Western+Hills+Middle+School+Fall+2012

= = Western Hills MIddle School 400 Phenix Avenue Cranston, RI 02920 P: (401)270-8030 F: (401)270-8635

Principal: Anthony Corrente Assistant Principal: Timothy Vesey Superintendent: Dr. Judith Lundsten







Introduction Western Hills Middle School is a public school serving 669 students in grades seven and eight, and employing approximately 70 teachers, along with other support staff. Until 2008, it also served students in the sixth grade, but the district restructured and moved sixth graders back to the elementary schools. The school is located in Cranston, Rhode Island, a suburb of the capital city, Providence. Though it is an "urban ring" community, the statistics of Cranston as a school district and as a city skew somewhat higher than those of other neighboring communities. The students attending Western Hills come from the westernmost end of Cranston and their families are are primarily middle and upper-middle class.

**Community Background **

Cranston is the third-largest city in Rhode Island, located just south of Providence in the central-northwest area of the state. The city has a population of just over 80,000, and approximately 16,000 of those residents are children, many of who attend Cranston's 16 elementary schools, two high schools, and three middle schools, including Western Hills. It is an economically diverse community, with the median individual income of $57,922 and a median family income of $70, 932 (www.census.gov), just slightly above the state median of $54,902 for an individual and $70,633 for a family. There is less racial diversity, with 82.4% of residents reported as white, 4.3% as black, 5.2% Asian, 10% Hispanic or Latino, and 0.7% American Indian or Alaska native, as of census year 2010. 8.4% of the population and 6% of families live below the poverty level, compared to statewide levels of 12.2% of all people and 8.4% of families, and national levels of 13.8% of all people and 10.1% of families. 26% of children in Cranston live in single-parent families, somewhat below the state figure of 31%. For every 1000 children, there were 11.1 incidents of abuse, and 8 children with incarcerated parents. 6% of children are being raised primarily by their grandparents. 3% of families receive cash assistance, and 3,828 receive SNAP benefits. 61% of Cranston's eligible children participate in WIC, and 23% participate in the school breakfast program, compared to 68% and 36%, respectively, statewide. 6166 children under the age of 19 receive medical assistance. There are 20.4 births for ever girl ages 15 to 19, compared to 27 per 1000 for the state.



= = District Summary The Cranston School District serves approximately 11,100 students and employs 790 full-time teachers in twenty-three schools. The racial makeup of the students, like that of the city, is predominantly white non-Hispanic (see Figure 1). 6% of students receive ESL services, which is identical to the state percentage, and 13% receive special education services, just below the statewide figure of 16%. The district has an overall attendance rate of 94%, and a middle school attendance rate of 94% as well. Cranston had generally higher scores than the state average in the last reported NECAP test, as shown below (from InfoWorks! Rhode Island).


 * ~  ||~ Year ||~ % Proficient District ||~ % Proficient State ||
 * = 3rd Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 58 % ||= 60 % ||
 * = 3rd Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 76 % ||= 73 % ||
 * = 4th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 64 % ||= 65 % ||
 * = 4th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 73 % ||= 71 % ||
 * = 4th Grade Science ||= 2010-11 ||= 52 % ||= 43 % ||
 * = 5th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 66 % ||= 62 % ||
 * = 5th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 78 % ||= 69 % ||
 * = 5th Grade Writing ||= 2011-12 ||= 68 % ||= 55 % ||
 * = 6th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 63 % ||= 62 % ||
 * = 6th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 81 % ||= 73 % ||
 * = 7th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 64 % ||= 56 % ||
 * = 7th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 79 % ||= 72 % ||
 * = 8th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 66 % ||= 58 % ||
 * = 8th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 85 % ||= 78 % ||
 * = 8th Grade Writing ||= 2011-12 ||= 68 % ||= 59 % ||
 * = 8th Grade Science ||= 2010-11 ||= 25 % ||= 25 % ||
 * = 11th Grade Math ||= 2011-12 ||= 23 % ||= 30 % ||
 * = 11th Grade Reading ||= 2011-12 ||= 78 % ||= 76 % ||
 * = 11th Grade Writing ||= 2011-12 ||= 48 % ||= 51 % ||
 * = 11th Grade Science ||= 2010-11 ||= 23 % ||= 26 % ||

As of 2009, the district property value per student was $659,765.83, and the per pupil expenditure for the same year was $13,261. This is on the upper end of the state property values and average for expenditures. Barrington (the wealthiest district) records a $894,098.80 property value per student and $12,379 per-pupil spending, and Central Falls, (the poorest district) has a per-student property value of $196,417.72 and a per-pupil expenditure of $14,347.) 34% of students qualify for free or subsidized lunch, compared with 44% statewide. In Barrington that figure is just 6%, and in Central Falls it is 86%. Less that 1% of teachers were teaching under emergency certifications, and only 1% were identified as "not highly qualified". The student-teacher ratio is 10:1 in the Cranston School District. Statewide, % of teachers have emergency certifications, 3% are "not highly qualified", and there is a student-teacher ratio of 11:1. There was a four-year graduation rate of 77.2%, identical to the state figure, and five-year "supersenior" graduates had an 81.4% rate, compared to a statewide 76.6%.

= = Western Hills Middle School is classified as having made Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind, and has consistently higher NECAP scores than the other two middle schools in Cranston, Hugh B. Bain (central Cranston) and Park View (eastern Cranston). The scores are also higher than the state averages, as indicated by the figure below (from InfoWorks! Rhode Island). 
 * 7th Grade Math || 2011-12 || 75 % || 56 % ||
 * 7th Grade Reading || 2011-12 || 86 % || 72 % ||
 * 8th Grade Math || 2011-12 || 73 % || 58 % ||
 * 8th Grade Reading || 2011-12 || 89 % || 78 % ||
 * 8th Grade Writing || 2011-12 || 72 % || 59 % ||
 * 8th Grade Science || 2010-11 || 29 % || 25 % ||

Conclusion Western Hills Middle School is a strong school, with an impressive academic record and a number of other positive indicators. While all of the Cranston Middle School are generally above average, Western Hills has some definite advantages compared to its sister schools, many of which come from the fact that it draws from the wealthier, less-urban area of Cranston, so most of the students are prepared for academic success. For parents who are considering a move to Cranston, putting yourself in the Western Hills district would definitely be a solid educational choice for your children. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints none of the Cranston middle schools currently have sports teams, but Cranston itself has a wide variety of recreational and competitive sports leagues, as well as other child and adolescent centered activities. The school's facilities were largely renovated in the last few years, including new lockers and modernized technology.

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<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Context Report Rubric [|…] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Peer Evaluation / Feedback for EDC 102 Context Statement
 * Author: (Person who wrote report.) Elizabeth Durigan**
 * Editor: (Person evaluating report.)**
 * Total Score for this Evaluation:** _/35 pts

The purpose of the context statement in EDC 102 is to provide each student with an opportunity to demonstrate his or her ability to research a school, its district, and its community in order to better understand its strengths and challenges. Each report should describe their school based solely on evidence that they cite in their Reference section.

As a peer editor, your tasks are:
 * Read author's report.
 * Carefully **evaluate** report by assigning a score for each criterion
 * provide **constructive comments** that will help the strengthen the author's report for each category.
 * Create a link to your evaluation at the end of the report.

Rubric

Introduction = REPLACEWITHSCORE/ 5 pts.
Constructive comments about report's introduction:
 * 5 - Intro provides an overview of the upcoming analysis, including what school/district/community is being analyzed, what aspects are being analyzed, and who the report is intended to inform. || 4 - Intro names the school/district/community and previews the scope of the report, but does not describe who the report is intended to inform. || 3 - Intro names the school/district/community but not much else. || 2 - Intro fails to name the school, district, and community. || 0 - No introduction section is apparent. ||

Organization = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:
 * 5 - Report includes an Introduction, a Conclusion, and sections for the School, District, and Community. Within each section, paragraphs logically group the information presented. || 4 - Report includes all of the sections mentioned previously, but does not break down information into paragraphs within each section. || 3 - Report is missing one of the sections. || 2 - Report is missing more than one section. || 0 - Report does not include any sections. ||

Mechanics = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.

 * 5 - All information in the report is cited using APA styled- citations after the information and in a Reference section at the end of the report.

and

There are extremely few typos and misspelled words in the report. || 4 - Most information is cited using APA style.

and/or

There are a noticeable number of typos or misspellings. || 3 - Some citations in the References section are not in APA style, e.g. URLs are listed without the title of the website.

and/or

There are many typos, misspellings, or other writing errors. || 2 - Most of the report's information is not cited, or APA style was not used. || 0 - Report does not include a Reference section. || Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:

Conclusion = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:
 * 5 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community and describes why findings should be important to reader. || 4 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community. || 3 - Conclusion does not refer back to report findings. || 0 - No conclusion section is apparent. ||

Creativity = REPLACEWITHSCORE / 5 pts.
Strengths and constructive comments about presentation:
 * 5 - Report is written in an engaging style. || 4 - Report has some interesting sections. || 3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose. ||

Thoroughness = REPLACEWITHSCORE /10 pts

 * 5 - Report includes at least ten different facts in each section (school, community, district) and

compares each figure with another relevant figure (e.g. state or national average) and

states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards. || 4 - Report includes at least eight different facts in each section and

compares most figures with relevant values and

states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards. || 3 - Report includes at least six different facts in each section and

compares some of the figures to other relevant figures || 2 - Report includes at least four different facts in each section and

compares some of the figures to other relevant figures. || 0 - Report includes less than four different facts for any section or

fails to compare any figures with other relevant figures. || = =