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ACPS Middle Schools for Tomorrow Workgroup

Workgroup Meetings

Background

In school year 2009-10, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) implemented a five middle school model, with the overall objectives of a personalized environment that engages each student through faculty and staff support, opportunities for students to accelerate through the curriculum, and higher achievement for all students. Specifically, middle school goals included increasing the percentage of students prepared for and enrolled in Algebra in 8th Grade, consideration of adding an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, and implementation of Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).

Background Documents

History of 5-School Model

Moving Forward

In the spirit of continuous improvement, ACPS is revisiting how we can best provide a great education for all students. This includes an evaluation of the current middle schools, guided by the questions:

  • Where are we today? What do the data tell us?
  • Where do we want to be?
  • How do we get there, and how do we sustain that progress?

Purpose of the ACPS Middle Schools for Tomorrow Workgroup

The purpose of the ACPS Middle Schools for Tomorrow Workgroup is to provide the opportunity to influence this discussion, and help create a model for the types of experience middle school students will have at ACPS. This includes the creation of an evaluation plan of the middle schools, analysis of the data collected as part of the evaluation, and final recommendations to the Superintendent and the ACPS School Board.

Methodology for Selecting Members to the "Middle Schools for Tomorrow Workgroup"

The Department of Accountability oversaw the randomized selection of members for the "Middle Schools for Tomorrow Workgroup." Employees within the Department of Accountability are held to the standards set forth by the American Evaluation Association to include: utility, feasibility, propriety, accuracy, and evaluation accountability.

All applications received on, or prior to, the June 2, 2013 deadline were included in this process. To ensure equity in selection of participants from various stakeholder groups and roles, a stratified random sampling methodology was employed. Factors considered within this methodology were:

  • Equal representation across middle school campus within each stakeholder group.
  • Each role for which an application was received had a minimum of one applicant selected as a member to the work group.
  • Equivalent weighting of members across stakeholder groups.

With the above parameters outlined, a random number generator was employed and identified those applicants selected for the work group based on unique identifying numbers assigned to each applicant. Due to underrepresentation within the applicant pool, there were instances within stakeholder groups where randomized selection was not possible, and all applicants were accepted based on the above stated criteria.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelli Bryant at 703-845-5615 or .

Additional information and opportunities for the community to contribute to the discussion will be posted here in the coming weeks.