Mannheim Middle School
NCA School Profile
Compiled December 2006
Where EVERYONE is valued
Principal – Shelia Smith
Assistant Principal –
Raynard Eddings
Heidelberg District
Mannheim Middle School
Unit 29937
APO, AE 09086
Table
of Contents
|
Introduction |
3 |
|
Mission Statement |
4 |
|
Environmental Scan |
5 |
|
Instructional Data |
7 |
|
Local Insights |
10 |
|
Survey |
16 |
|
National Assessments |
25 |
|
Local Assessments |
52 |
|
Summary and Goals |
58 |
Introduction
Principal: Ms.
Shelia Smith
Assistant Principal: Mr.
Raynard Eddings
Grades in the School: 6th grade through 8th grade
Total enrollment: 344
6th
grade: 123
7th
grade: 114
8th
grade: 107
Number of Professional Staff: 31
Number of Paraeducators: 4
Number of Support Staff: 6
Setting
The school was built in 1975 within the Benjamin
Franklin Village as a part of the greater United States Army Garrison
Mannheim. The school consists of one
main building that includes a gymnasium, cafeteria, music room, and an
information center. A separate annex building houses our Dell computer lab, art
room, a science laboratory, and a family and consumer science kitchen, as well
as other classrooms.
Students
The school is a 6th through 8th
grade facility with a current enrollment of 344 students. We have a very diverse student population
with the following racial groups: Caucasian 52%, African- American 35%,
Caucasian and African-American 4%, Other Mixed 3%, Asian-Caucasian 2%, Asian
2%, Native American 1%, and Pacific Islander 1%.
The student population is highly transient and we
have an average of 33% students rotate through our doors each year. While most of our students are dependents of
Army personnel, some students are dependents of other military branches, Department
of Defense civilians, and contractors.
At any given time, most of our students are going through a period of
transition in their homes. Their parent
or parents are either getting ready to deploy, are deployed, or in the
reintegration phase. In addition, the
parents still in the community have to pick up more work tasks to supplement
the units that are deployed.
Program
The curriculum taught here at MMS complies with all
of the DoDDs requirements and objectives.
Our school offers several special programs that include: special education,
Creative Thinking (Gifted Education), ESL, AVID, math support, after school
tutoring, and Read 180. There are
numerous school clubs, extra-curricular activities, and athletic teams
available for students. The school
currently is operating on a flexible block schedule.
Mannheim Middle School fully supports the DODEA
initiatives of 2.0, AVID, Partnerships, Math Matters and Reading Counts.
Staffing and Organization
Our school is staffed with two administrators and
thirty-one teachers, one full time counselor and one full time nurse. Part time staff includes: a psychologist, a
behavioral management specialist, an ESL teacher, music teacher, four
paraeducators and six support staff.
Mission
Statement
The
mission of the Mannheim Middle School is to create an environment where
everyone experiences the adventure of learning at his or her highest level.
Environmental Scan
Mannheim Middle School is located in Mannheim Germany on an Army Post. We have a very mobile student population, which often results in fragmented school years. Our students need extra support from our community and school as many of the parent/soldiers are often deployed. We need to correlate their existing knowledge to our standards.
While our community has offerings from several groups, Youth Services, Army Community Service, Bowling Center, Library, Chapel, and the Middle School, it appears that these groups are not pooling their resources to come up with a combined endeavor to support the needs of our children during their out of school time. Each Army mandated program is faced with budget cuts and high staff turnover. Particularly in this time of budget cuts all agencies need to be collaborating in order to create a safe and educationally inspired environment for our students. Our community then needs to publish and communicate these resources so that all parties are aware of the opportunities being provided.
In terms of educational needs, DODEA mandates that by July 2007, 75% of our children will perform at standard or above standard on standardized testing, that only 8% will fall into the “below the standard” category, and that all children will be reading on grade level by the end of grades 3, 6, and 9.
Educational Needs
based on current demographics and future jobs:
National
Demographics:
·
Males:
138,053,563 (49.1% of pop.)
·
Females:
143,368,343 (50.9% of pop.)
·
White:
211,460,626 (75.1% of pop.)
·
Black: 34,658,190
(12.3% of pop.)
·
Asian: 10,242,998
(3.6% of pop.)
·
American Indian
and Alaska Native: 2,475,956 (0.9% of pop.)
·
Hispanic/Latino1:
35,305,818 (12.5% of pop.)
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific
Islander: 398,835 (0.1% of pop.)
DODEA Enrollment:
40% students of color (AA/HIS)
50% free/reduced lunch
Future Jobs
|
College Bound Jobs |
High School/ On the
Job Training Jobs |
Military |
|
Project and Program Administrators |
Customer Service Managers |
Infantry |
|
Financial Dealers and Brokers |
Computing Professionals |
Armor |
|
Finance Advisors |
Youth and Disability Workers |
Health Care |
|
Accountants |
Office Assistants and Managers |
MP |
|
|
Aged and Disabled Careers |
Construction/Engineering |
|
|
Restaurant and Catering Managers |
MI/Linguists |
|
|
Chefs |
|
|
|
Fitness Instructors |
|
|
|
Construction |
|
By looking at our changing society and what the jobs of the future will be, we see a long-term shift from a goods-producing to service-providing society. Our students should be provided specific programs, college-bound and vocational, with apprenticeship opportunities at the high school level. At the middle school level we must be supporting the programs that will offer choices for students in their future career endeavors. The overall programs need to be in line with the growth of our society. Supporting a diverse program in the middle school meets the needs of the future.
NCA Team Visit
and Report on Instruction
Data Collection Instruments
2003-2005 NCA Reports
Presentation of Data
Mannheim Middle School displays a promising network of partnerships that promotes achievement. A list of partners include:
Implications for
action and task list
Student performance goals for our school were obtained from:
*Reading Scores
*Written communication
*STAR Math
Analysis of Data
The following instructional support opportunities were given to students at MMS:
Other Data Needed
In the future assessments could be administered to student and staff to determine if specific strategies used were successful for different groups of students. (i.e. – Gifted Students, minority students, learning disabilities, etc.)
Clarifying Goals
To help students achieve our specific school wide goals, staff members participated in the following staff development opportunities:
Geographic Information System Jason Project
Project Interactive Math Globe
Apple Computer Classes Wetland Project
Ladenburg Field Trip DODEA On line Mathematics
Interventions
When the last NCA team visited Mannheim Middle School they observed the following:
*Staff members supported the goals
*Drop Everything & Read (DEAR) program was being implemented in advisory
*Seminar packets in Math and Reading being completed by students
*Staff Development activities in the subject areas of Math and Reading were conducted on a regular basis
*Students in school were aware of the Community Strategic Plan, its goals, and how those goals were being implemented in our school.
*New staff members were also aware of the Community Strategic Plan
*The use of interdisciplinary teams at our school has helped to improve scores in Math and Reading
*SILT is well organized and all faculty member either serves on a committee or is a member of SILT.
Other Actions Needed
Staff members at MMS have expressed an interest in learning about and implementing additional strategies that may improve student success. They are:
*Critical Friends Group
*QI Map
*Study Groups/Literature Circles
*Staff Insights Group
Local Insights
SUMMARY OF SCHOOL INFORMATION
|
|
|
School
Name |
Mannheim Middle School |
|
Grade
Span |
6-8 |
|
District |
Heidelberg |
|
Total
Enrollment |
344 |
Source: School Compiled Data as of
November 18, 2006
Data Collection
Instruments
Student Statistics
Faculty Survey
USAREUR Websites
TerraNova Test Data
SRI
Student Characteristics
The majority of our students have at least one parent who is employed by the Department of Defense. Due to the nature of the military, there is frequent mobility between duty stations, which impacts the school’s population on a yearly basis. Because we are an overseas school established for dependents of military personnel, all students have at least one employed parent with at least a basic-level salary and sufficient housing, and health insurance.
Instructional Characteristics
The instructional day begins at 8:05 AM. for all students with the morning announcements, the Pledge of Allegiance, and then advisory time with each home base until 8:35. We also have an active intramural program within our school in which home bases participate in various team sports throughout the year. The sports are speedball, beach-ball volleyball, line hockey, line soccer, and team handball. At the culmination of each sport, the teachers play the students in a friendly game. This game promotes interaction with students, teachers, and administrators.
Mannheim Middle offers a wide variety of services to meet each student’s unique needs. Mild to Moderate Learning Impaired specialists provide both inclusive and pullout services. The Moderate to Severe Learning Impaired specialists offer inclusion, pullout and life skills programs. The Speech and Language Pathologist, Behavior Specialist, Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist provide additional services. We have a Student Support Team (SST) to include our two administrators, counselor, nurse, psychologist and teachers that meets once a week to develop learning and behavioral plans for students in need. There are grade level teams that meet weekly during planning time to allow teachers an opportunity to engage in collegial planning and problem solving.
Lunch is divided into three 40-minute periods. After eating, students are allowed after eating to have recess and use the library for enrichment activities.
Curriculum Mapping
For the past three years,
all teachers have been focusing on our curriculum maps. Curriculum maps are organized by the
teachers in the same grade level and curriculum area at the beginning of the
year and are revised throughout the year at curriculum level meetings. They provide an overview of the enduring
understandings and overarching goals, the standards-based essential skills and
concepts, the methods of assessment, and major content resources.
This is very beneficial to
teachers who come in August and have not yet taught the curriculum. They have a springboard from which to work
from, and still have ownership of their lesson plans through the revision
process.
Parents have expressed
positive comments about the year-long maps, as it allows for home-to-school
connections and participation.
As this is our third year implementing our curriculum maps, the focus is on taking what we have developed in our grade level specific meetings and branching out in a more vertical manner. This means having team meetings with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers of the same curriculum so that there is a more fluid learning environment for our students.
Education-Based Programs that are available to some
students based on parental request and program criteria include:
AVID
The mission of AVID
(Advancement Via Individual Determination) is to ensure that all students, and
most especially the least served students in the middle capable of completing a
college preparatory path:
will succeed in rigorous curriculum,
will enter mainstream activities of the school,
will increase their enrollment in four-year colleges, and
will become educated and responsible participants and leaders in a
democratic society.
The purpose of the
AVID program is to restructure the teaching methods of an entire school and to
open access to the curricula that will ensure four-year college eligibility to
almost all students.Here at Mannheim Middle School, we have 2 sections of the
AVID elective course, one 7th grade and one 8th grade section. All 7th grade AVID students are enrolled in
German I and all 8th grade AVID students are enrolled in Algebra to ensure they
receive the rigor necessary to put them on the college-preparatory path for
high school. Two paid adult tutors work
closely with the AVID teacher/coordinator to provide the support necessary for
students to succeed. The administration
and staff are extremely supportive of the program and as a result of that
support, Mannheim Middle School carries the title of "Certified with
distinction" as an official AVID Center site.
Read 180 - Program that uses computer technology, independent reading books and small group teacher interaction to help students with reading development.
Literature Enrichment- Class that encourages higher order thinking by use of literature.
Math Support- Program that supports students who have problems in Math classes. The class reinforces basic math skills and teaches strategies for success.
ESL
The English as a Second Language program provides the English Language Learner (ELL) with full access to the curriculum through a continuum of service options. The overall program goal is to increase the student’s English language skills so his/her academic performance is equivalent to native English speakers of the same age and grade level.
Placement and the type and level of ESL services vary since their design depends on the individual student’s needs, parent request, and the recommendation of teachers and counselors. ESL services may include in-class assistance, a pullout program, consultation, or a combination of different service delivery models.
DoDEA has established a uniform procedure for the identification of language minority students. The procedure begins with the completion of the Home Language Survey (HLS) or with the submission of a referral. All sponsors must complete the HLS at the time of registration. The school registrar provides the ESL teacher with a copy of any HLS on which the sponsor has indicated that a language other than English is spoken in the home. The ESL teacher reviews the educational records of all potential ELL’s. Based on this review, the ESL teacher compiles a list of all students with possible ESL needs, interviews those students, administers a DoDEA approved language proficiency assessment, and notifies parents to discuss placement options.
Special Education Programs for Learning Impaired,
Communication Impaired, Physical Impaired and/or Emotionally Impaired
Counseling Services: individual and group counseling services are available by parent, teacher or student request with parental permission to help children adjust to their school setting and teach them the skills needed to deal with issues. This program also offers a Life Skills class for sixth graders and in small groups for seventh and eighth graders.
ASACS
ASACS (Adolescent Substance Abuse Counseling Services) is
provided by SAIC, which is contracted by the Department of the Army to provide
the following services:
1. Treatment services-- Individual,
group, and family counseling for students with substance abuse issues, either
their own or someone else’s in their immediate family, and students who may be
at risk of developing a problem with substance abuse. Counseling occurs during school hours or after school by
appointment.
- Prevention
services—
Ø
Project Armor
Education Groups—Stress Busters, Decision Making, Leadership Potential and
others as recommended.
Ø
Parenting
Workshops
Ø Collaboration with school staff
Ø
Classroom
presentations on topics related to drug and alcohol use and decision making
- Community
involvement
Ø
Works with
Command to provide positive interventions for youth at risk
Ø
Involved in
the community to help foster a positive environment for youth and their
families
Tuesday Tutoring- Program that supports
students after school providing them extra help with their classes.
HOPE Project- HOPE Project is a group of
students and adults who practice the concept of acceptance and inclusion of all
students without regard to ability or special needs- Helping Our Peers
Everyday!
Gender Classes for select sixth graders
In SY 2005 MMS started a gender-based class for one team of sixth
graders. The previous years’ students
were focused socially rather than academically, and the school decided that it
would be a good experiment to see what would happen.
Now in its second year of implementation, teachers and parents are pleased with the results and this is fortified by the test data that has come back. The teachers are also able to deliver instruction using gender specific methods.
German 1- Middle school students are able to receive high school credit for this course
German 2- Middle school students are able
to receive high school credit for this course
Spanish 1- Middle school students are able to
receive high school credit for this course
German-American Partnership
Student Achievement: The German-American Partnership
affects all students at MMS in some way, for all 6th graders
participate in Exploring German class and are subsequently promoted to 7th
and 8th grade. The students involved directly in the German-American
Partnership score approximately 10 percentage points higher on TerraNova standardized tests, and can be
categorized at approximately 3 grade levels higher than the rest of the school
population. The partnership has also fostered special interest in the foreign
language program at MMS because the students know that they get to have German
partners, visit German schools, participate in cooperative field study trips,
etc. Therefore, due to the partnership, the participating students are highly
motivated and strive to learn more. Consequently they earn higher marks, which
reach the Community Strategic Plan goal #1: Highest Student Achievement.
Partnership: The German-American Club was created in
2001 by E W, the current German teacher at MMS. Its purpose is to foster
German-American friendship and to enhance and nurture good international
relations with the host nation. Among its goals are a positive host nation
experience for the students at MMS, bridging the language and cultural barrier,
and above all getting the American students off post by means of organized
field study trips, many of which are mutual outings with host nation school
exchange classes. In spite of the stringent security measures, MMS currently
has three very successful, long-standing host nation school partnerships. They
are Ludwig-Frank-Gymnasium in Mannheim, Kurpfalz-Gymnasium-und
Realschule in Mannheim, Werner-Heisenberg-Gymnasium in Weinheim, as
well as occasional exchange activities with Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium
in Weinheim, Ursulinen Gymnasium in Mannheim, and Heinrich Böll Gymnasium in Ludwigshafen. This is not only an
integral part of the SHCP (School Home Community Partnership) program, but
consistently achieves the CSP
(Community Strategic Plan) goal #4 Network of Partnerships Supporting
Achievement.
Resources: One teacher receives extra duty pay to
compensate for the 80-119 hours of necessary extra duty time that must be
invested to make the contacts, organize trips, design activities, etc. Since
MMS now has three host nation school partnerships, the German teacher can
involve all of his classes at all grade levels. The partnerships therefore
directly affect approximately 50% of the MMS population. Monies are solicited
from local organizations, namely Mannheim
Community Club and from the German-American
Women’s Club, to help finance the field study trips. Volunteer
chaperones are other indispensable human resources on these field study trips.
Cooperation of all colleagues is imperative for successful exchange class
visits. Nearly all of the teachers will be incorporated into these visits,
since the visitors can only get a feel for the American school system by
experiencing as much of it as possible. A telephone and a computer with e-mail
and Internet access are indispensable materials.
Replication: MMS’ current German-American Club is a
one-man-show, which means that it can be done alone. However, it requires a lot
of time and energy to make and maintain the contacts not only with the host
nation schools and, but to stay abreast of changes in the travel safety requirements
of the military Command, the district, and the school. There are always changes
in personnel, which can mean a return to square one. One must become acquainted
with people and procedures. One must know exactly what one wants to accomplish
in such a partnership, and be willing to pursue that goal until it is achieved.
Electronic files must be developed or acquired and maintained or updated, e.g.
field trip forms, installation access forms, etc. Funds must be solicited,
books must be kept regarding expenditures, extra duty time logs must be kept,
etc.
Advice: The recipe for a successful host nation partnership has many ingredients. Foremost on the list are a supportive administration and a leader or group of facilitators who are adept at organization of activities, dates, times, information, etc. The leaders must make and foster host nation contacts by being proactive. Strong classroom management and discipline skills are imperative, for the students directly involved in the exchange are, after all, ambassadors of the United States of America.
Important Groups and Committees
School Advisory Committee
School Improvement Leadership Team
Student Support Team
School Crisis Team
Technology Committee
Student Behavior Committee
Parent Supports/Community Partnerships
Parent Teacher Student Association
Mannheim Community Club
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
7th Signal
Extra Curricular Activities
Drama Club
Geography Bee
Spelling Bee
Yearbook Club
National History Day
Student Council
Video Production
National Junior Honor Society
German American Friendship Club
Project HOPE
Intramural Sports Program
Math Counts
Odyssey of the Mind
Technology Club
Community Overview
The Army
military units in the Mannheim community fall under the major command of United
States Army Europe (USAREUR). The mission of local US Army units is
predominately Signal, Transportation, and Military Police support. Also the US
military confinement facility for Europe is located on Coleman Barracks. The
approximate total population assigned is 15,000 which consist of: Army active
duty, 4,000; Air Force active duty, 200; Army family members, 6,484; Air Force
family members, 197; civilian employees and family members, 3,266 and US
military retirees, 727. The Mannheim
Community has one elementary, middle, and high school. Enrollment is free for command-sponsored
children of service members and DOD civilians. Other categories of students may
attend on a space available, tuition-paying basis.
Source:
Department of Defense website
Childcare services are available through Middle School
Programs (6th –8th Grade). CYS Liaison, Education and
Outreach Services provide outreach options for our school population.
CYS
Youth Sports Programs provides athletic programs, including team and individual sports, clinics and
camps. Team formation depends on the availability of volunteer coaches.
CYS Youth Activities
offers diverse programs to provide educational, cultural, social and
developmental experiences for children of all ages. The middle school and teen
programs are affiliated with Boys and Girls Clubs of America. School-Age Services programs for elementary
school-age children include spring, summer and winter recreational camps,
after-school childcare and school-out day trips. In addition, there is a trained
Read 180 person to assist those students in Read 180 at the school. (Source:
Department of Defense SITES website)
Survey
Student
Statistics:
These graphs of our students represent the differences of our racial mix and gender population. The statistics of our student population shows we have 52% white and 48% other races. Our programs are diverse in meeting all racial needs and ESL (English as a Second Language) as identified. We have 197 male students (57%), and 147 female students (43%). Our total student population at the time of this survey was 344.
Faculty Survey Results:
Our professional staff is 75% white, 19% African-American and 6 % Hispanic.
The staff is 60% female and 40%
male.
Our professional staff had to choose from 8 different age
brackets to identify that the majority of our staff is over 56 years of age
(27%), and the next highest is 46-50 years of age (17%). 23% of our professional staff is under the
age of 35.
Our results show that 66% of the professional staff has been teaching within the Department of Defense Dependents Schools for fewer than ten years.
Of our staff 68% of them have also taught outside the DoDDS
system. This enables our staff to have knowledge of school systems outside of
DoDDS to add to our school total educational experience.
Degrees Earned
Seven of our staff members have a bachelor’s degree, twenty have a master’s degree, while two hold a doctorate degree. We found that all the various degrees provide our students with a wealth of educational knowledge.
Information came from Quality Indicator Map
Implementation of DoDEA Standards in the Curriculum
DoDEA has called for the
development of standards-based curriculum for DoDEA schools. The goal of
the standards based curriculum is to create high expectations for student
learning and to improve student academic achievement through a curriculum that
is uniform in nature across DoDEA. Standards have been given to teachers
in book form, and are accessible to parents, students, and educators on the
dodea.edu website. Posters of curriculum standards have been posted in
classrooms and teachers use these general standards to let students know what
standard they are currently learning. The SIP committee provided teachers
with arrows that are currently being used to mark the standard that is
being taught. Curriculum guides (scope and sequence) based on these
standards are being developed by professionals in this area. DoDEA teachers are
sent to training in order to become familiar with the curriculum standards and
adopted materials.
|
Have you developed a pre-test for your students? |
72.41% |
|
Of those who have developed a pre test____ have modified
instruction based on the results |
90.48% |
|
Have you developed a post test for your students? |
79.31% |
|
If you have developed a post test, what percent have
modified instruction based on the results |
86.96% |
Pre-Test Development
According to our survey, teachers were asked how many had developed pre-test and/or post-tests to assist them in developing performance based tests to give to their students. The results indicated that twenty-one teachers responded that they had developed a pre-test for their students while eight stated that they do not develop tests.
Modification of Instruction based on Pre-Test
Of the teachers who do pre-test students, nineteen teachers said that they modify their instruction based on the results of their pre-test scores. Only two state that they do not modify instruction. It is possible that their curriculum does not lend itself to formal modification, but rather to an informal means of instruction students based on prior knowledge or existing gaps.
Post-Test Development
Twenty-three teachers
responded that they developed a post-test while six stated that they did
not develop a post-test.
Community 52% of teachers use volunteers in their classrooms 20% of teachers feel they have enough parental support 22% of teachers feel that our student’s successes are
celebrated by the community Classroom 19% feel there is a need for more teachers in this school 22% feel their classroom is overcrowded 65% use a technology a great deal in their classroom Standards/Assessments 96% of teachers use multiple assessments in their
classrooms 78% believe assessments should be used to determine
instruction 7% believe that formal assessments are the only way to
measure student achievement 67% use TerraNova
data to drive instruction 100% use classroom data to drive instruction 70% believe the curriculum standards are challenging
for our students Students 73% of teachers believe all students have the ability
to reach a high level of learning 93% of teachers use class work and homework to help
determine classroom achievement 81% of teachers believe that the use of technology has
improved the quality of learning Teaching