Campus Improvement Plan 2020-2021

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Needs Assessment Overview

SOMS will need to focus on 3SMART Goals:

Goal 1- LA: All students will make at least one year’s growth in literacy-listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Goal 2-Math: All students will make at least one year’s growth in critical thinking skills (thinking, reasoning, problem-solving).
Goal 3-We will make at least a 15% growth on all meets and masters on STAAR 2021 across all subjects.

We met our growth goal in the 2018-2019 school year (STAAR 2020 was waived by TEA) in Domain 2a and are 1% away from meeting the 60% target for Domain 1. SOMS has put much energy and effort in changing hiring practices and worked to bring in more teachers who are a "fit" for our students, those up for the challenge for working with a high at-risk population. We will need to continue to push academically to graduate from a Comprehensive/IR school to that of a Priority/Focus by meeting more goals on STAAR results. If we can do it in Domain 2a and are 1% away from Domain 1 target, we can certainly do it this year with more of the right people on board focused on the same academic goals working together through the PLC process. We will need to drive results through continuous improvement processes (design and delivery of instruction, assessing/CFA/CFU frequently) and using results to adjust instruction. The right people doing the right work and monitoring the continuous improvement cycle for quality.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Demographics

Demographics Summary Demographics Summary: 88% Hispanic

7% White
4% African American
85% Economically disadvantaged
81% At-risk
55% English Language Learners

Demographics Strengths

The diversity of student population at Spring Oaks Middle School is viewed as a strength. This diversity is reflected in our staff.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Student Learning

Student Learning Summary

SOMS has worked with intentional planning using the PLC minutes. Teams unpack TEKS prior to unit. Grade level teams look at data. Math provides math lab for specific students. ELA has a 90-minute block. Math and ELA give MAP assessment 3 times annually to monitor student growth. District benchmarks are given and analyzed to guide instruction. Each core content creates common assessments.

In order to support student academic achievement, SOMS needs to focus on Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction. There needs to be a shift from looking at data to using the data to guide instruction. Past objectives need to be spiraled into instruction weekly. CFU’s will be used weekly also. Teachers will provide students with feedback on their academic growth, guide students to goal set, and analyze their own data building accountability with each student’s personal growth.

Resources used at SOMS are Motivation Math, math coach, Engaging Math, Closing the distance, STAAR workstations, IXL, Imagine Math, All in Learning, Edgenuity, Pathways, and Abydos.

Interventions are provided at SOMS for math and ELA. They include PSA during advisory and Saturday ROAR tutorials. Interventionists pull small groups in math and ELA for tier 3 students.

PD’s we might need:

• It’sLearning platform for guiding student pathways in all subjects 
• All in Learning
• Small group instruction/Blended Learning/Workshop Approach

Student Learning Strengths

We provide frequent and ongoing professional development and support for teachers so that they can design and implement rigorous first instruction aligned with the standards as well as analyze and respond to data to address student needs.

Each core content teacher has a daily conference period as well as a daily Professional Learning Community/team planning period. Math and ELA have instructional support from campus instructional coaches/interventionists.

Every student has a double-blocked ELA class. Math Lab classes are scheduled for targeted students.

RTI periods are scheduled into the school day twice a week to provide ongoing, targeted interventions to students.
 

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

School Processes & Programs

School Processes & Programs Summary

School Processes: Spring Oaks will continue its’ PLC journey in continuing and developing processes that bring clarity to our goals and how we achieve them.

What to continue: PLC intentional agendas (both department and team) PLC meeting minutes with actions items highlighted and monitored PLC data dives

Processes that need to be developed, modified, or enhanced: RTI processes and procedures; building RTI expectations in our daily plans and instructional PD to support implementation. Going beyond the teacher data tracker and finding purpose for the information. Collaborative groups of staff members to help develop consistency in expectations and messaging in implementation of staff directives from leadership and what that will look and sound like. i.e...discipline, dress code, project class, champs,… Refine and strengthen grade level teams. Campus Assessment and Instructional Support Specialist on campus this school year to facilitate and refine the RTI process.

Discipline Processes: In the past when teachers entered discipline in Skyward they were able to see the outcomes. With the new process they are left guessing as to the outcome. Create a communication process to help them be part of the complete cycle and help support administration. What does the future ISS look like?

School Programs:

Project class: How do we message this each day in classrooms by teachers?

Boys and Girls Club: has highly benefited our students and their connectedness to school. 

Champs: New training: how will this be implemented and what are the explicit expectations. 

PSA – RTI time Roar – Saturday school

Abydos – Across all ELA 

Teacher College – ELA teachers

School Processes & Programs Strengths

Core departments begun to form into functioning PLCs and are becoming proficient at using the PLC questions as they design instruction and use data to address the needs of their students. Teachers, instructional leaders and administrators, as part of the campus Guiding Coalition, participated in an extensive year-long training by Solution Tree. Brig Leane, from Solution Tree, worked directly with department PLCs to assist them in improving their PLC process.

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Perceptions Summary

Perceptions

Motivation among staff with students could be improved, we need have to ownership. 

Morale of staff could be elevated, yet self-reflective, possible incentives could help.

Classroom management needs to start first day, needs to be consistent, and needs follow-up from leadership…individual teachers have their own methods, but we need to talk the same talk at SOMS, one PLC monthly meetings can be devoted and discussed, sharing methods of how it is working, pro and cons…and what can we share. Example RTI for student behavior/academic. Discipline referrals could be google docs with file folders per teacher, teachers may be more apt to fill out a doc form online and place in their folder. Truancy is a challenging issue, what type of intervention is in place for repeat offenders, communications to inform teachers of steps being taken is necessary, yet a standard protocol needs to be followed by both teacher and leadership…communication is vital.

Teacher retention, instructional and classroom management skills come with experience, how do we get teachers to buy in and want to stay as a record teacher Suggestion of journaling during PLC first 5 minutes, reflective pro and con questions specific to things in classroom, option to discuss and share at end of PLC, coaches probe for specifics if writing and discussion is null. Grade level team meetings are usually controlled by AP, which is necessary sometime, consistency lacking from class to class, possible occasional grade level meetings without AP controlling would help teachers become more consistent, the meeting can be held with AP present…but more as a listener and supporter

Perceptions Strengths

Increased communication with community has also increased attendance and involvement. Increased visibility and continued connecting with parents and students via methods such as Zoom, webinars and phone calls will be key, including looking at our panorama survey results to further strengthen community involvement.