Running head: ANALYSIS OF MISSION STATEMENT 1

Analysis of Mission Statement

Jonathan S. Martin

California State University San Marcos

EDAD 610, Dr. Basista

Summer 2017
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Mission Statement

According to the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) for the 2015-2016 school

year, Moore Middle School is dedicated to supporting all students to become motivated to be

accountable to the highest standards, have access to academic and positive social support, and

rise to the challenge of becoming self-sufficient, college- and career-ready, life-long learners

who respect and support their community (Moore Middle School [MMS], 2016, p. 3).

Analysis of Demographics

Moore Middle School is one of four middle schools in Redlands, California (CA) that

serves the communities of Mentone, Redlands, Forest Falls, and Angeles Oaks (MMS, 2016, p.

3). Although the school is located in an upper-middle class neighborhood of Redlands, the

school serves 55.2% of socioeconomically disadvantaged students living in poverty and who

receive free/reduced lunch (CDE, 2016, p. 3). According to the Moore’s Accountability Report

Card (CDE, 2016), the school serves 1,083 students in sixth through eighth grade (p. 2), which is

well above the average of 728 students in California middle schools (Graphiq, 2017).

The students of Moore Middle School are made up of an ethnically-diverse population of

students with 47.8 % Hispanic, 35.8% White, 6% Black, 0.2% American-Indian, 4.5% Asian,

1.3% Filipino, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 4.1% belonging to two or more races (CDE, 2016, p.

3). With a vast diversity, it was surprising to learn that the school only has 7.8% of its student

labeled as English Learners (CDE, 2016, p. 3). Comparing the student composition of Moore to

the staff, the staff is mainly white at 79%, 16% Hispanic, and only 2% Asian, 2% African

American, 1% Multicultural, 1% American Indian, and 1% unspecified (Graphiq, 2017). Moore

has one club on campus currently aimed at actively promoting diversity, which is the M-Power

club. This club educates and gives a safe space for students of all cultures to speak about their
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experiences and concerns. Another way of addressing cultural needs at Moore is through their

English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC), which gives parents of EL students the

opportunity to express their needs and concerns to administration on campus.

Moore Middle School has 13.6% of its students qualify for special education (CDE,

2016, p. 3). Moore offers a continuum of special education programs to serve these students,

from separate Special Day Classrooms (SDC) to full inclusion models that emphasizes co-

teaching strategies. Moore is also one of only two middle schools in the district that educates

students who qualify for special education with Emotionally Disturbance (ED). ED students are

enrolled in a Behavior Intervention (BI) program, which is considered a SDC model. However,

ED students mainstream in general education during Physical Education (PE) class.

Implementation

Moore Middle School’s mission statement focuses on holding students accountable to the

highest standard and having access to academic support. To accomplish this task, Moore has

adopted the use of Professional Learning Groups (PLC) where the staff meets weekly to

collaborate and develop lesson plans and decide upon best practices. This practice of shared

leadership through PLC’s directly aligns with the writings of Leithwood and Seashore Louis

(2012) who claim sharing the responsibility of leadership with stakeholders yields in increased

student achievement. As another practice, Moore’s teachers utilize and analyzes a variety of

assessments, such as weekly quizzes, district common assessments, state CAASPP testing, in

order to guide the teacher’s instruction to improve student outcomes. Illuminate, web-based

software to house assessment data, is used to assist in the regular analysis of assessments to

guide instructional practices at the weekly collaboration meetings (MMS, 2016, p.7).
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All these collaborative practices have aided in Moore in achieving the top 20% of middle

schools in CA, both in Math and English on CAASPP (Graphiq, 2017). On Math CAASPP, 45%

of Moore students were at or above proficient, which is 8% higher than the state average of 37%

(Graphiq, 2017). In English, Moore had 59% of its students at or above proficient, which is

nearly 10% higher than the average of 49% in CA (Graphiq, 2017). Lastly, 80% of Moore

students were at or above proficient in Science, which was 25% higher than CA’s average of

55% (Graphiq.com, 2017). These scores support the school’s mission statement in holding high

academic standards for students. However, when more closely examining the data, it is noted

three groups of students underperform the average of the school, which includes Black, Hispanic,

and low socioeconomic students. Moore’s pattern of need is reflected in the works of Lindsey,

Robins, and Terrell (2012), when they state “it is no accident that low achieving students in the

United States are disproportionately African American, Latino, and First Nation students from

families of lower socioeconomic status” (p. 53). This is an area in which Moore Middle School

needs to focus attention and efforts to see increased improvement.

Becoming college and career ready is supported at Moore through its Advancement Via

Individual Determination (AVID) program and newly developed Career Center. Moore currently

has seven sections of AVID (two eighth grade, two seventh grade, and three sixth grade), which

accounts for 23% of the school’s student population. AVID is an integral part of our school

culture, and staff regularly holds AVID gallery walks in the staff lounge. These gallery walks are

where teachers share lessons that reinforce the fundamentals of AVID, which are Writing,

Reading, Collaboration, Inquiry, and Organization (WICOR). Moore’s AVID program was

awarded Site of Distinction award in the 2016-17 school year for efforts and achievement.

Furthermore, Moore recently supported college and career readiness by creating a career center
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that connects students to professionals in different industries via video conference presentations

and speakers presenting at the school. The career center employs a technician and provides

valuable tools to aide students in research of colleges, majors, and careers, both in and outside of

the classroom.

Reflection

I truly believe that it is the collaborative efforts and shared beliefs of all staff that have

been integral in the school achieving its outlined goals. While Moore has achieved many

wonderful things for students, the school still needs to increase awareness of the academic

achievement gap between our low socioeconomic students, black and Hispanic groups. This

needs to be addressed and the focus in the school’s SPSA. Similarly, Lindsey, Terrell, and

Robins (2009) state an organization and its leadership should routinely examine one’s own

personal beliefs and values, plus conduct an explicit examination of the school’s policies and

practices in order to make change; this increased awareness can equate to increased cultural

proficiency and student outcomes (p. 52). I truly believe we need to continue to make gains in

our cultural proficiency and continue to develop more systems of support for these specific

underperforming groups of students in order to begin to close this identified achievement gap.
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References

Calfornia Department of Education (CDE). (2016). 2015-2016 school accountability report card

for moore middle school. Retrieved from

http://moore.redlandsusd.net/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/14585/File/2016%20Fil

es/2016%20Accountability.pdf

Graphiq. (2017). Startclass report: Moore middle school in redlands, california. Retireved from

http://public-schools.startclass.com/l/12499/Moore-Middle#Demographics&s=2iahF

Leithwood, K. & Seashore Louis, K. (2012). Linking leadership to student learning. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lindsey, R. B., Terrell, R. D., & Robins, K. N. (2009). Cultural proficiency: A manual for

school leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Moore Middle School. (2016). Single plan for student achievement (spsa). Redlands, CA:

Cortz, J.