SIP JT Williams MS 2010-11 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

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student growth from year to year. It should also be noted that teachers effectively use resources, especially technology, to directly impact student learning. Which are the strongest aspects and why? The role of leadership and management in creating a quality learning environment is paramount. Our leadership possesses a moral purpose to create a school in which all students learn, and what students learn will prepare them for success in their future, not ours. The administration is clearly committed to the utilization of common planning times, the implementation of frequent staff development opportunities and the utilization of knowledge, skills and experience of all staff members to advance student learning. What most needs improvement and what action is being taken? While the staff of John Taylor Williams Middle School works very hard to create a climate in which students feel safe, valued and able to learn, we admit that the up-hill climb toward that goal has not ended. We continue to reinforce student expectations for academics and behavior, implement character education plans through homeroom and guidance activities and relentlessly reinforce our school’s focus on student achievement and sustained growth. This year, we are focused on creating a learning environment where students feel empowered, accepted, and safe to take academic risks. We believe this type of environment will increase student motivation to be successful in school. At the start of the school year, all teachers participated in training to Build a Culture of High Achievement. During this training, we focused on how to create a positive learning environment focused on self-efficacy and the importance of effort. To improve school climate, we have organized a committee of teachers to revise the school-wide discipline code. The book study group for It’s Being Done will receive first-hand information on how schools with similar demographics are increasing student achievement and school climate. We are organizing several student groups to increase school spirit and student ownership of the culture. Each Small School is organizing a student council, sponsoring extra-curricular activities, and submitting a culture plan. The administrative team is working collaboratively with teachers to increase the level of rigor and relevance in classes to move students from strategic compliance with academic tasks to authentic engagement. 6. How effective is the school in establishing a high quality partnership with parents, other schools and the community? 4 3 2 1 High X Undeveloped Quality How do you know? We acknowledge that the prevailing conditions of our families and the community at large require us to work harder and be more innovative in our efforts to improve the quality of relationships between parents, other schools and the community. Having acknowledged this, we find that 14
communication from the school to parents is sufficiently purposeful and diverse: weekly newsletters, ConnectEd, teacher phone calls, the school website and Good News postcards are among the ways we keep parents updated and celebrate our successes. Communication about student academic progress is clear and user-friendly. Progress reports are sent home every three weeks and all teachers are available for 90 minutes during their planning times on Thursdays for parent conferences. If this is not a convenient time, counselors and teachers are flexible with meeting parents before or after school. The communication to the home, however, does not sufficiently encourage parental involvement in the school. Although we were very pleased to see the high parent turn-out for the Open House at the beginning of the year, we realize the need to be able to sustain the same level of parent participation throughout the year. Athletic events usually draw parents to the schools, and we were impressed by the parent response during the retest period last year, but we need to do more to solicit parent involvement. In addition to building relationships with parents, we have developed a strong partnership with a neighborhood church, St. Paul Community Missionary Baptist Church. The members of the congregation proctor during testing season and help with celebrations at the school. We also have a minor partnership with Bank of America, with six of their employees mentoring and working with a group of our students last year. We will continue with our partnership with the JTWMS Class of ’69 (graduates of John Taylor Williams who wish to support our school). We continue to work with Sporty Jerald as he supports and partners with our school. We will continue to work with our four elementary feeder schools and West Charlotte High School was a part of the vertical articulation group that meets regularly to devise plans to better serve our students and prepare them for high school and beyond. We will continue with our 70-20-10 school-wide grading policy that is focused on students earning grades based on mastery. Which are the strongest features of communication between home/school about the school’s work and about each student’s achievement? Why? The strongest feature of our home-school communication is the weekly newsletter. The first week of the month is devoted to a message from the principal along with a calendar of events for the month. The second week of the month is reserved for the small schools to send home information to parents related to curriculum issues, upcoming projects and field trips. A publication related to adolescents, The Middle Years, is sent to parents during the third week of the month with information on dealing with teenagers. The final week of the month is devoted to the elective team. Elective teachers send information related to their various subjects to keep parents abreast of upcoming events, due dates and topics of study. We work hard to keep parents informed about everything happening at John Taylor Williams Middle School. What most needs improvement and what action is being taken? The area that most needs improvement is community partnerships. With the loss of our Parent Advocate position, the task of interacting with the community and developing partnerships has fallen upon the administration and staff. Staff members tap into church contacts and social acquaintances to develop leads for community partnerships, but we acknowledge that this is an area that still needs development. What aspects of the school’s work to involve parents/guardians and the community in the life of the school work best? Why? Parents more frequently attend school functions when their children are participating. Activities such as sporting events and music concerts produce more parent attendance than any other event at our school. In addition, we find that when food or snacks are served, we can expect a larger parent turn-out. Parents seem to attend when food is coupled with their children performing. What needs improvement and what action is being taken? We are concentrating efforts on attracting parents to come for conferences at the school. We are currently scheduling first quarter conferences, with the expectation and goal that 100% of our parents attend one conference. The guidance counselors are working with the teachers to contact hard-to-reach parents and request a conference time. 15
Page 1 and 2: 2010-2011 CMS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PL
Page 3 and 4: VISION To empower students with the
Page 5 and 6: John Taylor Williams Middle School
Page 7 and 8: 1. How effective is your school in
Page 9 and 10: We will use Extended Day funds (app
Page 11 and 12: student lexile levels; all teachers
Page 13: Technology, small class size and co
Page 17 and 18: CMS School Improvement Plan 2010-12
Page 19 and 20: 5. Implement school-wide content-ar
Page 21 and 22: CMS School Improvement Plan 2010-12
Page 23 and 24: interim assessments every three to
Page 25 and 26: 2. Increase student leadership oppo
Page 27 and 28: Appendix A JOHN TAYLOR WILLIAMS MID
Page 29 and 30: Appendix C John Taylor Williams Mid
Page 31 and 32: TITLE I: HIGH QUALITY & ONGOING PRO
Page 33 and 34: Subject/ Measure # In Membership #
Page 35 and 36: Appendix H John Taylor Williams Mid
Page 37 and 38: Appendix J: Strategies to Attract H
Page 39 and 40: Appendix M - FFA Summer Assessment
Page 41 and 42: of goals/objectives. Reteaching and
Page 43 and 44: DIMENSION B: Student Support Framew
Page 45 and 46: • Before-and after-school tutorin
Page 47: Sub Plan Statement: The SLO (Studen

SIP JT Williams MS 2010-11 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

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