Middle School 8 period day. Rationale Low performing academic scores on Texas Assessment of...

Middle School 8 period day

Rationale • Low performing academic scores on Texas

Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) - specifically in mathematics

• To create time on task for the core subjects during the regular school day for our students in high risk categories- ie…teachers were able to pull students during the second work period to address areas of academic concern

• To provide a 92 minute block of math for all sixth graders, special education students, ESL students, and other students in high risk categories with no additional staffing allocation from the district

• To make learning a high priority and create a successful academic environment for all students while increasing TAKS scores; this would allow for additional time for teachers to collaborate with students, parents, staff members and administrators

• To reduce the six week failure rates by giving teachers additional time to work with students on an individual basis or in small groups at various times throughout the school day for students that continually are unsuccessful academically

Sample Schedules

Student schedule- 61) Math2) Math3) PE4) Language Arts5) Language Arts6) Fine Arts7) Science8) World Cultures

Teacher schedule- 61) Language Arts2) Language Arts3) Team work period4) Language Arts5) Language Arts6) Honors Math7) Honors Math8) Conference

Sample Schedules

Student schedule- 71) Elective: Athletics2) English3) Elective: Art4) Texas History5) Math6) Math7) Science8) Elective: Spanish

Teacher schedule- 71) English2) English3) Team work period4) English5) English6) English7) English8) Conference

Sample Schedules

Student schedule- 81) Elective: Spanish2) English3) Elective: Art4) World History5) Math6) Math7) Science8) Elective: Athletics

Teacher schedule- 81) History2) History3) Team work period4) History5) History6) History7) History8) Conference

Bell ScheduleSample 8 Period Day

• ANNOUNCEMENTS 8:25 – 8:30• PERIOD 1 8:30 – 9:16(46) 8:30 – 9:18(48)• PERIOD 2 9:19 – 10:05(46) 9:22 – 10:14(48)

ANNOUNCEMENTS(4)• PERIOD 3 10:08 – 10:54(46) 10:18 – 11:06(48) GRADE 6• Lunch 10:56 – 11:26(30) 12:24 – 12:54(30)• 4th period 11:29 – 12:15(46) 11:10 – 12:02(52)• 5th period 12:18 – 1:04(46) 12:02 – 12:22(Advisory)

GRADE 7• 4th period 10:57 – 11:43(46) 11:10 - 11:46(36)• Lunch 11:45 – 12:15(30) 11:47 – 12:17(30)• 5th period 12:18 – 1:04(46) 12:18 – 12:34(16) • GRADE 8• 4th period 10:57 – 11:43(46) 11:42 – 12:34(52)• 5th period 11:46 – 12:32(46) 12:34 – 12:54(Advisory) • Lunch 12:34 – 1:04(30) 11:10 – 11:40(30)• PERIOD 6 1:07 – 1:53(46) 5 12:58 – 1:46(48)• PERIOD 7 1:56 – 2:42(46) 6 1:50 – 2:38(48)• PERIOD 8 2:45 – 3:30(45) 7 2:42 – 3:30(48)

Math Block Lesson

• Warm up- 15 minutes

• Homework- 15 minutes

• Launch- 5 minutes

• Explore- 30 minutes

• Summary- 10 minutes

• Homework- 10 minutes

Benefits

• No additional staff allocation was needed

• Increased instructional time for math by 46 minutes daily

• Students benefited from teacher’s targeted instruction during the school day because many students have additional responsibilities before and after the school day at home, ie… sibling care and work responsibilities with parents.

• One conference period and one team/student intervention period serve as a recruitment tool for teacher applicants.

• Teachers meet as a grade level and/or department to analyze all testing data. A plan is developed and implemented to help any struggling students achieve success.

• In addition to developing an academic plan, teachers have time to address any behaviors of concern before they become a classroom disruption.

• Teachers have time to collaborate with colleagues to address student needs, both at school and at home.

• Parents have additional opportunities to meet with teachers to address educational concerns.

• The additional work period provides time for staff to address differentiation of instruction for all types of learners, especially for our special education and ESL students.

• In order to close the achievement gap, we designed a schedule to best meet the needs of our student population.

Achievement• Armstrong’s TEA rating progressed from Academically Acceptable

(2004-05) to Recognized (2005-06).

• Armstrong met AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) both in 2004-05 and in 2005-06.

• Armstrong had the greatest percent increase among all the PISD middle schools in grade six math TAKS in the populations of: All Students, Hispanic, White, and Economically Disadvantaged.

• Student performance increased in reading and writing.

• Student performance was constant in social studies.

Goals for Bowman2006-2007

• Achieve Recognized Status through AEIS• Improve AYP performance in all categories• Reduce the number of disciplinary referrals; as

well as, increasing the safety and security of the campus

• Cultivate “communities” and sense of connection; as well as the constructive participation within the Bowman Community