Executive Summary
Oceanway Middle School Duval County School District
Ms. Tonya A Marx, Principal 143 Oceanway Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32218
Document Generated On January 30, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Description of the School
2
School's Purpose
3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
4
Additional Information
5
Executive Summary Oceanway Middle School
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning.
The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis.
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Executive Summary Oceanway Middle School
Description of the School
Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves?
Oceanway School is a middle school serving 1225 students in grades 6-8 on the north side of Jacksonville. This community is a tight-knit group of local and corporate businesses, industrial plants, and rural and suburban housing, bound together by a number of large and small churches. The student population is 64% white, 24% black, and 9% Hispanic, with the remainder being of mixed or Asian race. The school faculty and staff are comprised primarily of people who live within or near the community; within the last three years, the school has had three changes in leadership. The current principal is the first principal from outside the school and the area community in nine years, and over 20% of the faculty is new this year as well, both factors which provide great challenge and opportunity. The school-based changes mirror the changes radiating in the community, which include the development of a huge retail shopping center within two miles of the school, and a good number of large subdivisions, in a variety of price ranges, being built throughout the area.
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Executive Summary Oceanway Middle School
School's Purpose
Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students.
Due to the recent changes in leadership, the school's vision and mission have changed twice in the past three years. This year, the school decided to adopt a modified version of the district vision: Educational excellence in every classroom, every day, for every student. Because the school data has shown a decline over the past four years, the faculty and staff are committed to putting the triple "A" back in Oceanway, providing a complete education to prepare our students for the experience of high school in the areas of academics, arts, and athletics. In such a rapid-paced world, we are striving to ensure that our students are well-prepared academically, socially, and emotionally for the rigors and rewards of high school. We have increased our number of high school courses being offered, as well expanded our arts and athletics programs to be more competitive with charter and magnet schools, for the ultimate purpose of making the Oceanway community the place to live and to learn.
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Executive Summary Oceanway Middle School
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years.
Oceanway earned a school grade of "A" four years ago, and we are focusing our academic efforts to regain that "A" grade within the next two years; we have weekly support from district level content area experts, we have hired a full time reading coach, and we have implemented a school-wide effort for "every student to read, write, and discuss, every day, every period, in every class." Through hiring of content area expert teachers, providing new teachers with experienced and effective mentor teachers, monitoring weekly common planning among departments, and implementing systems management to allow a safe and nurturing environment, we expect our student growth to be exponential. Oceanway has long been known for its athletic programs and its strong sense of community. Over the last three years, Oceanway has also become a juggernaut in the arts areas, building a first class marching band of over 130 students and a renowned chorus of over 300 students. We have expanded our curricular offerings with drama, TV production, and art, and are in the process of creating a three year program in French and Spanish that will allow students to leave middle school with two years of high school credit in foreign language. We have also begun articulation with the elementary and high schools to ensure academic continuity through events such as "Move Up" day and parent education events. We are currently seeking grant opportunities to implement a Safe Schools Ambassador program that focuses on shifting the student culture to eliminate bullying and build relationships.
Our community-building effort with faith-based organizations is also
a major focus point this year; all community efforts are predicated on the belief that if our students are involved in something, then we need to be involved in that, too--and vice versa. Over the next three years, we not only want Oceanway to be an "A" school in academic achievements, we also want Oceanway to be THE school for ALL members of our community.
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Executive Summary Oceanway Middle School
Additional Information
Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections.
N/A
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