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8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
1/16
How can theCambridge PublicSchool District
improve middle grade
education?An overview of the work completed to date and a
recommendation for how to move forward
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
2/16
For the past four years, the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) has launched multipleinitiatives to identify the significant problems with middle grade education that prevent the
district from achieving its goals of delivering the highest quality education to all students
However, each effort has fallen short of providing a clear view of the underlying problems andhave not delivered clear, well-researched solutions which the broader community wouldsupport
The students in the district would be best served by a clear communication from CPSD whichincludes a descriptive statement of the specific, shared vision for middle grade education, arigorous analysis of the underlying problems that continue to prevent us from reaching thatideal, and a set of solutions derived from a data-driven, problem-solving process
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
3/16
For the past four years, the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) has tried to identify thesignificant problems with middle grade education that prevent the district from achieving its
goals of delivering the highest quality education to all students
In early 2007, Superintendent Fowler-Finn convened the Middle Grade Task Force, a group of educators whowere charged with analyzing the middle grade issues raised by parents and educators
In April 2007, Dr. Fowler-Finn formed a Blue Ribbon Committee made up of educators, school committeemembers, and CPSD staff to continue the search for a solution, and expanded the scope of the problem to all
issues affecting the quality of middle grade education, including the structure of the schools
In June 2008, Mayor Denise Simmons formed a Blue Ribbon Commission to investigate how the City couldbetter serve the middle grade children in Cambridge
Building on the Blue Ribbons report, the recently hired Superintendent, Dr. Jeffrey Young, gathered additionaldata, assessed the problem, developed an initial set of recommendations, revised the recommendations and thencalled for the formation of three working teams, one of which was tasked with gathering feedback from thecommunity on the revised options
However, the multiple initiatives formed to understand these issues have fallen short ofproviding a clear view of the underlying problems and have not delivered coherent, well-researched solutions which the broader community would support
The students in the district would be best served by a clear communication from CPSD whichincludes a descriptive statement of the specific, shared vision for middle grade education, arigorous analysis of the underlying problems that continue to prevent us from reaching that
ideal, and a set of solutions derived from a data-driven, problem-solving process
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
4/16
The Middle Grade Task Force was formed toaddress problems which had been raised byconcerned parents and teachers
to provide bestpractice backgroundand supportingconsiderationson the nature ofmiddle-level learners
along with researchedprogram characteristicsthat whenimplemented over timeproduce highfunctioning learningenvironments for youngadolescents.1
Reviewed policy briefs andacademic research on bestpractices in delivering qualitymiddle school education
Highlighted findings from
three main sources This We Believe: Keys to Educating
Young Adolescents -- fromNationalMiddle School Association
What makes middle schools works --from University at Albany
The Building Blocks of Success forAmericas Middle and High SchoolStudents -- from Alliance forExcellent Education
Crafted 5 guiding principles for effective middleschools 2
Provide a curriculum that is:
Rigorous with high expectations for all students Developmentally responsive and relevant to students lives Integrated and exploratory
Based on MA Curriculum Frameworks & CPS LearningExpectations
Consistent across the schools Guided by clearly articulated student proficiencies Informed by assessment
Use research-based instructional practices designed to prepare allstudents to achieve high standards.
Staff the middle grades with teachers who are expert inadolescent development, academic content and best teachingpractices and are committed to knowing the whole child. Support
teachers through the development of professional communities inwhich they work collaboratively toward student achievement andgrowth.
Provide a safe and respectful school environment, free frombullying, in which healthy relationships and communication arefostered in order to improve academic performance and developcaring and competent citizens.
Work in partnership with families and communities to supportstudent learning and development.
Who was involved
Stated purpose
Work completed Results
Not clear fromdocuments, but it
seems to have been led
by Carolyn Turk,Deputy Superintendent
1 Middle Grades Best Practices Executive Summary, p.1 http://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdf2 The Blue Ribbon Commission on Middel School Education, p. 5 http: //www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdf
DRAFT
http://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdf8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
5/16
A Blue Ribbon Committee, comprised of educators,school committee members and CPSD staff wasconvened by then Superintendent, Dr. Fowler-Finn
to educate the entire School Committeeand public on the challenges that existwithin the current state of our middleschools and to further research the issueof structure.1
to research the strengths andweaknesses of the current middlesschools in an effort to gain anunderstanding of the challenges thedistrict faces 1
to visit and research middle schoolswithin CPS and in surroundingcommunities to view how programs werepositively or adversely affected by schoolstructure i.e., K-8, 7-12, or 6-8 schoolmodels 1
Evaluated the strengthsand weaknesses of themiddle grades based onthe Middle School TaskForces 5 guidingprinciples using schools
self-assessments
Visited nine schools andcompared theirperformance to CPSusing the MSTFs 5guiding principles
Aggregated feedbackfrom BRC-led public
forums
Identified 12 challenges presented by the current school structure 2
Academic Expectations Difficulty for teachers to become proficient in and prepare to
teach the content for 2 or 3 grade levels of a demandingcurriculum in schools that have small numbers of students
Isolation of content area teachers in all schools because of smallnumbers
Academic offerings and schedules that are driven by numbers
Inefficiency/ inequity of teacher caseloads between schools andsubject areasStaffing and Professional Development Limited opportunities for teachers to collaborate with each other
often and easily due to the small size of most middle grades
Difficulty in structuring opportunities for Middle SchoolLeadership Team and professional development opportunities dueto 4 tier start/ dismissal times of elementary schools
Variance of 6th grade configuration by school making it difficultto schedule professional development
Lack of inclusion of specialists (Special Education, English as aSecond Language, Art, Music, PE, World Languages) as members of
the middle school team because of scheduling and the fact thatspecialists are often shared by schools
Safe and Respectful School Culture Small peer groups in some schools that can lead to social
isolation for some students
Lack of a coherent guidance/ counseling program to support thespecific academic and social needs of young adolescents
Strong Connections to Families and Community Limited extracurricular and enrichment activities for middle
school students
Difficulty in structuring after school opportunities for middleschool students due to 4 tier start/ dismissal times of elementary
schools
Who was involved
Stated Purpose
Work completed Results
25 member committee Co-chaired by Joe Grassi, a School
committee member, and Dr. Fowler-Finn, Superintendent of CPSD
Included representatives from theSchool Committee, Central OfficeAdministrators, Curriculum Leaders,Principals, Assistant Principals andmiddle grade teachers
1 The Blue Ribbon Commission on Middle School Education, p. 3 http://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdf2 Ibid, p. 15
DRAFT
http://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/BRC/BRC_Pres_060308.pdf8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
6/16
Mayor Denise Simmons formed a Blue RibbonCommission to analyze how the City could betterserve middle grade youth
to focus on howbetter to engagethis population of[middle grade]
children in thewealth ofenrichmentactivities offered inthe City andschools.1
Analyzed student enrollment byschool
Compared CPSD middle gradeswith surrounding communities
Size of middle grade population
Number of schools serving middlegrades
Compared CPSD MCASperformance vs state average,overall and by subgroup
Surveyed youth on out-of-school activities including riskybehaviors
Conducted focus groups withCPSD parents
Reviewed academic literatureon OST programs
Created a profile of Cambridges middle gradeyouth articulated in eight key findings2
In comparison to nearby communities, the Cambridge middleschool youth population is relatively modest in size, but spreadacross more schools
Middle school youth are in a critical developmental stage,engaged in defining both a present and future self identity
Cambridge middle school youth would benefit from extendedlearning opportunities after school and during the summer
While many middle school youth report high levels of physicalactivity, segments of youth are not consistently engaged insports or exercise programs
Participation of Cambridge middle school youth in OST hasincreased in recent years, but there is room for furtherimprovement, especially among older youth (seventh and eighthgraders)
Middle School OST options and experiences vary considerablyacross schools and neighborhoods
There is currently less need for more OST resources than aneed for improved coordination of existing resources
There are limited quality improvement and professionaldevelopment activities specifically designed for OST programsserving middle school youth
Developed a plan for enhancing out-of-schooltime for middle grade youth including
a city-wide strategic goal 3 core objectives 6 desired outcomes tied to 12 specific key indicators of success
Who was involved
Stated purpose
Work completed Results
34 member committee Co-chaired by Sam Seidel,
the Vice Mayor and Nancy
Tauber, a Schoolcommittee member
Included representatives
from CPSD
1 Shared Youth, Shared Strategies, p.5 http://www.cpsd.us/web/PubInfo/SharedYouthSharedStrategies_Report.pdf2 Ibid, p.16-26
DRAFT
http://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdf8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
7/16
The new Superintendent, Dr. Jeffrey Young, led the problem-solving on the question of how to reform the middle schoolstructure and then tasked the School Committee with collectingfeedback on four options for new middle grade structures
to take all the input from[meetings, workshops,surveys, et al.], along withthe reports issued in thepast, and use thisinformation to more sharply
define the problems weneed to address, to identifyexisting assets within theschools that we want tobuild upon, and to catalyzefurther communitydiscussion about the urgentneed to improve our schoolsfor all students .1
Held two meetings with the Superintendentand the Executive Board of the CambridgeTeachers Association (CTA)
Conducted meetings/workshops with theSuperintendent and all CPS principals
Hosted two forums for the Superintendent,CTA leadership, and pre-K-12 teachers toreview and assess implementation of the
Guiding Principles for Middle GradesEducation as articulated by the Blue RibbonCommission
Held a meeting for teachers at the 9thGrade Campus to tell the Superintendentabout their areas of concern regardingstudents transition to high school
Conducted an electronic survey completedby over 1,000 respondents from the staffand family community, including over 400narrative comments about middle gradeseducation Cambridge
Hosted a public forum at the January 19,2010 School Committee meeting whereover fifty citizens spoke about theirexperiences in and hopes for education inCPS
Gathered feedback through countless e-mails, letters and phone calls on the subjectof middle grades education in Cambridge.
Highlighted the disparity between the middle gradesacross the district
Demographics are uneven across all middle gradeschools e.g., low income students range from27% in one school to 78% in another
Achievement also varies widely across schools
with % of MCAS proficiency ranging from 24% to95%
Only 27% of ISP students are low-income,compared with 50% city-wide
Identified the district-wide issue of small cohorts inthe middle grades and the resulting problems
experienced by both students and teachers
In some cases, an over-representation of aspecific gender creates a difficult social dynamic
for students
In another case, the small cohort is perpetuatinga negative school culture and climate
Some students find it difficult to engage withother like-minded peers, e.g., musically inclinedstudents dont have enough similar students
Teachers in small cohorts lack the frequentsupport and connection with other similarteachers
Who was involved
Stated purpose
Work completed Results
Superintendent JeffreyYoung
1 Middle Grades Recommendation, p.1 http://www.cpsd.us/CPS_content/documents/Middle_Grades_Program_Feb2010.pdf
DRAFT
http://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdfhttp://www.cpsd.us/web/COO/MiddleGrades_BestPractices_ExSum.pdf8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
8/16
For the past four years, the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) has tried to identify the
significant problems with middle grade education that prevent the district from achieving itsgoals of delivering the highest quality education to all students
However, the multiple initiatives formed to understand these issues have fallen short ofproviding a clear view of the underlying problems and have not delivered a set of well-researched solutions which the broader community would support
The Middle Grade Task Force did not include leading research that was critical of the development of middleschools
The Blue Ribbon Committee created a framework for evaluating middle grade education and conducted its ownprimary research into other models; but it failed to tie that research back to a data-driven assessment of thespecific problems with middle grade education
The work done by the Superintendent did lay out a clear set of problems; however it was not tied back to astructured data analysis and consequently the scope and severity of the problem could not be easily assessed
The students in the district would be best served by a clear communication from CPSD whichincludes a descriptive statement of the specific, shared vision for middle grade education, arigorous analysis of the underlying problems that continue to prevent us from reaching thatideal, and a set of solutions derived from a data-driven, problem-solving process
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
9/16
The Middle Grade Task Force did not include leading research thatwas critical of the 6-8 middle school structure or focus their bestpractice literature review on the specific challenges facing CPSD
Reviewed policy briefsand academic researchon best practices indelivering quality middleschool education
Highlighted findings from
three main sources This We Believe: Keys to Educating
Young Adolescents - - fromNational Middle SchoolAssociation
What makes middle schools works-- from University at Albany
The Building Blocks of Success forAmericas Middle and High SchoolStudents -- from Alliance for
Excellent Education
Work completed Problems with the work completed
12 of the 16 research briefs cited came fromorganizations which have an interest in thedevelopment of middle schools e.g., NationalMiddle School Association, NationalAssociation of Secondary School Principals
Leading research which questioned the valueof a middle school structure was excludedfrom the best practices research
VaughanByrnes and AllenRuby. (2007) ComparingAchievement between K8 and Middle Schools: A LargeScale
Empirical Study. American Journal of Education 114:1, 101-135
Philip J. Cook, Robert MacCoun, Clara Muschkin, Jacob Vigdor.
(2009) The negative impacts of starting middle school in sixth
grade. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 27:1, 104-121
Lockwood, Benjamin, and Jonah Rockoff. "Stuck in the Middle:Impacts of Grade Configuration in Public Schools." Journal ofPublic Economics (also found at http ://educationnext.org/stuck-
in-the-middle/ and http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdf)
Juvonen, Jaana, Vi-Nhuan Le , Tessa Kaganof f, Catherine H.Augustine, Louay Constant Focus on the Wonder Years
Challenges Facing the American Middle School (2004)
Best practice research did not target specificproblems facing CPSD e.g., best practices inclosing the achievement gap
Questions which still remain
Criticism of Middle School Structure
What is the research against forming middleschools?
Which subgroups could be most adverselyaffected by the middle school structure?
Specific best practices What does the leading research say about
the best practices around the size ofcohorts?
What are the best practices in middle gradeeducation within a K-8 structure?
What are the best practices for closing the
achievement gap in middle grade education?
DRAFT
http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/papers/Rockoff%20Lockwood%20JPubE%202nd%20Revision%20June%202010.pdfhttp://educationnext.org/stuck-in-the-middle/http://educationnext.org/stuck-in-the-middle/http://educationnext.org/stuck-in-the-middle/http://educationnext.org/stuck-in-the-middle/8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
10/16
Evaluated the strengths andweaknesses of the middlegrades based on the MiddleSchool Task Forces 5 guidingprinciples using schools self-assessments
Visited nine schools andcompared their performance toCPS using the MSTFs 5 guidingprinciples
Aggregated feedback from BRC-led public forums
Identified 12 challengespresented by the current schoolstructure
Work completed Problems with work completed
The Blue Ribbon Commission failed to develop adata-driven assessment of the specific problems withmiddle grade education
Evaluations were based on self-assessments
Data gathering appeared to be ad hocand unstructured
The scope of the issues was notevident from the analysis e.g., howmany teachers were concerned aboutnot having peers to bounce ideas offof
The severity of some of the issuesraised was not evident because it wasnot tied to an impact on student orteacher performance e.g., what is theestimated effect of small cohorts onteacher performance
Unclear how the comparable schoolanalysis was used to advance the problem-solving
Unclear which schools were mostsimilar to CPS e.g., which schoolshave similar socio-economic profiles
Unclear how the problems faced byCPS were addressed by the otherschools
Questions which remain
Analysis of current problems
What is the scope of each of the 12 challengesraised e.g., how many students or teachers facedthe challenges outlined?
What is the impact of each of those 12 challenges,as potentially measured by student or teacher
performance?Comparative school analysis
Which of the schools faced the most similar set ofchallenges to CPS?
Which of the schools visited were best suited tomeet the challenges articulated though the self-assessments and why?
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
11/16
Highlighted the disparity between themiddle grades across the district
Demographics are uneven acrossall middle grade schools e.g., lowincome students range from 27%in one school to 78% in another
Achievement also varies widelyacross schools with % of MCASproficiency ranging from 24% to
95% Only 27% of ISP students are low-
income, compared with 50% city-wide
Identified the district-wide issue ofsmall cohorts in the middle gradesand the resulting problemsexperienced by both students andteachers
In some cases, an over-representation of a specific gendercreates a difficult social dynamic
for students In another case, the small cohort is
perpetuating a negative schoolculture and climate
Some students find it difficult toengage with other like-mindedpeers, e.g., musically inclinedstudents dont have enough similarstudents
Teachers in small cohorts lack thefrequent support and connectionwith other similar teachers
Work completed Problems with work completed
Similarly, the Superintendents findings were not tied backto a structured data analysis and consequently the scopeand severity of the problem could not be easily assessed
The data on which the findings were based doesnot appear to have been gathered in a structuredway
The scope of the issues was not evidentfrom the analysis e.g., how many cohortshave the imbalances described
The severity of some of the issues raisedwas not evident because it was not tied to
an impact on student or teacherperformance e.g., what is the estimatedeffect of small cohorts on teacherperformance
There was no discussion of how this analysis isrelated to the focused special programs e.g.,Amigos, Ola, which are small by design
Analysis of demographic disparities is not directlytied to performance disparities
Comparison should be made betweenperformance of low SES students in high
SES-concentrated schools and performanceof low SES students in low SES-concentrated schools
Questions which remain
Effects of disparities
Does a high concentration of SES students in a schoolresult in lower average performance for those SESstudents compared with SES performance in low SESconcentrated schools?
Problems with cohort size
What is the leading research on the right cohort size?
How can cohort size help or hurt under-servedsubgroups?
What are the cohort sizes of schools which aresuccessfully closing the achievement gap?
Are there examples of small cohort schools successfullydealing with the issues raised by teachers?
What should be the target cohort size for CPS?
What effect does the ISP have on the imbalance ofcohort sizes?
Perception of poor quality in middle grades
What are the reasons that parents remove their kids
from CPSD before or during the middle grade years? What percentage of parents pull their kids from CPSD
but remain in Cambridge?
For the parents who chose to exit the district butremain in Cambridge, what do they find is missing fromthe middle grades?
How does the CPSD extra-curricular and OST offeringscompare to other similar schools?
How does the CPSD extra-curricular and OST offeringscompare to the schools chosen by parents who leavethe district but remain in Cambridge?
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
12/16
For the past four years, the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) has tried to identify thesignificant problems with middle grade education that prevent the district from achieving itsgoals of delivering the highest quality education to all students
However, the multiple initiatives formed to understand these issues have fallen short ofproviding a clear view of the underlying problems and have not delivered clear, well-researchedsolutions which the broader community would support
The students in the district would be best served by a clear communication from CPSD whichincludes a descriptive statement of the specific, shared vision for middle grade education, arigorous analysis of the underlying problems that continue to prevent us from reaching thatideal, and a set of solutions derived from a data-driven, problem-solving process
A shared vision of middle grade education should go beyond abstract principles and include clear, measurableperformance goals and well-defined programs
A focused, hypothesis-driven problem solving effort can test for why we have not achieved that sharedvision and thoroughly research how we may reach that ideal
DRAFT
8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
13/16
How will we know we achieved it
6th-8th grade students reach MCAS CPI targets set forth in CPS Goals 2010-2012, whichincludes significant narrowing of the achievement gap1
Narrowing of gaps between lowest performing schools and highest performing schools
Improved 6th-8th grade MCAS proficiency
By 2012, CPSD offers a combination of in-classroom and outside of classroom programs for studentsto advance at their own pace in key academic disciplines (math, ELA, science, foreign languages, etc.)
By 2012, a suite of OST offerings to meet and in many cases exceed offerings of local private schoolse.g., chess clubs, robotics FIRST teams, African drumming groups, jazz combos, Irish step danceclasses, modern dance groups, football teams, lacrosse teams, boxing clubs, etc.
Positive feedback from teachers on effectiveness of administration in annual 360 degreereviews of administration
Building on the previous planning work by the Superintendent, we canblueprint a compelling shared vision of excellent middle gradeeducation for students, teachers and administrators
ForStudents
What does success look like
ForTeachers
ForAdministrators
Rigorous academic curriculum in the middle gradeswhich sets the highest standards for all students
Frequent collaboration with fellow teachers inProfessional Learning Communities
Development of a supportive coaching culturewithin each school where the administration canboth provide and receive feedback from teacherson how best to serve students
Unparalleled academic enrichment opportunities
A full range of extracurricular activities thatengage and inspire students
CPSD Middle Grade Mission:To become the Commonwealths pre-eminent public school system that provides the highest quality middle grade education for all of its
students
Establishment of CPS-specific performance metrics andgoals which are consistently applied across the district
Integration of Student Growth Percentile data into a performance management systemfor evaluating teacher performance
1http://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfm
DRAFT
ForParents
Language immersion programs (e.g., Ola, Amigos, Ni Hao) consistently recognized as some of thehighest achieving programs of their kind in the country
Diverse range of innovative educationalapproaches available across the district
Montessori program meets and exceeds the standards set by private Montessori schools
By 2012, special education students achieve aggressive CPI targets1
Best-in-class services provided to special needsstudents
http://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfmhttp://www.cpsd.us/schcomm/goals.cfm8/8/2019 Middle School Debate Overview v.4
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A focused, hypothesis-driven problem solving effort candetermine why we have not achieved that shared vision sofar and thoroughly research how we may reach that ideal
What must CPSDdo to fulfill itsmission of becomingthe states mostsuccessful publicschool system thatprovides the highestquality middle gradeeducation for all its
students?
Develop a fair, transparentperformance managementsystem for students,teachers, administrators andschool committee members
which holds eachaccountable for reaching her/his goals
Change the structure of theschools so that students andteachers can thrive in aright-sized cohort
Provide teachers with thetools and training to face allchallenges posed by adiverse middle gradepopulation
Provide administrators withthe necessary support toanalyze the performance oftheir teams, share findingsand make improvements
Small cohorts are one of themain reasons that teacherscannot teach effectively
Too many students suffer social
problems that compromise theirability to learn, which can onlybe remedied through largercohorts
Schools with under-sizedcohorts cannot provide all ofthe resources required for anexcellent education
Hypotheses to be tested
Conduct a literature review on the effect of cohort size on teaching Survey teachers (or use existing survey data) to determine how many
teachers are harmed by the isolation effect and how severely it affectstheir performance
Conduct an analysis of schools who have closed the achievement gap tosee what their cohort sizes are, determine if they have had problemswith teacher isolation and learn how they have dealt with it
Conduct a literature review on the effect of student achievement and
cohort size especially with regard to the performance of students in at-risk subgroups Quantify how many students are at risk because of small cohorts Compare performance of students with similar demographics in schools
of various cohort sizes to see if there is a relationship between cohortsize and performance
Conduct a survey of all parents who have left the school district in thelast three years prior to the middle grades but who still live inCambridge and determine what they believed was missing from themiddle grade education
Identify the top five competitive schools public and private to CPSDand compile a list of the activities and programs offered to their middlegrade students
Analyses to be conducted
Middle grade structure issues
DRAFT
Only through re-structuring canschools reach adequate cohort
sizes
Use parent survey data to determine what percentage of students thatcould be retained each year if changes were made
A change in structure will notcompromise the effectiveness orattractiveness of alternativeprograms (e.g., languageimmersion, Montessori)
Conduct focus groups with teachers, administrators and parents fromspecialty programs to identify any key areas of concern associated with are-structuring of the schools
Conduct a survey (or use existing survey data) to profile the reasonsthat parents pick CPSD specialty programs to establish a baseline ofwhat parents currently value most about their program
Gather feedback from survey and evaluate how the specialty programscould be affected under the possible new structures
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Adding an additional four months to the current work planwould provide enough time to adequately complete theadditional problem-solving efforts and refine their results
DRAFT
Next Steps
1. Extend the School Committee deadline by four months
2. Assign a team to lead the additional problem solving effort
3. Develop a work plan which is comprised of four separate work streams:
Literature review
Investigate the effects of cohort size on teacher performance and student performance, esp. with regards to closing theachievement gap
Discover overall best practices in closing the achievement gap in the middle grades
Structured surveys and focus groups
Survey parents who have left the district to understand why they chose to leave
Survey middle grade teachers on how cohort size affects their performance
Survey parents who are currently in the district to understand what they value most about their program/school
Conduct focus groups with parents, teachers and administrators from specialty/alternative programs to understandhow a re-structuring could affect their program
Performance analysis
Analyze how cohort size has affected student performance
Determine if SES effect on performance is dampened by larger cohorts
Competitive analysis
Create a list of competitive public and private schools
Compare CPSD middle grade activities and academic enrichment programs with competition
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Feedback on this documentDRAFT
This document was prepared by John Capello, a Cambridgeport parent, in an effort toorganize the work on middle grade education that has been completed to date and tocapture some of the frustration that some parents have expressed with the process
Please provide any and all feedback, positive or negative, to johncapello at gmail.com