SURN Principals’ Academy April 2015 Ruffner Middle School Mr. Richard Fraley, Principal

About Ruffner Middle School History Established in 1922 Current location rebuilt in 1993 and stands across the street from the original location. Population 690 students in grades 6-8 Urban community in downtown Norfolk, VA 34 elementary schools; 7 middle schools; 5 high schools Focus ELA Department, Grades 6-8

At the beginning of the year, students were given the Achieve 3000 Lexile Level Set assessment to determine initial Lexile scores. The data revealed that, on average, students in grades 6-8 are reading at 2-3 levels below the typical Lexile levels for their specific grade. Pre-Assessment Data Average Lexile Scores-September Expected Post-Test Lexile Scores Typical Grade Level Lexile Measures Grade 6: 412LGrade 6: 535L665L-1000L Grade 7: 463LGrade 7: 590L735L-1065L Grade 8: 617LGrade 8: 750L805L-1100L School Average: 498LSchool Average: 625L

 December 2014  SURN Observation Protocols presented to leadership team of department chairs and content specialists (ELA and Math)  SURN Observation Protocols distributed to faculty on first Monday of the month SURN Professional Development

Fall to Spring Data Comparisons (Most significant data observed)

The table below reflects a comparison between the Lexile scores for the months of September and March. This data reveals that the seventh grade population is experiencing the largest growth in Lexile scores, followed by eighth grade, then sixth. On average, however, students are still not meeting typical Lexile measures for their grade levels. Post-Assessment Data Grade Level Average Lexile Scores- September Average Lexile Scores- March Expected Post-Test Lexile Scores- September Expected Post-Test Lexile Scores- March Typical Grade Level Lexile Measures 6412L457L535L545L665L-1000L 7463L562L590L630L735L-1065L 8617L683L750L760L805L-1100L School Average : 498L559L625L645L

 Data reveals that reading comprehension continues to be the leading impediment to student comprehension and academic and assessment results.  Continued emphasis will be placed on the ELA classroom and reading across the curriculum with a focus on the following metacognitive strategies:  Making connections  Inferring  Asking/generating questions  Determining importance  Summarizing  Visualizing  Synthesizing, and  Monitoring and clarifying Conclusions and Next Steps

 Implementation of this task in November proved to be difficult.  Summer 2015-Greater emphasis will be placed on the benefits of active student practice and reading across the curriculum.  Pre-Service Week 2015-Observation protocols will be implemented with greater fidelity. Professional Development Implementation Data for