east middle school - East Grand Rapids Public Schools

EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL 2011-2012 Annual Report E A S T G RA N D R A P I DS P UB L I C S C HO O L S Educating and inspiri ng each student to navigate successfully in a global community

Principal J. Peter Stuursma Address 1961 Lake Drive SE Grand Rapids MI 49506 Telephone 616.235.7550

August 7, 2012

Facsimile 616.235.3918

Dear Parents and Community Members:

Attendance line 616.235.3904

We are pleased to present the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2011-2012 educational progress for East Grand Rapids Middle School. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws. The school’s report contains information about student assessment, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and teacher quality. If you have any questions about the AER, please contact me. The 2011-2012 Annual Education Report (AER) is available for review online at http://goo.gl/8zREe or at the school office. This cover letter is available at http://goo.gl/bF7Fm.

2011-2012 Board of Education Brian R. Ellis, President Robert J. Minnema, Vice President Steven W. Edison, Secretary A. Michelle Rabideau, Treasurer Peter G. Ruppert, Trustee

ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS East Middle made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in English language arts and mathematics for 2011-2012. While we are pleased to have reached this important goal, we continuously work to improve. We appreciate the continued support of EGR Middle School parents, staff, and our community in this effort. STUDENT ACHEIVEMENT RESULTS FOR LOCAL AND NATIONALLY NORMED ACHIEVEMENT TESTS*

Grade 6 7 8

2011-2012 NWEA End of Year MAP Proficiency Reading Language Usage Mathematics 91.4% na 75.0% 89.0% 87.8% 82.1% 85.7% na 68.5%

Beth Milanowski, Trustee

*Only one year of data available. Implemented 2011-2012 school year.

Susan C. Levine, Trustee

SCHOOL PLACEMENT Placement in any of our three elementary buildings is based on attendance area, availability, and class size. At the secondary level, we have one middle school for students in grades 6-8 and one high school for students in grades 6-12.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES Parent involvement at East Grand Rapids Middle School is very high and of great variety. This support is in the form of time, effort, and financial assistance. Our PTSA pioneered a new step for the future by donating a significant amount of money to the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation with a goal toward creating a funding vehicle that will provide monies specifically for middle school programs forever. Monday - 34.0% 50 40 30 20 10 0

Wednesday - 27.2% Thursday - 45.6% Percentage of Parent Attendance by Day

By Teacher Appt. or Other Means 1.2%

800 600 400 200 0 642 Students Represented out of 744

100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% Students Represented 85.1%

100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% Total Students Represented 86.3%

Students Represented at Conferences

Students Represented At Conferences Or Via Teacher Appt./Other Means

CORE CURRICULUM As part of our Strategic Plan, East Grand Rapids teachers, parents, administrators, and community members work together to align all curriculum areas with state guidelines. Over the last years, in addition to national standards, our curriculum has been based on the state standards (GLCE's and HSCE's) and our own district data. The Common Core State Standards have been embedded into our K-12 ELA, K-12 mathematics, and 6-12 science curricula. The reading and literacy Common Core for social studies will be completed in 20122013, and we are on track for a complete roll-out by 2015. Our goal is to develop an integrated framework for 21st century student outcomes that encompasses curriculum, instruction, and assessment, which ultimately affect student learning. All curriculum documents are available on our website: www.egrps.org/District/Curriculum/index.html. Through collaboration at every level, East Grand Rapids stands out as a model of public school success and we have received many state and national accolades, honors, and awards in our long history. We view these achievements as a challenge as we endeavor to continually improve our curriculum and instructional practices to meet the needs of all students.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT The overall objective of the School Improvement Team is to increase student achievement in the core curriculum areas. Each core academic department met with the district’s assessment director to analyze the MEAP data, determine the gaps in our curriculum, and critically analyze effective methods of teaching to improve areas of concern. We believe student academic achievement, as well as the development of the whole student, are equally important goals. Through the emphasis of Respect, Responsibility, and Personal Best, these goals merge to create a culture of learning and development which is uniquely East Grand Rapids Middle School. Our faculty and staff constantly and consistently model these values to enhance the social and emotional well being of our students. SCHOOL CLIMATE Goal: To increase the number of positive interactions experienced by students, faculty, and staff at East Grand Rapids Middle School. Implementation:

Through our school improvement committee, we will develop school-wide initiatives that will directly increase the number of positive interactions students, faculty, and staff experience within our school building. The student voice is an important piece of these initiatives.

MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT Goal: All students at East Grand Rapids Middle School will be proficient in the content area of mathematics. Implementation

Improvement of student success over time in mathematics: monitoring the impacts of the instructional strategies and activities. All content area departments will develop curricular activities to support math achievement.

LITERACY Goal:

Implementation

All students at East Grand Rapids Middle School will meet or exceed literacy proficiency standards. Increased reading and writing opportunities to impact ELA success rate using writing strategies infused into our everyday life of the school community. The school improvement committee will develop school-wide “Best Practices” for improving reading and writing. All content area departments will develop curricular activities to support literacy achievement.

SPECIALIZED SCHOOLS Our district provides educational interventions, opportunities, and support for students with special needs. Special Education services include early childhood, self-contained, and resource room programs, and occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological, school social work, speech and language, and teacher consultant services. The Individual Educational Program (IEP) Team, including administrators, parents/guardians, teachers, and students when appropriate, meets at least once per year to decide what is required for each eligible student to make educational progress. Services are provided for our preschool students, age three to five, through a variety of options. We evaluate our pre-school age children at our Early Childhood Assessment Center. A continuum of services are provided, based on student need, including Early Childhood Home and Community, Early Childhood Special Education Classroom, and related itinerant services. Resource Room support is provided in each of our elementary school buildings. East Grand Rapids Middle and High Schools also provide resource room services for eligible students. By their sixteenth birthday, all East Grand Rapids special education students plan transition activities to reach their post-secondary vision. Our district also offers a regional K-12 classroom program for students with autism spectrum disorders. Additionally, through cooperative agreements with other districts, East Grand Rapids Public Schools provides programs and services for our youngest students, age birth to three, and for our students who require more specialized programs. For complete information, please contact the Special Education Department located in the James E. Morse Administration Center at Woodcliff. TOP TO BOTTOM RANKING The state Top-to-Bottom list ranks each school building in the state based on student performance in mathematics, reading, writing, science, and social studies. All public elementary, middle, and high schools in Michigan are ranked using a percentile system from lowest (1) to highest (100). To determine these percentile scores, MDE calculates an overall achievement number, a growth number, and an achievement gap number that measures the difference in scores between the highest and lowest performing students within a school. All three of these scores are then combined into a single score and compared to other public schools in the state. East Grand Rapids Middle School received a ranking of 96 on the state Top-to-Bottom list. This ranking per MDE Top-to-Bottom documentation means: “A school with a high ranking is one that has a high level of proficiency, is improving over time, and is ensuring that all students are learning and achieving at a high level. This ranking helps provide important information to all schools regarding their performance and how it compares to other schools across the state.” Based on MDE criteria, East Grand Rapids Middle School is doing better than 95% of schools in the state.

However, even with a ranking of 96, East Grand Rapids Middle School was classified as a ‘Focus school’ in need of improvement and support from MDE. The state defines a ‘Focus school’ as a school where the achievement gap between the top scoring 30% of students and the lower scoring 30% of students is greater when compared to other schools in Michigan. East Middle School in conjunction with the requirements of being a Focus School, worked with a Focus Facilitator from Michigan State University. In addition, the middle school completed a yearly gap analysis of our state assessment, participated in the Superintendent Drop Out Challenge and continued their ongoing work and implementation of their school improvement plan. With these interventions in place, we’re confident East Middle School continues to focus on student achievement for all students. Again, we are committed to continuing to provide an outstanding learning environment that has high standards for all students and meets their academic, social, emotional, and physical needs. In closing, as a district, we will continue to be in compliance with all state requirements; however, we have serious concerns regarding the new classification system imposed by the Michigan Department of Education. East Grand Rapids Public Schools FOCUS is and always has been to meet the learning needs of ALL students.

MIDDLE SCHOOL LIFE

The East Grand Rapids Middle School has been designed to provide students with a learning environment that is based on an expectation of responsibility, respect, and personal best from our entire school community. Our Middle School offers academic rigor in the core content areas as well as a variety of exploratory opportunities, a multi-disciplined approach to teaching and learning, and a focus on providing differentiated learning opportunities for all students. The Middle School is committed to providing an environment that focuses on student achievement. Our vision is to provide an exceptional education for every student so that they may pursue their dreams, maximize their potential, and positively contribute to the world. To support this vision we will:  Provide each learner with experiences that are inclusive, relevant, rigorous, interdisciplinary, and individualized.  Develop a staff with diverse skills and experiences who model outstanding instructional practices.  Integrate research-based best practices from educational systems throughout the world Ingredients to success equates to the support and involvement of our parents, the motivation and accountability behavior of our students, and the excellence of our teaching staff, our students are successful. East Grand Rapids Middle School is a wonderful place to grow, work, and learn! Sincerely,

J. Peter Stuursma Principal