• Discipline Rates
• Quarterly Assessments scores -English
• Quarterly Assessments scores - Mathematics
• PARCC Scores - Mathematics (Middle grades 6, 7, 8)
• PARCC Scores - English/Language Arts (Middle grades 6, 7, 8)

Southern Middle School has strong roots in the south end of Anne Arundel County. By this it means that it is a school that has strong student and parent involvement. While we are one of the smallest middle schools in numbers with approximately 760 students it actually covers the largest geographical region in the county. It brings together

communities from 4 different elementary schools: Shady Side, Deale, Tracy’s Landing and Lothian. A few other key demographic items of note: • Among students there is little diversity with 75% listed as White and only 11% Hispanic and 7% African American. • Among teaching staff there is also little diversity with almost 90% female and 95% White.

There has been a concerted effort in the past couple of years to find a more diverse teaching staff. • Students in poverty as listed as receiving Free/Reduced Meals is on the low end of the county with 26% of students qualifying. Like every school, Southern Middle faces some challenges on their quest to meet their goal of having all students college and career ready. These include: • Academic progress has been increasing but at a slow rate. • Surveys completed by students show a slightly declining sense of feeling connected to the school though 70% do state they feel Connected to

the School which is higher than the county average. Southern Middle has also a number of factors that gives real reason for optimism for sustained progress. These include: • Satisfactory Attendance over the past few years (greater than 94% • Increasing sense by students that staff supports them and has set high expectations as shown on recent survey where 83% report this which is higher than the county average. • Academic performance has continued to exceed the county average in all 4 core subjects (math, Lang Arts, Social Studies and Science) along with Foreign Language. • Widely considered to be a strong, competent and congenial staff. • Parents attend events at school in large numbers. This year we have started a Parent Patrol where parents can come and patrol the school guiding and advising students like aunts/uncles. • Past surveys completed by parents show a greater favorable impression of the school compared to county average. • The academic focus of SMS this year is to continue the progress of increasing our students scoring at the Advanced level on our PARCC assessments. The intentional focus to create curiosity for students in every lesson. • The other main goal for the year is to enhance our building culture. A strong culture allows for learning to occur in a safe and friendly environment. Students are instructed in Character Education during regular Advisory lessons. We also have a very strong after school club program where students can explore further particular interests of theirs.

• Access to transportation
• Limited English proficiency for students and/or families
• Families in Crisis (mental, physical emotional, financial)
• Access to healthcare

Due to our location and small attendance SMS does not have easy access or resources offering extra supports. Many of our families also have a great need for mental health services.

• Access (or lack of access) to community financial programs
• Access to (or lack of access) to public transportation
• Access (or lack of access) to community social programs
• Access (or lack of access) to community health-related programs
• Access (or lack of access) to community academic support programs