A School Transforming To Excellence

JS Russell Middle School

The oldest school in the county, built in the 1950’s as James Solomon Russell High School –it was the county’s black high school.  After integration it became the junior high school servicing grades 7-9.  This status remained until 2006 when the additional wing was finished at the high school.   That year the high school was given grades 9-12 and Sturgeon Elementary was closed and turned into the administration building and 6th grade was moved from the elementary schools to the middle school.  After that point RMS held grades 6-8.

History

• 475-School Membership  • Title I School-wide Program • Title I Targeted Assistance School• 380- 80% Minority Students               • 5 - .01% Limited English Proficient Students• 67- 14% Students with Disabilities • 388- 81.51% Students Identified as Disadvantaged

Demographics

Data

Data

Data

Year 6th 7th 8th

2010 3.8% 6% 7%

2011 .1% 2.7% 4.9%

Percentage of students with 5 or more absences 1st quarter

Teacher attendance data for 1st quarter (days missed)

Year 6th 7th 8th

2010 52 13.5 18.5

2011 27 18.5 17.5

Data

Data

Test 2009 2010 2011

English 77 82 81

Math 67 79 64

Adjusted SOL Data

Strengths

A division and community committed to improvement

A staff willing to work hard and change practices

An external partner that shares the vision of excellence

Sustainable programs and processes

Facilities

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff

Persisting and persevering but discontinuing failing

strategies

Implementing a communication plan for building

stakeholder support

Opportunities

ProgramsSuccessmaker $63,000*Plugged Into Reading $40,000*Istation $12,500

Classroom suppliesLibrary collection update $43000*Promethean boards $42000*Mimio Teach boards $15000*

PersonnelSpecial education coach $60,000Math coach $50,000

Financial

Progress

Model Strands Level of I mplementation

A. Creation & Use of District Team

High I mplementation

B. Enabling School Autonomy

High I mplementation

C. Principal & Hiring Teachers

High I mplementation

D. Stakeholder Engagement Partial I mplementation

E. Creation & Use of School Team

High I mplementation

F. Leading Change High I mplementationG. Evaluating, rewarding,

removing staff Partial I mplementation

H. Professional Development High I mplementation

I . Learning Time High I mplementationJ . Reforming I nstruction Partial I mplementation

Barriers

•Shifting requirements

•Lack of infrastructure at the building level to support

some initiatives

•Communication amongst all members of the team

Goals

•Increased student performance

oRaise expectations of classroom rigor

oDevelop data driven culture at the school

oIncreased communication between all

stakeholders and at all levels

Planning

•Developing leadership capacity amongst the staff

•Sustainable programs and materials

•Creating an embedded culture of excellence

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present; and you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”C. S. Lewis