• Discipline Rates for students with disabilities
• Numbers of FARMS students
• LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students
• Special Education and 504 student enrollment
• Quarterly Assessments scores - English
• Quarterly Assessments scores - Mathematics

Key Challenge #1: Significant increase in student enrollment numbers 

Over the past four school years, we have averaged a growth of 43 students per year. This increase in student enrollment includes STEM students, as well as those who have moved into the area seeking to attend our school. We are currently projected to have approximately 1300 students for the 2019-2020 school year. With the increased number of students, there is a challenge of finding classroom learning space, cafeteria space, and hallway space for student transitions; hiring and acclimating new staff; and overall balancing of class sizes. Spaces have also been reallocated and repurposed as classrooms, such as parts of the Media Center and the Student Activity Center. 

As we work to become more connected with our staff and students through our stories, this increase in student enrollment provides a special challenge in keeping everyone feeling like a part of the CMS Family in order to enhance student academic achievement. 

As a way of supporting the growing population in feeling connected to the school, the CMS staff has planned and completed many professional development (PD) sessions designed to build relationships. Before the 2018-2019 school year started, our AVID Coordinator provided team-building activities as staff professional development. In September, staff participated in PD on Student Mapping (name, face, story), as well as PD from the Equity Office on recognition of our own bias. As a result of the staff professional development sessions, we take time throughout the year to build relationships through a variety of strategies. For example, teachers implement AVID activities shared through professional development to create writing opportunities for students and teachers to share stories. Additionally, we use strategic scheduling and room assignments to optimize the learning environment. As a community, we are responsive to our student needs and seek solutions using all the resources available to the school. (Indicators 1, 2, 4, 6)

Key Challenge #3: Special Education and 504 students enrollment numbers

Our current enrollment of approximately 1300 students includes 133 students with 504 Plans and 75 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which represents just over 16% of the school’s population. While the number of students with IEPs has remained relatively static over the recent years, the number of students identified as needing a 504 Plan (to meet with equal access to learning) has significantly increased. While we have supports in the classroom for our students with IEPs, the supports afforded students with 504 Plans are not the same. This difference presents additional challenges to the classroom teachers in meeting each student’s legally-mandated learning needs. Furthermore, providing individual special education and/or services to our students with disabilities requires a substantial amount of administrative reviews, conferences and meetings which presents a clear scheduling challenge for our staff.
(Indicator 2)

• Socio-Economic Issues (employment, income levels, housing costs)
• Limited English proficiency for students and/or families 
• Families in Crisis (mental, physical emotional, financial, substance abuse)

Key Challenge #2: Limited English Proficiency (LEP) for students and/or families 

Central Middle School has a growing student population of English Learners (ELs) as well as families where parents are non-English speakers and are acquiring English language skills. Many of these students struggle academically as they acquire English language skills. This can be exacerbated by the challenges our staff experience in communicating with our EL students and families to support improved academic achievement. Communication with our EL families, as with all our stakeholders, is key to ensuring student success through regular attendance and enriching their academic experiences at Central Middle School. We have limited resources at this time to meet the needs of these families; however, we are working to utilize any available partnerships to maximize our connections with our EL families. Currently we have an on-call Bilingual Outreach Facilitator who is housed at another local elementary school and a half-time English Language Acquisition teacher. Still, developing and maintaining connections with our
EL families is a significant and ongoing challenge. 

In order to evolve in our inclusive efforts, we have incorporated cultural diversity through literacy and bulletin boards to share and celebrate diverse cultures. We have also hosted two parent events for Hispanic families to build community and communication. We communicate with our non-English speakers in their native language to ensure transparency and understanding. In addition, we provide additional small-group academic and social support through the School Counseling Office and our English Language Acquisition teacher. We envision a school culture where students feel welcomed and a part of the school, a school where all feel involved, including students, families, employees, and community members. Whether the evidence is a survey like the MDS3 or a conversation between parents at the grocery store, we would like the evidence to say “Central Middle School is or has been a great experience for our family and an important part of the community.”  (Indicators 1, 2, 10, 11)

• Socio-economic community issues (employment, income levels, housing costs)
• Significant changes over time in student/community demographics
• Significant increase in student enrollment numbers