Smaller Learning Communities Implementation Plan[1]

8/3/2019 Smaller Learning Communities Implementation Plan[1]

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Smaller LearningCommunities

Implementation Plan

Plainfield School District

Hubbard Middle School

Plainfield, New Jersey2007-2010



Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 3

Planning Committee............................................................................................................ 4

Mission................................................................................................................................ 5

Vision.................................................................................................................................. 6

Need .................................................................................................................................... 7

Goals and Objectives .......................................................................................................... 7

Roles of Key Staff............................................................................................................... 9

Curriculum ........................................................................................................................ 10

Course Offerings........................................................................................................... 12

Instruction ......................................................................................................................... 14

Assessment........................................................................................................................ 16

Personalization.................................................................................................................. 17

Parent Involvement ........................................................................................................... 18

Community Involvement .................................................................................................. 19

Professional Development Component............................................................................. 20

Program Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 21

Timeline for Implementation............................................................................................ 22



Introduction

Hubbard Middle School of Plainfield, as part of an Abbott District,

recognizes the need to restructure our small learning communities in order to

meet the state mandated code. Our goals are to provide for our students both

a quality education, as well as the opportunity to study fields of their

interests.

It is our hope that by challenging every child’s natural curiosity and thirst for

knowledge, our students will strive for their own personal perfection, aided

by the expertise of the dedicated professionals who comprise the staff and

faculty of the Public Schools of Plainfield.

Therefore, it is with great excitement and enthusiasm that our committeeoffers this implementation plan for the restructuring process. Our emphasis

is on students achieving their personal goals and as always, the vehicle is

academic success.



Planning Committee

Ms. Yvonne Breauxsaus – Vice-Principal

Ms. M. Ginn – Mathematics

Ms. L. Gorczyca – ESL

Mr. F. Harris – Mathematics

Ms. L. Jackson – Science

Ms. Jamail – Mathematics

Mr. C. Kacsanik – Technology

Ms. K. McPhail – Technology

Mr. J. Pleasant – Social Studies

Ms. J. Wilson – Mathematics

Ms. K. Wyatt-Jackson – Special Needs



Mission

The Hubbard Middle School Community is preparing our students

for achievement and being self-directed life long learners. Our

mission is to provide students and staff with small learningcommunities dedicated to increasing desire and ability to learn.



Vision

As visitors enter Hubbard Middle School, student escorts greet and assist them. Bulletin

boards are beautifully displayed with student work from a variety of disciplines. Eachclassroom is full of students engaged in meaningful learning. Students receive

personalized instruction from a core team of dedicated teachers that help to fosterpositive academic, social, and psychological growth. The atmosphere is supportive and

calm while charged with positive energy and enthusiasm.

The core curriculum of the instructional program is aligned with state standards. Cross-

curricular activities are encouraged by the use of common planning time for instructional

teams. Global competition has forged the need for emphasis on math, engineering and

technology related to science and business. We wish to provide our students with thebackground and skills needed for competitive performance in the world. In addition, there

are a variety of project-based learning activities, community service projects and various

interdisciplinary approaches to learning.

Parents regularly participate in workshops to encourage support for teachers. Many

supports are available to parents to enable them to partner with the school on behalf of their child (e.g., student led conferences, parent workshops). These efforts will result in

increased parent attendance at school events and functions.

The Hubbard Middle School community embraces and celebrates student excellence.The culture at Hubbard Middle School inspires the best in its students, faculty, staff,

parents and community. The environment is alive with intellectual, cultural and athletic

activities that provide opportunities for each student to be a productive member of thissociety and the larger one beyond Hubbard Middle School.



Need

The insufficient supply of the resources listed below has contributed to the poor academicperformance, and feelings of solitude, aloofness and mediocrity:

Current textbooks and complete supplemental material packages that correspond to theNJCCCS.

Highly functioning computers and full software packages.

High turnover rate of staff.

Variety of initiatives competing for limited resources.

Enhanced high volume copying capabilities (minimum of one machine per floor with full

service coverage).

Limited physical space.

Lack of parental involvement.

Hubbard Middle School’s quest is to develop tailored approaches for each student that

will yield greater student ownership, student responsibility, and student achievementthrough a more personalized environment for students, faculty, parents and community.

It was extremely critical that the design team examined and evaluated the data available

before developing the tailored approaches. Moreover, to ensure the quality and success of

each tailored approach ongoing examination and evaluation will be essential. Hubbard’sdesign team reviewed numerous reports from the State of New Jersey Department of

Education, student surveys, staff surveys, and parent surveys. The data examinedincluded school demographics, socioeconomic indicators, academics, school climate and

extended day programs. All of this data impacted the creation of our goals and objectives.

Goals and Objectives

These goals and objectives will focus the school’s curriculum and instructional programs.

Goal 1: All students will participate in a smaller learning community

• 100 % of students will be in a small learning community

• 100% of students will participate in small advisory group activities

Goal 2: All students will meet New Jersey State graduation and proficiency requirements



By June 2010

• 100% of students will meet graduation requirements

• All students will exceed annual yearly progress on the New Jersey Assessment of

Skills and Knowledge ( NJ ASK) 6 and 7 and Grade Eight ProficiencyAssessment ( GEPA) in language arts so that all students will achieve at least the

75th

percentile.• All students will exceed annual yearly progress on the New Jersey Assessment of

Skills and Knowledge ( NJ ASK ) 6 and 7 and Grade Eight Proficiency

Assessment ( GEPA) in mathematics so that all students will achieve at least the

75th percentile.

• All students will exceed annual yearly progress on the Grade Eight Proficiency( GEPA) in science so that all students will achieve at least 75 th percentile.

Goal 3: Hubbard Middle School will attempt to close the achievement gap

By June 2010,

• The achievement gap between General Education and Bilingual and SpecialEducation students will be narrowed by 75%.

Goal 4: There will be an increase in community involvement in Hubbard Middle

School’s comprehensive educational program

By June 2010,

• There will be an 80% increase in community involvement as determined bybusiness participation on advisory boards and business incentives including

scholarships and summer employment.

Goal 5: There will be an improvement in school climate as a result of a morepersonalized school environment.

By June 2010,

• There will be a 20% increase in classroom attendance

• There will be a 30% increase in the number of students involved in schoolactivities

• There will be a 50% decrease in incidences of school violence

• Hubbard will develop pride in academic achievement

• Hubbard will develop an atmosphere conducive to academic excellence

• Hubbard will improve instructional services

• Hubbard will encourage greater parental involvement

Goal 6: Staff will be involved in on-going professional development activities that willenable them to implement and achieve goals, objectives and activities of this plan.

By June 2010,

• All staff will participate in a minimum of 25 hours of professional developmentper year.



Roles of Key Staff

The principal will continue to be the instructional leader of the school’s programs and

will coordinate and administer the school facility as well as all school programs andactivities. However, each administrator will supervise a small learning community and

will be supported by the design coach/whole school reform facilitator. Each smalllearning community will elect a teacher leader who will facilitate team meetings and

serve as liaison to district and the school as a whole.

The Administrators shall:

o Promote the mission of the school

o Coordinate and oversee an SLC Academy

o Evaluate staff

o Plan and implement professional development programs

o Oversee the instructional programs

o Supervise all staff o Maintain records of evaluated programs

The Design Coach/Whole School Reform Facilitator shall:

o Coordinate special events to support each SLC Academy

o Review and analyze the data with each SLC Academy

o Work collaboratively with the Math and ELA coach to facilitate professional

development

o Serve as the liaison to the district central office, community and the BOE

o Work collaboratively with the Academy Team Leaders

o Work with the PTO

o Maintain data of student achievement

The SLC Academy Team Leaders shall:

o Facilitate team meetings which agendas are generated

o Maintain team minutes and sign-in logs

o Maintain records of student achievement, attendance and discipline

o Research best practices to support the academy

o Serve as Liaison to Administration, Design Coach, PTO and students

o Serve on school LINCC

Student Personnel Services Dept shall:

o Facilitate student exploration into potential career interest o Identify at-risk students o Serve as student advocates o Coordinate individual and group counseling sessions addressing specific

student needs o Work collaboratively with teachers to build student character education

program o Serve as liaison between school and parents



Curriculum

The curricula for grades six through eight are aligned with the state and district standardsand provide for these graduation requirements:

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Basic Skills: Students must pass the NJ ASK 6, 7 and GEPA. The test measures

proficiencies in ELA, mathematics, and science. Students who do not meet the

state standards in any of those areas must enroll in accelerated courses (until theydo).

2. Curriculum Proficiency: Every student must take and demonstrate proficiency inall the courses listed below and for the time indicated.

a. Three years of mathematics – Gifted and Talented Course and/or AP

b. Three years of ELA – Gifted and Talented and/or APc. Three years of science, with more than one lab a year

d. Three years of physical education, health/safety. A medical excuse

exempts a student from physical education activities in the gym dependingon the disability; it does not excuse anyone from completing all other

requirements.

e. Three years of Social Studies – sixth grade – Geography, seventh grade –World History, eighth grade U.S. History

f. Basic Application – all sixth graders; Basic Program – seventh graders;

Web Design/ Cyberspace Application – eighth graders

g. Three years of World Language – Spanish or French; Sixth grade one

language each semester, seventh and eighth grade one full year of aspecific World Language.

h. Art, Music, band, Vocal, Dance – students must take one elective persemester ( 2 marking periods) within their Small Learning Community.

3. Attendance: Since classroom activities and student participation in class are anintegral part of each course, the Board of Education, in compliance with the State,

has an attendance policy which requires regular attendance if a student is to be

successful in meeting standards for each course.

4. Graduation Requirements: In compliance with the District policy, students who

fail two or more core courses are subject to retention.



SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES ACTIVITES & FIELD TRIPS

The following is a list of activities and field trips to be offered to the three small

learning communities; ABAT- Academy of Business and Technology, AVPA –Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, and ISSI – International Studies and Social

Issues. The activities and field trips will focus students’ work toward the areas of interest.

ABAT

Suggested Activities: design a bridge, tower, statue, or city, build a model of a carand create a scale drawing, design a kite to fly, a boat to float, and a roller coaster,

video game designs, research architects and historical background to engineering,

open a school store, create business cards, work on business skills usingmoneyopolis.com, orangkids.com, HOTSHOTDISNEY.com, and write a persuasive

letter selling the design.

Field trips: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, bank, stock exchangeGuest Speakers: City architect, Pharmacist, Engineer, Bank Manager

AVPA

Suggested Activities: Write a play from a fable, have a poetry night, create and

perform songs, raps, lyrics for all subjects, create a jingle or slogan to sell a product,create a skit, pantomime, dance, animation, video games design, study hip hop music,

study the history of outdoor theatre production from Ancient Greece, Asia, andElizABAThan times, open an advertising firm and/or television/radio station, design a

bus stop mosaic bench with the supervision of an artist in residence, and create a quilt

for members of the community ( ex. Firefighters).

Field Trips: Newspaper/Magazine Publishing Company, advertising agency,

Television/ radio station, theatres, plays, NJPAC, Broadway Musicals, Diversity Inc.

Guest Speakers: Editor of magazine/newspaper, actor, and director

ISSI

Suggested Activities: research the best form of transportation to travel the world,create a brochure for a country, get a pen pal, research schools, jobs, incomes, and

communities around the world, study and create birds and flowers from around the

world, explore foreign languages/ art/ culture, exchange money from other countries,and collect stamps from around the world.

Field Trips: Travel agency, United Nations, stock exchange, Ellis Island, Liberty

Science Center

Guest Speakers: Hotel manager/owner, Travel agent



Small Learning Community Course Offerings for grades 6-8

The following tables list the course to be offered in the three small learning

communities; Academy of Business and Technology, Academy of Visual andPerforming Arts, Academy of International Studies and Social Issues. The courses

offered will focus students’ work toward the areas of interest identified in their“Personalized Learning Plan.”

Academy of Business and Technology = ABAT

Academy of Visual and Performing Arts = AVPA

Academy of International Studies and Social Issues = ISSIAll Communities = All

Course SLC Status

Core = C /Elective =E

English All C

Math All CScience All C

Social Studies All C

Physical Ed./Health All C

Computers All EArt All E

Music All E

World Language All EEconomics ABAT E

Entrepreneurship ABAT EWeb Page Design ABAT E

Video Game Design ABAT E

Architecture ABAT EEconomics ABAT E

Accounting ABAT E

Public Relations ABAT EAdvertising AVPA E

Stage Design AVPA E

African Dance AVPA E

Web Science AVPA EPhotography AVPA E

Animations AVPA E

Graphic Arts AVPA EMythology ISSI E

Folklore ISSI E

Environmental Science ISSI EForensic Science ISSI E

Anthropology ISSI E

Psychology ISSI E



The curriculum for all themed courses will be developed and written during year oneand two of implementation.

Students will be provided with specific academic interventions to enable them to besuccessful in meeting state and district proficiency levels as well as graduation

requirements. These interventions include: tutoring, study skills, student orientation,basic skills programs, and summer enrichment programs. In addition to the regularschool day students are offered a number of extended day programs that enhance their

academic and social development: 21st Century, Millionaires in Training, and I Have

A Dream.



Instruction

The instructional program at Hubbard Middle School will focus on the followingstrategies:

1. Establishing essential learning• Focus on mastery

• Raise the level of academic rigor

• Open honors to all students

• Initiate interdisciplinary instruction

• Teach literacy across the curriculum

• Align student activities with essential learning

• Extended 30 minutes for students who did not pass previous state tests

2. Improving the quality of interactions between students and teachers

• Create and implement interdisciplinary teams

• Loop teachers with students

3. Implementing an advisory program

• Comprehensive transition program

• Establish development program for advisors

• Students lead discussions on personal progress

• Resources for students to research post – graduate opportunities

• Students, along with advisors and parents will develop a Personal Plan forProgress

4.

Using a variety of instructional strategies and assessments• Standards – based assessments

• Development and teaming opportunities for teachers with all grade levelsin their content areas

• Allow students to discover concepts

5. Flexible scheduling

• Institute am/pm structures

• Increased common planning time for teachers

• Community-based learning aligned with essential learning

6. Leadership changes• Participation of students, teachers, family and community in decision

making

• Student lead conferences

• Encourage families and community to be involved in curriculum



7. On-going professional development

• Align professional development with essential learning

• Ensure each teacher creates a Personal Learning Plan

• Formal orientation program for new and transfer teachers

• Best Practice sessions lead for teachers by teachers• Mentoring process for new teachers

• Encourage teacher to teacher observation

• Continuous professional development and related follow-up activities

The following components will be emphasized in the classroom instructional program atHubbard Middle School:

• Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is a teaching concept in which the classroom teacher

plans for the diverse needs of all students. The teacher considers such differencesas learning styles, skill levels, learning rates, language proficiency, background

experiences, behavioral patterns, motivation, ability to focus and physical needsas they affect each student’s learning. The teacher then selects monitors and

adjusts content, processes and products in response to student readiness, interests

and learning profiles. Flexibility is the hallmark of differentiated classroom.

• Interdisciplinary Instruction

Through an interdisciplinary instructional approach, teachers design learning

experiences that make clear to the students the connections among their various

content areas. The more students can see those connections, the more likely theyare to realize how the content they study applies beyond the classroom.

• Project Based Learning ( PBL)

“Project Based Learning is a learning a systematic teaching method that engages

students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry processstructured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products

and task.” (Buck Institute for Education: 2003) By beginning the learning

process with the challenge of a specific project, PBL fosters long-term learning

and retention, the acquisition of habits of mind, collaborative learning skills,

resourcefulness, good time management skills and a life-long commitment to theinquiry process.



Assessment

We will continue to assess students using the required state and district tests. In addition,

we will broaden school-wide and classroom assessments to include:

• Portfolios – The student portfolio is a tool for students to collect and reflect upon

their learning experiences and accomplishments throughout each and across all of

their high school years. The portfolio is, furthermore, a catalyst for students toconnect knowledge with practical application.

• Teacher Observations of Student Work – This type of informal observation is

unobtrusive. Each teacher continually observes students engaged in an activity orassignment and determines how well students understand concepts and what, if

any, interventions are warranted.

• On-demand tasks – Students complete tasks that pertain to real world situationsand may be addressed to personal interest. The tasks should be challenging

enough to be interesting but not frustrating. On-demand tasks integrate

disciplines to solve complex problems and address real issues.

• Assessment of student work experiences – This type of assessment involves aperformance or demonstration, usually for a real audience and useful purpose.

These assessments have significant meaning for the learner and may produceinformation, a product, or a service. The assessment is part of instruction and

vice versa; the students learn during assessment.

• Rubrics – A set of authoritative rules that gives direction to the scoring of assessment tasks or activities. To be useful, a scoring rubric must be derived fromcareful analysis of existing performances of varying quality and shared with the

learner ahead of time. Ideally, students participate in the construction of rubrics.

• Peer Review – Students are trained in various Critical Friends Group protocols toexamine their own and each others’ work for formative feedback at several stages

of long-term project work.

• Homework/Class Participation – Homework is a valuable tool for reinforcingclass work exercises. Not only is it an extension of the class work, it provides

parents/guardians an opportunity to know what is being taught and to assist thechild in completing the assignment. Class participation provides significantfeedback to teachers as to how the student is processing the concept being taught.



Personalization

Personalized education based on interest to motivate students to reach high academic

expectations such as small learning communities, teaming, differentiated instruction,individualized instruction, interest infused instruction, projects and exhibitions related to

the interest based small learning communities. In addition to the above strategies,Hubbard Middle School will implement the following:

Advisories – Advisories provide a set time in each student’s weekly schedule to addresshis/her overall progress with help from a faculty advisor and group of peers.

There are four components of an advisory program:

• A clearly defined purpose supported by each small learning community to supportstudents in their personal and academic development.

• An organization to fulfill that purpose and to ensure personalization.

• Content based on the purposes to be achieved and on the mission of the school.

• Strong leadership by an individual or team charged with designing, implementing,overseeing, supporting, and assessing the program.



Parent Involvement

Family and student welfare is a value part of the Hubbard Middle School education

program. Services are provided to assist both the students and family with issues bothacademic and social. The services are provided by the Student and Family Social

Services Team (SFSS Team), Guidance Counselors, Nursing, Administrative andTeaching Staff.

Parental support is a very valuable part of the Hubbard Middle School community. Astrong Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) helps drive and motivate the Students,

Teaching Staff and Administration. The PTO assists in parent-teacher conferences and

promoting events during those times to increases the outcome of parents.

Mission and Philosophy of the PTO:

• To ensure that our children receive a quality education in conjunction with havingan enriching Middle School experience.

Goal of the PTO:

• To educate, empower and encourage parents to become an active partner in theirchild’s educational journey.

• To coordinate extra curricular activities for children social and academicdevelopment.

• To organize and conduct training programs for parents that will assist them

supporting their child at home

• To serve as an advocacy group on local, state and federal levels to ensure that ourchild receive all of the funding and programs that they are entitled to.

Communication with parents is the key. Teachers, Administrators and other School staff will continue to communicate with parents via email, letters, phone calls, local TV, radiostations, websites, bulletins and community bulletins.

Corporate Involvement

Current involvement with corporate partnerships help Hubbard Middle School pursues

collaborative efforts between the educational, business and research communities.

• Partnership with Washington Mutual Bank of North Plainfield.

o Students start savings accounts and learn the business of banking.

• Partnership with the Liberty Science Center.

o Students have the opportunity to experience hands –on activities in

Science.

• Partnership with Keen University and Projector Adelante.

o Bi-lingual students have the opportunity to participate in enrichment in

Science, Math, Technology and ELA.

Our goal is to increase our corporate involvement to expose our students to real lifesituations and motivate them to achieve success.



Community Involvement

Various projects have been launched from each SLC to tap resources within thePlainfield Community. This year a “Darfur Gallery Wall” was presented at Hubbard in

conjunction with a P.A.C.E.S. grant. Plainfield District employees were joined by

Maxson and Hubbard students, the Hubbard PTO, and students from Lake Rivera andLinwood School Districts. Next year a marketing project is expected, hoping to createpartnerships with Plainfield businesses and Hubbard students, who will study

demographics and economics within their community.

Two long-term projects have proudly spanned several years at Hubbard, both producing

the ideal in community involvement.



Professional Development Component

The Hubbard Learning Community in order to provide superior instruction to ourstudents, strongly feel that professional development be both relevant and motivating

within the individual SLCs. To enhance the teaching practices already implemented by

our faculty is our overall goal. In order to successfully achieve this, we aim to completethe following:

• Sensitivity training for teachers

• Reflective practices

• Sharing of best practices

• Comprehensive training for General Education teachers to comply with Special

Education Law and Bilingual Law (State and Federal).

• Hands-on workshops

• Workshops provided for teachers which incorporate lesson modeling as follow

up• Team teaching

• Motivational speakers

• Training for teachers about creating PBLs for the classrooms

• Veteran/new teacher partnership

• Partnership with local colleges to offer college credit courses in specific content

areas

We aim to link our professional development with that which is needed with in the

individual SLCs. In other words, if teachers are needed for course selections such asEconomics, Stage Design and Mythology, it is our goal to provide the proper personnel

who have been trained to do so. Certification opportunities should be made available to

staff online, as well as, workshops or college courses which endorse specialization inspecific teaching areas.



Program Evaluation

To evaluate the effectiveness of any program feedback is required. Hubbard

Middle School will evaluate its programs through the use of various

measures. Survey of students, parents and staff will be utilized. Feedback

forms completed by the Focus Walk Teams will provide vital information.

The gains in student achievement and the results of state test assessments

will prove instrumental in providing vital information about Hubbard’s

programs.

Data from all sources including student work will be collected and analyzed

to determine the degree to which project objectives have been attained, and

provide a continuous flow of data back to administrators, teachers, students,parents and district personnel.



Timeline for Implementation

ACTIVITIES APRIL -

JUNE

JULY -

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

ABAT XAISSI X

AVPA X

Team Building each

Academy

X

Integrated Units Planning X X

Project Base Learning

PD

X X

Differentiated Instruction

PD

X X

Curriculum Writing X X

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Smaller Learning Communities Implementation Plan[1]

Documents