Park+View+Middle+School+Fall+2013

Alexis Efron EDC 102 Context Statement 25 Park View Blvd #1, Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 270 - 8090



"The Mission of Park View Middle School is to create a child-centered, positive learning environment which provides for vast individual differences and allows young people to experience success, gain a positive self-image, and reach high standards within their school and community." Introduction: Park View Middle School is located in Cranston, Rhode Island. Park View Middle School is one of three middle schools in Cranston, RI. There are two high schools in Cranston, Cranston High School East and Cranston High School West. Saint Paul School is also located in Cranston. Park View Middle School follows Rhode Island framework for comprehensive K-12 students. It is modeled after the ASCA national model and focuses on three main areas: personal/ social, academic, and career development. The current Principle is Mike Crudale, and the Assistant Principle is Kerilyn Reagan. The school serves seventh and eighth grade. There are approximately 500 students. There is a 1:5 teacher to student ratio. Park View Middle School was started in 1954. Their colors are blue and white. Their mascot is a cougar.



Community Background: The city of Cranston is the third largest in Rhode Island. It has a population of approximately 80,000 people. The Mayor is Allan Fung. The city’s main attractions are the shopping centers- Garden City and Chapel View. The median family income for Cranston is $73,804. This is higher than both the Rhode Island and US median family income. Cranston is a middle class community. I have provided a chart that shows statistics about Cranston’s income and poverty levels compared to the state of Rhode Island and the US.



Below, I have provided two charts showing the ethnicity/race and gender represented in Cranston, RI. The first chart shows you that the community is predominately white (81.8%). The second chart shows gender. The ration of male to female is almost equal with 50.6% female and 49.4% male.





The population of children living in Cranston is 16,414. The percentage of children living in single parent house holds is 26% compared to Rhode Island as a whole which is 31%. The number of children living below the federal poverty threshold in 2011 was 11% compared to Rhode Island which was 17.9%. As you can see Cranston is doing better than the state.



District Summary: Cranston school district was pretty consistent in their performance on the NECAP Assessments with Rhode Island. Sometimes Cranston did worse and sometimes Cranston did better. The school district was generally higher in math but not as consistent in reading. Comparing Cranston school district to Barrington, which is another school district in Rhode Island, generally did better on the NECAP, compared to Central Falls, which generally did worse than Cranston. Below are charts comparing Cranston school district to Rhode Island on NECAP assessments. Represented are 3rd grade math and reading, 7th grade math and reading, and 11th grade math and reading. 4th, 5th, and 8th grade also take these assessments but the other grades are representative of the comparison.



In the Cranston school district there is 1:10 ratio of teacher to students. In the state of Rhode Island there is a 1:11 ration of teacher to students. In the Cranston school district there is one not very qualified teacher. In Rhode Island there are three not highly qualified teachers. In Cranston school district there are less than one teachers with with emergency certification. In Rhode Island there are one. In Rhode Island 46% of students are eligible for subsidized lunch, compared to 42% in the Cranston school district. Students receiving ESL/ Bilingual Educational Services are 6% in Rhode Island compared to 7% in Cranston. Students receiving special educational services are 15% in Rhode Island and 13% in the Cranston school district.

School Analysis: I am comparing Park View Middle School 7th and 8th graders to Barrington Middle School, Central Falls Middle School and Rhode Island 7th and 8th graders NECAP assessment passing rates. For 7th grade math, Park View got a 62% passing rate which was higher than Rhode Island 59% and Central Falls 19%, but lower than Barrington at 90%. 7th grade reading, Park View got 74% passing rate which was again higher than Rhode Island 70% and Central Falls 32%, but lower than Barrington 96%. 8th grade math, Park View got 55% which was higher than Central Falls 20% but lower than Rhode Island 58% and Barrington 86%. 8th grade reading, Park View got 84% which was higher than Rhode Island 77% and Central Falls 41%, but lower than Barrington 92%. 8th grade writing, Park View got 72%, again which was higher than Rhode Island 65% and Central Falls 28% but lower than Barrington 80%. 8th grade science, Park View got 30%, higher than Rhode Island 27% and Central Falls 6% but lower than Barrington 70%. As you can see, Park View Middle School is usually higher than Rhode Island and Central Falls but always lower than Barrington.



Conclusion: Park View Middle School is a really good school. They are above the average in Rhode Island in most categories. Barrington would definitely be the best school to send your child to because they exceed in everything. Park View is much higher than Central Falls in all categories. Cranston sounds like a good community to live in. It is an average middle class community not far from the beach. If someone had the opportunity to send their child here, I would suggest it. The school doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. There are no under qualified teachers. I chose this school because my suit mate went to middle school here. I am happy I made this choice. It had good data and was a good school.

Citations:

2013 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook. (n.d.). // Welcome to Rhode Island Kids Count! // . Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/default.asp

Census Bureau Homepage. (n.d.). //Census Bureau Homepage//. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www.census.gov/

InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). //InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data// //Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov//. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/

Park View Middle School. (n.d.). //Park View Middle School//. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://cpsed.net/pview/