School Improvement Plan

Building Leadership Team

• Cathy Frederickson (Science)
• Mandy Curry (ELA)
• Liz Beal (Science)
• Will Hamilton (Social Studies)
• Lindsey Peterson (Health/Fitness)
• Mark Burch (Fine Arts)
• Alex Porter (CTE)
• Michele Roan (SEL)
• Jennifer Lopez (Counselor)
• Kaila Eichhorn (Counselor)
• Jee Hamburg (Parent)
• LouAnn Tamer (Office Manager)
• Thomas Ostrander (Principal)
• Teresa Clifton (Asst. Principal)
• Amy Avina (Dean of Students)

MTSS Tier 1 Team

• Thomas Ostrander (Principal)
• Teresa Clifton (Asst Principal)
• Amy Avina (Dean of Students)
• Kelli Gomez (ELA)
• Amy Dunning (ELA)
• Will Hamilton (SS)
• Kristen Longshore (SpEd)
• Michele Roan (SEL)
• Jennifer Lopez (Counselor)
• Kaila Eichhorn (Counselor)

MTSS Tier 2/3

• Thomas Ostrander (Principal)
• Teresa Clifton (Asst. Principal)
• Amy Avina (Dean of Students)
• Jennifer Lopez (Counselor)
• Kaila Eichhorn (Counselor)
• Michele Roan (SEL)
• James Heegeman (School Psych)
• Jane Upshaw (Social Worker Region 3)
• Catholic Community Services
• Attendance Support Team (PSD)

MLL Network Team

• Thomas Ostrander (Principal)
• Teresa Clifton (Asst. Principal)
• Amy Avina (Dean of Students)
• Mandy Curry (ELA)
• Amy Dunning (ELA)
• Jennifer Lopez (Counselor)
• Kaila Eichhorn (Counselor)
• MLL teacher (TBD)
• Cecilia Tamayo (Asst. Director of Federal and Categorial Programs
• Tabitha Aragon (MLL TOSA)

Parent and Community Partners

• Archie Cantrell
• Hope Cantrell
• Rob Gomez
• Amber Hayward
• Shawn Lovelace

• Washington School Improvement Framework
• Smarter Balanced Assessment/Interim Assessment Blocks
• Progress Monitoring Data
• Curriculum Based Assessments
• Credit Attainment
• Student Mobility Data
• Discipline Referrals
• Suspension/Expulsion Data (i.e. out of school suspensions/in-school suspensions)
• Healthy Youth Survey
• Panorama Survey
• Perceptual Data: (Local/Organization): Click or tap here to enter text.
• English Language Proficiency Data (WIDA)
• Review of Student Plans (e.g. Written Student Learning Plans, Individualized Education Plans and/or 504 Plans)
• Stakeholder Engagement (e.g. focus groups with families)
• Community data (e.g. food pantry visits, calls/texts to crisis centers, hospital visits, homelessness, etc.)
• Extra-curricular activities participation 
• Suicide Idention Data

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Contributing Factors in Areas of Strengths and Challenges

• Areas of Strengths
  • AJH achieved growth in both ELA and Math Achievement during the 2024 SBA test administration.  7^th Grade ELA increased proficiency from 44.5% t0 52%, 7^th Grade Math increased proficiency from 36.2% to 42%.  8^th grade ELA increased proficiency from 36.2% to 51%, 8^th Grade Math increased proficiency from 26.3% to 34%.
  • AJH Ranks #1 for all comprehensive secondary schools as measured by the student panorama survey in both fall and spring surveys in: School Climate, School Safety, and Supportive Relationships.  AJH ranked #1 in Sense of Belonging on the Fall survey and #2 on the spring.  (1% behind #1 school)
  • All staff were trained in inclusionary practices, UDL, SEL during fall supplemental days to support a sense of belonging and academic growth and achievement for all.
  • AJH has created an MTSS team and participated in the MTSS PLC and Community of Practice to support Schoolwide Tier 1 implementation during the 2024-25 school year.  AJH will convert the schoolwide leadership team to the MTSS Team.
  • AJH ranks #1 in the district, and top 10 in the state, for Microsoft Office Participation.
  • AJH has uncommon rates of participation in curricular and extracurricular programs.  (Music, Athletics, Clubs)
     
• Areas of Challenges
  • District budget cuts have limited Aylen’s FTE, which has increased class sizes in all content areas.
  • Inconsistencies in feeder schools. Lack of consistency in teaching practices and building expectations of Tier I instruction.

The staff at AJH is dedicated to meeting the needs of all students.  Our values of inclusion, growth, and community are reflected in our daily practices.  The team at AJH is dedicated to reviewing practices, participating in professional development, and implementing new practices to support all students.  (Examples: Inclusionary Practices, Schoolwide Literacy and Numeracy, and UDL)

• Tier I instructional strategy commitments for the 2024-2025 school year include: Language rich instruction, learning targets & Success Criteria posted for every lesson.
• Tier I behavior support commitments for the 2024-2025 school year include: new cellphone policy (cellphone lockers), All teachers greeting students at their door for each class period, supervised instructional support room and staff to monitor
• Tier I SEL support commitments include: Good news postcards completed by all staff following every staff meeting, Welcome to Aylen postcards mailed to all incoming 7th graders, monthly academic and attendance student recognition.

Staff Demographics

The AJH teaching staff is made up of 36 full-time and less than full-time teachers, with an average of 16 years’ experience.  (Based on last year's data) This year, we have no new teachers, 2 teachers that transferred from other schools, and 2 counselors that are new to AJH. The AJH staff includes highly qualified teachers in all core and elective content areas.

Student Group	Framework Score
All Students	4.40
American Indian/Alaskan Native	N/A
Asian	7.45
Black/African American	4.80
Hispanic/Latino of any races(s)	2.95
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	N/A
Two or More Races	3.92
White	4.96
English-Language Learners	3.02
Low-Income	3.15
Students with Disabilities	2.82

Goal/Priority #1- Schoolwide Literacy/ Numeracy 

Teachers at AJH will implement strategies to support student literacy in all content areas. Student achievement, as measured by the SBA, will improve from 51% in 2024 to 61% as measured by the 2025 ELA SBA assessment.
Teachers at AJH will implement strategies to support student numeracy in Match. Student achievement, as measured by the SBA, will improve from 36% in 2024 to 50% as measured by the 2025 Math SBA assessment.

• Students who are below benchmark, as measured by the STAR Assessment will experience 1.5 years of growth during the 2024-25 school as measured by the STAR Math assessment.  
• Students that identify as Black or multi-race will increase their SBA math & ELA score by 10% during the 2024-25 school year.

• Students receiving MLL services will experience 1.5 years of growth, during the 2024-25 school year, as measured by the 2025 STAR Math assessment.
  Overall students scoring above benchmark will improve from 56% to 65% in the 8th grade (23-24 7th grade) and from 60% to 65% in the 9th grade (23-24 8th grade) as measured by the STAR Math Assessment.
  Overall students scoring above benchmark will improve from 51% to 61% in the 8th grade (23-24 7th grade) and from 65% to 72% in the 9th grade (23-24 8th grade) as measured by the STAR ELA Assessment.

  5.1 Uses adopted instructional framework to monitor and support effective instruction and assessment practices

Goal/Priority #2  - MTSS

The AJH MTSS team will create a menu of interventions, a standardized system to access support, and a consistent meeting time and framework to support academic, behavioral, SEL, and attendance success.

• Success will be measured by a decrease in building behavioral incidents from 643 to 500 and exclusionary discipline from 213 to 175 during the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• Success will be measured in decrease of “F” grades from 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• Success will be measured by a decrease in chronically absent students from 48.71% down to 38% in the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• 3.1- Recognizes and seeks out multiple data sources
• 3.2- Analyzes and interprets multiple data sources to inform school-level improvement efforts./

Goal/Priority # 3 - Community Outreach

AJH will focus on increasing connections with our community by intentionally connecting with all families.  We will pay special attention to increasing our connections with our Spanish speaking families by hosting a Hispanic focused AJH family night. We will also have a multi-cultural fair that connects with all the cultures represented at AJH.

• The number of students and families participating in a Hispanic heritage night will increase from 0 to 100 in the 2024-25 school year.
• The number of students hosting a cultural booth at the fair will increase from 0 to 6 in the 2024-25 school year.

AJH will focus staff training, facility preparedness, and community outreach for a successful implementation of the 2025-2026 Dual-language implementation. This new program will be the first of its kind in the Puyallup School District at the junior high level. 

• 7.1 Partners with families to promote student learning.
• 7.2 Incorporates strategies that engage all families, particularly those that historically have been underserved
   

Schoolwide Literacy / Numeracy

• Schoolwide Data Team with focus on schoolwide literacy, numeracy, and inclusionary practices
• Schoolwide professional development and teacher commitment of implementation for language rich instruction and inclusionary practices.
• Provide opportunities during Principal Directed Mondays for departments to continue collaboration using data to inform their instructional practices.
• Provide opportunities, materials, training, and pay for teachers to participate in walk-throughs in multiple classrooms.

Success Measures

Teachers at AJH will implement strategies to support student literacy in all content areas.

• Student achievement, as measured by the SBA, will improve from 51% in 2024 to 61% as measured by the 2025 ELA SBA assessment.
• Students who are below benchmark, as measured by the STAR Assessment will experience 1.5 years of growth during the 2024-25 school as measured by the STAR Math assessment.
• Students that identify as Black or multi-race will increase their SBA math & ELA score by 10% during the 2024-25 school year.
• Students receiving MLL services will experience 1.5 years of growth, during the 2024-25 school year, as measured by the 2025 STAR assessment.

The AJH MTSS team (with the feedback from Supp Day #3) will create a menu of Tier 1 Strategies, a standardized system to access support, and a consistent meeting time and framework to support academic, behavioral, SEL, and attendance success.

Success Measures

• Success will be measured by a decrease in building behavioral incidents from 643 to 500 and exclusionary discipline from 213 to 175 during the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data
• Success will be measured in decrease of “F” grades from 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• Success will be measured by a decrease in chronically absent students from 48.71% down to 38% in the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.

Community Outreach

AJH will focus on increasing connections with our community by intentionally connecting with all families.  We will pay special attention to increasing our connections with our Spanish speaking families by hosting a Hispanic focused AJH family night. We will also have a multi-cultural fair that connects with all the cultures represented at AJH.

• We will be including a Multi-cultural Fair, during one of our Culture Days, where students and families will work together to provide foods for students to experience.

Success Measures

• The number of students and families participating in a Hispanic heritage night will increase from 0 to 100 in the 2024-25 school year.
• The number of students hosting a cultural booth at the fair will increase from 0 to 6 in the 2024-25 school year.

Goal 1

Teachers at AJH will implement strategies to support student literacy in all content areas. Student achievement, as measured by the SBA, will improve from 51% in 2024 to 61% as measured by the 2025 ELA SBA assessment.

Teachers at AJH will implement strategies to support student numeracy in Match. Student achievement, as measured by the SBA, will improve from 36% in 2024 to 50% as measured by the 2025 Math SBA assessment.

• Students who are below benchmark, as measured by the STAR Assessment will experience 1.5 years of growth during the 2024-25 school as measured by the STAR Math assessment.
• Students that identify as Black or multi-race will increase their SBA math & ELA score by 10% during the 2024-25 school year
• Students receiving MLL services will experience 1.5 years of growth, during the 2024-25 school year, as measured by the 2025 STAR Math assessment.

Overall students scoring above benchmark will improve from 56% to 65% in the 8^th grade (23-24 7^th grade) and from 60% to 65% in the 9^th grade (23-24 8^th grade) as measured by the STAR Math Assessment.

Overall students scoring above benchmark will improve from 51% to 61% in the 8^th grade (23-24 7^th grade) and from 65% to 72% in the 9^th grade (23-24 8^th grade) as measured by the STAR ELA Assessment.

5.1 Uses adopted instructional framework to monitor and support effective instruction and assessment practices

Goal 2

The AJH MTSS team will create a menu of interventions, a standardized system to access support, and a consistent meeting time and framework to support academic, behavioral, SEL, and attendance success.

• Success will be measured by a decrease in building behavioral incidents from 643 to 500 and exclusionary discipline from 213 to 175 during the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• Success will be measured in decrease of “F” grades from 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.
• Success will be measured by a decrease in chronically absent students from 48.71% down to 38% in the 2024-25 school year as measured by PSD Insights Data.

3.1 Recognizes and seeks out multiple data sources

3.2 Analyzes and interprets multiple data sources to inform school-level improvement efforts:

Goal 3

Community Outreach

AJH will focus on increasing connections with our community by intentionally connecting with all families.  We will pay special attention to increasing our connections with our Spanish speaking families by hosting a Hispanic focused AJH family night. We will also have a multi-cultural fair that connects with all the cultures represented at AJH.

• The number of students and families participating in a Hispanic heritage night will increase from 0 to 100 in the 2024-25 school year.
• The number of students hosting a cultural booth at the fair will increase from 0 to 6 in the 2024-25 school year.

AJH will focus staff training, facility preparedness, and community outreach for a successful implementation of the 2025-2026 Dual-language implementation. This new program will be the first of its kind in the Puyallup School District at the junior high level.

7.1 Partners with families to promote student learning.

7.2 Incorporates strategies that engage all families, particularly those that historically have been underserved

Professional Development

• MTSS – 10 team members July 30-Aug. 2, 2024
• Aug 26 - Carol Salva-Language Rich Strategies
• Aug 27- SEL Staff & Students
• MLL Network
• Cultural Flags

AC 80381 (Grant)

$16,000

Certificated After School Teacher Support

• Math - Weekly
• ELA - TBD

AC-80381 (Grant)

$6,000+2,000 Benefits

Materials and Travel

Materials associated with implementation of UDL and MTSS Practices and travel to associated events.

• AC-80381 (Grant)

• $7,000

Teacher Walkthroughs

• AC-80381 (Grant)