Executive Summary

 

The goal of Hapeville Middle School is to improve student achievement. In a study released by the U.S. Department of Education in 1998, “effective schools,” where student test scores improved, exhibited the following characteristics:

 

  1. a strong focus on ensuring academic success for each student
  2. a refusal to accept excuses for poor performance
  3. a willingness to implement a variety of strategies
  4. intensive and sustained efforts to involve parents/guardians and the community
  5. an environment of mutual respect and collaboration
  6. a passion for continuous improvement and professional growth

Hapeville Middle School will make decisions regarding our students with the above six characteristics as targets.

The role of the Hapeville Middle School academic team, which includes the administration and the faculty, will lead the effort to improve student achievement by agreeing that:

 

  1. student learning is the fundamental purpose of schooling
  2. all students can achieve high standards of learning
  3. collaborative problem solving is the basis with which we will work with students
  4. decision making will be data driven
  5. life long learning is a fundamental expectation of all staff members
  6. the work on campus will require high levels of personal and organizational performance

The curriculum plans for Hapeville Middle School have been organized with the goal of offering, and promoting, challenging courses to lay the groundwork for excellence and opportunities for each student to excel into the high school years. The decision to implement the CMP mathematics, the FAST science, and the Santillana Spanish curricula was made on the basis of documentation of the positive achievement results of student test scores within each area of study.

A unique feature of Hapeville Middle School is the fact that all students, regardless of fifth grade standardized test score results in Reading, will enroll in Spanish at the Sixth Grade Level. Research, such as F. Lucido and W. McEachern’s “The Influence of Bilingualism on English Reading Scores” (Reading Improvement, 37(2), p. 87-91), indicates the benefit of foreign language study for all middle school students, regardless of Reading scores, in improving SAT scores during their high school years .

At each grade level, all students will attend two Spanish-based classes each day. Spanish as a Second Language Students will enroll in (1) Spanish Language classes and (2) Spanish Dual Language Exploratory conducted in the learned language . For the Spanish as First Language Students, the two courses will include (1) Spanish Language Arts and (2) Spanish Dual Language Exploratory (or dual language immersion). The increased seat time in language study will benefit each student with an expanded, in-depth knowledge, application and use of the language.

At Hapeville Middle School, the dual language Spanish/English exploratory program period includes all students. Each student will receive 90 minutes daily of enrichment in the exploratory period that will provide him/her the opportunity to "find the other part of what he/she is good at." The 90-minute dual language exploratory period will "not define how smart the student is, but where the student is smart." Examples of focus areas, which will be covered during the dual language exploratory period, include Theatre/Drama, Music, Art, Geography, and culture.

The student who enrolls at Hapeville Middle School with a CRCT score of 1 in Reading and/or Mathematics will be enrolled in Fundamental Reading and/or Fundamental Mathematics period which is regularly scheduled each school day from 4:30 pm to 5:20 pm. A focused accelerated approach will be used to support each student to improve his/her basic skills where needed in Reading and/or Mathematics. The determination of the final roster for the Fundamental Reading/Fundamental Mathematics period course will be based upon collected information regarding CRCT scores during the enrollment process.

Each student will be encouraged to participate in Saturday Extension Classes which will provide tutoring and focused acceleration opportunities for the core, fundamental and exploratory courses.

With the support and guidance of the Fulton County School System and the State of Georgia Department of Education, we are excited to submit of this charter proposal for the Hapeville Middle School. We are looking forward to our first graduating class in May 2007. Please plan to attend.

Sincerely,

Gary W. Martin, Ph.D.

President

Georgia Magnet Charter Schools Foundation Corporation