Cold Springs Middle

Our Kids at a Glance

•1700 Students 6th-8th grade

•50% ESL Students and Growing

•50% Free and Reduced Lunch

Ethnic Composition - 7th Grade

36%

23%

22%

19%

Caucasian

AfricanAmerican

Hispanic

Asian

Appreciative Inquiry: A Model For Change

Define:What gives us

Focus

Destiny: What will

be…

Design: What should

be…

Dream: What might

be…

Cold Springs

MS

ActionsAnd

Outcomes

Energy and Emotions

Questions and Reflections

Anticipation of the Future

Attention in the Present

Cold Springs Middle School Appreciative Inquiry Conference ResultsJune 25-28, 2007

-Supportive and trusting administration

-Open communication and collaboration between faculty and administration-Shared vision -More ESL teachers-More time to plan effective lessons-Recognize success of students-Peer counseling-Collaboration of all staff in helping ESL students

Student AchievementProfessionalismCommunity Involvement

Themes

Wishes

We are educators committed to the academic achievement of

ALL students.

We are students

ourselves, committed to

growing professionally

and collaboratively as a learning community.

We are a school

community committed to meaningful

partnerships with parents, students, and

community members.

Blueprint for Supporting Staff and Overcoming Obstacles

Strategies

Celebrating Success

Using shared-decision making

Supporting professional learning communities

Open and Transparent Communication

Reviewing and adjusting SGP

Continuing the AI process

Proposition 1: Effective Professional Development

• “Unpacking” SOL

• Research Based Instructional

Practices

• Differentiated instruction

• Disaggregate Data

• Professional Learning Communities

• Scheduling: Observations, Common

Planning, Reflective Practices

• Need Based Staff Development

Professional Development

• Student achievement data will drive participation in local and national conferences.

• Schedule Trace Success http://www.tracesuccess.com/ • Recognize achievement of professional development goals and objectives• Student achievement data and teacher observations will drive staff

development

• Professional Learning

Communities

• Curriculum Mapping

• Unpack Standards

• Implement research-based

instructional strategies

• 4th and 9th Week Assessments

• Mentor opportunities for struggling

students

• Implement differentiated instruction

Provocative Proposition #2: Academic Press

Academic Press Continued

• Creative scheduling options – single

gender, double blocking/periods

• Integrate instructional technologies

• Implement Content Based ESL

• Pyramid of Interventions beginning

with the premise: “What we do when

students are not learning”

• Quarterly Data Presentations/Talks

– AYP Groups

– Quarterly Exam Grade Distribution

– SOL Strand Analysis

– Overall Grade Distribution

– Ethnicity

– Reflections/Actions/Steps/Strategies

– Tuning Protocol

Provocative Proposition #3: Collaboration between Students, Parents, Teachers, and the

Community

• Increase ESL parental involvement in parent-teacher-student conferences through:

– translated invitations– teacher and administrator phone calls– native language translators

• Welcome parents into the school building by:– Coffee with the Principal: morning, afternoon, and evening sessions

• Have a parent wait area/conference room stocked with soda, coffee, tea, and snacks

• Breakfast for new-comers each quarter

• Develop and implement meaningful opportunities for parent involvement

– International Night– Grade promotion ceremonies

Collaboration between Students, Parents, Teachers, and the Community

• Establish relationships with community and parents through:

– financial partnerships, strategies in the business world that work in the school

– resources in the community to improve/acquire resources

• Engage in community outreach programs such as coat and food drives

• Identify families in the school who would benefit from outreach

• Create student community service requirements

• Implement “Community Priorities Workshops” to allow community leaders, parents, and teachers to share current successes and future wishes for Cold Springs Middle School.

Our School Growth Plan Specific/Strategic, Measurable/Monitored, Action Oriented/Agreed Upon, Realistic/Results Oriented,

Timed/Tracked • S.M.A.R.T

• SGP is a living document

• Collaborative Effort

• Shared Decision

• Ownership

• Program Evaluation

• “Systems Thinking”

approach