Accountability in preparing students for all course work
Effective middle grades leaders help teaching teams develop strategies for raising the achievement of all students. Those who do not have grade-level proficiency in English-language arts and mathematics need accelerated interventions. However, they also need opportunities—before and after school if necessary—to prepare for high school and beyond.
To eliminate the achievement gap, students must be prepared in all academic subject areas when they exit middle school. Content areas in the API include English-language arts (norm-referenced and standards-based) in grades six through nine, mathematics (norm-referenced and standards-based) in grades six through nine, and history–social science and science in grade eight. For admission to the University of California and California State University system, students must be prepared to succeed in courses that meet the "a-g requirements" in high school, which include a foreign language, visual and performing arts, mathematics, science, English-language arts, and history–social science. For those students who do not have access to technology at home, schools have a responsibility to provide students with the technological skills required in high school, college, and the global economy.
In the Spotlight
Alvarado Intermediate School, Rowland Unified School District, a 2004 Schools to Watch™-Taking Center Stage Model School
To ensure team meetings are effective and focus on specific goals and strategies, the principal requires that teams submit their common (team) lesson plans each Friday. Like many other middle school principals, Alvarado’s principal requires each team to submit team agendas and minutes.
Kennedy Middle School, El Centro Elementary School District, a 2005 Schools to Watch™-Taking Center Stage Model School
The school faculty keeps a close watch on API results. The breakdown of the student population is 88 percent socioeconomically disadvantaged and 48 percent English learners. Team members track the API growth and implement a wide variety of interventions to help the students who are not making adequate progress.
Closing the achievement gap is complicated because of differing local board policies, the number of feeder districts, and lack of opportunities for administrators and teachers at all schools to meet together. However, effective articulation models exist for both unified and non unified school districts.
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