Overview

PEF's Role

• PEF has brought expert consultants to Hamilton County to lead discussions of effective methods and strategies for middle school improvement.
• PEF has arranged for middle school leaders to visit successful schools in Hamilton County and other locations to get ideas that might be useful in their own schools.
• PEF has held several retreats to allow teams from each school to learn from other middle school leaders and discuss common goals and strategies.
• PEF provides data on the benchmark measures of MSNS, which allows each school to know its strengths and weaknesses and to focus sharply on areas that need improvement.
• PEF's Director of Middle Schools for a New Society works with school leaders to ensure that their plans are ambitious without being unrealistic, and coaches and advises them on how best to achieve their goals.

Funding

Funding for Middle Schools for a New Society has come from two sources. In 2004, the National Education Association Foundation contributed $2.5 million to begin work in Hamilton County's five lowest-performing middle schools. In 2005, Chattanooga's Lyndhurst Foundation contributed $250,000 for a planning year which allowed all 21 middle schools to develop plans for improvements in their schools. Then, in 2006, the Lyndhurst Foundation approved these plans and awarded the Public Education Foundation and HCDE a $6 million grant to implement the plans over four years.

Goals

The primary goal of Middle Schools for a New Society is to transform Hamilton County middle schools into high performing organizations that insure that every middle school student is well-prepared to thrive in a rigorous high school. Within that goal, the program has established ambitious measures.

Literacy instruction will become more rigorous with improved student performance.

• 100% of students will score advanced or proficient on the TCAP exam in reading-language arts.
• The percentage of students scoring "advanced" on the TCAP exam in reading/language arts will increase by a minimum of 5 percentage points annually.
• Schools will receive a value added (TVAAS) score of A in reading/language arts for all students at each achievement level: advanced, proficient and non-proficient.
• The achievement gaps (socio-economic, gender and race) in reading-language arts will be eliminated.

Math instruction will become more rigorous with improved student performance.

• 100% of students will score advanced or proficient on the TCAP exam in math.
• The percentage of students scoring "advanced" on the TCAP exam in math will increase by a minimum of 5 percentage points annually.
• Schools will receive a value added (TVAAS) score of A in math for all students at each achievement level: advanced, proficient and non-proficient.
• The achievement gaps (socio-economic, gender and race) in math will be eliminated.
• 90% of all 8th graders will take Algebra and pass the Algebra Gateway exam.

Schools will address transitional needs of students to increase promotion rates and student achievement.

• Promotion rates will increase.
• Schools will receive a value added (TVAAS) score of A in reading-language arts and math for all students at each achievement level (advanced, proficient, and non-proficient) at every grade level.
• The achievement gaps (socio-economic, gender and race) will be eliminated.

These measures and where middle schools now stand in relation to them are described in more detail in MSNS Benchmarks.

Strategies

Research shows that certain elements are key to successful school improvement. These elements have been included as "process goals:"

• Personalization

  Each student will attend a school where he or she will be known well and will complete a course of study that engages that student's passions and interests.

• Flexibility

  Students' motivation and performance will increase through flexible use of time and place in meeting their needs.

• Engaging, Relevant Curriculum

  Each student will benefit from a rigorous, relevant, and engaging curriculum.

• Professional Learning Community

  Each student will attend a school where teachers, principals, and staff are provided the support and training required to achieve the vision.

Each middle school has developed its own plan for meeting these goals. Summaries of those plans can be viewed on the plan summaries page.

For more information on this program, contact:
Ismahen Kangles, Director
423.648.4440