School Improvement Plan Wilmette Junior High School

Wilmette Public School District #39 School Year 2009-2010

Wilmette Junior High School is dedicated to meeting the educational and developmental needs

of emerging adolescents through a caring partnership

of students, staff, parents, and community.

Dr. David Palzet, Principal

Ms. Kelly Jackson, Assistant Principal

Mr. Josh Andrews, Student Coordinator

School Improvement Plan – School Profile

Wilmette Junior High School (WJHS) serves approximately 900 students in grades seven and eight. WJHS serves the majority of the Village of Wilmette and a portion of Glenview. This is a large school that works to give students an individualized educational experience; the philosophy “one size does not fit all” is obvious at the Junior High. We have Differentiation Support teachers at each grade level who work with teachers to tailor students’ education experiences to fit their individual abilities, learning styles, and interests. We have several different classes offered to meet students’ developmental needs in the area of mathematics. Students are engaged in cutting edge classroom activities that allow for exploration and student growth. WJHS is truly a place where students can find their strengths and hone their skills for high school.

WJHS boasts an excellent teaching staff with a variety of teaching experiences. Our staff to student ratio is approximately 14 to one. The WJHS staff is professional and reflective in their practice. Academic teams meet on a weekly basis to discuss the needs of their students, department meetings are held quarterly to discuss curriculum and professional development is constant and on going. The academic setting provides students with 200 minutes a week each of science, math, and social studies and 400 minutes a week of language arts. Additionally, students receive 80 minutes of homeroom per week where they make connections to adults. One of the areas that we feel is important to our students is having adult advocates. Students need to know that there are adults within the building that care for them and will help guide them into good decisions; these advocates may be teachers, coaches, or administrators.

The students of WJHS consistently perform well on state and local assessments. A review of last school year’s (2009-10) Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) shows that overall our students perform at or above the 87th percentile (students meeting or exceeding state standards). There is a more detailed analysis of testing data provided in this report. In addition to academics, students are encouraged to participate in a variety of extracurricular athletic activities including volleyball, basketball, field hockey, soccer, cross-country, wrestling, track and field, and dance. Due to our partnership with the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), we are also able to offer students a variety of non-athletic opportunities including yearbook, Student Council, Latin club, art clubs, photography, and many more. Recently we completed a survey of WJHS students asking for feedback regarding extracurricular activities. There was an overwhelming request for a wider variety of athletic opportunities, especially non-cut activities. We are currently providing students with non-cut sports. In the last several years we have offered cross-country and track and field to 7th and 8th grade boys and girls and wrestling to 7th and 8th grade boys.

In this document, you will find goals in two areas: academic achievement and school culture. The school improvement team identified these goal areas. As stated in our mission statement, we strive to meet the educational and developmental needs of emerging adolescents through a caring partnership of students, staff, parents, and community; this is the rationale for these goal areas.

Finally, I thank you for taking the time and interest in the progress of our students. It is our belief that these goals will move Wilmette Junior High School from Greater to Greatest and provide the necessary tools for Tomorrow’s Leaders to flourish.

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WILMETTE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, DISTRICT 39 Year 2008-2009

Department of Curriculum and Instruction Language Arts

LOCAL WRITING ASSESSMENT REPORT Persuasive Essay WJHS Grade 7 Description of Assessment Instruments and Procedures: Over a one-week period, the students will write a persuasive essay. The essay will be scored, tabulated, and recorded using a rubric developed by the District Writing Assessment Committee.

Evaluation of Student Performance and Conclusions Drawn from Results (include a goal/ instructional plan related to area(s) of weakness, if 10% or more did not meet the standard).

We will continue to explore best practices involving use of the six traits of effective writing to support our struggling writers. As a school we will evaluate assessment data and create a plan to address deficiencies. This plan will be included in our school improvement plan. This plan will include a variety of writing experiences for our students.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to

3&5 A. use effective language and style in writing for a variety of purposes using focus, support,

elaboration, and integration

3&5 B. compose well organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences 3&5 C. use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and structure

EXPECTATION NUMBER OF STUDENTS

TESTED SCORING STANDARD

Meets & Exceeds: 6.75 and above Does Not Meet: 6.5 and below

% did not meet % met /exceeded

75% of students will meet/exceed the

standard 444

17% 83%

WILMETTE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, DISTRICT 39 Year 2008-2009

Department of Curriculum and Instruction Language Arts

LOCAL WRITING ASSESSMENT REPORT Narrative Essay WJHS Grade 8 Description of Assessment Instruments and Procedures: Over a one-week period, the students will write a narrative essay. The essay will be scored, tabulated, and recorded using a rubric developed by the District Writing Assessment Committee.

Evaluation of Student Performance and Conclusions Drawn from Results (include a goal/ instructional plan related to area(s) of weakness, if 10% or more did not meet the standard).

We will continue to explore best practices involving use of the six traits of effective writing to support our struggling writers. As a school we will evaluate assessment data and create a plan to address deficiencies. This plan will be included in our school improvement plan. This plan will include a variety of writing experiences for our students.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to

3&5 A. use effective language and style in writing for a variety of purposes using focus, support,

elaboration, and integration

3&5 B. compose well organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences 3&5 C. use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and structure

EXPECTATION NUMBER OF STUDENTS

TESTED SCORING STANDARD

Meets & Exceeds: 7.75 and above Does Not Meet: 7.5 and below

% did not meet % met /exceeded

75% of students will meet/exceed the

standard 408

16% 84%

School Improvement Plan – 2009-10

Wilmette Junior High School and Wilmette School District 39 provide students with a cutting edge school experience. This is, in part, due to the recent initiatives that we have taken on as a school and a district. As a school, we realize the importance of taking on projects that will better our school and the lives of our students and families. We also know that it is important to provide balance between implementing these important initiatives and maintaining a high level of instruction for our students. It is for that reason that we have taken a new approach to School Improvement Planning which started at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year. The document that we have created includes multiyear goals and is prioritized to allow us to place the emphasis on initiatives that affect the largest number of students and staff.

Goals are placed into one of three tiers. Tier one initiatives are our highest priority programs. They will receive the bulk of our time and attention. Tier two initiatives require committee or small group work. Tier three programs are items for future action; these are in the investigative or training stages. As time goes on we will reevaluate these initiatives and readjust the priorities as needed. The process by which we placed programs into tiers was collaborative and involved the whole staff.

The initiatives fall into one of two categories Academic Achievement or School Culture. The focus in regards to academic achievement is, as always, to improve the achievement for ALL students at Wilmette Junior High School. Our goals for school culture focus on student accountability and addressing the social/emotional wellness of our students. One of the goals of public education is to produce individuals who are able to take responsibility for themselves and are independent learners. As a school we have worked to foster that independence and have helped to guide our students to be accountable for their learning and behavior. Likewise, it is important to recognize that middle level adolescents are, developmentally, very unique. The 2009-10 SIP seeks to begin addressing this by identifying ways we can support our students’ social emotional wellness.

It is our hope that in these pages you will find the programs and initiatives are worthy of our time and of further study.

School Improvement Plan – 2008-09

Tier One Initiatives (highest priority) Goal Statement: To enhance student accountability and support students as they develop into independent learners. Homework Assistance Program (HAP): The goal of the HAP is to support students in completing all homework assignments. The program is established as a referral program and is staffed by four certified teachers. Students who are referred to the program complete missing work and turn it in to the HAP teachers. The homework is then routed to the assigning teacher where the child can receive credit. This program supports one of our progress reporting goals of Zero 0’s. The HAP also qualifies as a Tier 2 Intervention based on RtI best practice. This is the second year of this multiyear goal. Deliverables:

1. Establish a homework assistance program that is based on best practice and supports our goal of Zero 0’s. – Achieved

2. Collect baseline data on the effectiveness of the program. Achieved

3. Collect survey data from students, parents, and teachers on the perceptions of the

program. – In progress Measures:

1. Identify the 8th grade students referred and compare their homework completion to that of their 7th grade teacher’s records. – Achieved

2. The program will be considered effective in reducing missing homework with

75% of all stakeholders surveyed. – In progress Goal Statement: To enhance student accountability and support students as they develop into independent learners. Student Accountability System (SAS): The goal of the SAS is to provide students with the structure to make good decisions. A representative group, comprised of teachers and administrators, created this program. The program seeks to address high-frequency, low- impact behaviors (see figure 1) with the hope of improving the climate within the school. The program is based on the Broken Window Theory. "Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a

few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside” (Kelling and Wilson). The program not only addresses inappropriate behavior though our demerit system; it praises pro-social behavior through our Highlight What’s Right quarterly raffles. Figure 1 High

Low High Deliverables:

1. Establish a building wide student accountability system that is developmentally appropriate for middle level students. The program must contain the following:

a. Appropriate consequences for high-frequency, low-impact behaviors - Achieved

b. An opportunity for students to process/reflect on why they were issued a demerit – Achieved

c. Parent communication component – Achieved d. Positive reinforcement for pro-social behavior – Achieved

2. Collect baseline data on the number of demerits and determine if the program is

having the desired impact. – Achieved

3. Collect survey data from staff, students, and parents on the effectiveness and overall perception of the system. – Achieved

Measures:

1. See a 40% reduction in the number of demerits from the beginning of the second quarter to the end of the third quarter of the school year. – Achieved

2. Analyze the system to identify patterns in student behavior. – On going

High Impact/Low Frequency Drugs Fighting Gang activity Gross Disrespect

High Impact/High Frequency Graffiti Vandalism

Low Impact/Low Frequency General Disrespect Plagiarism

Low Impact/High Frequency Dress code Cell phone use Gum chewing Hallway conduct

I M P A C T

F R E Q U E N C Y

3. See an overall reduction in student out-of-school suspensions by 40% compared to 2007-08.

Tier Two Initiatives: Goal Statement: To enhance the social/emotional wellbeing of students at Wilmette Junior High School. Social/Emotional Wellness: The state of Illinois has taken the unprecedented step of making the social/emotional wellness of students a top priority by creating a state standard in this area. Educators know (and common sense tells us) that addressing the social/emotional wellness of our students is best practice. The staff at WJHS believes that this is an important issue to and is ready to begin addressing students’ emotional health. Deliverables:

1. Establish a building steering committee that includes regular education teachers, special education teachers, and administrators. – Achieved

2. Identify two members of the steering committee that will serve as team mentors.

Mentors will be provided extra training and will help lead the initiative. – Achieved

3. Begin to identify school beliefs and values that will help to shape future action

and goals. – Achieved Tier Three Initiatives: Goal Statement: Promote student achievement through investigating the language arts gender discrepancy shown in the 2008 ISAT writing scores. Addressing Writing and Gender: Over the past several years the district has made a concerted effort to ensure that students are making great progress regardless of gender. Over the past several years in reading we have been successful in reducing the discrepancy between boys’ and girls’ meets and exceeds scores to the point that it is statistically insignificant. Last year the state reintroduced writing into the state assessment. As such, we have discovered another area that requires our attention. Upon further investigation we have found that this issue is not unique to Wilmette Junior High School but is common throughout all township middle schools (see table 1). This is a three-year goal that will begin with investigation and end with recommendations from a township-wide committee. Deliverables:

1. Develop and participate in an ad hoc township committee that will complete the following: - Achieved

a. Identify data sources in addition to the ISAT and collect baseline data

b. Compare baseline data with that of NT feeder schools to determine if the gender discrepancy follows a consistent pattern across the area

c. Analyze individual boy’s writing scores to determine areas of weakness d. Review data to identify the impact of IEP’s on writing scores e. Analyze past ISAT writing prompts to determine their gender neutrality f. Report data analysis to whole staff g. Work with small groups of staff to develop hypotheses for causes of the

discrepancy 2. In year two of the goal the committee will:

a. Analyze new data from the 2009 ISAT to determine how this new data correlates with the baseline data

b. Create a township task force to gain knowledge of best practices in addressing the discrepancy

c. Facilitate conversations with the staff regarding the differing teaching strategies necessary for best practice in order to address the discrepancy

Long Term Deliverables:

1. Analyze data to identify possible causes of the gender discrepancy in writing (Year One) – Achieved

2. Determine best practices that will address the causes of the discrepancy (Year Two)

3. Develop and implement a structured and cohesive plan to incorporate and evaluate instructional strategies based on our year one and year two findings (Year Three).

Table 1 School Name  % Meets & 

Exceeds % Males (Meets & Exceeds) 

% Females (Meets & Exceeds) 

Discrepancy 

WJHS  87%  80%  96%  16% Central School   86%  77%  96%  19% Marie Murphy  86%  80%  93%  13% Sunset Ridge  87%  87%  88%  1% Washburne  89%  84%  95%  11% Sears School  93%  85%  100%  15%  Goal Statement: To improve academic achievement of all students at WJHS by addressing the executive functioning needs of our students. Executive Functioning: This is the second year that executive functioning is on our School Improvement Plan. In year one we incorporated study skills into our health program. As we look ahead, we will focus on staff discussions and set our course in regards to a building-wide program. We will have the assistance of a consultant from Rush Neurobehavioral Center to guide us through this process. Deliverables:

1. Hold staff discussions on the need for an executive functioning program and identify the best way to integrate this into the school day – Achieved

2. Provide professional development to staff on executive functioning best practice.

– Not Accomplished

3. Work with district curriculum committee(s) to recommend a developmentally

appropriate executive functioning curriculum. – Not Accomplished

School Improvement Plan – 2009-10

Tier One Initiatives (highest priority) Goal Area: Social Emotional Wellness Goal Statement: To enhance the social/emotional wellbeing of students at Wilmette Junior High School. Social/Emotional Wellness: The state of Illinois has taken the unprecedented step of making the social/emotional wellness of students a top priority by creating a state standard in this area. Educators know (and common sense tells us) that addressing the social/emotional wellness of our students is best practice. The staff at WJHS believes that this is an important issue to and is ready to begin addressing students’ emotional health. Deliverables:

1. Maintain the building-level leadership and continue the direction of the Steering Committee. Members of the committee will continue to attend workshops and establish a sustainable movement.

2. One of our building mentors will attend the National Character Education

Partnership Conference in Washington D.C.

3. Provide in-service training on Character Education and Social Emotional Wellness for all certified staff members.

4. Analyze data from the Collective Responsibility for Excellence and Ethics

(CREE) survey that was administered to students, parents, and staff.

5. Use data from the CREE to identify our organizational shared beliefs and values that will shape future action.

Measures:

1. Collect baseline data using a school created survey to assess teacher work satisfaction.

Goal Area: Home/School Communication Goal Statement: Improve communication regarding student progress to students and families and support students’ academic independence. Pilot the Parent Portal (online grades): Over the past several years we have had many teachers experiment with a variety of online grade books. Online grade books have been found to be a useful way to communicate student progress to parents and allow students to have greater responsibility for learning. This year, with the updates made to PowerSchool and the support from our Technology Director, the online grade book is able to be piloted in 7th and 8th grade. Discussions about online grades began in 2007-08. The current system gets all participating teachers on the same system and allows for both parent and student access. Deliverables:

1. Continue to pilot the online grade book (Parent Portal) in 7th grade and begin the pilot in 8th grade.

2. Provide teachers with ongoing support and professional development on the use of the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

3. Educate our parent population on the appropriate use of the Parent Portal.

4. Collect baseline data on the use of the system including monthly usage reports for

parents and students. Measures:

1. 80% of parents and 100% of students will log onto the Parent Portal at least once.

2. Of the parents new to the parent portal, 80% of those that have used it will report that it is an effective tool.

3. 90% of teachers at Wilmette Junior High School will utilize the Parent Portal to

communicate student progress.

Tier Two Initiatives: Goal Area: Green Schools Goal Statement: To reduce the amount of paper, electricity, postage, and toner used at Wilmette Junior High School. In addition, this goal will galvanize the school community around a single cause. Green School: As we learn more about the impact our consumption has on our environment, it makes sense that we teach our students to be good custodians of this planet. We will put interventions in place that will reduce our output and bring us closer together as a school. Deliverables:

1. Develop a school-wide and student run recycling program at WJHS.

2. Put steps in place to create a waste-free cafeteria.

3. Provide homerooms the opportunity to participate in “green service projects.”

4. Create a list of suggested best green practices for teachers to reduce the use of consumables.

5. To develop an action plan that will reduce the amount of paper, toner, and

electricity used at Wilmette Junior High School Measures:

1. Reduce the consumption of paper, toner, and electricity by at least 25%

2. Reduce costs spent on postage by 50% Goal Area: Language Arts Goal Statement: Promote increased student achievement for all students in language arts and show an increase in the total number of students in the exceeds category. Addressing Reading and Writing: Based on a review of available ISAT data, we have identified areas for improvement in reading and writing. While our scores in the meets and exceeds categories are near or above the 90th percentile, it is our goal to take on a model of continuous improvement and move a greater number of students from the meets category to the exceeds category. By focusing on best practice, we are confident that we will also address any gender discrepancies that we are experiencing. Long Term Deliverables:

1. Analyze data to identify possible causes of the gender discrepancy in writing (Year One) – Achieved

2. Determine best practices that will address concerns in the assessment data (ISAT) specifically moving a greater number of students from the meets to exceeds category. (Year Two)

3. Develop and implement a structured and cohesive plan to incorporate and evaluate instructional strategies based on our year one and year two findings. (Year Three)

Deliverables (The following specifically address long term deliverable number two):

1. Focus on student extended response in reading classes. 2. Classroom teachers will emphasize the importance of "focus" for written pieces

through models, discussion, and opportunities to practice. As a part of emphasizing focus, students will have an opportunity to write persuasively.

3. Students will understand the format of the reading and writing assessments and

will understand how these tests are assessed through exposure to the ISAT rubric and exemplars provided by the state.

4. Language arts teachers will be provided professional development regarding the

state assessment.

5. Our Differentiation Support Teachers will provide targeted instruction for students that are on the cusp between the meets and exceeds categories.

Measures: 1. On the ISAT, grade 8 will increase the percentage of students exceeding

standards in reading to 35%. Reading Exceeds 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Goals for 2010 8th 35% 28% 48% 29% 30% 35%

2. On the ISAT writing test at grade 8, the percentage of students who exceed

state standards will increase by 5% in writing. Writing Exceeds 2007 2008 2009 Goals for 2010 8th 9% 19% 18% 23%

Tier Three Initiatives Goal Area: Response to Intervention Goal Statement: To address the academic needs of struggling students at Wilmette Junior High School. Response to Intervention: Meeting the needs of all students is the charge of all schools in Illinois. The RtI pilot at Wilmette Junior High School focuses on helping teachers within the classroom and providing teachers with Tier 2 options to meet students’

reading/writing needs and the executive functioning needs of students. We have two pilot teams, one in 7th grade and one in 8th grade. Deliverables:

1. Data will be collected on all students using a universal screener (CBM). Students will take the MAZE assessment and the Written Expression assessment. These will be scored by staff and used for future interventions.

2. Pilot teams will collect student academic data, as well as, data on student

behavior, homework completion, tardies, preparedness, and organization. This data will be used to create a baseline and to make future decisions regarding interventions.

3. Low-level tier two interventions will include three-week pullouts for math

computation and executive functioning.

4. High-level tier two interventions will include a six-week (7th grade) and nine-week (8th grade) course in either executive functioning or reading/writing recovery. Both of these programs are taught by a certified teacher and will use research-based curricula.