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VISION and MISSION STATEMENTS

Guiding individuals to reach their full potential as they grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically.

We believe that every middle school student is a unique individual with special needs, interests, and capabilities.

As a community of students, parents and teachers, and as individuals, we recognize cultural diversity as a way of life. We endeavor to provide an educational environment that fosters the principles and ideas of our democratic society and encourages the development of each student’s potential. Education lies in personal experience as well as personal responsibility for learning and conduct. Each individual has a natural dignity and worth that merits caring, respect, honesty, and fosters initiative, industry, and resourcefulness.

It is our belief that a child who is given room to “stretch” both physically and mentally, probing into areas of learning and activities one has never known before is more likely to develop an active mind and body and become a more resourceful, well-rounded, and responsible adult. Special scheduling and subject area offerings are necessary to motivate the pre- and early-adolescent child.

The middle school curriculum, must be built by increments and be a continuation of the elementary program. It should provide experiences and activities that prepare the middle school student for the more specialized high school curriculum.

This school reflects our society, and through the utilization of the available resources, enriches and enhances the community as the community enhances the educational atmosphere. Thus all individuals – student, teachers, staff, administrators, parents, and community members – have a vested interest as manifested through the decision-making process, in helping our students recognize and effectively deal with the challenges confronting them, and all have responsibilities toward achieving this goal.

PART I: CURRENT SCHOOL STATUS

SCHOOL PROFILE/DEMOGRAPHICS

Brief History and Background of the School

In September of 1956, Lincoln High School opened at its present location of 1001 SE 12th Street (on Williston Road). Previously, Lincoln High occupied what is now the A. Quinn Jones Center, the red brick building on NW 8th Avenue. Back then, Lincoln was THE public high school for African American students in Alachua county. That is, it was the only public high school African American students were allowed to attend. There was a great deal of community pride for the “Big Red”, as the school colors were red & white, and the mascot was the terrier.

Segregation came to an end in 1970 as the federal courts ordered that Alachua county integrate its schools. Lincoln High School was closed in December of that year, and the students were sent to Gainesville High School on NW 13th Street. It was hardly a smooth transition. There were many students who did not welcome the students from Lincoln, and the Lincoln students were upset at being removed from their school.

Lincoln was converted into a middle school and re-opened in 1973. The mascot was changed from a terrier to a bulldog. Some might say there’s little difference, but the bulldog was more of the classic English bulldog. The colors also changed to blue and yellow. Lincoln Middle School served students across southern Alachua county.

In 1994, The Lyceum magnet program was started at Lincoln Middle School. This was a program of advanced study classes for highly motivated students. The Lyceum remains the premier middle school magnet program in Alachua county. Students from all across the county apply to the program every year. Students are accepted based on their grades, test scores and attitude. Over the last 3 years, just less than half of the applicants to The Lyceum were admitted to the 6th grade class. Students who successfully complete the three years of The Lyceum program are well-prepared for any high school magnet program, but the majority of them go on to the International Baccalaureate program at Eastside High School.

In addition to the magnet students, Lincoln serves the middle school-aged children of south east Gainesville. Our zoning boundaries are south of University Avenue, and east of West 13th Street. After learning about the sense of pride that the community felt about Lincoln, and especially from those who attended Lincoln High School, Principal Don Lewis decided to change the mascot back to the terrier in 2007. While many old Lincoln Middle School students were not happy with the change, there was tremendous positive feedback from the community.

Unique School Strengths for Next Year

This past year Lincoln earned its fifth consecutive “A” rating by the state. Lincoln’s 561 points earned were well over the 525 points necessary to earn an A. Lincoln students earned a higher percentage of the top scores (Level 5) in reading, math, and science than any other middle school across all three grade levels. Each year presents its own challenges, but Lincoln will continue with roughly the same grade-level teams as the previous year. Lewis’ strong belief in the middle school concept of teaming is the core of Lincoln, as the teams take ownership of their students. Next year’s 6th grade team, led by Ms. Lyons, has spent time over the summer working on activities to get and keep their students on track, as well as involve their parents.

Unique School Weaknesses for Next Year

Due to a projected enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year of only 668 students, Lincoln was cut two teacher units. This was after losing ten teacher positions the previous year. Now we have to do even more with less. The big unknown will be how many of the students that are currently in our registration will actually show up when school begins. There are over 700 students in the data base that are scheduled to come to Lincoln. Throughout last year there was a marked trend of students withdrawing from Lincoln and moving to other school zones in western Alachua county.

The percentage of students scoring Level 1 or 2 in math and reading is also too high. Efforts need to be concentrated to bring these students up to scoring on grade level (Level 3) in math & reading.

Continued budget restrictions have led us to cut the Saturday School program for next year. This was an alternative to suspension that was used throughout the past school year.

Student Demographics

Lincoln’s demographic picture is clouded by the fact that it is the zoned middle school for students living in south east Gainesville, known as the Major Program, as well as housing The Lyceum magnet program. At the end of the 2008-2009 school year, Lincoln had 700 students. Of these 700 students, 54% were Black, 27.4% were White, 11.5% were Asian, 4.3% were mixed, and 2.1% were Hispanic. 51.4% of Lincoln’s students were on Free and Reduced lunch, and 19.8% of the students are classified as having a learning disability (SWD). Again, these percentages are looking at Lincoln as a whole. If looked at separately from The Lyceum, the Major Program students are approximately 98% Black, and about 85% of these students receive Free and Reduced lunch.

Student Attendance Rates

Last year Lincoln had an average daily unexcused absence rate of 5.92, or an average daily attendance rate of 99.15%.

Student Mobility

Between Labor Day 2008 and May 15, 2009, Lincoln had 73 new students enter school and 99 students withdraw for a mobility rate of 29.6%. This is higher than in previous years. As mentioned before, a number of families moved from east Gainesville to housing on the other side of town, primarily in the I-75 corridor.

Student Suspension Rates

2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 OSS: 754 549 851
ISS: 295 371 833

Student Retention Rates

The 2007-08 retention rate for Lincoln was 1.1%. The district average was 5.6% and the state average was 5.0%.

Class Size

In keeping with the Florida Class-Size Amendment, which is being phased in for all schools, the school-wide average for class sizes is not to exceed 22 students. Electives are exempt from this number. Lincoln has been fortunate that the number of zoned students for each of the grade levels has been fairly consistent of around 120 each. This allows us to maintain a core team for each grade level of 5 academic teachers. Varying Exceptionality classes for students with learning disabilities are also kept under this average. Enrollment in The Lyceum has been capped at 110 students for the incoming 6th-grade class the past two years. Maintaining a school average is not too difficult as this becomes a simple question of dividing the number of students by 22 and adding teachers as necessary. However, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, the law states that each individual class shall not have more that 22 students. No one has figured out just how to accomplish this as it is nearly impossible to have a schedule that does not have some “bubbles” in it, which cause numbers to fluctuate from class to class.

Academic Performance of Feeder Pattern

For the Major Program students, most of Lincoln’s students come from the following elementary schools whose FCAT grades for the past 3 years are included in parentheses: Williams Elementary (A, C, A), Lake Forest Elementary C, B, C), and Idylwild Elementary (A, C, C). Students in The Lyceum come from elementary schools all across the county, but predominantly from schools in the northwest and southwest. The number of students from Williams Elementary’s magnet program has declined in the past two years. This includes representation from nearly all of the private school as well.

Partnerships and Grants

The Lincoln PTA has been a tremendous asset to the school over the past three years, primarily due to the energy of PTA President Janice Acosta and the Executive Board. Through the PTA “Wish List”, money has been donated to help purchase Smart Boards for the school. We are progressing towards our goal of having a Smart Board in every classroom. Last year Mrs. Acosta obtained a grant from Walmart to fund our student planners. More efforts are being made this year to gain support from our business partners with the assistance of the Alachua County Schools Foundation.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA

Note: The following links will open in a separate browser window.

School Grades Trend Data

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Trend Data

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Trend Data

HIGHLY QUALIFIED ADMINISTRATORS

HIGHLY QUALIFIED INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES

HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS

Non-Highly Qualified Instructors

Staff Demographics

Teacher Mentoring Program

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Coordination and Integration

Note: For Title I schools only

Title I, Part A

Title I, Part C- Migrant

Title I, Part D

Title II

Title III

Title X- Homeless

Supplemental Academic Instruction (SAI)

Violence Prevention Programs

Nutrition Programs

Housing Programs

Head Start

Adult Education

Career and Technical Education

Job Training

Other

Response to Instruction/Intervention (RtI)

School-based RtI Team

Identify the school-based RtI Leadership Team.

Lawson Brown, Jr. (AP), Michael P. Gamble (AP), Tammy Burgard(Counselor), Kay Martin(Counselor), Philip Kozloswki (PBS coach), Jeff Wilson (Dean), Kathy Long (Dean), Liz Coleman-Hayes (teacher), Lindy Russell (teacher).

Describe how the school-based RtI Leadership Team functions (e.g. meeting processes and roles/functions).

To identify critical areas for improvement in math and reading. Our critical areas are our major program students who are below grade level in math and reading. There are currently 247 students in grades 6th, 7th and 8th who are below grade level in reading.

Describe the role of the school-based RtI Leadership Team in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan

To identify critical areas for improvement in math and reading. Our critical areas are our major program students who are below grade level in math and reading. There are currently 247 students in grades 6th, 7th and 8th who are below grade level in reading.

RtI Implementation

Describe the data management system used to summarize tiered data.

On Track assessment, Focus testing and FCAT data.

Describe the plan to train staff on RtI.

Kagan Training, CIMS, Professional Learning Community, district support, Teaching to Standards.

School Wide Florida’s Continuous Improvement Model

Plan

Data Disaggregation 2008-2009 FCAT Data

What strengths and weaknesses were identified in the 2009 data by grade level, subject area, and clusters/strands?

The strengths as identified by the FCAT data were that Lincoln has the highest percentage of students scoring a Level 5 in both math and reading across all three grade levels. No other middle school in Alachua county comes close. This is the result of our magnet program, which at this point constitutes just under half of our student population. Unfortunately, too many of our students are below grade level in both math and reading. This gives us a reverse bell curve, in that we have high percentages of students scoring Levels 1 and 2 in both math and reading, but also a high percentage of students scoring Levels 4 and 5. We need to concentrate on our students who are zoned to Lincoln and work to bring them up to grade level.

Instructional Calendar Development

What is the process for developing, implementing, and monitoring an Instructional Focus Calendar for reading, writing, mathematics, and science?

District calendars will be used. Also, reading, Language Arts, mathematics and science departments have met and developed Instructional Focus Calendars for their subjects. Benchmarks have been identified for each subject.

Which instructional Benchmarks will be given priority focus, based on need, for each content area (reading, writing, mathematics, and science)?

This will be based on On Track assessment and focus testing as a part of CIMS.

What is the process to ensure instruction is based on individual students’ needs, as opposed to the master schedule?

Again, the On Track assessment and focus testing will be used to identify students’ needs.

How does the school incorporate applied and integrated courses to help students see the relationships between subjects and relevance to their future?

Through input from curriculum specialists and teachers. Academic success in core subjects is necessary for promotion to the next grade level.

How does the school incorporate students’ academic and career planning, as well as promote student course selections, so that students’ course of study is personally meaningful?

Last year the career planning component was introduced as part of the 8th grade social studies curriculum. Students complete career mapping as a part of this unit. Also, we have special presentations such as a Career Day presented by Junior Achievement for our 8th-grade students.

DO

Direct the Instructional Focus

How are lesson plans and instructional delivery aligned across grade levels and subject areas?

Grade-level teams meet to align across subject areas in each grade. Departments meet to align the curriculum vertically.

How are instructional focus lessons developed and delivered?

According to the CIMS instructional calendar, as developed by departments.

How will instructional focus lessons be revised and monitored?

By team levels. Teachers will develop mini-lesson as part of CIMS. FCAT Explorer will also be used.

CHECK

Assessment

Describe the types of ongoing formative assessments to be used during the school year to measure student progress in core, supplemental, and intensive instruction/intervention.

Assessments will be short, frequent and benchmark-specific.

How are assessments used to identify students reaching mastery and those not reaching mastery?

Based on whether or not the students answer the questions correctly.

Maintenance

How is ongoing assessment and maintenance of Benchmark mastery for each grade level and content area built into the Instructional Focus Calendar?

Through department collaboration.

Describe the process and schedule for teams to review progress monitoring data (summative and mini assessments) to identify the required instructional modifications that are needed to increase student achievement.

Focus testing for math and reading will be given every two weeks. Course unit tests will also be given each grading period for each subject area.

Monitoring

Describe the Principal’s and Leadership Team’s roles as instructional leaders and how they will be continuously involved in the teaching and learning process.

The principal and assistant principals will review teachers’ Professional Development Plans, with a focus on literacy instruction. Classroom Walkthroughs will be used extensively to monitor adherence to CIMS and appropriate benchmarks. Students must demonstrate that they understand what is being taught.

ACT

Supplemental and Intensive Instruction/Interventions

Identify the core, supplemental, and intensive instruction and interventions.

Core interventions are done through the normal grade-level courses. Intensive reading classes are established for all Level 1 readers in each grade level. Instruction will be provided through methods such as direct instruction (SRA) and Read 180. In addition, a special intensive math class was created for 6th-graders who scored a Level 2 in math.

How are supplemental and intensive instruction/interventions and tutorials structured to re-teach non-mastered target areas?

Through research-based instruction such as direct instruction and Read 180.

How does the school identify staff’s professional development needs to improve their instructional strategies?

Through individual Professional Development Plans.

Which students will be targeted for supplemental and intensive instruction/interventions?

All students who have scored a Level 1 in reading.

How will the effectiveness of the interventions be measured throughout the year?

Through frequent assessment using both On Track assessment and focus testing.

Enrichment

Describe alternative instructional delivery methods to support acceleration and enrichment activities.

Each Major Program grade level has an Advanced Study class for each subject area. The Advanced Program classes are based on teacher recommendations. Our Lyceum – Center for Advanced Studies is the premier middle school magnet program in Alachua County.

Describe how students are identified for enrichment strategies.

They are identified through FCAT scores as well as their work ethic in classes.

Professional Learning Communities

NCLB Public School Choice

Note: For Title I schools only

• Notification of (School in Need of Improvement) SINI Status
  No Attached Notification of (School in Need of Improvement) SINI Status
  
  
• Public School Choice with Transportation (CWT) Notification
  No Attached Public School Choice with Transportation (CWT) Notification
  
  
• Notification of (School in Need of Improvement) SINI Status
  No Attached Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Notification
  
  

Pre-School Transition

Postsecondary Transition

Note: Required for High School- Sec. 1008.37(4), F.S.

PART II: EXPECTED IMPROVEMENTS

Other Goals

No Other Goals were submitted for this school

FINAL BUDGET

Evidence-based Program(s)/Material(s)
Goal	Description of Resources	Funding Source	Available Amount
No Data	No Data	No Data	$0.00
Total: $0.00
Technology
Goal	Description of Resources	Funding Source	Available Amount
No Data	No Data	No Data	$0.00
Total: $0.00
Professional Development
Goal	Description of Resources	Funding Source	Available Amount
No Data	No Data	No Data	$0.00
Total: $0.00
Other
Goal	Description of Resources	Funding Source	Available Amount
No Data	No Data	No Data	$0.00
Total: $0.00
Final Total: $0.00

Differentiated Accountability

School-level Differentiated Accountability Compliance

Show Attached school’s Differentiated Accountability Checklist of Compliance (Uploaded on 9/11/2009 4:47:29 PM)

School Advisory Council

School Advisory Council (SAC) Membership Compliance

The majority of the SAC members are not employed by the school district. The SAC is composed of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, education support employees, students (for middle and high school only), parents, and other business and community citizens who are representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school.

Yes. Agree with the above statement.

Describe the Activities of the School Advisory Council for the Upcoming Year

SAC will meet to approve use of School Recognition money. SAC writes climate surveys used for needs assessment. SAC will write the School Improvement Plan. SAC will also approve expenditures of SAC funds greater than $500.00.

SAC Members

AYP DATA

SCHOOL GRADE DATA