Agenda 6/6/2012: Breakfast and School Improvement Plan

Dear Mitchell SIT Team,

The current draft of the Mitchell School Improvement Plan is due
today . . . and I have submitted it for review by our superintendent,
Dr. Green and subsequently by the Michigan Department of Education.
Even if you feel you haven't contributed significantly, we have
traveled the beginning of the school improvement road together in
developing this plan . . . so thank you for you help and input. All
of your contributions have been helpful.

I've also created an "at a glance" document that easily identifies
what the plan says. It is attached so you know what has been submitted
(but not yet what has been approved).

Looking forward to celebrating our hard work together at breakfast on 6/6/12 at Achilles.  At that time we can review the plan.

Mitchell SIT Minutes - 5/9/12

SIT Team 5/9/12

School Improvement Plan

Goals-

Staff Feedback-We are on track for meeting these goals, many teachers are already doing these things, there is a need for support to get all teachers in the same place

Reading-

åEnglish and Academics Academy is happening this year.

- Incoming grades 3-8

- Based on science—integrates technology-using BioKids to assess biodiversity of natural areas.

- Social studies perspectives of community and diversity in natural areas as well as in schools and neighborhoods 

-Technology—Ipods, Brandon center at UM for presentation

-Agency curriculum-clarifying, explaining, questioning,

åNeed to include staff collaboration in response to feedback at last week’s staff meeting

Question: What are we doing for kids who are at grade level and above?

- By helping struggling learners we are also helping other learners as a result of differentiated instruction and best teaching practices.

- We are explicit about what we do for struggling learners but not explicit about what we do for the high achieving students in the building—creates misconceptions for parents

-Special programming is based on struggling learners while other kids would enjoy the same activities—Academics Academy, Science Olympiad...traditionally this kind of programming falls to PTO and is not built into the daily academic program.

Question: Can we post NWEA scores to show improvement at Mitchell? (As a way to let parents know of the achievement here?—positive PR) The perception in the community is that Mitchell is a terrible school with low levels of achievement. 

-The current data shows growth at Mitchell and Scarlet that is greater than other area schools. 

-UM is also working on perception through the partnership.

-Rigorous work with struggling learners creates images of the possible

-Need to get this kind of information out to the public

åSchool Culture/Agency

-Responsive Classroom

-Fall plan for the development of school rules—staff to meet this summer

Question: What will the focus of the work that the SIT team will do next year?

-School Culture—design rubrics, build community, including parents in RC. Then choose specific activities to support and explicitly schedule into the year.

Cathy followed up after last meeting with connection for Spanish classes as a part of PTO meeting—(A2LP?) 

Conversation around reputation and perception—community and staff are looking at the school in different way.  Historically Mitchell has had its challenges—today it is very different but the reputation is still there—race, real estate, achievement all a part of this perception. 

Thought: This perception comes from our own families.  Maybe we need to worry less about everyone else and begin our work within our own community.   

SIT Agenda - 5/9/2012

See y'all at 7:30 AM!  And thank you for your commitment to our school improvement plan.

 

We will continue our discussion from the last SIT meeting where our meeting was to begin (or continue) to brainstorm activities that will best address our goals for 2012-13 . . . with a thought on "parent and community involvement." 

Last time we began talking in the direction of how to involve the community with Responsive Classroom.  I bought a copy of the new RC book entitled "Parents & Teachers Working Together."

Is there anyone who would take notes during the meeting, please?  I'm wanting to capture more than I've been able to doing it on my own.

MIT Mintues - 4/25/12

Discussion focused on RC goal

Connect to agency

Use of TIII summer school developed curricula as an activity

We want students to become autonomous, self-directed learners

Having a rubric for parents would be helpful as we think about how to engage families around RC

Invite parents to professional development

Parent professional development

Giving language examples would be powerful

I noticed . . .

I saw you . . .

Put the scissors in the drawer now. You are doing something unsafe.

Video examples

Invite parents to morning meeting

Curriculum night sharing???

-       introduce RC

-       NAAPID – come

-       RC passport – look for the features of RC

-       Morning meeting during Kevin’s presentation

The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum

RC is different so we have to take parents into account in how we present it

SIT Agenda - 4/25/2012

Conference Room

7:30 AM

We will continue our discussion from the last SIT meeting where our meeting was to begin (or continue) to brainstorm activities that will best address our goals for 2012-13 . . . with a thought on "parent and community involvement." 

We brainstormed some ideas at the last meeting:  CLICK HERE

And, for your reference, the draft SIP goals are:

In an effort to keep focus on where we're going, I'm sharing and in some cases resharing our direction for the School Improvement Plan goals.  Please read this over, ask questions, give feedback, and/or let me/us know what you think.


Reading*:  By the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the percentage of Mitchell students reading at instructional target reading levels will increase from 69% to 79% based on year-end reported reading levels.  (data would still be updated based on end of year reading level data)


Writing*: The percentage of Mitchell student scoring proficient or advanced on the MEAP writing test will increase from 35% to 40% based on the fall 2012 MEAP writing test.  
INSTEAD OF previous language in order to de-emphasize "end of year" language:
By the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the percentage of Mitchell students proficiently or advanced on the MEAP test will increase from 35% to 40% based on the MEAP test.


Self-control*:  All Mitchell students will show self-control based on the report card rubrics for self-control at each grade level.
This is placeholder goal for now.  It is the result of some discussion of a goal connected to RC.  It is my hope to continue the development of this discussion and goal with BMT and the SIT . . . of course with input from staff.


Math:  By the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the percentage of students secure on math outcomes related to algebra will increase from 52% to 60%.


Science:  The percentage of Mitchell student scoring proficient or advanced on the MEAP science test will increase from 35% to 40% based on the fall 2012 MEAP writing test. 
INSTEAD OF previous language in order to de-emphasize "end of year" language:
By the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the percentage of Mitchell students proficient or advanced on the MEAP science test will increase from 12% to 22% based on the MEAP test.


Social Studies:  The percentage of Mitchell students proficiently or advanced on the MEAP test will increase from 17% to 27% based on the fall 2012 MEAP test.


* Focus Area Goal

Mitchell SIT: Parent/Community Involvement Activity Brainstorming

Thank you for your time this morning at today's Mitchell SIT meeting.
My notes of what we brainstormed are shown here:
http://mitchellsit.blogspot.com/2012/04/parentcommunity-involvement-activity.html
Would it be OK to continue our discussions on 4/25 @ 7:30? I'll send
a Google invite.
Parting thought: Our goal is to identify the greatest point(s) of
leverage in helping our community support our SIT goals. We should do
this first in connection to our focus goals.
Kevin

Parent/Community Involvement Activity Brainstorming

Weekly Wagon Walk of Books
- Reading materials for kids and adults shared
- Walk through neighborhoods as a lending library

Family Book Club involvement - from Jenni Zimmer

Post cards - exchange post cards throughout the summer about the books that have been read

Organize school library - as a community lending library / community center that would be open later in the day

Dialogue journals - where book notes had been written; others respond

Parent English classes - as have been done in the past at Mitchell
- English skills
- model how to read with kids
- T/Th

Think Stretch program - workbook program to reduce summer slide

Connect with Charo from Palma?

Seven Weeks of Winter (SWOW) - Lunch hour classes taught by parents

Parent meeting to talk about the report card in both Spanish and English

Spanish language classes for English speaking families

Poetry cafe to showcase writing work being done

Celebrations for parents (e.g. poetry slam) that involve and informally teach parents in safe ways at school

Show parents what secure third grade writing looks like

Find parents who will help with science fair

Connect science fair to reading/writing goals

Involve UM interns in science fair activities - maybe as a part of extended day