West Hills MD - School Plan 2001 - 2002 School LAND Trust Program

School: West Hills MD

The committee viewed the video "Using the Trust."
Yes

Duration of the plan:
Single year

Areas of academic need addressed by the plan (check all that apply):

This plan specifically addresses the needs of students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
Yes

School Plan description:
West Hills Middle School plans to increase students' math performance by implementing the STARR Accelerated Math diagnostic program and the Accelerated Math instructional program in our math classes and math tutoring program. We plan on using the Land Trust money to: 1) purchase additional Accelerated Math software and individual math classroom printers; 2) sponsor after school math tutoring for students; 3) provide for after school Language Circles for students; 4) improve student behavior and responsibility through the continuation of the Teacher Advisory program and its related curriculum; 5) increase the number of books in our Library Media Center. , West Hills Middle School is in the second year of implementing a five year strategic plan. The plan's primary focus is on implementing the middle level philosophy and increasing student academic success. When the Land Trust Committee reviewed the strategic plan, collected data on past test scores and grades, and solicited school needs from the community and faculty during the school year 1999-2000, it became obvious that math and social behavior were of primary concern. Total math test scores on the SAT were average, but math procedure scores were way below the national average. Students' lack of respect and motivation, leading to a lack of responsibility, was also an area of concern. It was believed that students' lack of responsibility was also related to a decrease in academic success. Secondary concerns of academic focus included the reading and writing test scores. In the past three years, scores are improving. They are, however, still in need of academic improvement. Our Language Arts program and Library Media Center were noted in our school needs survey as follow-up concerns. Our plan of action at West Hills is to focus on: 1) improving students' math skills and performance, 2) improving students' behavior and social skills; and 3) improving students' performance in Language Art reading and writing. Our plan for 2001-2002 has five components: 1) We will continue to implement the Accelerated Math instructional program and STARR diagnostic Accelerated Math program in our math department. Our teachers have been trained and inserviced in Accelerated Math (AM) and how to help struggling students be more successful in math. We will continue to inservice them as needed. We will also purchase additional AM programs which consists of software, materials, and equipment. 2) We will provide math tutoring after school for students who are identified as needing additional math support and practice. Three teachers will be paid out of Land Trust money to hold enrichment tutoring lessons free to the students after school. 3) We will begin a 'Language Circle' enrichment session after school for students desiring extra help with reading and writing. Two teachers will be paid out of Land Trust money to sponsor an enjoyable, and academically focused club for any student wishing to enhance their language art skills. 4) We plan on continuing our 'Teacher Advisory' period within our school day. This 25 minute class focuses on developing student/teacher relationships, providing a safe place for students to talk, teaching students a core curriculum that focuses on goal setting, communication, conflict resolution, study skills, responsibility, and other relevant areas of social learning. We will purchase additional curriculum for the program and provide inservice training for staff. 5) We will also add an innovative component to our plan to purchase additional Library Media Center books for students to check out and use. Since our school is fairly new, we are still filling our library shelves with books. In order to assure that we are accountable and that our plan is successful, we will assess its progress in the following ways: 1) Examine and compare math SAT and end of course CRT test scores, and student grades from 1999-2000, 2000-01, and 2001-02. 2) Collect data on discipline referrals, examine the number of referrals, the reasons, and the severity of the referrals. 3) Survey the faculty, students, parents on the effectiveness of the Teacher Advisory Program and conduct a School Climate Survey. 4) Assess the progress we are making in implementing our Strategic Plan. 5) Account for the new library materials and their use. 6) Collect information on the number of students participating in the math tutoring program and the Language Circles and their progress. Parents have played an important part in forming our school plan the first year and the second year. Our committee solicited concerns and ideas from many sources. We plan on involving our parents in the Teacher Advisory portion of the plan and will be asking at least one parent to serve as a 'CAP' (Community Advisory Parent) in each teacher advisory class. We will also notify the community, the legislature, the students, and the staff about the success of the program by writing news articles, posting our plan and its results on the web, and inviting guests into our school to see the math program, the Language Circles, and the teacher advisory classes. Our Land Trust Committee will ultimately be responsible for the implementation of the plan. Dr. Kerrie Naylor is the principal and treasurer of the committee. She is available for comment at www.knaylor@m.whms.jordan.k12.ut.us. The Teacher Advisory Committee, consisting of 5 teachers, 1 counselor, and 1 parent will also be responsible. The math department chair is Heather Young. She can be reached at www.hyoung@m.whms.jordan.k12.ut.us. Our Language Arts chair is Sandy Rudert. She can be reached at www.srudert@m.whms.jordan.k12.ut.us.

Detailed description:

Estimated School LAND Trust funds for 2001-2002:
$11000

Estimated School LAND Trust funds carried over from 2000-2001:
$0

TOTAL: $11000

Proposed financial plan:

Professional Development
$0

Equipment / Repairs / Maintenance
$2400

Textbooks / Supplies / Software / Audiovisual
$4100

Salaries / Benefits
$3000

TOTAL
$9500

Clarification of the proposed budget.

Is this plan being implemented with additional funds? No

Yes - sources and amounts

Person responsible for implementing the plan.
Dr. Kerrie Naylor

Position of this person:
Principal

School personnel and volunteers will be involved in the following ways.
Parents have played an important part in forming our school plan the first year and the second year. Our committee solicited concerns and ideas from many sources. We plan on involving our parents in the Teacher Advisory portion of the plan and will be asking at least one parent to serve as a 'CAP' (Community Advisory Parent) in each teacher advisory class.

There is an accountability program developed for the school strategic plan.
Yes

Relationship of this plan to the school strategic plan.
West Hills Middle School is in the second year of implementing a five year strategic plan. The plan's primary focus is on implementing the middle level philosophy and increasing student academic success. We are doing this by team teaching, integrating curriculum and instruction, implementing the teacher advisory program, and planning student enrichment and exploratory options. When the Land Trust Committee reviewed the strategic plan, collected data on past test scores and grades, and solicited school needs from the community and faculty during the school year 1999-2000, it became obvious that math and social behavior were of primary concern. Our Land Trust plan includes math, language arts, teacher advisory, and enrichment opportunities.

Accountability measures to be used.
 Stanford Achievement Test (SAT/9e)
 End-of-Level or End-of-Course Tests
 Performance Assessment
 Other Assessment or measurements

Goals for student improvement.
West Hills goals for student improvement are as follows: 1) SAT math score improvement 1-2 percentage points; 2) SAT Language Arts writing scores 1-2 percentage points; 3) Students participating in math tutoring will increase in end of quarter grades; 4) Student discipline referrals will decrease in the next school year; 5) School personnel will report an improved school climate on the survey; 6) Students will self report their opinions of responsible behavior.

Student improvement will be measured as described below.
In order to assure that we are accountable and that our plan is successful, we will assess our progress in the following ways: 1) Examine and compare math SAT and end of course CRT test scores, and student grades from 1999-2000, 2000-01, and 2001-02. 2) Collect data on discipline referrals, examine the number of referrals, the reasons, and the severity of the referrals. 3) Survey the faculty, students, parents on the effectiveness of the Teacher Advisory Program and conduct a School Climate Survey. 4) Assess the progress we are making in implementing our Strategic Plan. 5) Account for the new library materials and their use. 6) Collect information on the number of students participating in the math tutoring program and the Language Circles and their progress.

The school will publicize the plan in the following ways:

 Letters to your local school board, governor, state senator, representatives, congressional delegation, and State School Board
 Letter to the editor of the newspaper
 Local school newsletter
 School Assembly
 Articles in local newspaper - title:
 Radio/TV - station:
 Other - description
Local Newsletter, Community Group and PTSA meetings, Visitors

2. Evaluation

School's identified most critical academic need approved by the local school board:

3. Narrative report

The school plan for 2001-02 has five components: 1. We will continue to implement the Accelerated Math instructional program and STARR Diagnostic Accelerated math program. Unfortunately, the three teachers who were trained in this program transferred to other schools before the beginning of the year. Therefore, this part of our plan needed to be revised. Current teachers are working to become proficient in using these programs during this year. The program has not been used with students this year, but will be implemented again next year. 2. We will provide math tutoring after school for students who are identified as needing additional math support and practice. This part of the program has been extremely successful. By the end of the third quarter, 77 sessions had been held. 107 different students had been given help in the tutoring sessions. A large majority of these students attended more than once for a grand total of 416 sessions. Attendance has been so large, that the committee felt it essential to revise the original plan to allow for more sessions to be held. Students and parents report that the tutoring sessions are a great help to the success of the students in their math classes. No test data will be available to support this program until at least next year. 3. We will begin a "Language Circle" enrichment session after school for students desiring extra help with reading and writing. The reading and writing circles are still in the planning stages. The overwhelming participation in the math tutoring has exceeded the budget for these two activities. This year the literacy focus has been on reading and writing across the curriculum with professional development given to all teachers through the School Improvement Plan. 4. We plan on continuing our "Teacher Advisory" period within our school day. The teacher advisory period has been held each day except on activity days. Three days a week are curriculum based with components on character education and life skills for success. One day is used for DEAR (drop everything and read) which lends support for developing reading skills and habits. The fifth day is used for study and advisor/student consultation on grades and progress. Surveys indicate that more work is needed in order to make the program completely successful. Parents and students express that they are not seeing the benefit of the program as much as was hoped. Teachers are a bit frustrated with the extra preparation and additional students. These responses indicate that the program is in need of support and revision. Plans are in place to expend the allocated money on revision and professional development. The character education component has proven successful with a 10% reduction in discipline referrals. 5. We will also add an innovative component to our plan to purchase additional library media center books for students to check out and use. The books and materials have been purchased. Documentation is in place to track of use.