principal, three guidance counselors, and a full time secretary. The team has over
fourteen degrees including five master’s degrees, an M.S.W. and a C.A.G.S. and one hundred
fifty-two years of experience in education. The support team sees students in individual
counseling sessions, in-group sessions, in the classroom and occasionally by teams. Both the
support team and the students initiate contacts providing support, guidance and education to our
students that are academic, medical, emotional and social in nature. Further, the support team is
in constant communication with parents and guardians both through phone contacts and
meetings. The support team also works closely with the team teachers to assist the students.
School Climate and Safety
The Supportive Personnel
Team contributes in many
ways to the overall positive
climate of the school through
their dealings with students,
parents and teachers. Over the
past seven years an improvement
in the parents’ perception
of Western Hills and the climate
here has been very evident
in our S.A.L.T. surveys.
THIS IS
A GOOD SCHOOL
97-98: 57% Strongly Agreed
04-05: 76% Strongly Agreed
THIS SCHOOL
IS A SAFE PLACE
04-05: 95% Strongly Agreed/
Agree
10 0 %
10 0 %
8 0 %
6 0 %
4 0 %
2 0 %
8 0 %
6 0 %
4 0 %
2 0 %
0 %
0 %
T h i s i s a G o o d S c h o o l
19 9 7 - 9 8 2 0 0 4 - 0 5
Per cen t of Par en t s who st r on gly agr ee
T h i s Sc h o o l i s a Sa f e P l a c e
19 9 7 - 9 8 2 0 0 4 - 0 5
Per cent of Par ents who St r ongl y Agr ee/ Agr ee
Student Support Personnel Team
Home/ School Connection
Guardians and the school
connect in a wide variety of
ways. Orientation meetings
are held for families on incoming
sixth graders and
families of eighth graders
who are completing their
schedules for high school.
Teams, including Unified
Arts teachers, hold Open
Houses at different times of
the year for all families.
Guardians are invited to
participate in monthly meetings
of the Parent Advisory
Board PAB.) and School
Improvement Team (SIT) .
Some parents are required
to attend weekly Truancy
Court at Western which
addresses attendance, academic
and behavioral issues.
Guardians can request
meetings with team teachers
or other staff members and
team teachers often initiate
meetings with guardians
(approximately 500 a year).
Counselors make approximately
300 phone calls a
month to guardians. In response
to S.A.L.T. surveys,
nearly 4000 notices were
sent home last year inviting
guardians to evening meetings
on issues such as understanding
teenagers, dealing
with stress, helping with
homework and preparing
schedules for high school.
THIS IS ONE OF THE
BEST SCHOOLS FOR
PARENTS & STUDENTS
97-98: 70% Strongly Agreed/Agree
04-05: 91% Strongly Agreed/Agree
10 0 %
5 0 %
T h i s i s o n e o f
0 %
t h e B e s t S c h o o l s
f o r P a r e n t s a n d S t u d e n t s
19 9 7 - 9 8 2 0 0 4 - 0 5
Per cen t of Par en t s who St r on gly Agr ee/ Agr ee
PARENTS ARE VIEWED AS
IMPORTANT PARTNERS
97-98: 79% Strongly Agreed/Agree
04-05: 87% Strongly Agreed/Agree
10 0 %
8 0 %
6 0 %
4 0 %
2 0 %
0 %
P a r e n t s a r e v i e w e d a s I m p o r t a n t
P a r t n e r s
19 9 7 - 9 8 2 0 0 4 - 0 5
Per cen t of Par en t s who St r on gly Agr ee/ Agr ee
THIS SCHOOL HAS AN
ACTIVE PARENT
ORGANIZATION
97-98: 34% Strongly Agreed
04-05: 53% Strongly Agreed
10 0 %
8 0 %
6 0 %
4 0 %
2 0 %
T h i s Sc h o o l h a s a n a c t i v e P a r e n t
0 %
O r g a n i z a t i o n
19 9 7 - 9 8 2 0 0 4 - 0 5
Per cen t of Par en t s who St r on gly Agr ee/ Agr ee

Support Personnel Accountability
Keeping You Informed
At Western Hills Middle School, we
are committed to keeping our school
community informed about guidance
activities and programs offered.
Our department focuses on
connecting and informing our students,
families and staff with resources
to meet their specific needs.
Listed below are some of the ways
we communicate.
PERSONAL CONTACT:
Student/Parent/Teacher meetings,
Presentations to all classes, Open
House, 6 th Grade Summer Hot Dog
Roast, Evening presentations for
parents, 8 th Grade Course Selection
Night, Honors Night, Transition to
Middle School and High School,
School and district leadership committee
participation
IN PRINT:
The Daily Bulletin, Student Planners,
Guidance Brochure, Quarterly
publication of the parent newsletter,
School newspaper, “The Cobra
Commotion”, Leters and Flyers
sent home, Weeklies, Mid Quarter
Progress Reports, Report Cards,
Information Works School, District
and State Data
ELECTRONIC MEDIA:
Approximately 50-75 telephone
calls with parents per week, daily e-
mail communication with staff and
parents, daily access to our school
website www.cpsed.net/whills with
a link to our school bulletin and
postings of important information.
Student Results
Major Achievements
The Guidance Department has influenced
the following achievements through an
active voice in the design, implementation
and evaluation of the following:
Targeting/designing small groups to
work with students in the Below Basic
and basic standardized test scores.
Project Wisdom (morning announcements)
to engage students in thoughts
of character education including empathy
and caring for their classmates.
Improved daily attendance of absent/
truant students through accountability
from various members of the Support
Personnel Team, the district office, and
community agencies.
Increased home/school communication
and parent accountability through progress
reports, daily planner, phone
calls, meetings and emails.
Use of technology to present guidance
information..
Parent workshops entitled
“Understanding Your Teenager:
Growth and Development”,“Stres
and The Relaxation Response”and
“Helping Students with Homework.
Creation of a Counseling Department
link on the school website as a community
referral source, per Focus for Improvement
(SPARC).
Became one of the first districts in RI to
develop a comprehensive school counseling
curriculum through the participation
of all school counselors in Cranston.
The student support personnel team is committed to provide comprehensive support
services in accordance with the National Standards for School Counseling.
Each student receives guidance lessons in the classroom at least 4 times per year
addressing academic, personal/social and career. In addition, school counselors
meet with students individually and in small groups to further establish their academic
and career goals. Supports such as these, as well as programs embedded in
the teachers’ curiculum has been a significant contribution to the high performing
status of Western Hills. The results of this years NECAP testing demonstrated
that the percentage of students achieving proficiency and achieving proficiency
with distinction is as follows:
Grade ReadingMath Writing
6 74 56
7 73 61
8 66 50 54
Focus For Improvement
Our Team is committed to being
advocates of student success. We
plan to continue improvement of
intervention and prevention services
each year.
Through review of data, we have
identified the following needs:
1. To Increase the percent of students
that feel that they can talk
to their teacher, counselor or
other staff member about personal
or family problems.
2. To Contact more parents when
their child does something well
or improves.
3. To help create and become actively
involved in advisories.
4. To create a plan or a program to
reduce the amount of at risk students.
Measurements
Surveys and assessments dictate
the typed of support students need
to increase overall school success.
The Student Support Team uses the
following measurements to respond
to specific needs:
Academic:
Iowa Reading Test: to identify,
appropriately place and/or provide
any student reading one to three
grade levels below with a supplemental
reading class or a personal
literacy plan. NECAP
Career:
Coin Career Assessment Inventory:
Given to students to help
them more thoroughly assess their
interests, aptitudes and skills.
Personal/Social:
Needs surveys: Given to help
identify programs to support students,
parents, and staff.