August 16, 2012

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2011-2012 educational progress for Otsego Middle School. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws.  The school’s report contains information about student assessment, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and teacher quality.  If you have any questions about the AER, please contact Principal Bill Houseman for assistance.

Click here for a complete report of the above data.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Otsego Middle School is to serve the community by helping our students develop socially and emotionally while becoming life-long enthusiastic learners.  This will be accomplished by creating an environment in which all students, regardless of learning style, can find success.

Principal…………………………………………….……………………..William D. Houseman
Grades served………………………………………………………………………………..6-8
Total Number of Certified Teachers……………………………………………………………32
Total Number of Ancillary Staff………………………………………………………………...11
Highly Qualified Teachers……………………………………………………………………100%
Enrollment…………………………………………………………………………………….520

AYP Status

For 2011-12, Otsego Middle School made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in English language arts and mathematics; however we are still addressing the deficiency identified in our special education sub-group during the 2010-11 school year. In the fall of 2011, we implemented a co-teaching model of instruction to address the deficiency. With this implementation, our special education students have gained additional exposure to general education curriculum and content. Otsego Middle School will continue to be proactive in identifying areas of academic concern and attaining target achievement goals.

You may also review a copy of the AER at the Otsego Middle School Office. Please take a look at our Points of Pride to see all that is offered and accomplished at Otsego Middle School for students.

Sincerely,

Bill Houseman,         
Principal

State law requires that we also report additional information:

• Process for assigning pupils to the school: The Middle School houses all of the district’s 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. 

• School Improvement Plan Status: School Improvement Goals have been established at Otsego Middle School for the purpose of continued review and improvement of our entire academic program.

School Improvement Goals:

1. All students at Otsego Middle School will improve their mathematical Computation skills
2. All students at Otsego Middle School will be proficient writers.
3. All students at Otsego Middle School will improve their reading skills.
4. All students will continue to receive instruction in the area of character education.

In the fall of 2009 Otsego Middle School began a new school improvement cycle.  Pre and Post assessments have been developed and issued for the 2010-2011 school year.  Assessment data has been collected throughout the year to support our school improvement goals.  Best Practice Strategies have been selected and targeted from the Michigan School Improvement Frameworks.  Technology has been and will continue to be a key component in our instructional practice.  Goal specific activities have been planned and carried out to assist our staff and students throughout the school improvement process.  All activities have been designed to ultimately enhance student learning.

Each member of our staff participates on a School Improvement Sub-Committee to further address specific needs in our School Improvement Plan.

Sub-Committees and their goals include:

1. Professional Development Team – professional development is strategically aligned with the school improvement plan.  The expected outcome from these initiatives is an increase in student achievement.  Planning efforts include taking into account the teaching staff and their needs as adult learners.
2. Student Assistance Team – the goal is to develop a collaborative culture that incorporates a philosophy of continuous improvement at our school.  Staff members work as teams to gather and analyze information and make decisions regarding the modification of instructional practices to best meet the differentiated needs of individual learners.
3. School-Community Team – we believe that parents, families, and the community-at-large are partners in helping students and the school succeed.  We will seek to actively and continually involve parents, families, and our community in student learning and other school related activities.
4. School Improvement Process and Data Team – continually determine if we are addressing specific goal areas, gather data, develop recommendations and assist with strategies to promote student performance and school effectiveness.

Our School Improvement Process will continue to evolve as we systematically gather data, analyze information, and make decisions to best meet the academic and emotional needs of our students.

• Specialized Schools:

Programs and services located in the Otsego Public Schools include:

1. Early Childhood Special Education - a special education classroom designed to provide preschool aged students with disabilities services to prepare them for Kindergarten.
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder Regional Elementary Classroom - a special education classroom designed to provide intensive services to elementary aged students with ASD. Students from all districts in Allegan County are invited to participate in this classroom if they qualify.
3. Hearing and Visual Consultant Services - specialists in the area s of hearing and visual impairments work with students in our local schools to support them in the general education classroom.
4. Level 3 Programs - these programs are designed to provide educational services to students with disabilities who need more intensive learning support both in the classroom and in life.
5. Level 2 Programs - these services are designed to provide students with disabilities academic and social support within the general education classroom and curriculum
6. Level 1 Programs - these services are designed to provide support to students with disabilities who need minimal help in the general education curriculum.

Specialized Schools:

In addition to the programs and services provided locally in the Otsego Public Schools, students with special needs also attend specialized county programs at the Hillside Learning and Behavior Center. Hillside's West campus houses programs for students with severe cognitive, physical, and neurologic impairments. Hillside's East campus houses programs for students with severe emotional and behavioral impairments.

• Core Curriculum: As mandated by the State of Michigan, Otsego Public Schools has developed a core curriculum at all school levels. Outcomes to be achieved by all students have been defined based upon the district’s educational mission, student performance objectives, Common Core State Standards, the Michigan Grade Level Content expectation for K-8 students and the Michigan High School Content Expectations for 9-12. Common Core State Standards are available online at www.otsegops.org.  For more information, please contact Melissa Koenig, Director of Elementary Instruction, at 269-692-6149 or Heather Kortlandt, Director of Secondary Instruction at 692-6162.

Points of Pride

• This year our English Language Arts Department kicked off “The Bulldog Writing Train”.  This brand new initiative at Otsego Middle School provided a specific structure for writing across the curriculum.  Graphic organizers were designed in the form of a train with the engine being the Introductory Paragraph, the train cars being the Support Paragraphs, and the caboose representing the Concluding Paragraph.  All writing activities throughout the building used this organizer and each classroom was outfitted with a wall mounted diagram of “The Bulldog Writing Train” for a consistent reference point providing a visual to aide our students in the writing process.  It is our hope that this constant and consistent tool used across the curriculum will be a daily support to our students and enhance their over-all writing ability.
• In January of 2012, Otsego Middle School began the process of developing Professional Learning Communities within our building.  As our school moves forward in this process, every professional in the building must engage with colleagues in the ongoing exploration of four critical questions that drive the work of those within a professional learning community:

1. What do we want each to learn/be able to do?
2. How will we know when each student has learned it?
3. How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?
4. How will we respond when a student already knows it?

• Since we began this process, we have placed our initial efforts in developing a guaranteed curriculum –determining what we want students to learn/be able to do and demonstrate.  We are excited about what lies ahead for our students as we dig deeper into the professional learning community process to ensure learning for all students.
• “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” Every staff member at the middle school has been trained in this process.  Through this process, our goal is to build solid relationships with our students.  The mission of “Capturing Kid’s Hearts” is: TO WIN THEIR HEARTS and TO LEAD THEM TO THEIR PERSONAL BEST. The entire staff at Otsego Middle School will continue to develop this process personally and as a whole.  “If you have a child’s heart, you have his head.” Flip Flippen - founder of “Capturing Kids’ Hearts”
• Our 6^th Grade Transition Program continues to be a huge success helping our 6^th grade students become familiar with, involved in, and a part of all that is Otsego Middle School.  This program is also of great assistance to parents as they experience the transition of their elementary student to the middle school.
• The Student Council, with the help of our entire student body, staff, and community members collected 14,006 canned and boxed goods for the Christian Neighbors food pantry.  Our middle school is the number one annual contributor to this area food pantry for those needing assistance in our community.
• $2079.43 was donated by our students and staff, through our “Clash for the Cash” competition, to Sylvia’s Place, an Allegan county domestic violence shelter.
• We continue to emphasize Character Education at the middle school.  These topics are shared through our STRIVE groups which meet at the beginning of each school day.
• The middle school hosted the 10^th annual Educational Showcase and Health Fair which is now being called “Project Palooza”.   Vendors from Allegan and Kalamazoo County, along with student project presentation and display, were on hand in the gymnasium to share their expertise on the development of a healthy lifestyle.  Project Palooza was a showcase for the many extraordinary talents of our middle school students and every classroom was a display area for viewing various student completed projects.
• Two hundred forty eight students received academic certificates at our Otsego Middle School Honors Night for maintaining an over-all grade point average ranging from 3.5-4.0 in both the first and second trimesters of the 2011-2012 school year.  This figure represents 47.6% of our entire student population.
• At the middle school, we continue to look at and study ways to educate our children based on brain science, and neurological development.  We continue to add gender specific classes to our daily schedule.  Results with these gender-based classes have been promising and we will continue to obtain professional development in this teaching practice and plans are in the works to expand this program for the 2012-2013 school year.
• In 2009 we initiated an after school support program specifically for sixth graders.  The goal of this program was to help struggling students perform better in their classes.  We have found that many students that earn poor grades do so because they have a great deal of missing assignments.  Rather than accept this problem and allow the student to fail, we initiated this program to provide immediate intervention and assist students with completion of their missing work.  Sixth Graders who did not have their work completed as expected were reported and referred to the ZTZ (Zero Tolerance for Zero’s) program after school on that day to receive assistance and complete their work before leaving for the day.  This program had tremendous impact on many of our sixth graders and provided an opportunity for academic success in their classes.  We expanded the program to include 7^th grade students during the 2010-2011 school year and this year the 8^th grade class was included.  Results at all three grade levels have been extremely positive.  More of our students are completing daily assignments and passing classes.
• We continue to work with and develop our use and understanding of Differentiated Instruction.  Our goal is to address the learning styles of each student and develop effective strategies, materials, and activities that can be applied immediately within the classroom setting; allowing students a variety of ways to display their understanding and mastery of content standards.