Model Middle School’s Gaps and Intervention Report (Assessment)

The identified gaps or needs in the school (Model Middle School)

Discrepancies exist among ethnic minorities. The two areas of concern are attendance rate and academic performance. The current attendance rate is lower for students of Hispanic or Latino ethnical background. Academic performance is also lower among students of Hispanic or Latino background.

Another area of concern is special needs students’ attendance and academic performance. Like ethnical minority students, students with disabilities, the majority of which are of Hispanic and Latino background, perform worse academically than the rest of the students.

1. There is also the issue of school safety and the increase in the number of disruptive behavior cases. The number of offenses, including offenses against students and staff, substance abuse, and weapons offenses have been on the rise since 2009.
2. There has been an increase in the number of students enrolled in the “English as a second language” program, suggesting demand for such programs.

A program to address the gaps or needs of the Model Middle School

• Prevention component:
  • Surveillance: security cameras, security guards. Surveillance can be used to effectively address the issue of school safety.
  • Deterrence: disciplinary policies and regulations. Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies and regulations are needed to minimize the rates of various offenses and promote responsible behavior.
  • Psychosocial programs: universal programs and programs which target specific students (Wilson & Lipsey, 2007, p. 130). Universal programs can be used to improve students’ academic performance and behavior. Targeted programs adhere to personal and social needs of minorities and the disabled.
  • The Perfect Pals Program. The Perfect Pals program can promote higher attendance among students by rewarding those students who attend with a lunch and a small gift (Peek, 2009).
• Intervention component:
  • School-based consultation: individual and classwide counseling. Both individual and classwide counseling programs which address disruptive behavior have shown to be effective in reducing such behavior (Reinke, Lewis-Palmer & Merell, 2008, p. 315). Individual counseling could be used as an intervention for students who missed five or more days of school.
  • Performance feedback. Increased use of praise results in better classroom behavior and increased academic performance (Reinke et al., 2008).
  • Behavioral intervention services. Such services should be developed by school psychologists and aim to enhance students’ learning and promote responsible behavior (Gresham, 2004, p. 326).
  • Establishing culturally competent teaching practices and a culturally safe learning environment.

Original Suggestions versus the Final Program Outline

The focus of my original suggestions was on counseling and various intervention programs. While counseling can effectively promote parental support and enhance culturally responsive teaching for greater academic performance, other issues, such as the increase in disruptive behavior, can be addressed more efficiently with other means. These include surveillance and deterrence. Security cameras and security guards have long been an integral part of any organization’s security measures and in the light of current statistics, such measures could be beneficial for both students and teachers. Through policies and regulations, it is important to establish a safe learning environment. Given the rising number of students with ethical minorities, the focus of counselors should be on behavioral intervention services and counseling of students with various ethnical backgrounds. Teachers should focus more on culturally safe practices in order to provide equal learning opportunities for students. Such practices should include respecting their original culture and traditions, and incorporating the components of their cultures into the learning process.

References

Gresham, F. (2004). Current Status and Future Directions of School-Based Behavioral Interventions. School Psychology Review, 33(3), 326-343. Web.

Peek, S. D. (2009). Integrating effective and beneficial interventions to increase student attendance in an elementary school setting.Georgia School Counselor Association Journal, 16(1), 9-20. Web.

Reinke, W., Lewis-Palmer, T., & Merell, K. (2008). The Classroom Check-up: A Classwide Teacher Consultation Model for Increasing Praise and Decreasing Disruptive Behavior. School Psychology Review, 37(3), 315-332. Web.

Wilson, S., & Lipsey, M. (2008). School-Based Interventions for Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior: Update of a Meta-Analysis.American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(2), 130-143. Web.