ROBERT A. TAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL Principal: Michael C. Hazen ...€¦ · • Named a “Miracle school” by Riley’s Children’s Hospital. • Had an 8th grade student qualify for

ROBERT A. TAFT

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Principal: Michael C. Hazen

Assistant to the Principal: David F. Demaree

Our mission is to prepare today’s students for

tomorrow’s challenges by developing students who think

critically and take ownership of their own learning,

character, and achievement.

ROBERT A. TAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2013-2014

Four Star

School

Status

2013-2014

2011-2012

Designated a letter

grade of an

“A”

2013-2014

2011-2012


ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2013-2015

• Received Four Star School Status from the state of Indiana.

• Designated an “A” school by the Indiana Department of Education.

• Implemented a spring musical performed by the Taft Drama Club. The first phenomenal hit was

“Schoolhouse Rock Jr., Live.” This year’s performance was a smashing rendition of “Annie Jr.”

• Established a stakeholder committee to create more partnerships with parents and local businesses to

participate in the decision-making process to better Robert A. Taft Middle School for our students.

• Placed 17th in the state for Science Olympiad.

• Placed 21st in the state for Academic Super Bowl.

• Raised funds for Taft’s PTA Scholarship Endowment Fund that increased the balance to over $47,000

that is on deposit with the Crown Point Community Foundation. Three scholarships will be awarded

to Taft students graduating from Crown Point High School.

• Named a “Miracle school” by Riley’s Children’s Hospital.

• Had an 8th grade student qualify for the State Geography Bee during the 2013-2014 school year. This

year, we had a 6th grade student also qualify for this event.

• Launched a “Student of the Month” program.

• Converted the Robotics club to a team and they began participating in regional competitions.


REPORT CARDS

2012 2013 2014

A B A


2013-2014 REPORT CARD

Overall Student Performance

• Taft students exceeded the 90% passing rate and

83.5% state average for mathematics.

• Taft students reached an 88% passing rate which is

above the 81% state average for ELA.


2013-2014 REPORT CARD

Student Growth

• Student growth did not affect our letter grade.

• In mathematics, we missed the bonus target by 0.8% for top 75% of students

achieving high growth.


ISTEP+ % PASSING TRENDS

PASSING BOTH MATH & ELA

2011 2012 2013 2014

Pass 79% 87% 83% 85%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Perc

en

t P

ass

ing



MATHEMATICS

2011 2012 2013 2014

Pass+ 25% 34% 37% 40%

Pass 60% 56% 51% 50%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Perc

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ass

ing



LANGUAGE ARTS

2011 2012 2013 2104

Pass+ 22% 30% 28% 27%

Pass 63% 59% 56% 60%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Perc

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ass

ing


6TH GRADE MATHEMATICS ISTEP+ RESULTS

IN COMPARISON TO LEAGUE SCHOOLS

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 82.0% 88.1% 95.9% 90.2% 92.0%

Colonel Wheeler 89.2% 93.3% 88.6% 94.2% 94.4%

Summit MS 86.8% 82.3% 88.2% 93.9% 92.5%

Zionsville West 91.6% 93.9% 97.4% 95.4% 95.3%

Westfield Int/MS 91.6% 94.8% 94.5% 92.0% 92.3%

Avon Int W/MS N 81.6% 84.9% 94.5% 95.1% 96.7%

Kahler 89.5% 80.2% 84.2% 87.0% 79.7%

Liberty Int./Chesterton MS 87.4% 93.1% 92.4% 89.3% 93.4%

Benjamin Franklin 87.5% 89.2% 95.5% 90.9% 92.9%

Schmucker 84.3% 89.7% 89.4% 91.2% 90.3%

82.0%

88.1%

95.9%

90.2% 92.0%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

This ISTEP+ trend data for 6th grade

math shows that from 2010-2014, the

percentage of students passing the

ISTEP+ math test gradually increases,

and our percentage of students passing is

comparable with our league schools. This

information lets us know that we are

hovering around the 90% pass rate for the

past few years, and we have some area for

improvement within our league of

schools.


6TH GRADE ELA ISTEP+ RESULTS


This ISTEP+ trend data for 6th grade

language arts shows that from 2010-2014,

the percentage of students passing the

ISTEP+ language arts test gradually

increases, and our percentage of students

passing is comparable with our league

schools. This information lets us know that

we are on average hovering a little below the

90% pass rate for the past few years, and we

are towards the top of our league of schools

based on our passing rate. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 84.2% 86.4% 93.2% 86.1% 89.9%

Colonel Wheeler 84.8% 89.7% 87.6% 91.2% 91.8%

Summit MS 87.2% 91.3% 84.6% 79.6% 85.6%

Zionsville West 89.3% 84.3% 93.8% 88.6% 86.8%

Westfield Int/MS 84.7% 83.8% 89.0% 88.0% 87.8%

Avon Int W/MS N 75.9% 82.2% 87.9% 81.8% 88.1%

Kahler 83.7% 82.4% 79.7% 82.8% 77.6%



Schmucker 84.7% 84.9% 88.4% 86.8% 85.0%

84.2% 86.4%

93.2%

86.1% 89.9%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%




This ISTEP+ trend data for 7th grade math

shows that from 2010-2014, the percentage of

students passing the ISTEP+ math test jumped

from 82% in 2012 to above the 90% passing

rate. When comparing the passing rates of

Robert A. Taft Middle School’s students with

our league schools’ students, our passing rate

falls within the range of scores. This means

that we are making improvements in this area

and need to continue implementing strategies

and best practices that have proven successful

with our students. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 83.0% 82.2% 90.8% 91.1% 89.5%

Colonel Wheeler 86.8% 90.7% 90.5% 89.4% 91.0%

Summit MS 84.2% 87.9% 78.7% 88.9% 91.2%

Zionsville West 88.9% 91.2% 93.5% 96.2% 94.9%

Westfield Int/MS 86.9% 91.8% 91.1% 90.6% 93.3%

Avon Int W/MS N 86.3% 88.2% 89.4% 85.8% 87.2%

Kahler 81.8% 80.6% 81.8% 78.1%



Schmucker 82.1% 87.2% 84.3% 90.5% 89.1%

83.0% 82.2%

90.8% 91.1% 89.5%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%




This ISTEP+ trend data for 7th grade language

arts shows that from 2010-2014, the percentage

of students passing the ISTEP+ language arts

test shows a range from 85%-90%. When

comparing the passing rate of Robert A. Taft

Middle School students with our league

schools’ students, our passing rates are

comparable and have been towards the top for

the past two years. This means that we are

making improvements in this area and need to

continue implementing strategies and best

practices that have proven successful with our

students.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 85.6% 85.1% 90.4% 88.6% 85.6%

Colonel Wheeler 85.7% 90.3% 84.6% 87.8% 89.1%

Summit MS 86.8% 90.2% 85.2% 82.6% 82.8%

Zionsville West 82.4% 90.2% 92.4% 89.7% 92.0%

Westfield Int/MS 86.9% 89.3% 88.4% 86.8% 87.4%

Avon Int W/MS N 87.1% 91.1% 90.0% 84.9% 86.4%

Kahler 83.3% 86.4% 79.2% 78.9%



Schmucker 84.7% 91.0% 89.1% 87.1% 90.0%

85.6% 85.1% 90.4% 88.6%

85.6%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%




This ISTEP+ trend data for 8th grade math


students passing the ISTEP+ math test shows a

fluctuation between 86% and 91% for the past

five years. When comparing the passing rates of

Robert A. Taft Middle School students with our

league schools’ students, our passing rates fall

within the range of all our league schools. This

data tells us that we still have room to improve

when compared to our league schools.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 91.0% 86.3% 90.0% 86.8% 89.8%

Colonel Wheeler 84.5% 88.6% 92.4% 92.9% 88.6%

Summit MS 94.5% 90.5% 89.1% 83.9% 85.4%

Zionsville West 93.8% 93.8% 95.8% 95.5% 95.7%

Westfield Int/MS 86.5% 87.4% 91.0% 91.1% 91.4%

Avon Int W/MS N 87.7% 91.4% 94.5% 93.9% 94.2%

Kahler 84.9% 81.3% 83.4% 77.5% 81.8%



Schmucker 83.6% 90.7% 94.0% 93.6% 90.1%

91.0% 86.3%

90.0% 86.8%

89.8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%




This ISTEP+ trend data for 8th grade language arts


students passing the ISTEP+ language arts test

consistently hovers between 87%-89%, with the

exception of 2011. When comparing the passing

rates of Robert A. Taft Middle School students

with our league schools’ students, we fall within the

range of scores from our league schools and have

been inching towards the top for the past two years.

This means that we are making improvements in

this area and need to continue implementing

strategies and best practices that have proven

successful with our students.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Robert A Taft MS 87.0% 83.7% 89.3% 88.2% 88.8%

Colonel Wheeler 83.2% 84.6% 85.2% 91.0% 88.6%

Summit MS 88.9% 85.6% 84.3% 84.6% 78.1%

Zionsville West 90.5% 91.1% 93.0% 91.5% 91.8%

Westfield Int/MS 86.9% 87.0% 86.7% 89.9% 88.1%

Avon Int W/MS N 79.1% 88.9% 89.7% 92.5% 84.3%

Kahler 84.6% 82.1% 79.1% 78.3% 79.3%



Schmucker 84.5% 91.4% 88.3% 88.8% 84.6%

87.0% 83.7%

89.3% 88.2% 88.8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%


ACT EXPLORE RESULTS

FOR 6TH GRADE

12.5

13

13.5

14

14.5

15

15.5

16

16.5

English(Benchmark 13)

Math(Benchmark 17)

Reading(Benchmark 16)

Science(Benchmark 18)

Composite

2013

2014

This data shows us that our students are performing above the benchmark in

English whereas the students are performing below the benchmark in math,

reading, and science. This was the students first year taking the ACT Explore test.


ACT EXPLORE RESULTS

FOR 7TH GRADE

14

14.5

15

15.5

16

16.5

17

17.5

18


Math(Benchmark 17)



Composite

2013

2014

This data shows us that by 7th grade, students are making progress towards

the benchmark scores. Students are exceeding the benchmark in English and

math. However, students are still below the benchmark in reading and

science.


ACT EXPLORE RESULTS

FOR 8TH GRADE

16.6

16.8

17

17.2

17.4

17.6

17.8

18

18.2

18.4

18.6


Math(Benchmark 17)



Composite

2014

2014

Last year, 2014, was the first year that 8th grade students were administered the ACT

Explore in the spring. Previously, this assessment had been given in November. The

2014 spring ACT administration has established baseline scores for subsequent test

data. This data shows us that by 8th grade, students are exceeding the benchmark in

all areas.

Teaching and Assessing for Learning The schools’ curriculum, instructional

design, and assessment practices guide and ensure teacher effectiveness and student

learning.

ADVANCED STANDARD 3

INDICATOR 3.1

INDICATOR 3.1 EVIDENCE

• Core Subjects Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies

• RtI period for all grades

• Encore Subjects Physical Education, Health, Family and

Consumer Science, Engineering Technology, Exploring Music,

Visual Arts, Explore Course

• Electives Band, Choir, Orchestra


CONTINUING

Challenging High Ability Students

• 6th grade Honors Math covers 7th grade standards for both current 6th

graders and qualifying elementary students.

• 6th grade Honors Language Arts covers 7th grade standards for both

current 6th graders and qualifying elementary students.

• 7th grade Honors Math covers 8th grade standards for current qualifying

6th and 7th students.

• 8th grade Honors Math covers Algebra standards for current qualifying

7th and 8th grade students..

• Several 8th grade students have taken Honors Biology, English Honors 9,

and Honors Geometry for credit through CPHS.

INDICATOR 3.2

• Multiple Assessments Informal, Formative,

Summative, Acuity Readiness, Star Reading, Star

Math, ISTEP+, ACT Explore

• Common assessments complete in most courses

• Emphasis is on using informal and formative

assessments to guide instruction

• Currently course building for CP 2.0 Initiative


INDICATOR 3.3

• Teachers write daily learning goals for each class

• Technology utilized throughout the school

• Teachers collaborate in departments horizontally and

vertically to create scope and sequences that align with

common learning goals and various common

assessments.


INDICATOR 3.4


• Marzano’s iObservation evaluation system has been

implemented

• Multiple classroom observations and teacher

conferences take place

• Student achievement and student growth is paramount

• Teacher effectiveness ratings have been implemented

• 98% of teachers were rated as highly effective or

effective based on the Marzano’s iObservation

evaluation system and school test scores

INDICATOR 3.5


• Academic team planning outside of school day

• Articulation activities and tasks

• Preparation of common assessments

• Focused professional development

• Marzano’s iObservation elements

• Differentiated Instruction

• Google Docs integration

• Complex text

• RTI

• Writing in the Content Areas

• Collaborative course building

INDICATOR 3.6

• Students are informed of both daily and long-term

learning goals

• Assessment data is used to inform instruction and

curriculum decisions

• Feedback is given students in a timely manner

• Instruction is modified based on data analysis

• Students are placed in the three RTI tiers based on

data from various assessments


INDICATOR 3.7

• New teachers participate in a corporation-wide

induction program

• New teachers are assigned mentors

• Mentors meet on a regular basis with the principal

• High expectations are communicated


INDICATOR 3.8

• Weekly school messenger voicemail

• School website

• Teacher/team websites

• Team emails and telephone conversations

• Parent portal on RDS system

• Quarterly newsletter

• Teacher homework message line

• Parent-teacher Conferences (implemented in 2014-

2015)

INDICATOR 3.8

INDICATOR 3.9


• Concept of academic teaming is in place to create

schools within a school and smaller learning

communities

• Currently in the planning stages of implementing a

student advocacy program because building

appropriate student relationships is essential to

students’ success.

INDICATOR 3.10


• Common grading practices are being developed

• Grade reporting is adequate

INDICATOR 3.11


• Professional development sessions offered for teachers based

on School Improvement Goals and AdvancED

• Marzano’s iObservation elements

• Differentiated Instruction

• Google Docs integration

• Complex text

• RTI

• Writing in the Content Areas

• Articulation opportunities

• Department meetings

• Leadership meetings

• Faculty meetings

INDICATOR 3.12


• Students are offered support services through

Guidance Department services, PBIS (positive

behavior intervention systems), ELL, and Exceptional

Learner services.

LOOKING TO

THE FUTURE

Documents

ROBERT A. TAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL Principal: Michael C. Hazen ...€¦ · • Named a “Miracle school” by Riley’s Children’s Hospital. • Had an 8th grade student qualify for