After each school leadership team reflected on its school culture, community, and the key contributing factors to student growth, they used this information to select the Strategic Plan Indicators that would have the greatest positive impact for their students.  Each school was directed to select two to six indicators on which to focus during the 2018-19 school year.  Certainly, we all know that if we focus narrowly and deeply, we are more likely to realize positive results.  The indicators that this school’s leadership team selected are noted below.

Throughout the next 3 years, schools will focus on their chosen Strategic Plan Indicators as the drivers to increase student engagement and achievement within their schools.  They will choose strategies to help them grow or increase within each indicator and will monitor and evaluate the student and school changes that take place along the journey.  Below you will see what this school imagines their students and school to look like in 2021 after having focused and worked on their chosen indicators for three years.

We will continue to evaluate our annual School Climate Survey results, and we will be adding parents to this year’s survey. Our hope is to invite members of the community to participate in the near future. We will also continue to focus on relationship building with our Rally Circles for students, team building initiatives for staff, and parent/community involvement activities. Our goal has been and always will be that students and adults will feel safe, valued and happy to learn and work at MacArthur Middle School. (Indicator 1)

Our Kids at Hope target group and all of our students will make great strides in improving their performance on PARCC ELA and Math standardized assessments, as a result of continued focused practice and instruction. In addition, they will feel a strong sense of accomplishment and self-assurance as they meet their individual goals. Our Kids at Hope target students will also become active participants in all classes, as they have learned the value of their own voice and contributions in the classroom. Their confidence as learners will grow, and they will enter  high school bound for success. (Indicator 6)

Lastly, MacArthur Middle will be transitioning from the structure of Eagle Academic Hour to IB Scholar Hour, which will be held twice a week. It is our intent that structures will remain in place to ensure students success. Additionally, we will also continue to work with parents, local community members and business partners to seek opportunities for service learning; enabling students to make connections between their school work and the real world. The resulting service learning activities and service objectives will be aligned with specific learning outcomes and objectives. Our students and their families will see and appreciate the value of community-based service learning opportunities. (Indicator 16)