Middle School Improvement Plan To Focus

On Differentiated Learning Experiences

By Tanjua Damon

Every day, an old man walked the beach with a pail, picking up starfish that had been washed in by the tide, and throwing them back into the sea. One day a young boy stopped the old man and asked, “Why do you throw the starfish back? It doesn’t matter. They will only wash up on the shore again tomorrow.” The old man picked a starfish out of his pail, threw it as far as he could into the sea, and replied… “It mattered to this one.”

Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock told the school board during the School Improvement Plan meeting Tuesday night that teachers received a starfish pin at the beginning of the school year to remind them of the school community’s ongoing commitment to each student every day. It is the school goal for 2001-2002.

“Through increased differentiated experiences, students will achieve success in learning,” Ms Sherlock said. “Connecting to our Newtown Success-Oriented Model, our goal spans the areas of process skills, cognitive achievement, and self-direction.”

The School Improvement Plan focuses on helping each student learn well by identifying how they learn best, implementing multiple methodologies set for students needs in the classroom, and by helping students gain the tools to direct the students’ own learning, Ms Sherlock said.

“As a school we are better than we were at this time last year. I can tell you, we aren’t as good as we will be at this time next year,” Ms Sherlock said. “We know teaching and learning are linked. Through increased differentiated instruction, students will achieve success in learning.”

Teachers will continue to focus on differentiated instruction by selecting workshops that meet their needs. Some of the workshops will include learning styles, multiple intelligences, and meeting students’ social and emotional needs in the classroom, according to Assistant Principal Virginia King. Teachers will also have opportunities to go to workshops to gain knowledge and skills with technology. Teachers are planning to work on developing new approaches for grading and assessment that will address student achievement and accomplishment rather than failure.

The English Department will look at the CMT, Curriculum Revision, and Differentiated Instruction through the process of the School Improvement Plan for 2001-2002.

The Mathematics Department has put in place a three-year goal that will focus on sustaining authentic real-world applications. The department will work on compiling real world application problems, helping students reach goal on the CMT, flexible paced math classes to meet individual student needs, and math and science teachers will work to align their curriculum maps for natural integration of skills.

The Science Department has also set up a three-year goal addressing laboratory instruction, having students focus on the process skills of critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making, which they need to complete scientific investigations. The department will work on this through identifying lab skills for each grade level, having students keep journals, and working with the math department to develop an integrated unit to include common skills and language curricula.

Social studies teachers will look at ways to create and revise cross grade level, differentiated, interdisciplinary, inter-school assessments that provide students with options.

Project Adventure will continue to work on the student’s self-esteem, trust, and communication skills. Incoming sixth graders will take Project Adventure I, while seventh and eighth graders will move on to more challenging adventures in Project Adventure II.

“Every single student in the middle school matters to us,” Ms Sherlock said. “We want to take them as far and as fast as we can.”