School Improvement Plan

What is a School Improvement Plan?

A School Improvement Plan (SIP) is a strategic blueprint that schools use to enhance student learning and improve educational practices. It outlines specific goals for improvement, actions to achieve those goals, and methods for measuring progress.

Key Points of a SIP:

Goals: Clear objectives the school aims to achieve to enhance student outcomes.
Actions: Steps and strategies the school will implement to reach its goals, based on research and effective practices.
Monitoring: Regular review of progress with adjustments made to ensure the school stays on track toward its improvement objectives.

The purpose of a SIP is to provide a clear roadmap for schools to improve educational outcomes for all students, particularly focusing on eliminating disparities and ensuring equitable opportunities for every student.

Every school in Washington State is required to have a School Improvement Plan.

Monitoring and Adjusting:

A SIP is not set in stone. It's reviewed regularly, with progress monitored against the set goals and activities adjusted as needed to stay on track toward improvement.

Visit the Issaquah School District SIP website to learn more about SIPs.

District - School Improvement Plans

Achievement Goals

By the spring of 2024:

71.5% of Issaquah Middle School Students will meet standard on the ELA Smarter Balanced Assessment.
All students who identify as Black/African American will increase their proficiency rate on the ELA SBA spring 2024 assessment from 30% in the fall of 2022 to 38% in spring of 2024. This is to reduce the disparity between all IMS students and all students identifying as Black/African American.
All students who identify as Hispanic/Latin X will increase their proficiency rate on the ELA SBA spring 2024 assessment from 34.5% in the fall of 2022 to 42.5% in spring of 2024. This is to reduce the disparity between all IMS students and all students identifying as Hispanic/Latin X.
All students who identify as Students with Disabilities will increase their proficiency rate on the ELA SBA spring 2024 assessment from 22% in the fall of 2022 to 30% in spring of 2024. This is to reduce the disparity between all IMS students and all students identifying as Students with Disabilities.

Guiding Questions

Reflecting on previous action plans

What actions were successfully implemented?

Last year's one-year student achievement goal was to improve literacy skills in students. The school provided specific learning opportunities focused on literacy through implementation and skill-building in the i-Ready resources. Students took diagnostics in 2021 and in 2022 and participated in i-Ready lessons/activities in Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science classrooms.
Three study skills classes were added to the master schedule for the 2022-23 school year offering reading/writing support in these lab classes. These students could use additional support in literacy based on past data, fall SBA scores, i-Ready diagnostics, and their grades from the 2021-22 school year. Students were offered math support in these lab classes, as well as executive functioning skills and organization to help them in their current academic classes and keep up with missing assignments in Canvas.
Recovery services were offered to students on IEPs specifically targeting their literacy goal areas. Several students on IEPs also were supported with Learning Ally to improve their vocabulary and learning comprehension. Co-taught English Language Arts (ELA) classes were added in all grade levels for the 2022-23 school year. Three Resource ELA classes were also created and added for the 2022-23 school year. Academic interventions including i-Ready were added and embedded into all ELA classes.
Focused professional development was provided in several staff meetings around equitable grading strategies to help build confidence, student learning, and access to opportunities for improvement. Teachers received professional development around GLAD strategies, cultural competency, and classroom management and de-escalation strategies to help with discipline.
During the 2021-22 year, we gained access to Character Strong and used it for school-wide Panther Camp, SEL, and other supports. It was introduced widespread with staff, and all homeroom classes used the curriculum, in addition to our ASB and Leadership electives.
Issaquah Middle School had very large office discipline referrals (ODRs) and suspensions. Several staff members met in June and August to help create a Panther Camp resource for students focusing on how to be a student at IMS and around rules and regulations in hallways, restrooms, cafeteria, and classrooms.

What was observed? What evidence did you use to determine impact?

For literacy, we are continuing to monitor SBA scores, i-Ready diagnostics and current grades and reading levels. Teachers are continuing to offer literacy support in ELA classes. Diagnostics for i-Ready were given again in ELA, Social Studies, and Science classrooms. IMS is also piloting i-Ready for Math for the 2022-23 school year as another academic intervention. IMS pushed for other academic resources to bring back and offer the Read 180 course again for struggling students who are often several grade levels behind in literacy.

i-Ready Diagnostic Overall Results

*Group*	Fall 2022	Spring 2022
All Students (for comparison)	59%	64%
Black / African American	26%	30%
English Language Learners	18.75%	5.07%
Hispanic/Latino of any race	37%	43%
Students with Disabilities	32.9%	29.92%

This school year a new principal came in. A new motto was implemented about Being Kind and Taking Care of One Another. Student and staff morale has improved. Surveys were sent to all invested partners for their input and feedback at the end of the first trimester. School-wide systems were analyzed including monitoring hallways, students wearing IDs, and student safety. Several areas in the school were also painted, student work was displayed, and a Kindness wall was created. With anything change takes time. Discipline numbers may still be high for this year, but Panther Camp and reteaching expectations has helped. The school has looked at SWIS discipline data each month and has been implementing a new system of Check In Check Out (CICO) with students to establish rapport and provide another layer of support for struggling students. Staff, parents, and students were all sent surveys about school safety, discipline, communication, and rigor.

Disciplinary Data for the 2021-22 School Year

Race/Ethnicity	# Students Enrolled	# students with at least 1 referral	% of students with referrals
Pac Islander/Nat Hawaiian	1	0	0.00%
American Indian/Alaska	3	2	66.67%
Black African/American	48	21	43.75%
Asian	143	35	24.48%
Hispanic/Latin X	116	59	50.86%
White	426	182	42.72%
Multiracial	84	28	33.33%

Students identified as Asian have 0.56 times the risk of receiving at least one referral as all other students.
Students identified as Black/African American have 1.11 times the risk of receiving at least one referral as all other students.
Students identified as Hispanic/Latin X have 1.34 times the risk of receiving at least one referral as all other students.
Students identified as White have 1.17 times the risk of receiving at least one referral as all other students.
Students identified as Multiracial have 0.81 times the risk of receiving at least one referral as all other students.

How did actions impact disproportionality and equity?

During the 2021-22 school year, the school invited families and community partners to staff meetings to share their experience as part of a parent panel. Over the summer in 2022, students with multiple office discipline referrals (ODRs) or who had truancy concerns were invited to meet with the administrative team to try to address any barriers or concerns before the school year started.
A behavior resource specialty room was created for several students on IEPs with both academic and behavioral concerns. This resource room has reduced the number of missing assignments in classrooms and has reduced the number of ODRs for several of these students and even improved attendance.
As part of the recovery year, with so many students needing math supports, for one year only, we dissolved the math lab class, and created additional math sections so that all students would have lower class sizes in the core math content areas.
Use of i-Ready as a reading support allowed learners to access instruction and material at the appropriate learning level based on diagnostic performance. This targeted support delivered at each learner’s level supported individual learning progress for some but not all students. Using i-Ready and other supplemental learning tools, teachers were better able to support learning variability in literacy.
A listening session was offered to families in the Hispanic/Latin X community. Our principal, counselor, and Family Parent liaison also met with parents around how to be successful in middle school and how to get ready for high school. Topics covered included grade supports, Canvas, how to access admin and how to use Skyward.

What actions would you continue or change?

The school will continue to implement i-Ready in ELA, Social Studies, and Science. Currently the school only has math support using ALEKS. Moving forward, we hope to add i-Ready Math for classrooms as well.
The school will continue to offer Study Skills classes for struggling students who need extra math and literacy support. The school is hoping to offer the Read 180 course for not just one class but possibly 3 sections (one for each grade level).
The school will be implementing new math pathways, but our goal will also be to raise overall math scores on the SBA as well.
The school will continue to offer Panther Camp not only at the very beginning of the school year, but also after winter break and spring breaks as well reteaching and reminding school-wide expectations.
The school is looking to provide more Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports earlier in the school year.

Backed by Data

Schools use multiple data sources to inform their planning. Progress toward school improvement in overall achievement and disproportionality is monitored using state and district measures using a common School Improvement Data Dashboard.

Data Workbook for Middle School

Process
Findings

Process

Issaquah Middle School’s community of teachers, staff and administrators are consistently looking at data to help support our students in all areas of their social, mental, academic and physical needs. We are continually working on our MTSS systems of support to help meet the needs of our students. This year we added an MTSS specialist who helps run our SWIS data each week. Our staff is consistently using data to design classroom instruction and assessment opportunities, to identify and support students, and to help design our school-wide Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports for our community. Our building leadership team reviews data relative to current test scores, and assessment history to finalize School Improvement Data each year, including SBA, i-Ready, and ALEKS data specifically for this school year.

Our SIP team was created in August and has been reviewing data from SWIS, i-Ready, and SBA from last year to make adjustments for the 2022-23 school year. Each month the SIP team has been meeting before school to look at monthly discipline and attendance data. We continue to adjust to address behavior concerns including having staff monitor hallways, education for students, and how to address student and staff concerns. The team also reviewed the ELA scores from SBA and literacy levels in i-Ready.

Findings

2022 SBA data demonstrates a decrease in English Language Arts and Math scores when compared to historical WSIF data from previous years. Almost all student groups have shown a decrease in scores for both ELA and Math.
Exceptions:
- ELA: Overall, we saw a decrease in skills when comparing historical WSIF data from 2017-2019 with the fall SBA proficiencies. All students dropped from 68.7% (2021 SBA) to 63.5% (Fall 2022 SBA – ELA). However, the student groups of ELL and Asian students showed slight improvements.

ELA	WSIF ELA Proficiency Rate	2021 SBA ELA Proficiency Rate	2022 SBA ELA Proficiency Rate
All	78.3%	68.7%	63.5%
Asian	84.9%	80.1%	82.5%
Black / African American	54.1%	42.6%	30%
Hispanic / Latinx	49.1%	49.5%	34.5%
2 or More Races	76.7%	70.7%	70.7%
White	83.1%	72.7%	68.0%
English Language Learners	19.8%	23.4%	25%
Low-Income	42.1%	41.4%	35%
Students with Disabilities	20.6%	31.5%	22%

Black/African American students, Hispanic/Latin X students, English Language Learners and students with disabilities show a disproportionately lower number of students meeting standard in ELA compared to their Issaquah Middle School peers. An evaluation of teacher-provided student work suggested targeted intervention for these groups may positively impact the current opportunity gap.

2022 math data from the SBA also shows a significant decrease in scores when comparing proficiencies between SBA math data, and historical WSIF data from 2017-19. This decrease occurs more profoundly in all student groups.

Exception: The overall score of all students did improve in Math SBA from 2021 to 2022. This may be a result of being back to in-person learning.
Students who are Asian, Black/African American students, 2 or More races, White, and Low-Income students did show a slight increase from the 2021 school year.

Math	WSIF Math Proficiency Rate	2021 SBA Math Proficiency Rate	2022 SBA Math Proficiency Rate
All	74.3%	50.1%	55.8%
Asian	88.3	73.5%	77.4%
Black / African American	49.2%	17%	20%
Hispanic / Latinx	42.1%	27%	25%
2 or More Races	71.9%	48.8%	54.9%
White	77	52.7%	62.2%
English Language Learners	31.2%	29.8%	25%
Low-Income	35.3.%	19.1%	24.9%
Students with Disabilities	18.3%	20%	15.6%

Although not a formal goal, our school team focused on student attendance, and academic support when students could not attend due to illness. As seen in the data below, when measuring percent of classes attended, all Black/African American, Hispanic, and Students with Disabilities groups demonstrated less disproportionality in attendance.

Attendance	WSIF Regular attendance	2021-22 % of classes attended
All	87%	90%
Asian	96%	93%
Black / African American	75%	80%
Hispanic / Latinx	81%	85%
2 or More Races	84%	89%
White	85%	91%
English Language Learners	84%	85%
Low-Income	70%
Students with Disabilities	75%	83%

School-Based Action Plan

Action	Implementation	Impact: Evidence/Monitoring
Create Tiered Team Structure to analyze school-wide data and systems	2022-23 Addition of MTSS specialist Calibrating SWIS data collection Pilot Check in Check Out Collaboration among teachers by grade level Baseline CR-TFI Collaboration by vested partners around school culture and safety	Increase equitable outcomes in academics, discipline, special education referrals. Data monitored includes: SWIS data, disaggregated CICO data, disaggregated Academic data, disaggregated Special Education referrals, disaggregated Grade level team input Baseline TFI Data Creation of Tier 1, 2 and 3 Teams and monthly meetings with vested partners and input. Creation of Principals Advisory Committee of four students in each grade level.
Foster Support Strategies around Behavior	2022-23 Training for Staff around de-escalation, redirection, classroom management, and student safety. Analyze school-wide systems and surveys Analyze SWIS data each month PBSES lessons in Homeroom to promote a positive school culture Bringing back school-wide reward system for good behaviors- Panther Bucks and Panther Store School-wide recognition	Focus on a reduction in School Discipline Provide education to students who break a school rule or demonstrate a poor choice Creation of Student Support Room in Special Education Make changes school-wide for supervision purposes including scarecrow technique, more adult supervision in problem areas, limit student access to problem areas on campus Panther Camp to review and go over school expectations and school rules Weekly SEL lessons-Character Strong and Second Step lessons Panther Store once a week with prizes for Panther bucks School-wide end of trimester parties and recognition for character traits each month. Partnering with PTSA for Most Valuable Panther, certificates, and ice cream, Calm Room and Student Support Center Where Everyone Belongs (WEB) Program for 6th graders
Training and use of classroom-based targeted supports and interventions (Tier 2)	2022-23 i-Ready instructional tools No-Red Ink Learning Ally ALEKS Piloting i-Ready Math Piloting Check in Check Out 3 ELA Resource classes created 3 Study Skills classes created Pilot Read 180 for 8th grade students	Identification of high leverage and evidence-based intervention practices and programs. Gap-closing growth of students in areas identified for intervention as demonstrated by: SBA scores SWIS data I i-Ready Screener and progress monitoring data Piloting i-Ready math as another intervention to show students current mathematical levels. The school is also providing a Read 180 support class for several 8th grade students not currently at the 8th grade reading level.
Family Engagement Use of i-Ready to improve communication and partner with parents for at-home student support	2022-23 Parent i-Ready training Use of i-Ready resources in both ELA and Math Student/family engagement	Providing resources to parents on where their students may be struggling in ELA and Math Teachers and MTSS specialist can send home targeted lessons to struggling students on specific individual learning needs or topics that their student can improve upon. Java with JZ, E-news communication
Student Safety	2022-23 Parent, student, and staff surveys No fighting assemblies Professional development for teachers	School safety drills Students wear ID badges Admin, SRO, and teachers in various hotspot locations on campus SEL lessons around safety and school-wide expectations Take Care of One Another Motto and T-shirt Report It, Do Not Record It Campaign
Culturally Inclusive Practices	2022-23 Professional development around GLAD strategies Allocate professional learning time to support ELL students with GLAD strategies working collaboratively on collective inquiry and action research. Analyzing behavior data each month as part of the equity team. Lens on behavior data and plan for staff trainings and bias work	Culturally Inclusive School Culture Creation of Equity Team Creation of school clubs like Color Associated Club (CAC) and Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Themed months to celebrate heritages and culture including mental wellness, African American History Month, Pride month Strategies for working with families: Facilitate “Listening Circle” with small group of families to speak and listen to each other and help families gain a shared sense of understanding and emotional connection for Spanish/Latin X families. Partnering with Spanish-speaking families to come in and talk each month to Spanish classes to promote language and culture Coordinate inclusive social/cultural activities with PTSA, such as Curriculum Night and spring Multi-Cultural Fair. Continue to improve culturally-responsive communication with families by providing new resources in different languages

SIP Team & Final Review

Principal: Mark Jergens-Zmuda
Site Council/PTSA Review Date: January 11, 2023
Supervisor Review: Sherri Kokx January 3, 2023
School Board Review Date: March 1, 2023

Leadership Team:

Becky Mullvain, Assistant Principal
Matthew Eisenhauer, 8th grade leader
Melissa Miller, 7th grade leader
Hayley Beck, 6th grade leader
Heather McDonough, MTSS
Oracio Valdez, Counseling
Allie Knechtel, Counseling
Meg Iyer, School Psychologist
Susan Ahrensdorf, Math
Boyd Cottom, LA
Amy Foust, LA
Dylan Kenniston, Social Studies
Karen Lee, Music
Carolyn Stemshorn, Special Services
Michaela Wickenheiser, Science
Julie Newton, Assistant to the Principal

Checklist

Action plan includes use of educational technology.
Action plan includes strategies for family engagement.
Action plan includes strategies for engaging students and/or addressing the social, emotional and/or mental health needs of students and barriers to learning
Action plan includes a school-based action to implement one (or more) of Culturally Responsive Practices, Universal Design for Learning, Trauma Informed Practices, &/or the 4 High Leverage Instructional Practices.