William Mendenhall School

William Mendenhall Middle School is a highly ranked public school located in Livermore, California. With a student-teacher ratio of 25 to 1, it has 965 students in grades 6-8. 60 percent of students are at least proficient in math and 76 per cent in reading, according to state test scores.

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At William Mendenhall Middle School, by commitment to a comprehensive, appropriate academic program, they aim to meet the needs of all students. They have a range of academically demanding experiences for their pupils, including National History Day, Math Counts and Science Odyssey. Middle school is a time of experimentation and independence that is thriving, and employees aim to provide challenges and resources to help students develop both academically and socially.

 

As employees accept various tiered support programs, they strive to provide interventions that maximize the amount of time and support provided both within and outside the school day to students. By first focusing on ensuring that most students are learning in the classroom, teachers and administrators work with a noon academic drop-in, math intervention courses, study skills classes and after-school homework clubs to provide additional time and help for their struggling learners outside the classroom. For children who struggle with reading comprehension and vocabulary learning, they also provide intervention during the school day.

 

These courses provide students with training in grade-level reciprocal teaching so that they have many possibilities to communicate with text.

 

Because of the mutual obligations on the part of students, parents, staff and administration to ensure a quality educational program, Mendenhall is a special educational area.

 

Mendenhall became a BYOD school in the 2017-18 school year. For the academic year, students may carry their own devices or print out a Chromebook from school. Employees are dedicated to the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Adjustment and Redefinition) model, in which educators use technology not simply as a replacement for paper and pencil, but to enable students to think more critically and creatively.

 

School Plan for Student Achievement
 

The Student Achievement School Plan (SPSA) defines and addresses students' educational needs and determines how the categorical funds generated by the Combined Application will be used to meet the objectives identified in the plan. State standards require the SPSA to have to:

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• Identify site-specific achievement goals based on a variety of student performance data.

• Describe specific instructional strategies to accelerate student learning.

• Describe the ways in which student progress will be monitored on a regular basis.

• Identify interventions for students not achieving.

• Determine the necessary professional development for staff.

• Delineate strategies for parent communication and engagement.

• Reflect estimated costs and funding sources.

• Involve consultation with other site advisory groups.

 

State regulations mandate that, in conjunction with the site instructional leadership committee, the School Site Council (SSC) be the body responsible for creating and revising the SPSA. An important part of the development and monitoring of the SPSA is ongoing consultation with site advisory groups on student performance results, student needs, identified priorities, effective interventions/preventions, and related budgets. (64001 Ed Code)

 

This continued participation of the SSC in the SPSA review is a vital component of the annual planning cycle and should be expressed in the agendas and minutes of the meetings. The SSC development, revision, tracking, and assessment documentation of the SPSA must be kept in the SSC Notebook at each school. For seven years, plus the current school year, all data must be preserved.

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