Middle Schools for a New Society News
Hamilton County Schools improved its graduation rate, along with elementary test scores for reading, math, science and social studies, but high school test scores are down, according to the latest state report card. The county’s overall graduation rate increased to 81.7 percent, up from 80.2 percent in 2010 and 70.9 percent in 2009.
A really nice story on WDEF about the middle school retreat, featuring MSNS Director Ismahen Kangles and an assortment of other dynamic middle school educators.
Former athlete and current assistant principal at Orchard Knob Middle School LaKesha Carson said she was used to employing a variety of techniques to de-stress and unwind after a particularly crazy day. But what she learned last week during the first day of faculty in-service at the middle school was the opposite of everything she has ever done or thought to do.
Despite the best efforts of previous teachers and administrators, Orchard Knob Middle is a school with a reputation: a history of low test scores and high discipline referrals. Changing the school's image is near the top of the to-do list for first-year principal Crystal Sorrells. "That's where the work is," she says. "We have to change the perception in the community, and that starts with ou[r] staff."
...Gov. Bill Haslam on Tuesday downplayed concerns about the impact on class size, telling student leaders that teacher quality ultimately matters more. ... Public Education Foundation President Dan Challener, whose group works to strengthen Hamilton County’s public schools, said “teacher quality is the single most powerful force for improving student achievement. Great teachers make a great difference.” But Challener noted that “it’s also true that every time we increase class size, we make it harder and harder for all teachers, even the great ones, to get the results we need. And I think that’s especially true for teachers working in high poverty schools.”
Along with every other teacher at Orchard Knob Middle School this year, Hutcherson is helping to pilot a vocabulary enhancement program called Word Generation. The idea behind the program is to give every student an extra 15 minutes — or 30 in Orchard Knob’s case — of multidisciplinary activities aimed at enlarging students’ vocabularies.
An innovative study of 17 schools across the country suggests that putting literacy coaches in schools can help boost students’ reading skills by as much as 32 percent over three years...The study finds that reading gains are greatest in schools where teachers receive a larger amount of coaching. It also finds that the amount of coaching that teachers receive varies widely and is influenced by an array of factors, including relationships among staff members and how teachers envision their roles.
Author Tony Wagner has written that companies in the new global economy want employees to have seven “survival skills,” including critical thinking, collaboration, communications, curiosity and imagination, among others. Teams of students, parents, principals and school leaders will grapple with how to teach those skills in middle school at the Middle Schools for a New Society planning retreat on Wednesday, March 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Chattanoogan.
County school officials said eighth graders in Hamilton County middle schools outpaced the nation on the 2010 ACT Explore test. The composite score (a combination of English, math, reading and science scores) rose from 14.9 to 15.3 in Hamilton County. The National composite score was 14.9. State scores are not available.
The ACT EXPLORE test is given to all eighth graders in Hamilton County. It is considered a predictor for how a student will score on the ACT PLAN test, which is administered in the 10th grade, and ultimately how students will do on the ACT, a college-readiness exam that is typically given in the 11th grade.
Chattanoogan.com
Mary Ehrenworth, deputy director for middle schools at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University, will be leading a workshop for ten teachers who are working to boost reading skills for students at Loftis Middle School from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday in the library. ... Loftis is using funds from Middle Schools for a New Society (MSNS) to bring Ms. Ehrenworth to their campus. MSNS is a partnership between Hamilton County schools and the Public Education Foundation that is working to improve student achievement in all 20 of Hamilton County's middle schools.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Hamilton County middle schoolers found a voice Tuesday as the students told groups of parents, teachers and administrators what they want out of school. ... During a session Tuesday at the Chattanoogan hotel, students examined test scores from the Explore test, a pre-ACT test taken by eighth graders. “It shows us where we are,” said East Ridge Middle student LeeAnn DeFriese, 12. “We're not there now, but we can get there if we persevere.”
Chattanoogan.com
The NEA Foundation selected Chattanooga to host a national exchange of the best ideas in middle school reform.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
A summary of some strategies being used by Hamilton County middle schools in their individual school reform plans.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Middle school leadership teams meet to plan next steps
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Middle schools test strategies to reach students during critical years
Chattanooga Times Free Press
More HCDE students are taking AP courses as part of district focus on ‘academic rigor'
Chattanooga Times Free Press
A foundation this month will launch a multiyear, multimillion-dollar project to boost achievement in Hamilton County's 21 middle schools and prepare students better for high school.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Times Editoral: Now another big opportunity boost is coming for Hamilton County youngsters in our middle schools. Itís a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Education Association Foundation, in concert with the Hamilton County Education Association
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Free Press Editorial: Hamilton County Schools have successful reform initiatives under way at both the elementary and high school levels. Now the system is going to bridge the two with a middle-school improvement program.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Leaders of the National Education Association Foundation announced Tuesday they have awarded their largest grant to Hamilton County for improving middle schools
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The National Education Association Foundation will give five Hamilton County middle schools up to $2.5 million over the next five years to help low-income and minority pupils close an 'achievement gap' with their more affluent peers.
PEF is a local non-profit dedicated to improving student achievement in Hamilton County Schools
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“Due to the funds that were provided…
…for us by the Benwood Initiative, we’ve been able to provide some of the best research-based workshops for our teachers to implement reading strategies in the classroom, and we’ve established a literacy block which is two hours per day, every day, for all of our students.”
Marthel Young
Principal,
Orchard Knob Elementary