School Improvement Plan

What is a School Improvement Plan?

A School Improvement Plan (SIP) is a strategic blueprint that schools use to enhance student learning and improve educational practices. It outlines specific goals for improvement, actions to achieve those goals, and methods for measuring progress.

Key Points of a SIP:

Goals: Clear objectives the school aims to achieve to enhance student outcomes.
Actions: Steps and strategies the school will implement to reach its goals, based on research and effective practices.
Monitoring: Regular review of progress with adjustments made to ensure the school stays on track toward its improvement objectives.

The purpose of a SIP is to provide a clear roadmap for schools to improve educational outcomes for all students, particularly focusing on eliminating disparities and ensuring equitable opportunities for every student.

Every school in Washington State is required to have a School Improvement Plan.

Monitoring and Adjusting:

A SIP is not set in stone. It's reviewed regularly, with progress monitored against the set goals and activities adjusted as needed to stay on track toward improvement.

Visit the Issaquah School District SIP website to learn more about SIPs.

District - School Improvement Plans

Achievement Goals

By the spring of 2024:

Student achievement for all students in the area of English Language Arts (ELA) will increase from 77.6% meeting standard to 82.6% meeting standard as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). This means we plan to raise student ELA SBA scores by a total of 5% over two years. We will progress monitor with i-Ready reading scores and trimester grades.
Student achievement for students who identify as Black/African American in the area of English Language Arts (ELA) will increase from 31.3% to 39.3% as measured by the ELA Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). This means we plan to raise ELA SBA scores for this group by 8% over two years. We will progress monitor with i-Ready reading scores and trimester grades.
Student achievement for students who identify as Hispanic/Latino will increase from 54% to 61% as measured by the ELA Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). This means we plan to raise ELA SBA scores for this group by 7% over two years. We will progress monitor with i-Ready reading scores and trimester grades.

Guiding Questions

Reflecting on previous action plans

What actions were successfully implemented?

The actions we successfully implemented in the 2022-23 school year included the following:

In our second year as a school, our school community continues to be grounded in our core beliefs of community, collaboration and growth-mindset
Continued transition efforts to assist new students to CMMS from three feeder elementary schools as well as transfer students
In the Fall of 2022, implemented a more structured system to communicate and partner with students and families to reduce absences and tardies from class.
Social Emotional Supports including: 1) Social Emotional Lessons from Second Step and Character Strong, 2) Individual student support as identified through the twice a year Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ), 3) Counseling Groups including Friendship lunch groups & Coping Skills lunch groups (focus on reducing stress & anxiety).
A continued strong belief in inclusion of all students—no matter their challenges. We continue to have a high rate of inclusion for our students served by Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). In 2022-23, we have added a Learning Resource Center 2 (LRC2) for more highly impacted students with disabilities and continue to find opportunities for inclusion and support.
Refined Building Level MTSS process with an emphasis on collaboration, interventions & data tracking. Grade Level teams are leading the implementation of academic and behavior interventions to help students be successful before referring them to the Tier 2 Support Team.
Broaden efforts around literacy across all subject areas with a continued focus on informational reading and a heightened focus on explicit teaching of academic vocabulary.
We deepened our efforts around after-school academic help (NEST=Need Extra Study and Tutoring) by creating systems to provide additional time for test and quiz retakes after school. Additionally, we have added tutoring in core subject areas to this program.
Intervention & restorative outcomes as an alternative to punishment-based discipline. This has led to a reduction in classroom exclusion from learning.
We have been able to run a full suite of sports for students during Season 1 & 2 of the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, we have increased our club offerings in less than two years to be comparable to our sister middle schools. We currently have 15 active clubs to serve our small student body.
In January 2023, we launched Student Advisory to the Principal whereby a diverse group of 10+ students meet with the principal monthly to provide input on important matters of student life such as: teaching, course selection, homework, discipline and special events and extra-curriculars. Feedback is shared systematically with Leadership/Tier 1 Team to further improve school programs.

What was observed? What evidence did you use to determine impact?

i-Ready Reading Achievement: We saw consistent gains in all grade levels in overall i-Ready reading scores from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022.
- Overall, students increased their i-Ready overall reading scores according to the i-Ready diagnostic during the 2021-22 school year by an average of +10 percentage points. Additionally, all students in the 2021-22 SY increased to mid or above grade level by an average of +12.7 percent points. In particular our biggest success was a +17% point increase in 8th graders (current 9th graders in the 2022-23 SY) reading at mid or above grade level.
- Overall, students increased their i-Ready Informational Reading scores according to the i-Ready diagnostic during the 2021-22 school year by an average of +11 percentage points. Additionally, all students in the 2021-22 SY increased to mid or above grade level by an average of +15 percent points. In particular our biggest success was a +20% point increase in 8th graders (current 9th graders in the 2022-23 SY) reading at mid or above grade level.
SBA ELA Achievement
- Fall 2021-Spring 2022: We saw a mix of increases and decreases in achievement when we compared the 2021 SBA (grade level below assessment without Performance Tasks) to the 2022 on-grade level Spring SBA with Performance Tasks. The 7th graders made huge gains in both ELA and Math (+7% & +6% respectively). The 2021-22 6th graders scores decreased overall.
- Spring SBA: CMMS students have only taken one on-grade level SBA and this occurred in the spring of 2022. On this assessment, the SBA ELA scores by 2021-22 SY grade level were as follows: 6th grade= 66.3%, 7th grade=80.2%, & 8th grade = 84.2%.
- Student groups who had disproportionate representation in not meeting standard included: Black/African American (31.3%), English Language Learners (40.6%), Hispanic/Latino (54%), Low Income (49.3%), & Students with Disabilities (22.2%).
Disproportionality: During the 2021-22 school year, students of BIPOC background were regularly overrepresented in lower achievement including GPA, D & F grades, i-Ready reading data and SBA data.
Clubs, Sports & Activities
- We added 6 more clubs by student demand bringing our total clubs to 15 in less than 2 school years. Some of our newest clubs, Timber Bridge and Knitting Club, had a successful start in the Fall of 2022 due to our strong friendship with the adjacent retirement community, Timber Ridge.
- Our goal is to run a full suite of sports for students during the 2022-23 school year.

How did actions impact disproportionality and equity?

We believed the following reduced disproportionality and increased engagement with families of disproportionally impacted students.

Teachers were encouraged to focus on BIPOC students when developing their student growth goals. Regular data was provided to staff to allow them to explore the needs as they manifested in classroom achievement.
Attendance rate of BIPOC students was up to 8.5% below that of their other peers in the 2021-22 SY. In the fall of 2022, implemented a more structured system to communicate and partner with students and families to reduce absences and tardies from class.
Teacher and Admin focus on BIPOC achievement and engagement through the Student Growth Goal Process
Focus on inclusive community values to drive programs, services and support for students and families
Strong partnerships & proactive communication with families
Intervention & restorative outcomes rather than punishment-based discipline
Created and conducted a parent panel professional development for certificated staff with support of the Equity Department and our Family Engagement Liaison.

What actions would you continue or change?

We will continue the following actions at CMMS as we end the 2022-23 school year and begin the 2023-24 school year:

Strong and regular grade level teaming on students of concern
Focus on deepening our practices monitoring and supporting for the academic achievement of BIPOC students
Robust continuum of services for students with IEPs—particularly our many co-teach classes and models that hold students to high expectations with support

We will change/add the following actions:

Foster and systematize student voice into Tier 1 Support team (Student Advisory to Principal)
Increase Tier 1 and Tier 2 tools and resources for staff and students
Strengthen MTSS processes and support staff in the use of data, effective interventions and teaming
Create differentiated building level mentorship for newly hired teachers
Hire highly effective long-term substitute teachers and provide greater stability to grade level content teams and continuity for students and families
Broaden efforts around literacy across all subject areas with a continued focus on informational reading and a heightened focus on explicit teaching of academic vocabulary
Deepen the SOP ("Sharing Our Practice") for teacher leaders to share their practices around literacy across the curriculum
Deepen supports for students with behavior concerns to address root causes of conflict and challenges, such as:
- Counseling groups including friendship group, coping skills (reducing stress/ anxiety) & new to CMMS
- As needed individual lessons such as: Friendship lessons, anger management lessons
- In-class guidance lessons delivered by counselor in collaboration with Health Teachers including anti-bullying, mental health and suicide prevention

Backed by Data

Schools use multiple data sources to inform their planning. Progress toward school improvement in overall achievement and disproportionality is monitored using state and district measures using a common School Improvement Data Dashboard.

Data Workbook for Middle School

Process
Findings

Process

In October 2022, the CMMS Leadership Team (formerly Team Leaders) analyzed student achievement data and reflected on previous school improvement goals. This team is composed of content and grade level Team Leaders as well as principal, assistant principal, Building Equity Lead and a newly created Team Leader who oversees PBSES & Social Emotional Learning (SEL). This team engaged in this analytical conversation using a data discussion protocol, Data Wise, to guide the process. The team concluded that to really impact the informational reading skills of our students, we need to more consistently implement explicit content-specific vocabulary teaching.

Findings

At CMMS, we notice that students who identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and students who identify as 2+ Races are not making the gains we hoped they would. We know that to close the opportunity and achievement gap, we must identify and support our students who are performing far below standard in making more than a year’s worth of progress. In the first year of our school’s existence (2021-22 SY) this did not come to fruition. In some cases, we do see there was a decrease in achievement as students were presented with more academic demands. We are also very concerned about our students who fit the criteria for Low Income as we see this same outcome.

School-Based Action Plan

Action	Implementation	Impact: Evidence/Monitoring
Counselor & Case Manager Conferencing	January & April 2023 Twice a year, students struggling the most academically are identified through trimester grade data. Case managers (ELL, IEP, 504) are asked to meet with these students to learn more about barriers to their learning. Students not receiving services meet with their counselor.	BIPOC students are prioritized as they have been identified disproportionally represented in low SBA scores and D & F grade data. We monitor attendance, grades and SBA scores for these students.
Educational Technology Professional Development	Monthly & as needed With increased staffing for dedicated building Ed Tech staff, we have implemented content-specific collaboration around teaching and learning grounded in High Leverage Practices and Universal Design for Instruction.	Effectiveness is monitored by building and district level feedback forms from staff and students.
Electives Course Selection Student Survey	Dec 2022 We use results to guide our offerings to ensure all student groups have a voice in elective offerings to increase engagement and ownership over learning.	We collect student feedback to gauge impact with a focus on BIPOC student responses to ensure representation and engagement.
Falcon Choice Time	Fall 2021- present A standing committee of staff members gathered in the fall of 2021 to develop a proactive suite of school skills to practice and created Falcon Choice Time along with a visual choice board. Choices include: clean out backpack/binder, i-Ready learning path, ALEKS math, silent reading, complete unfinished assignment, quiz retake, etc.	Effectiveness is gauged by teacher feedback including Leadership Team Discussions. This allows us to change and update as needed.
High Leverage Practices (CMMS in-depth)	February-March 2023 During the October 2022 PD, certificated staff indicated on a Menti survey that they wanted more resources on the following High Leverage Practices: Frequent Opportunities for Students to Respond & Effective Performance Feedback. With the help of TLS, CMMS admin delivered in-depth PD on these topics in February-March 2023.	Effectiveness will be monitored by classroom walkthroughs, observation cycles, and staff reflective feedback forms.
Intervention and Restorative Practices in Response to Behavior Violations	Ongoing As violations to the student code of conduct come up, we collaborate to provide supports, teaching and restorative paths to ensure behavior improves and student exclusion from learning in the classroom environment is limited.	We analyze disaggregated behavior violations and school exclusion data monthly during Leadership/Tier 1 meetings.
i-Ready Implementation, Professional Development & Data Analysis	Fall 2022- ongoing In August 2022 all certificated staff were trained to use i-Ready as a tool to view and monitor student achievement data to drive classroom supports as well as support students in accessing their Personalized Learning path.	Effectiveness will be monitored by staff reflective feedback forms.
Literacy PD Teacher for Teacher	Nov 2022- present Monthly Cert Staff Meetings Beginning in November 2022 to present, various CMMS teachers have volunteered to develop and deliver cross-curricular literacy PD (reading, writing, vocabulary) to colleagues during Certificated Staff Meetings. The focus is on supporting SIP, using i-Ready data in Student Growth Goals (SGGs), explicit academic vocabulary teaching strategies that include Universal Design for Learning, GLAD and High Leverage Practices.	Effectiveness is monitored by teacher feedback forms, Student Growth Goals (SGGs) as well as student grades, i-Ready scores & SBA scores.
Master Schedule & Intential Staffing	Fall 2022-ongoing We prioritize the needs of our most academically vulnerable students in the building of our master schedule including where Special Education teachers participate in consultation or full-co-teaching with general education teachers. Additionally, we correlate schedules of Special Education teachers with Study Skills courses to allow for specially designed instruction to be provided in the least restrictive environment. In January 2023, in response to large class sizes and a sharp increase of students with IEPs, we created additional general education classes and rearranged our Resource Room offerings to maximize support for students.	Effectiveness is monitored by administration and counseling staff reflective dialogues. Students’ attendance and grades will be monitored as well to gauge effectiveness.
NEST (Need Extra Study & Tutoring) Afterschool	Nov 2022 – present Mondays & Tuesdays 2:40-4:20 pm From 11/1/22 to 12/14/22, 115 students took part in attending 13 NEST after-school sessions. This is a quiet place for students to study, work on homework, complete test and quiz retakes and receive tutoring in the subjects of ELA, Math and Social Studies.	We will measure our effectiveness from attendance records and end-of-year student and staff surveys. Additionally, an ISF grant report will be submitted end of year to summarize program impact.
Parent Panel	Jan 18, 2023 A diverse group of CMMS parents joined our certificated staff for an 1 ½ hour parent panel where they shared their thoughts and experiences regarding a wide array of questions such as: How do you define or describe success for your child? How can we support this at CMMS? What does a typical after-school afternoon look like for your student and family? What are some aspects of the school that you and your child have most appreciated? What is your perception or expectation for rigor in middle school? What would you like CMMS to know about your observances of religious or cultural customs and/or holidays? What works best for you in communicating with teachers?	Effectiveness was measured from feedback forms from both staff in attendance and parents serving on the panel. We will also continue to monitor attendance, grades and SBA scores for students of BIPOC backgrounds and students for whom English is not their first language.
Refined Grade Level Teams & Student of Concern Process	Oct 2022-present Monthly In October 2022, we refined our school-based MTSS systems to intensify our Tier 1 structure and student-of-concern supports. This provided grade level teams resources including intervention menus, data tracking forms and a dedicated student coordinator to work alongside grade level teams for students who do not respond as well to teacher-level classroom-based interventions.	Effectiveness will be measured by a Tiered Fidelity Inventory focused on Tier 2 systems and support in May 2023
Student Advisory to the Principal	Jan 2023 Monthly This diverse group of 10+ students meets with the principal 1-2 times a month to provide input on important matters of student life such as: teaching, course selection, homework, discipline and special events and extra-curriculars.	Feedback is shared systematically with Leadership/Tier 1 Team to further improve school programs.
Student Governance	Ongoing In the fall of 2021, when we first opened our doors, we quickly established an ASB government including a student written constitution to allow for the election for the following officers: Executive, Grade Level, Tech, and Spirit. Additionally, to broaden student voice, each Soar Homeroom class elected a Soar Senator to serve as an advocate and liaison for important ASB matters at monthly Soar Senate meetings.	Effectiveness will be measured by attendance and student surveys.

SIP Team & Final Review

Principal: Erin McKee
Site Council/PTSA Review Date:
Supervisor Review: Sherri Kokx
School Board Review Date: March 1, 2023

Leadership Team:

Tim Hemker, Assistant Principal
Kari Graettinger, Science Team Leader
Erika Monroe, Math Team Leader & EdTech
Laura Matheny, ELA Team Leader
Alicia Chon, Social Studies Team Leader
Travis Conner, Elective Team Leader
Holly Stipe, 8th Grade Team Leader
Haley Skavaril, 7th Grade Team Leader
Brook Gouge, 6th Grade Team Leader
Amy Ainsworth, 6th Grade Team Leader
Andrea Miele, PBSES & SEL Team Leader
Chris Wieland, Equity Building Lead

Checklist

Action plan includes use of educational technology.
Action plan includes strategies for family engagement.
Action plan includes strategies for engaging students and/or addressing the social, emotional and/or mental health needs of students and barriers to learning
Action plan includes a school-based action to implement one (or more) of Culturally Responsive Practices, Universal Design for Learning, Trauma Informed Practices, &/or the 4 High Leverage Instructional Practices.

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