OSD Students Will

Outcome 1:
Be compassionate and kind.
Board Monitoring Report 6/9/2022

Outcome 2:
Have the academic and life skills to pursue their individual career, civic and educational goals.
Board Monitoring Report 1/27/2022

Outcome 3:
Advocate for the social, physical and mental wellness of themselves and others and be hopeful about the future.
Board Monitoring Report 4/14/2022

Outcome 4:
Have the skills, knowledge and courage to identify and confront personal, systemic and societal bias.
Board Monitoring Report 3/10/2022

Outcome 5:
Discover their passions, be curious and love learning.
Board Monitoring Report 2/10/2022

Outcome 6:
Be critical thinkers who contribute to and collaborate with our local, global and natural world.
Board Monitoring Report 10/26/2021

Marshall School Improvement Plan (2022-23)

Outcome 1: Be compassionate and kind.

  1. Be aware of and appreciate one’s similarities and differences with others.
  2. Listen well and cooperate with others.
  3. Demonstrate awareness of one’s own thoughts and emotions and how they impact behavior.
  4. Express emotions, thoughts and impulses in positive and beneficial ways.
  5. Resolve conflicts and repair relationships.

Metric

Panorama Survey

Goal

By centering our students in the margins, we will use research-based instructional practices to design culturally responsive educational experiences for every student. Students will demonstrate an increase in their efficacy, empowerment, and engagement of their sense of belonging as shown through the annual Panorama survey data from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023. Specifically, the percentage of students who respond favorably to Sense of Belonging questions on the Panorama survey will increase from 43% (Fall 2022) to 50% (Spring 2023).

Action Plan

  1. Every certificated staff member at .8 FTE or higher will teach a weekly 25-minute advisory class composed of small groups of students. Each teacher will teach the Character Strong Advisory lessons that focus on the following: goal setting, what gets in the way, understanding emotions, snap judgments, developing strategies for responding to strong emotions, support systems, developing empathy, practicing gratitude, learning about the power of giving, perspective taking and understanding differences, why we should care, and much more. 
  2. We will continue to staff a "Restorative Center" to provide a mechanism for students to restore harm done to others. We will continue to engage in PD about restorative practices in the classroom.
  3. Our counselor will speak to all students through Social Studies classes about harassment, intimidation, and bullying and the difference between a bystander and an upstander.
  4. We will continue to hold a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Assembly focused on student voice, standing up for others, and being antiracist.
  5. We will continue to involve all students in our annual Days of Service in January and April where they all get to experience the joy of helping others.
  6. Continue to offer a Wellness elective class to 6th graders where they learn to take care of themselves and others.
  7. Continue a Leadership Class with an emphasis on creating a culture of kindness.
  8. Continue working toward our goal of all staff becoming "Common Sense Educators" and using weekly library lessons to teach and inform students about social media and digital citizenship.
  9. Embed Equity Work in Content across the curriculum.
  10. Apply for mental health grants through the OSDEF to expand selection of books on mental health and also to host after-school clubs to connect students to school.
  11. Continue our Student Support Team, composed of our school social worker, TMMS Family Liaison, Counselor and Admin team to meet weekly to provide support and connection to families.
  12.  Offer a variety of after-school programming to increase the involvement of students in activities. 

Back to top

Outcome 2: Have the academic and life skills to pursue their individual career, civic and educational goals.

  1. Read, write and speak effectively for a wide range of purposes, including the interpretation and analysis of both literary and informational texts.
  2. Know and apply mathematics to a level of fluency that ensures a broad range of post-secondary opportunities and career choices.
  3. Use analytic and scientific principles to draw sound conclusions.
  4. Analyze multiple causal factors that shape major events in history.
  5. Exit with a personalized post-secondary transition plan for work, career and/or college, and complete the first steps toward achieving post-secondary goals before graduation.
  6. Develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines, and engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
  7. Problem solve using both creative and critical thinking skills.
  8. Demonstrate continuous growth across the disciplines to meet or exceed academic learning standards and work toward graduation.
  9. Apply reliable information and systematic decision making to personal financial decisions.

Metric

Creation of a school-wide standards-based grading policy.

Goal

By creating a shared understanding of standards-based grading and school-wide assessment practices, teachers, students, and families will be able to identify students’ level of proficiency of essential skills/concepts. By August 2023, TMMS will have a standards-based grading policy that will be communicated to families in our Back to School Newsletter. 

Action Plan

  • All courses at TMMS will implement the following Grading for Equity practices during the 2022-23 school year as we transition to a fully standards-based grading system. 
    • Implement a 99% summative grading model, where only 1% of a grade would reflect behavior/effort.
    • All students will have multiple opportunities to meet the standards. This means we will have mandatory retakes for all students.
    • As we transition to fully Standards-Based Grading, courses will have minimum grading marks (Example: No zeros. The minimum students can receive is a 50% on any graded item.)
  • All ELA courses will use standards-aligned rubrics. Students will be able to identify their level of proficiency and increase their self-efficacy of essential standards to demonstrate mastery of the ELA Common Core Standards by June of 2023.
  • Continue to develop a school-wide Project Based Learning system on a 2-year rotation with 7th and 8th graders where students keep the same ELA and Social Studies teachers for two years in a row. 
  • Collaborate across the school to develop a Project Based Learning curriculum with integration of end-of-quarter projects between ELA, Social Studies, and Science.
  • Use the yearly themes from the Springboard curriculum to provide a common foundation across content.
  • Collaborate with district and building peers to optimize implementation of Illustrative Mathematics Curriculum and Mathematics Vision Project.
  • Continue attendance at district-level math trainings as offered and monthly department meetings at Thurgood Marshall.
  • Continue to communicate with parents about upcoming instruction and completion of assignments.
  • All Science courses will help students develop critical thinking skills to evaluate evidence and distinguish between fact and fiction. All students will increase one level (on an NGSS SEP-based common rubric) between October of 2022 and April of 2023 in their ability to write a scientific claim, support it with reasonable evidence, and explain their scientific reasoning.  
  • Align Science grading practices with NGSS Standards.
  • TMMS’ science team will collaborate with the district science team once a month.
  • Develop a common rubric to assess argument writing.
  • Develop a common formative assessment for argument writing.
    • Use student samples to calibrate scoring.
  • Provide field investigation opportunities for all grade levels in order to make science relevant and meaningful to all students.
  • Collaborate with community resources to connect students to real-life scientists (guest speakers).

Back to top

Outcome 3: Advocate for the social, physical and mental wellness of themselves and others and be hopeful about the future.

  1. Communicate effectively.
  2. Develop knowledge and skills to have healthy eating habits, have a healthy body image and access reliable health information and services.
  3. Be physically active and see athletics and exercise as health-enhancing behaviors.
  4. Understand and apply principles of sound mental and emotional health and learn to identify signs of emotional health concerns such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thinking in self and others.
  5. Understand how and when to seek supportive mental and emotional health resources for self and others.
  6. Cultivate healthy relationships that honor each person's personal preferences and boundaries.
  7. Identify and develop personal strengths and interests.
  8. Develop the skills and habits to assess the role of technology and social media in their lives and distinguish between healthy and harmful use.

Metric

Student Panorama Survey 

Goal


Through project-based learning, field investigations, extracurricular activities, service learning, and school-wide assemblies, students will demonstrate their knowledge to our community in ways that affirm their individual identities. Between the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023, students will demonstrate an increase  in responding favorably when asked about their ability to demonstrate self-efficacy (46% to 52%) and emotional regulation (49% to 55%) as measured in the Panorama survey.

Action Plan

  1. We will continue to staff a "Restorative Center" to provide a mechanism for students to restore harm done to others and to analyze behavior and reflect.
  2. Continue to require all students in our school to take a full year of Physical Education allowing exemptions only with approved PE Waivers.
  3. Continue to offer HUMAN club for all LGBTQ+ students to meet on a regular basis and to provide resources to help navigate stress related to mental health issues.
  4. Grow our Empower Club for BIPOC students.
  5. Partner with the District Mentor Coordinator to build Community amongst our BIPOC students. Connect BIPOC students to resources within their community and support our BIPOC students’ Confidence.
  6. Ensure the counselor speaks to all students through Social Studies classes about harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and the difference between a bystander and an upstander.
  7. Continue the Peer Mentor Program in our DLC classes, allowing 8th graders to work with DLC students to help integrate all students into the wider school climate and culture.
  8. Continue to support the BHR Therapist.
  9. Continue our Student Support Team which includes a part-time Family Liaison, our school Social Worker, Restorative Specialist, Counselor and administration who meet weekly to discuss students' emotional, physical, and safety needs. 
  10. Implement one semester of Health at 6th grade and one-quarter of Health at 7th AND 8th grade and require all students to take Health as part of their PE rotation. 
  11. Continue to use the Emergency Principal's Fund to support the emergency needs of families and students.
  12. Ensure all grade levels receive training on cyberbullying and sexting. 
  13. Continue to lead school-wide fundraisers that focus on proactive physical behaviors such as the Mustang Dash.
  14. Every .8 FTE or higher certificated staff member will teach a weekly 25-minute advisory class composed of small groups of students (15-25) of the same grade level. Each teacher will teach the Character Strong Advisory curriculum that focuses on the following: goal setting, what gets in the way, understanding emotions, snap judgments, developing strategies for responding to strong emotions, support systems, developing empathy, practicing gratitude, learning about the power of giving, perspective-taking and understanding differences, why we should care, and much more. 
  15. Continue to offer a Wellness elective class to 6th graders where they learn to take care of themselves and others.  
  16. Develop our system to communicate the services of our School Counselor, Family Liaison, Restorative Specialist, Social Worker, and how students/families can access them.  
 

Back to top

Outcome 4: Have the skills, knowledge and courage to identify and confront personal, systemic and societal bias.

  1. Develop an appreciation of world cultures, which may include the understanding of the basic structure of another world language.
  2. Be well versed in local, national and world history and understand how prejudice, racism and xenophobia have contributed to conflict.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to recognize that biased attitudes expressed consistently over time gradually distort perceptions until stereotypes and myths about people different from oneself are accepted as reality.
  4. Empower themselves to interrupt discriminatory remarks and attitudes.
  5. Evaluate the significance and dependability of information used to support positions.
  6. Analyze the validity, reliability and credibility of information from a variety of primary and secondary sources while researching an issue or event.

Metric

Student Panorama Survey

Goal


By centering our students in the margins, we will use research-based instructional practices to design culturally responsive educational experiences for every student. Students will feel increased efficacy, empowerment, and engagement at school. Students will demonstrate an increase from Fall 2022 of 44% responding favorably to 54% responding favorably in Spring 2023 when asked about Cultural Awareness and Action.

Action Plan

  • Staff will participate in the book study Culturally Responsive Education in the Classroom and begin to use the Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) planning questions to center their students in the margins.
  • We will partner with the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) to engage 8-12 TMMS teachers in a Teacher Residency Program with CRE author Adeyemi Stembridge.  
  • In order to create a more culturally relevant learning experience by June 2023, students will demonstrate their understanding of historical events from multiple perspectives through at least one historical inquiry project in all Social Studies courses.
  • We will implement Standards-Based Grading and our Building Leadership Team will identify our core guiding principles from Grading For Equity that will become the foundation for our grading practices at Thurgood Marshall. 
  • Develop a school-wide standards-based Grading Policy that will go into effect during the 2022-2023 school year. 
  • During our annual Multilingual Family Night, we will use practices of "Equity-Centered Design Thinking" to understand opportunities for growth via Empathy Interviews. We will use data from this process to develop further action plans. 
  • We will intentionally and systematically diversify our curriculum and our library to include texts and perspectives that are representative of our student body. 
    • Specifically, in our Social Studies classes, we will supplement History Alive! with The Zinn Project, Learning for Justice, Stamped, and many others. We will strive to apply similar concepts to all content areas. 
  • In music classes:
    • Music teachers will seek the input of parents, community members, and culture bearers that reflect the diverse backgrounds of students in order to create a more culturally relevant curriculum.
    • Music teachers will integrate music outside of the Western art music canon in their classrooms, and begin to dismantle the hierarchy that places western classical music at the top.
    • Music teachers will disrupt the top-down approach to music education and encourage students to explore their own unique musical interests.
    • Music teachers will seek out opportunities for students to experience performances that reflect new cultural perspectives.
    • Music teachers will facilitate discussions and lessons not only about a composer's intent but the impact that a composer's perspective can have on musicians and audience members.
  • Our Teacher-Librarian will continue to promote the "Read Woke" challenge to students. “Read Woke is a movement. It is a feeling. It is a style. It is a form of education. It is a call to action; it is our right as lifelong learners. It means arming yourself with knowledge in order to better protect your rights. Knowledge is power and no one can take it away. It means learning about others so that you can treat people with the respect and dignity that they deserve no matter their religion, race, creed, or color." (Cicely Lewis, creator of Read Woke)​
  • Our 8th grade Social Studies and ELA teachers will teach Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (YA version). We will consider offering an evening book study component to involve parents and community members. 
  • We will incorporate lessons on racial equity into our weekly advisory lessons. Our VisCom class will create lessons for all students which will be taught once per month beginning in November 2022.
  • The VisCom class in collaboration with our Drama class will continue to write, record, edit and produce monthly video segments called "The Cornwall Connection" which raise race-related topics and discuss them through a student perspective.

Back to top

Outcome 5: Discover their passions, be curious and love learning.

  1. Broaden their perspectives and seek out various opportunities to explore new ideas, particularly those areas that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to find their interests.
  2. Experience failure, setbacks and disappointments as an expected and honored part of learning.
  3. Understand and demonstrate the value of service in their community and learning by doing.
  4. Pursue creative and artistic opportunities as a vocation and/or a form of lifelong enrichment.

Metric

  • Post-community service surveys.
  • The number of students participating in service projects.
  • Number of students involved in extracurricular activities

Goal

Through project-based learning, field investigations, extracurricular activities, service learning, and school-wide assemblies, students will demonstrate their knowledge to our community in ways that affirm their individual identities.
  • 100% of students will participate in at least one service-learning project during the 2022-23 school year.
  • Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value of their service as demonstrated by project survey data. At least 65% will report finding their service-learning project valuable and express a desire to participate in another one.By the end of the 2022-23 school year, the percentage of students involved in TMMS extracurricular activities will increase by 10%. 

Action Plan

  • Conduct two service projects involving all students and staff - one on January 13, 2023, in honor of MLK Jr. Day and one on April 21, 2023, in honor of Earth Day.
  • Offer a variety of electives for students at each grade level so that students can explore a variety of interests. In addition to Band, Choir and Orchestra at every grade level, we will offer the following: 6th grade: Woodshop, Wellness, Engineering Design Concepts, and Art; 7th grade: Leadership, Natural Resources, Horticulture, Visual Communications (VisCom), Drama; and 8th grade: DLC Peer Mentor, Woodshop, Drama, Leadership, and Visual Communications (VisCom).
  • Partner with the South Sound YMCA to develop a TMMS Youth and Government Delegation where our students will engage in authentic intellectual work by writing and debating bills they want to become laws.   
  • Offer professional development for staff in Project-Based Learning methodologies so that students can explore their interest in project-based learning opportunities.   
  • Grow student clubs and/or activities that would meet twice a month. Every .8 or higher certificated staff member will teach a weekly 25-minute advisory class composed of small groups of students (15-25). Each teacher will teach the Character Strong Advisory lessons that focus on the following: goal setting, what gets in the way, understanding emotions, snap judgments, developing strategies for responding to strong emotions, support systems, developing empathy, practicing gratitude, learning about the power of giving, perspective-taking and understanding differences, why we should care, and much more. This curriculum will also focus on discovering one's passions and interests as a part of self-exploration.

Back to top

Outcome 6: Be critical thinkers who contribute to and collaborate with our local, global and natural world.

  1. Participate on teams and know the power of teamwork.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to engage in inclusive problem solving.
  3. Advocate for and contribute to local, regional or global improvement by utilizing natural resources in an efficient, sustainable way.
  4. Use digital tools to constructively learn from and connect with people and communities around the world.
  5. Gather, interpret and present information in culturally responsive ways.

Metric


Days of Service
  • Number of students who participate in Days of Service.
  • Number of students who participated in the MLK Jr. Assembly performance.

Goal

Through project-based learning, field investigations, extracurricular activities, service learning, and school-wide assemblies, students will demonstrate their knowledge to our community in ways that affirm their individual identities. 

Students will participate in a community service activity and indicate on a survey the impact that they have had in their local and global community by using a rubric which will indicate their level of impact, moving from no-to-little impact on their community to large impact on their community, as shown on a pre- and post-survey showing a 40% increase by June 2023.

100% of students who participate in the MLK Jr. Assembly and/or the Days of Service will show growth in their understanding of the impact they can have on their local and global communities as evidenced by pre- and post-survey data. 

Action Plan

  • Cooper Crest Restoration: We will partner with Oly Ecosystems to begin the multigeneration restoration of the Cooper Crest Clear Cut that took place ¼ of a mile from TMMS during the summer of 2021.  
 
  • CSI: The mission of CSI is to develop youth leadership in science through field-based science investigations and civic literacy through action projects. Students collaborate with scientists outside the classroom to apply the skills and concepts they have learned to real-world projects.
 
  • CTE: Career and Technical Education programs at Thurgood Marshall (Horticulture, Natural Resources, VisCom, and Woodshop) have a mission to empower students to live, learn and work as productive citizens in a global society. With an interest in creating critical thinkers who contribute to and collaborate with our local, global and natural world in mind, we have developed a multi-year multi-faceted action plan using project-based learning and placed-based learning models.  
    • Develop a CTE Club to allow students to engage in this work inside and outside of school. 
 
  • Projects embedded in CSI and CTE include:
    • Thurgood Marshall Middle School students practice Watershed Stewardship by:
      • Engaging in Service Learning Re-veg projects at Grasslake park in partnership with the City of Olympia.
      • Conduct annual water quality testing on GreenCove Creek in partnership with South Sound Green.
      • Expand Native Plant Nursery in partnership with EcoGuild community members.
      • Construct Outdoor Multi-Purpose Classroom.
 
  • Thurgood Marshall Middle School Campus Restoration Project:
    • In partnership with Thurston County, City of Olympia, and local advocates, write grants to restore water retention capacity for Thurgood Marshall and Hansen campuses. Outcomes of this grant process include:
      • Establish annual multi-disciplinary PBL opportunity for each grade level at TMMS using PEI resources and curriculum.  
      • Environmental goals include protecting water resources, sequestering Carbon Dioxide, and improving soil health. 
 
  • Thurgood Marshall Middle School Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service:
    • Students in advisories identify community issues to learn more about in order to develop an action plan for service.
    • Students self-select local issues they want to learn more about and commit to a day of service on the Friday before MLK Jr. Day.
    • Develop a Student Leadership team to connect with other students around the country and world who are doing similar work on important challenges that face our community and world. This will include Mentorship opportunities and continuing to work with Green Congress. 
 
  • Citizen Science Institute Field Work:
    • CSI students as a class conduct annual bird counts for the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.
    • CSI students individually identify a Citizen Science project to commit to at least 10 hours of service during one academic year.
    • Identify public opportunities for students to advocate and present their projects on issues ranging from Social Justice to Climate Change.
    • Have students work in small ensembles to learn both independence and teamwork to perform a piece of music. 

  • 7th and 8th grade ELA/SS/Science classes:
    • ELA, SS and Science classes will develop an interdisciplinary approach to project-based learning integrating critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
    • Every student will be assigned to a PBL team - either the Sasquatch or the Kraken. They will remain on these teams with the same teachers and students for two years (7th and 8th grade).
    • Students will participate in quarterly field investigations that link directly to important content across the curriculum and allow them to apply what they have learned in real-world settings.
 

Back to top