7300 Woodyard Road
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
"Step into
your greatness"
Kyle
Randolph Bacon,
Principal
Catherine L. Proctor, Assistant Principal
Catherine B. Scott, Assistant Principal
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Section I. Executive Summary
James Madison Middle School is a Comprehensive school located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in Prince George’s County. The vision for Madison is to have an instructional program that will facilitate the needs of our children in accomplishing the state’s Maryland School Assessment (MSA) goals and thus being successful with the HSA. The goal is also to develop children’s social interactive skills so that they become self disciplined, conscious of their mission and goals as students, and cognizant of everyone’s responsibilities and rights in the school setting. Madison is a school that strives to meet the rigorous standards of the Maryland State Assessment using the Voluntary State Curriculum, rigor defined as the consistent expectation of excellence and the aspiration of achievement. The staff promotes rigor by communicating high expectations and demonstrating them. They provide student with early, prompt, and frequent feedback and develop appropriate assessment strategies. A rigorous staff emphasizes time on task, clearly communicates time required for learning, and designed learning experience so that homework matters. A rigorous staff and curriculum will produce rigorous students who set high personal standards, develop a strong sense of purpose, come to class well prepared, and complete assignments son time. Rigorous students develop an effective relations hip with the instructor, in and outside of class. They accept responsibility for learning and for grades earned. In short, James Madison Middle School believes a rigor education is vigorous, challenging, deeply satisfying work and it requires a lifestyle conducive to achieving excellence. Alternative Governance Alternative Governance under COMAR 13A.01.04.07 Option: D Any other major restructuring of the school’s governance arrangement that make fundamental reform such as significant changes in the school’s staffing and governance to improve academic achievement in the school and that has substantial promise of enabling the school to make AYP. *Appoint/employ independent "Turn-around Specialist" for the school. This person will have limited powers over the school, e.g. in decisions regarding curriculum, staff development, decision-making process, school improvement plan, etc. The alternative governance plan for James Madison Middle School will provide for direct oversight by a Turn-Around-Specialist. The central office administrator assigned to this position will provide leadership in the management of the school and in instructional and curricular decisions related to student achievement. Under the leadership of the Regional Assistant Superintendent for this region, the Turn-around Specialist will closely, monitor school improvement plan activities and interventions as outlined in the school improvement plan monitoring tool, professional development calendar, and the individualized administrative intervention plan. Timelines and specific tasks assigned to the Turn-Around-Specialist are outlined in the referenced sections (monitoring tool, action plan, professional development calendar) within the restructuring plan. Specific features of the governance plan include, but are to limited to the following:
School Demographics Madison is structured on a 9 mod day where all classes are 90 minutes with the exception of Social Studies and Science which are 45 minutes on a daily basis. All students, including students of Special Education, revolve through the Creative Arts team on a semesterized basis. The student enrollment at James Madison for the 2003-2004 school year was 923 students. As of September 30, 2004, James Madison had a total of 865 students, of that number 450 were seventh graders and 415 were eighth graders. Ninety point ninety-eight percent (90.98%) of the student body is African-American, 5.66% white, 2.31% Hispanic, .58% Asian, and .46% American Indian. James Madison’s professional staff is comprised of 58.5 (.5 Guidance Counselor) members with 58 of them being assigned to the classroom. Madison has 3 administrators, 2.5 guidance counselors, 1 testing coordinator, and 1 Mentor Teacher. Fifteen (15) of the staff members hold Advanced Professional Certificates, 20 have Standard Professional Certificates, 23 are Provisional, per diem, or non tenured, Two (2) teachers participate in the resident teacher program. There are no long-term substitute teachers. Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings were held the third Tuesday of the month. There was a wavering core of parents on the executive committee; unfortunately, these were the only parents who consistently attended the PTA meetings during the school year. The goal for 2004-2005 is to build a strong PTA and strengthen ties with the community. Woodyard Nursery donated $200 during the school year to help with the beautification of the school property. The business/community liaison committee worked to form a partnership with Woodyard Nursery and will continue to work to involve businesses in the community with the school. Major initiatives and how these efforts will improve student performance. During the 2003-2004 school year Madison received two audits, one from the Faculty Support Team and one from the county. These audits helped to determine what the priorities for the next school year should be. The Faculty Support Team conducted an audit in which they visited all the classrooms for observations, attended departmental meetings and communicated with teachers regarding any concerns or needs. During the classroom visits, the Faculty Support team looked at Effective Instructional Practices, Planning and Preparation, and Managing Classroom Procedures. They then compiled the information to devise a plan of action for the staff. This plan of action called for a focus on using the collaborative planning time to analyze student work, designing assessments, and monitor pacing. The results of the on-site review noted that instruction was based on appropriate curriculum frameworks and MSA preparation activities were evident. Collaborative team planning was being used effective and that within the classrooms routines, processes, and procedures were evident. However, it was cited that differentiation of instruction within the classroom was still not evident. This has become a focal point for professional development for the 2004-2005 school year. By becoming experts in differentiated instruction the staff at Madison will better be able to service the needs of all the subgroups with a special emphasis on the special education and free and reduced meal students. Using tiered lessons and assignments, learning centers, and rotating small group instruction as well as other differentiated instruction techniques will enable staff members to address the learning styles of all the students housed within our walls. Safe and Orderly Environment As of June 7, 2004 the school had 490 suspensions with 138 suspensions in the 7th grade (28%), and 352 in the 8th (72%). To reduce the number of suspensions per year, the staff will be provided with in-service opportunities designed to establish and enhance classroom management. Cooperative Discipline and Second Step will be implemented school wide for teachers and a support system among teachers will be implemented. Mini follow-up sessions will be scheduled quarterly to discuss intervention and prevention strategies for school-wide discipline plan. SSST and SIT will assist in the evaluation of students’ needs. Staff will also be in-serviced on writing discipline referrals. Parental Involvement In preparation for quarterly milestone assessments and MSA, parents of students in ESEA subgroups will be provided the opportunity to attend the MSA evening meeting combined with the PTA meeting. A power point presentation will highlight how students will rotate through morning (Monday and Wednesday) and after school (Tuesday and Thursday) extended day programs. A letter is sent to parents to inform them of additional learning opportunities for students (see appendix). Take home packets and parent/student contracts will be provided to parents in order for James Madison to monitor students’ progress in extended day programs. Parents will monitor students’ work habits at home, sign, and return the contract to the school with signatures. During and after this MSA/PTA evening, parents will learn how to access content area websites (Houghton-Mifflin.com and glencoe.com, etc.) and the MSDE and PGCPS websites. The Region IV Turn Around Specialist (TAS) will provide ongoing, on-site monitoring and support of the regular daily implementation of curriculum and extended day programs, and will assist in coordinating and communicating activities to parent.
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"Step into your greatness" E-mail the JMMS webmaster by clicking here Site last updated October 2008 |