Thunder Mountain Middle School
School Improvement Plan
2014-15
IMPROVEMENT GOAL
What is the SMART student
learning goal, PLC team goal, or
general school improvement
goal you intend to accomplish?
IMPROVEMENT
ACTIVITY
What initiatives or activities will
occur to accomplish this goal?
TIMELINE
When will this
activity begin and
end?
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE?
Who will provide the
leadership for these
activities?
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS
What ongoing
FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
evidence will be gathered to
show these activities are
making a difference in
student learning?
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
How will staff acquire the
necessary skills and attitudes
to implement these activities?


August professional
development training
(teachers trained by
Common Core team)

August Read 180 training
for English teachers and
Read 180 teacher, and
three coaching sessions
throughout the year.

Science and History
teachers trained by
librarian on how to find
differentiated text or
grade-level text

Time in PLC for English
teachers to review
student Reading data and
to collaborate with
librarian.

Read 180 curriculum and
staffing.

Read Naturally program
and EA support (grant).
What are the existing and/or
new resources that will be
used to accomplish these
activities?
READING
Proficiency Goals:

Ninety percent (90%) of all
6th – 8th grade students will
reach proficiency on the
Smarter Balanced ELA
assessment and the spring
District Reading
Assessment.


Identified students (Spring 2014
Reading assessment data) will
receive support in Read 180.
Fall 2014 reading data will be
used to help teachers guide
students toward appropriately
challenging independent reading
books. Reading logs will be kept
by each student and reviewed by
each teacher.

Students will receive ongoing
non-fiction reading instruction
and practice in Science/History.

Struggling readers will work
with the librarian during
intervention to find appropriate
books. ELL students will receive
additional reading support
during Focus using the Read
Naturally program.
August, 2014
through June, 2015

Building principal

English teachers

TMMS Common
Core team

TMMS Librarian

Kim Hatzenbeler
(ELL coordinator)
Meeting notes that
reflect the work of PLC
teams, student
achievement data on
formative assessments,
Read 180 assessments,
Read Naturally
assessments, and district
reading assessments.
IMPROVEMENT GOAL
What is the SMART student
learning goal, PLC team goal, or
general school improvement
goal you intend to accomplish?
IMPROVEMENT
ACTIVITY
What initiatives or activities will
occur to accomplish this goal?
TIMELINE
When will this
activity begin and
end?
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE?
Who will provide the
leadership for these
activities?
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS
What ongoing
FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
evidence will be gathered to
show these activities are
making a difference in
student learning?
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
How will staff acquire the
necessary skills and attitudes
to implement these activities?

Classroom assessment
data for each chapter
(both quizzes and tests)


Student attendance at
intervention

IXL individual student
data
TMMS teachers will
collaborate with each
other, and when possible,
with the EMS math
teachers, to identify the
skills that will be
monitored in each
chapter.

Best Practices and Math
Studio training for Math
department.

Time on Wednesdays and
Fridays during regularly
scheduled staff meetings
to review student data
and plan appropriate
interventions/instruction
al adjustments

IXL program
What are the existing and/or
new resources that will be
used to accomplish these
activities?
MATH
Proficiency Goals:

Eighty percent (80%) of
Thunder Mountain Middle
School students in grades 6
– 8 will be proficient on the
Smarter Balanced CAT and
PT.


Sixty percent (60%) of all 8th
grade students will be
proficient on the EOC 1
(Algebra).


Using formative assessment
data, teachers will identify
students who require support
through the school-based
intervention program based on
the fundamental skills taught in
each section of the curriculum.
Additionally, teachers will adjust
instruction based on student
needs to support growth in this
area.
Teachers will use the IXL
program to identify students
who have basic skills deficiencies
(skills taught in previous grade
levels). They will work with
parents to establish additional
learning time at home using the
program.
Middle school math teachers will
develop common chapter tests
that are aligned with the
Common Core standards in both
content and rigor. They will
meet when possible during PLC
time to compare results and
apply their findings to future
scope/sequence documents and
teaching strategies.
August, 2014June, 2015

Building principal

Mathematics
teachers
IMPROVEMENT GOAL
What is the SMART student
learning goal, PLC team goal, or
general school improvement
goal you intend to accomplish?
IMPROVEMENT
ACTIVITY
What initiatives or activities will
occur to accomplish this goal?
TIMELINE
When will this
activity begin and
end?
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE?
Who will provide the
leadership for these
activities?
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS
What ongoing
FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
evidence will be gathered to
show these activities are
making a difference in
student learning?
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
How will staff acquire the
necessary skills and attitudes
to implement these activities?

Collaborative
conversations during
Friday meeting times

Professional
development provided
for teachers by the
Common Core team for
summary writing and
compare/contrast writing
(August, PLC meetings
throughout the year)

Time during regularly
scheduled Friday
meetings to develop and
score assessments and to
review data

Time for English teachers
to meet as a district team
to develop and score
common assessments
What are the existing and/or
new resources that will be
used to accomplish these
activities?
WRITING
Proficiency Goals:

Eighty percent (80%) of all
6th – 8th grade Thunder
Mountain Middle School
students will be proficient
on the Smarter Balanced
Writing Performance Task
and the District Writing
Assessment.



Incorporation of at least one
summary writing assessment in
each English, History, PE and
Science class. The assessments
will then be commonly scored in
content teams, followed by a
school-wide data review, reports
of student progress back to
English teachers, and targeted
intervention/re-teaching during
English class/intervention.
Following instruction in English
classes, incorporation of at least
one compare/contrast writing
assessment in each English,
History, Math, PE and Science
class. The assessments will then
be commonly scored in content
teams, followed by a schoolwide data review, reports of
student progress back to English
teachers, and targeted
intervention/re-teaching during
English class/intervention.
Development, implementation
and scoring of district writing
assessments.
August, 2014 –
June, 2015

Building principal


Thunder Mountain
Middle School
English teachers


TMMS Common
Core team

Formative assessments
given in each department
in grades
6 – 8; use of common
summary and
compare/contrast rubrics
in all subject areas.
District wide
administration and
scoring of two writing
performance tasks
modeled after the SBAC
assessment/scoring (at
each grade level)
IMPROVEMENT GOAL
What is the SMART student
learning goal, PLC team goal, or
general school improvement
goal you intend to accomplish?
IMPROVEMENT
ACTIVITY
What initiatives or activities will
occur to accomplish this goal?
TIMELINE
When will this
activity begin and
end?
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE?
Who will provide the
leadership for these
activities?
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS
What ongoing
FORMATIVE or SUMMATIVE
evidence will be gathered to
show these activities are
making a difference in
student learning?
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
How will staff acquire the
necessary skills and attitudes
to implement these activities?


Collaborative
conversations during
Friday meeting times

Professional
development provided
for teachers by the
Common Core team for
summary writing and
compare/contrast writing
(August, PLC meetings
throughout the year)

Professional
development for middle
level science teachers
with Kirk Robbins

Time during regularly
scheduled Friday
meetings to develop and
score assessments and to
review data, and to
develop a three-year
scope and sequence that
ensures continual skill
building and coverage of
all standards

NGSS resources/time

Time to locate scientific
articles for students to
read.
What are the existing and/or
new resources that will be
used to accomplish these
activities?
SCIENCE
Proficiency Goals:

Eighty percent (80%) of
Thunder Mountain Middle
School 8th grade students
will be proficient on the
Science MSP.


Science teachers will continue to
align curriculum and
assessments in preparation for
the transition to the NGSS, with
a specific emphasis on teaching
and monitoring skills that
overlap both the current state
standards and the NGSS (such as
experimental design).
Science teachers will continue to
design, implement and monitor
tasks and assessments tied to
scientific literacy skills,
specifically in the areas of
argument, claims/evidence,
summarizing, and
compare/contrast.
August, 2014 –
June, 2015

Building principal

Thunder Mountain
Middle School
English teachers
(for support with
literacy work) and
Science teachers
Monitoring assessments
given at each grade level
in grades 6th – 8th