Nicole Svee Welch Assistant Principal Nicole'Welchjordan'k12'ut'us

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Nicole Svee Welch Assistant Principal
Nicole.Welch_at_jordan.k12.ut.us

• Teaming and
• Collaboration Cycles
• As a Literacy Model

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School Demographics

• Number of Students - 891  
• Percent of Ethnic Minority - 6  
• Percent of Special Education - 10  
• Percent of English as Second Lang - 1  
• Percent of Free/reduced lunch - 18    

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Teaming

• Teams are housed together to facilitate teaming
  and planning.
• We have weekly teaming and collaboration
  practices.
• Teams and departments plan and report their goals
  and results
• Great effort is put into building well
  functioning teams. This is accomplished by
  strategically placing personalities together that
  can team well together.

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Teaming Process

• The teaming process at South Hills Middle School
  allows teachers to utilize the Application Model
  part of the Rigor/Relevance Framework.
• Teaming enables the acquisition of knowledge and
  the application of that knowledge across
  disciplines.
• All seventh and eighth grade core classes are
  teamed together in three-hour blocks of time.
• Teachers share a common planning period and share
  collaboration time.

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Teaming Process

• The benefits of a teaming model are multifold
• Teachers share ideas
• Students receive integrated lessons and smaller
  learning communities
• Parents notice an increase in communication.
• Teachers work together to increase the
  rigorousness of curriculum standards and to
  create inventive real world applications of
  that curriculum.

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Collaboration Cycles

• Collaboration, based on test results, help
  teachers focus on what is essential for student
  learning.
• Teachers examine test data, discuss learning in
  the classroom, and make data driven decisions.
• Teachers examine the way they are teaching in
  order to move students from simple awareness to
  higher-order skills such as synthesis and
  evaluation.

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Collaboration Results Cycles Preparation

• In order to establish Collaboration Cycles,
  extensive teacher training had to be
  accomplished
• Teacher study groups
• Had to train teachers how to communicate with
  each other and break out of the one-room school
  idea.
• Sent teachers to national and local conferences.
• Read Results by Schmoker, Turning Points 2000,
  and other books on middle school philosophy.
• Teacher buy-in and leadership is a must!!!

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Collaboration Results Cycles Implementation

• A collaborative culture had to be established.
  In other words, teachers had to learn to talk to
  each other and break out of traditional modes.
• Teachers are looked at as the experts in the
  classroom. Based on test data and empirical
  observation, they decide on what needs
  improvement.
• Teachers use instruction and strategies to become
  more effective teachers.

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Collaboration Meetings (Three times during the
Quarter)

• First Collaboration Meeting
• Teams/departments develop academic and behavioral
  goals based on test data and/or department need.
• Teachers discuss why the goal was selected and
  their plan or strategy for achieving that goal.
• Teachers must also have a strategy for measuring
  or assessing student achievement.
• Example Foreign Language chose the following
  goals
• Academic In order to exert more rigor into
  the curriculum, we decided to give a pop quiz
  each week to check if the students are actually
  studying their current lessons at home. We
  require 10 minutes per night (60 a week), signed
  by a parent/guardian at the end of each week. We
  chose this goal because some students are having
  their parents sign, but are not actually doing
  the study time. We want 100 results.
• Behavioral We chose to continue the fun,
  exciting, and
• sometimes wild inner-departmental tardy
  challenge!
• (Riddle races kids to class for diet cokes
  etc!!!) We want 100 results!!!

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Academic Goal Form Meeting 1
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Second Collaboration Meeting

• The second meeting serves as a check on data and
  instruction.
• Academic and Behavior goals are reviewed.
• Pre-test data is examined and evaluated.
• Instructional practices are examined and modified
  if necessary.

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Academic Goal Form Meeting 2
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Third Collaboration Meeting Celebration Meeting

• The third meeting is a celebration of
  achievement based on pre and post-tests.
• Reflection on instructional strategies is
  essential.
• Teachers reflect on all factors involved in
  student achievement including outside factors.
• A comparison of target levels with achieved
  levels is demonstrated.
• The influence on teacher/student relationships
  are reflected upon.

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Academic Goal Form Meeting 3
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Academic Goal Form Meeting 3
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Test Data 2004/05

• Increase from 80 to 87 of students attaining
  Mastery Level 3 or 4 on CRT tests.
• Math scores improved 2 in 2004 and 7 in 2005.
• Science scores increased 6 with 94 of students
  achieving mastery levels in Biology.
• End of year testing achieved a 65 to 78 percent
  passing rate across all ethnicities and
  sub-groups.