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Pride is the First Step
Story posted July, 2008
Story updated December 17, 2012.
Results:
• In 2012, 87% of 7th graders scored proficient or above on the state standardized reading test, 11 points higher than for the state as a whole. 86% of 8th graders scored proficient, up 23 points from the state.
• In 2012, 94% of 6th graders scored at proficient or above compared to 85% for the state.
• 4th graders scored above their state peers in proficiency in both math and reading in 2012 - 93% in math and 92% in reading - compared to those in the state at 88% and 85% respectively.
When visitors step inside Pocomoke Middle School, they are immediately surrounded by a profound sense of pride and high expectations. Students are actively engaged in instruction, the classroom walls are covered with student work, and the halls are lined with pictures of students demonstrating success.
Pocomoke is located at the very southern end of Maryland's Eastern Shore and serves a diverse population, with 58% of students qualifying for the free- or reduced-priced meals program and 10% receiving special education services. Pocomoke's school district, Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS), provides considerable resources to support the school's academic program.
The school, with its commitment to shared leadership and partnerships with the community, has leveraged those resources into a comprehensive program that supports the complete development of each student.
Collaborative Leadership
Principal Caroline Bloxom has assembled a dedicated and stable staff of 57 professional educators and 35 support personnel. She is proud of the teamwork that has helped foster personnel stability since her early days as principal, when she was faced with hiring 14 teachers to fill vacancies. Bloxom has nurtured shared decision making and an extensive implementation team structure that includes students and parents.
Pocomoke's teams align with the community's effort to enhance accountability in all of its schools and to use the accreditation process to structure school improvement efforts. The teams include:
- A strategic planning council that is composed of administrators, faculty members, parents, community members, and students
- A school-level leadership team/accreditation team
- A school improvement advisory committee that includes parents
- Grade-level teams
- Specialized implementation teams that focus on such topics as reading, minority achievement, and school climate and character education.
Collaborative leadership at Pocomoke doesn't just involve adults. Students gain leadership skills by serving as representatives on the school implementation teams and on the student faculty advisory board as well as by participating in annual grade-level service learning projects and community partnerships.
Collaboration at the classroom level is also quite strong and is supported by a teacher mentoring program for first- and second-year teachers as well as by targeted professional development.
School-community connections are also a priority for Pocomoke. Staff members hold quarterly meetings with local religious leaders and the school has working relationships with the YMCA, Salvation Army, and various community and government agencies. In fact, the county health department sponsors a wellness program that places two full-time therapists in the school to provide direct services to students and families.
Personalization
Pocomoke staff members are committed to family and community involvement in the quest to improve each student's learning. Parents have access to up-to-date information on their children's progress through the PowerSchool/Power- Grade student data system and the Homework Hotline. To share information and encourage a spirit of community and pride, the school also schedules dozens of parent and community activities each year, including an intergenerational reading program, six parent and grandparent lunch days, Family Honors Nights, and the Art Expo.
To support students who are struggling with emotional or behavioral difficulties that affect their learning, the school created a new position, the family connections facilitator, who opens a productive line of communication with the family, makes referrals for school and community services, and discusses home learning activities the family can employ.
Every student who does not experience success in the classroom has an individualized plan for success that is monitored weekly. These plans delineate the level of assistance that students require both in and out of the classroom.
In addition, students can participate in the highly acclaimed after-school Pocomoke Pride Academies, which offer enrichment and intervention to 65% of students. Transportation is provided free of charge, with the academies changing quarterly and covering a large spectrum of activities, including homework assistance, skill remediation, violin and guitar lessons, basketball, drama, and family workshops."
All students are encouraged to attend college, and each student participates in career planning each year. Students in grade 8 complete a five-year plan that outlines their activities during four years of high school and the year after they graduate. During individual academic conferences with students, Bloxom has the opportunity to reinforce the importance of planning and achieving today, rather than waiting until it becomes much more difficult.
Some students need extra encouragement to appreciate the opportunities that await. Staff mentors at Pocomoke pair with students to work on academic- and behavior- related goals. In addition, high-performing, motivated, and caring Black male volunteers mentor struggling Black male students at Pocomoke. For one hour each week, the mentors meet with their advisees to teach; talk about their experiences and outlooks; and most important, to help the middle school students raise their expectations for the future.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Pocomoke has a cohesive curriculum structure that emphasizes math and literacy, with access to rigorous course work for all students. The school offers: 150 minutes of daily reading instruction, 90 minutes of daily math instruction, pre-algebra for students in grade 7, high school algebra for all students in grade 8, high school French for all students in grades 7 and 8, and arts immersion in all classes.
To support a challenging curriculum for all students, Pocomoke employs a curriculum planner, and the instructional coaches help ensure quality instruction and delivery of the curriculum. The arts immersion specialist and 10 specially trained teachers support other teachers in incorporating the arts into the curriculum.
To track what works and guide instruction and intervention strategies, teachers, counselors, and administrators use PowerSchool and PowerGrade software. Two new software additions, Edusoft and Performance Series, have enabled administrators and teachers to track individual students' performance on state standards through state assessments and district benchmarks and get an accurate snapshot of students' performance on individual state standards in reading and mathematics.
Pride Yields Achievement
One of Bloxom's first priorities upon coming to Pocomoke was to improve the way people think about the school: "Pride is an essential precondition to learning: pride in the sense of a child's feeling of self-worth; pride from an understanding that staff members genuinely care about them; and pride in having a place to learn that is safe, orderly, and attractive."
As anticipated, that pride has helped foster academic success. Over the past four years, scores on the Maryland State Assessment in reading and math have significantly improved for all grades 4-8. For example, in 2004, 64% of 6th graders scored at or above proficient in reading; by 2007, 84% did. 57% scored at or above proficient in math in 2004; 81% did in 2007. 4th graders provide another example, going from 67% to 82% in reading and 61% to 89% in math over that same time period.
For additional information, please contact:
Caroline Bloxom
Principal, Pocomoke Middle School
410-632-5150
chbloxom@mail.worcester.k12.md.us
This story came to LFA's attention as a 2008 Metlife Foundation/NASSP Breakthrough School.
Story adapted with permission from NASSP from James A. Rourke and Elizabeth Boone's article Pride is the First Step in Principal Leadership, Special Edition June 2008
Further details about this story can be found at:
NASSP's "MetLife Foundation/NASSP Breakthrough Schools: Pocomoke Middle School Profile," 2008
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