U.S. Department of Education
2003-2004 No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Cover Sheet
Name of Principal Mr. Michael Vassallo
Official School Name – Pinedale Middle School
PO Box 549
227 East Hennick
Pinedale, Wyoming 82941-0549
Tel. ( 307) 367-2821 Fax ( 307 ) 367-4217
Website/URL www.pinedaleschools.org E-mail –
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent - Dr. Charles Grove
District Name – Sublette County School District #1 Tel. ( 307 ) 367-2139
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson – Mr. Jim Malkowski
I have reviewed the information in this package, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
PART I ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
[Include this page in the school’s application as page 2.]
The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school's eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes grades K-12. (Schools with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has not been in school improvement status or been identified by the state as "persistently dangerous" within the last two years. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s adequate yearly progress requirement in the 2003-2004 school year.
3. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, it has foreign language as a part of its core curriculum.
4. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 1998.
5. The nominated school or district is not refusing the OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a districtwide compliance review.
6. The OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if the OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
7. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school, or the school district as a whole, has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution's equal protection clause.
8. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 12 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: ___2__ Elementary schools
___1__ Middle schools
_____ Junior high schools
___1_ High schools
_____ Other (Briefly explain)
___4__ TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: __$9,545.13____
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: __$8,443.00___
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ] Suburban
[ x ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 8 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?
5. Number of students enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalK / 7 / 29 / 26 / 55
1 / 8 / 32 / 24 / 56
2 / 9
3 / 10
4 / 11
5 / 12
6 / 31 / 34 / 65 / Other
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL ® / 176
6. Racial/ethnic composition of 97.99 % White
the students in the school: 2 % Black or African American
(1 student) .0057% Hispanic or Latino
% Asian/Pacific Islander
(1 student) .0057 % American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: ___24_____%
(This rate includes the total number of students who transferred to or from different schools between October 1 and the end of the school year, divided by the total number of students in the school as of October 1, multiplied by 100.)
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 27(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 16
(3) / Subtotal of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 43
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 176
(5) / Subtotal in row (3) divided by total in row (4) / .27
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 / 27
8. Limited English Proficient students in the school: ___0____%
___0___Total Number Limited English Proficient
Number of languages represented: ___0_____
Specify languages:
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: ____18____%
____32___Total Number Students Who Qualify
If this method does not produce a reasonably accurate estimate of the percentage of students from lowincome families or the school does not participate in the federallysupported lunch program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: ____8____%
____14____Total Number of Students Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
____Autism _1__Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness ____Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness 11__Specific Learning Disability
____Hearing Impairment ____Speech or Language Impairment
____Mental Retardation ____Traumatic Brain Injury
____Multiple Disabilities ____Visual Impairment Including Blindness
2 Emotionally Disturbed
11. Indicate number of fulltime and parttime staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-time Part-Time
Administrator(s) ___1______
Classroom teachers ___9.75______
Special resource teachers/specialists ___2______.38___
Paraprofessionals ___4______2____
Support staff ___.64______
Total number ___17.39 ______
12. Average school student-“classroom teacher” ratio: 17.95 students to 1
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. The student dropout rate is defined by the state. The student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout rate and the drop-off rate. (Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates and only high schools need to supply drop-off rates.)
2002-2003 / 2001-2002 / 2000-2001 / 1999-2000 / 1998-1999Daily student attendance / 94.90 / 96.50 / 93.9 / 95.48 / 95.21
Daily teacher attendance / 92 / 90 / 82 / 93 / 93
Teacher turnover rate / 0 / 26 / 0 / 0 / 0
Student dropout rate / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
PART III - SUMMARY
Mission statement:
Pinedale Middle School will ensure the attainment of high academic standards and support the healthy emotional and social development of all students in an environment that acknowledges the unique characteristics of early adolescents.
Beliefs:
In order to accomplish the philosophy in our mission statement we have developed beliefs to promote our success. We believe in collaboration among caring adults regarding student needs as an essential ingredient in an effective and responsive middle school; in academic standards that challenge students to progress to higher levels of abstract reasoning and critical thinking; in instructional practices which are developmentally appropriate for the adolescent learner; in strong parent/community involvement in our school that leads to increased academic achievement and improved positive relationships between the school, parents, and community, and in service learning activities that assist students in becoming contributing members of our community. These beliefs motivate every person involved in our school process.
Pinedale Middle School is located on a central campus along with the elementary and high schools in the center of Pinedale, Wyoming, a small rural community of 1400 people. The school district also draws students from up to 47 miles away. The building was constructed so students from each grade have locker areas to themselves, but a common area is open to students for mingling. The gym is open before school and after lunch for indoor sports for all grades, and during our brief warm weather, all students go outside to play on our playground. The middle school building houses 175 students, who rotate through an eight period day. The school has a varied curriculum, which includes art, band, choir, computers, and exploratory as well as the core classes. The middle school student body consists of children from a predominately white, rural community, which has been stable for many years. However, during the past three years Pinedale Middle School has seen an increase in student enrollment due to the growing oil and gas production within the school district boundaries. These more transient students have been assimilated into the student body with some effort. Our mission is to educate all students equally, maintaining high standards while assisting new students in their emotional and social development resulting from the changes in their environment.
The school complex is the hub of many community activities. The school/community pool and high school sports provide a major focus for the people of Pinedale. Also, the Pinedale Fine Arts Council brings in a variety of outside performers in broad range of cultural activities such as dance, song, and instrumental music of various styles and cultures. These groups perform at the high school auditorium and provide workshops for the student body, adding some cultural diversity to an otherwise isolated student body. Community involvement in our school remains at a high level. Pinedale Middle School uses the small town atmosphere to ensure high academic standards for all students and continues to work hard to overcome the narrow selection of opportunities typical of a small town.
PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Part IV - Question 1 – Meaning of Assessment Results
The Wyoming Comprehensive Assessment (WyCas) is a rigorous assessment, first given to fourth, eighth and eleventh grade students of Wyoming in the spring of 1999. The assessment is used to measure student achievement on the state standards. The format of the test requires middle school students to read a variety of genre selections, and, then write analytical, 15-20 minute constructed responses to the literature, as well as answer several multiple choice questions. The WyCas assesses not only the ability to read and comprehend, but also the ability to analyze, evaluate, and apply literature to everyday situations. Similarly, the math format contains problems that require 15-20 minute written answers explaining thinking processes. This test requires students not only to compute, but also to apply learned strategies to new situations. The math test also has standard computation problems. Both reading and math assessments test student achievement in all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Students who are advanced or proficient on the assessment have a very high degree of skill in the areas being assessed. The State Department of Education indicates a strong correlation between students scoring at the 70th percentile in mathematics on the Terra Nova and a score of proficient on the WyCas.
Reading and math scores are reported by the state to the schools as a percentage of students scoring at the advanced, proficient, partially proficient and novice levels. The state also provides statewide averages in each area. Over the past five years an average of 62.6% of our students have scored at the advanced or proficient levels in reading while only 38.4% of students statewide have scored advanced or proficient. In the last year Pinedale Middle School placed 64% of students in the advanced or proficient levels; statewide only 39% of the students placed in the advanced or proficient categories. Analyzing yearly data shows small fluctuations created by the changing characteristic of the small number of students in our school.
Math scores also have consistently been above the state average. In addition, the math scores have shown great improvement on Pinedale Middle School’s results. In the spring of 2000, 35% of our students were advanced or proficient while the state averaged 32% in the combined advanced and proficient categories. By the spring of 2003, 56% of our students were advanced or proficient while 34 % of students statewide scored at these levels. Math scores have improved from 3% above the state average in the spring of 2000 to 22% above the state average in the spring of 2003.
In summary, the Pinedale Middle School scores well above the state averages in reading and math on a very challenging state test. However, there remains plenty of room for improvement as we work to ensure No Child is Left Behind.
Part IV - Question 2 - Uses of assessment
Pinedale Middle School uses norm-referenced and criterion referenced assessment data as the major source for its assessment concerning student and school performance. The school continually reviews assessment data in all subject areas, draws conclusions from that information, builds or revises plans based on research and best practices, and then implements the plan based on a 5 year implementation cycle. Three years ago Pinedale Middle School began the North Central Association (NCA) school improvement process. As part of the process we reviewed our current practices, analyzed assessment data, researched best practices and developed a comprehensive school improvement plan in the area of mathematics.