School Goals for 2006-2007

Every year, our school looks at its performance from the previous year and works through the Site Council to create new goals for the next year. John Muir School teachers, parents, and staff have looked at performance data and have crafted the following four goals for the 2006-2007 School Year:

Language Arts:

To increase the academic achievement of all students through a challenging curriculum, Muir will align resources and personnel so that 100% of students show improvement in reading and writing. Students scoring 'proficient and 'advanced' will make at least one year's progress as measured by the California Standards Test. Students scoring 'basic' will make more than one year's progress each year. Students scoring 'far below' and 'below basic' will make more than one year's progress each year. 25% of these lowest performing students will move up at least two proficiency levels in three years.

Mathematics:

To increase the academic achievement of all students through a challenging curriculum, Muir will align resources and personnel so that 100% of students show improvement in mathematical reasoning and calculation. Students scoring 'proficient and 'advanced' will make at least one year's progress as measured by the California Standards Test. Students scoring 'basic' will make more than one year's progress each year. Students scoring 'far below' and 'below basic' will make more than one year's progress each year. 25% of these lowest performing students will move up at least two proficiency levels in three years.

School Climate:

To establish and maintain a safe and nurturing environment in which all students have a chance to learn and in which all families feel welcomed and accepted, the school will adopt and 'All means all' philosophy. Embedded in this philosophy is an understanding that for community to happen 'It takes us all'. Student and parent satisfaction surveys will continue to show strong support rankings from both groups.

Student attendance will increase to 96% or above - an on-average gain of 2%. Tardiness will decline by 40% over the next three years with the ultimate goal being zero unexcused tardies.

The school will continue to be safe and drug free. Through consistancy and structure, classroom referrals and suspendable offenses will be reduced by one-third over the next three years.

Whole Child:

To instill in students an awareness of their special talents and strengths along with the attitudes, skills and habits of mind needed to succeed in and beyond the classroom, the school will:

Ensure that all students will participate in a whole-child curriculum that includes gardening, cooking, visual and performing arts, and enrichment opportunities within the community. The library and technology resources will be aligned to support this enrichment.

Ensure access to enhanced instructional support needed to succeed. The school will implment effective Student Study Teams, work with families to identify student needs, and develop action plans to increase student success. For every student working a year or more below grade level and/or a year or more above grade level (GATE) the school will establish individualized learning plans. The learning center model will be implemented to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities.

Ensure that students develop the skills to make healthy choices in their lives. Under the banner of Science, the school will expand and deepen the School Lunch Initiative to teach students about heathful eating. This program will include fitness classes for all students K-5. The school will establish systems to measure healthful attitudes, bodies, and interactions with peers and adults.