at Spearfish Middle School
Spearfish Middle School Mission Statement:
Spearfish Middle School is committed to preparing adolescents with the necessary academic and social skills and knowledge for continued school success and life-long learning.
Grades 6-8; Enrollement 463 students; NCA Accreditation Date: 2009
The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School
Improvement (NCA CASI) is a non-governmental, voluntary organization
that accredits more than 8,500 public and private schools in 19 states,
the Navajo Nation, and the Department of Defense Dependents' Schools
worldwide. NCA CASI is a school improvement process by which a school
self-evaluates and targets areas for improvement. To earn accreditation,
schools must meet NCA CASI's quality standards, be evaluated by an outside
group of professionals, and implement a school improvement plan focused
on increasing student performance.
AdvancED is the parent organization for the North Central Association
Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). This unified
organization creates the world's largest education community, representing
23,000 public and private schools and districts in 30 states and 65 countries
and serving nearly 15 million students. NCA CASI schools share a unified,
clear and powerful accreditation process designed to help schools continuously
improve. Schools and school districts began use of the AdvancED standards
and accreditation process in the 2007-08 school year. AdvancED is dedicated
to advancing excellence in education through accreditation, research,
and professional services.
What is NCA: North Central Association - a school improvement
process. Every five years SMS goes through an improvement cycle and NCA
is the organization that aides us in the process by which we self-evaluate
and target areas for improvement.
Why is accreditation important?
Everyone at SMS is responsible for improvement and the continued success of our school. The improvements we make will make our school better for students, staff, and community.
NCA Steering
Committee: Tom Mead and Ellie Cooch - Co-Chairs with committee members:
Becky Sukstorf, Michelle Linn, Principal Tom Riedel and Counselor Elaine
Doll-Dunn.
How does our school earn NCA CASI accreditation?
Meeting High Standards:
•
Schools must meet certain standards to be accredited:
–
Students are taught by highly qualified teachers.
–
Class sizes are reasonable.
–
The curriculum is sound and rigorous.
–
Student services and activities are plentiful.
–
Schools are safe and financially stable
Implementing a School Improvement Plan
• We must continually improve performance.
• We must implement a plan that contains clear goals for raising the achievement
of all students.
• We must document growth.
Host an external peer review team
•
Observed by a team of peers outside of the school.
•
We will get a report on what we are doing well and what we could do
better.
What does accreditation mean to me?
•
Your teachers are certified in their areas.
•
Your teachers are continually working to improve their practices and
methods for increased student achievement.
•
You have access to a rich, diverse, and sound curriculum.
•
You can participate in a wide variety of activities.
•
You have access to a range of support services (counselors, advisers,
nurses.)
•
Your school meets safety standards.
How can I get involved?
•
Become informed and have a voice!
–
Participate in any surveys given to collect data.
–
Serve on one of the school improvement committees.
–
Talk to your teachers about improvement efforts.
–
Know your improvement goals.
Areas Targeted for Improvement
1. Math – Problem Solving - All students will improve their problem solving across all areas of the curriculum.
The “essence”of this goal includes the ability to solve problems for different purposes and to enhance understanding of information.
2. Reading – Reading comprehension - All students will improve their reading comprehension skills in all areas of the curriculum.
The “essence” of this goal includes the ability to obtain information from print; to apply various reading strategies to comprehend and interpret text; and to make personal meaning about the information.
Why these goals?
•The NCLB federal mandate emphasizes the importance of these goals.
•DSTEP scores show a need for improvement in these two areas.
•STAR Reading Test results.
•A pre-test for a problem solving strategy indicated a pronounced need for improving student ability to make more informed choices when presented with a problem.
How do we address these goals?
•With Strategies and Interventions: Staff in-services will give educators strategies to take directly into the classroom to improve student learning. Interventions such as our NCLB math class and Boys Town Reading program will boost student confidence and directly address areas of concern.
• Expand the FAME reading program to include more students. Expand the program to include more students at the basic and below basic reading levels to increase the number of proficient or advanced students.
• Use strategies presented by our Education Services Agencies and Building Learning Team.
• Continue curriculum mapping to find gaps in our instruction.
• Include a class to target problem solving skills for students that are in need of more one-to-one instruction.
• Use strategies presented by our Education Services Agencies and Building Learning Team.
• Continue curriculum mapping to find gaps in our instruction.