Capstone Project Regis University EDLS 643 Lewis-Palmer Middle School

1. Capstone ProjectRegis UniversityEDLS 643Lewis-PalmerMiddle School “By reflecting as a community on where we have been and what we have accomplished, we can transform something strong into something superb.” Nichole Murphy

2. CULTURE Strengths: • We have one! • Laughter Conversations Collegiality • People make a point to share with teachers how respectful, kind, polite our kids are. Weaknesses: • It could crumble at any time. • New leader needs time to get to know the school, staff, students, parents, individuals. • Student groups have difficulty meeting • Few teams make time for team-building activities

3. PARENTS Strengths: • They are in the building • Highly educated Weaknesses: • Entitlement of some • 8th Grade Continuation needs to be scaled down

4. BUDGET Strengths: • Haven’t had to say no to staff requests • Staff requests are reasonable • Good stewards Weaknesses: • State • “Dog on a Bone” • Idea of making sure to “spend what we get so it doesn’t get taken • Special Education Staffing

5. DISCIPLINE Strengths: • Teach mutual respect of staff and students • Hold all to a very high standard • Developmentally appropriate • Not “out to get” kids • Very few referrals • SWISS data Weaknesses: • PBiS • Staff buy-in • Consistency • Highest number (25%) of all major and minor referrals occur from 1:55-2:34 during Academic Enrichment Period

6. ACHIEVEMENT Strengths: • Extremely high achieving • Only MS in this District Accredited with Distinction • Ranked among Top 5 MS in the state • John Irwin Award (7 yrs.) • Consistently earn top rankings in local, regional, state, and national Weaknesses: • Special populations – ELL, Spec. Ed., etc. • Math • Special Education staffing continually gets cut by the Board of Education

7. SMART GoalsImprove Student Achievement Through Effective Academic Enrichment Period • By the end of the 2012-2013 school year, 80% of special population students (IEP, ILP, ELL) at Lewis-Palmer Middle School will be at the state average or higher for growth. • (By the end of the 2012-2013 school year, 100% of academic teachers will conduct a quarterly academic enrichment period targeting student weaknesses through pre-screening measures to help increase achievement on school and state standardized tests.)

8. ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT Weaknesses • Inconsistent use of time by teachers • No standards as directed by school leadership • Numerous disruptions by student groups, teachers, office announcements • No accountability for students Recommendations • Pre-screening of students to determine their weaknesses • Placement of students quarterly determined by pre-screening • New weekly schedule for this period • Possibility of going “off-team” during this time • Work student groups into this period

9. PRE-SCREENINGStudent Needs AssessmentStaff Strengths Assessment ACADEMIC • Math Remediation • Reading Remediation • Writing Remediation • Spelling/Vocabulary • TAG Enrichment/ALP Goals • Technology Skills • Other Content Area Skills as needed (measurement in Science; map reading in Social Studies; etc.) BEHAVIORAL • Organizational Skills • Study/Test-Taking Skills • Work Completion • Peer Interaction • Motivation • Character Ed • PBiS Lessons • Goal Setting • Other Behavioral Area Skills as determined by staff

10. “WHAT ABOUT THE STUDENTS WHO DON’T NEED REMEDIATION?” CLUBS/STUDENT GROUPS • StuCo • Builder’s Club • NJHS • Science Olympiad • Geography/Spelling Bee • Sports Statistics • Chess INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECTS • National History Day Project • Multi-Media • Exploratory Areas (stipend for teachers)

11. SCHEDULE Monday-Wednesday-Friday Remediation/Enrichment based on pre-screening Tuesday Exploratory pull-out for students on an as-needed basis determined by exploratory teachers Thursday Team-Building activities determined by individual teams