As the principal of Apollo Ohno Middle School , it has become glaringly obvious to me that our students are struggling when it comes to mathematics. This is a trend that is prevalent nation wide and many other schools in New Jersey are grappling with the same issue. That being said, we clearly need to make some changes to provide more support for both our staff and our students. I am suggesting the following allocations based on an EWEG/NCLB grant.
Title I: We have $45, 000 to spend on helping bridge the gap for our lower income population. I am suggesting that we divide these resources among an array of enrichment and tutoring programs that focus on one on one interaction and smaller group setting instruction. I will ask staff, at a compensatory rate, to participate in tutoring programs that will help our students to be more successful in math and language arts. I understand that our students are struggling right now, more in math, but literacy is an integral part of their education as well and is part of the rigorous testing process they must endure. Therefore, a little extra practice in both areas cannot hurt them.
Proposed programs
I- Mandatory early morning/after school tutoring program based on at risk test scores.
II- 21st century tutoring Academy (taking place between the hours of 3:00-4:30) where struggling student can seek assistance in several content areas for free with tutors from several academic areas there to assist their development.
III- Saturday School: A mandated program serving the two months prior to their state tests where students attend school for 2 hours sessions focusing on the areas of math and language arts (I am aware that this sounds a bit crazy, but I have been part of this program, and I have seen it work when I worked at Hoboken High School)
IV- Formation of the science and engineering academy that offers students the opportunity to use real life math skills through courses that are designed with a hands on approach to science and math. This would be a project based learning class for at risk students which gives them ways to apply math without a focus on drill and kill skills.
Title IIa: It is definitely my understanding that our staff is under a tremendous amount of pressure and they do the very best they can with the means they have. Education is not perfect; not everything we do reaches every child, especially reluctant learners and those who have special needs. It is my intention to use the $38,000 we have been allotted to bring in experts and send our staff for training that will best help to serve the needs of our student population.
Proposed Programs
I- Development of PLC’s with a focus on how to enhance math skills across the curriculum (specialists can be brought in who focus on formative assessment techniques and student centered learning)
II- Provide money for those staff members who are K-8 certified to take classes with a math oriented focus to develop their specialized skills.
III- Provide opportunities for teachers to go to out of district workshops to learn about skills that will enhance their abilities to teach the skills that are tested without teaching to a test.
IV- Create in district workshop experiences, using the staff we have, that focus on new and innovative ways of teaching the material that is mandated with standards to help all teachers, not just math and language arts teachers, better serve the needs of our struggling students.
Title III: Our school serves a diverse population with many students coming from homes that use English as their secondary means of communication. We need to find new and innovative ways to serve this population to bring them to a point where they have the ability to be as successful as their classmates whose first language is English. We have been given $12,000 to do so.
Proposed Programs
I- The purchase of several Rosetta Stone English computer programs can help our ELL students to continue their learning, even when they are not in school. These programs can also help to assist after school tutoring programs.
II- Creation of the Bilingual Academy where the ELL teacher and student tutors(students who have been through the program and know what the experience is like) help to teach some of the skills, math based and otherwise, that ELL students are struggling with in an after school program.
Title IV: All student populations are at risk to the ills of substance abuse, and our middle school population at Apollo Ohno Middle School is no exception. Some people may still hold on to the belief that middle school is a very early age for substance abuse to begin, but it is a well researched fact that many students turn to tobacco, alcohol, and drug use as early as 6th grade. We have been given $3,500 to spend on programming to promote substance abuse prevention.
Proposed Programming
I- The assembly program “I am Dirt” by John Morello is an introspective onstage journey into the way addiction plagues humans and the way it affects and destroys the relationships that are essential to the human spirit. The cost is $1800 ( I have actually seen this show at the middle school I work at. This assembly is probably the best one I have ever seen and really resonated with my 8th graders. You can find more info at http://johnmorello.com/wordpress
II- Allot money for drug abuse counselors, pulmonary specialists, etc. to come in to health classes to speak to students about the risks that drugs and alcohol can have.
Title V: Creativity is what is missing from traditional education. Not all students learn the same way and not all students test the same way. That is why I am proposing with the $1200 we receive for creativity, we actually use that money to focus on creativity.
Proposed program
I- Title V-Part D- subpart 4 Small Learning communities: We could utilize these small learning communities to connect at risk students with opportunities that show them how math exists in the real world and how they can be successful within that context. We can ask students to participate in a mentor project where they work with professionals who volunteer from the world of architecture, design, construction, engineering, etc to help students find a connection and meaningful mission while using math skills. Students would be responsible for creating a personal project (similar to that in the Middle Years
program). This could start off as a pilot program with a small group of at risk students.
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Hi, Gina!!
ReplyDeleteclearly you have a very well thought out and organized plan.
I have seen the Saturday academy work (somewhat) in my school as well, however, what would the consequences be for the students who don't attend the mandatory tutoring program? Kids who are bused to school may not be able to make an early morning or stay after school, but perhaps if the school offers a bus option for those hours as well it would work. The school I work in has "mandatory remedial" which includes a remedial bus service. Students who are required to attend are typically failing at least one core subject.
The only suggestion I would make is to also offer a program that includes parent involvement, such as a family Math night where students, parents, and teachers can come together in an effort to improve students' skills.
Gina- You present a well thought out plan. i like your specifics and the rationale you provide for doing each piece. For Title I, what will be the incentive to get kids to come on Saturday, as the NJ ASK 8 isn't a graduation requirement.
ReplyDeleteI like your Title IIa plan; it sounds very familiar to what goes on at GCMS. This is a good model as teachers learn from each other. (Predicating this is that you have a staff of good teachers!)
For Title III, has there been any research to show that Rosetta Stone works as an ESL tool?
I like your Title IV and V suggestions; both are practical and creative ways for kids to access that information.
Mr. Bachenheimer, you pose a really important question for my Title I proposal of Saturday school. This sounds a little crazy, but it's surprisng the kinds of things you can motivate 8th graders with. I'd probably propose a trip to Six Flags for all those who particiapted. It's a hard sell, but it's worth a shot, especially since I've seen it get results.
ReplyDeleteI actually came across these two articles when I was researching some thoughts for this exercise about Rosetta Stone. The first one is probably a bit skewed since it is published by Rosetta Stone, but I like its case study format http://www.rosettastone.com/us_assets/documentation/Case_Study_EDU_WESD_single_page_012709.pdf
This other one looks like a pretty good indication of its success in Virginia schools:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_20090622/ai_n32090349/