Annual School Performance Report Pacific Cascade Middle School
2019-20
425-837-5900 • www.issaquah.wednet.edu/pacificcascadems 24635 SE Issaquah Fall City Road, Issaquah, WA 98029
Principal Jeff McGowan
Welcome Involved parents and community members enrich our school and make it a premier middle level learning institution. Thanks for making a difference!
Mission Connecting and preparing each student
District Report
To review the Issaquah School District 2019-2020 budget details and more, please visit www.issaquah. wednet.edu/district/annual-community-report/. The Issaquah School District believes in seeking continual feedback from a broad and diverse range of constituents regarding their experiences with the District and their neighborhood schools. See the Community Polling Study site at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/polling for more information and survey results.
Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI) State testing is required by Washington State (RCW 28A.230.095) and federal law. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted in 1965, is the nation’s national education law and shows a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. On December 10, 2015 President Obama reauthorized ESEA as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These state and federal laws result in elementary students being regularly tested by the State to assess their progress as they move through school. State tests at the elementary level which fulfill the federal Every Student Succeeds Act include the following: • Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA): English Language Arts (ELA) and Math tests (3-5) • Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS): Science test (5)
Demographic Data
Grades: 6-8
•
Enrollment: 1,029
100
96.9%
80 60
52.9%
40
29.6%
20 0
3.4%
0%
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Teacher Experience Data Teacher’s with National Board Certification
11.5
9
Average Years Teaching Experience
Teacher with Master’s/Ph.D
60.0%
COVID-19 Pandemic In an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Governor Jay Inslee ordered all schools in Washington closed as of March 17, 2020. While the initial order mandated school closures only through April 24, 2020, the order was extended to the end of the 2019-2020 school year due to increasing COVID-19 infection numbers across the state. The Issaquah School District submitted its plan for remote learning at the end of March 2020, and remote learning began for all students on Monday, April 20. Students and staff moved to an online classroom setting, using various platforms such as SeeSaw, Classlink, and Office 365. District laptops and internet hotspots were distributed to families in need, and free meals were still provided for families qualifying for the Free and Reduced Lunch program at designated pick up spots around the district daily.
Highlights Pacific Cascade opened for grades 6-8 in the fall of 2010. Our academic program closely matched the offerings at the other middle schools. Our elective offerings centered in three areas; fine arts (music, graphic arts and drama), technology (video, digital photography, robotics, coding, etc.) and fitness. These electives utilized to the fullest our fine facility. Additions to the elective offerings included Coding and Web Design, Inventors Lab and American Sign Language. Year-long Spanish was offered for 8th grade students and completes one year of high school World Language Requirement. Our Lynx Life program (multi-aged advisory) met four days a week for 20 minutes and promoted the personal, social and academic development of our students. As the ISD launched PBSES in middle schools, we found this to be a prime opportunity to build in lessons, address concerns of a social nature and have students participate in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. This year, all middle schools launched Social Emotional Learning lessons with Second Step. Issaquah School District middle school students took a required technology class, which met a high school technology graduation requirement. Previously, this was met with the Tech Smart class. This year, we expanded these opportunities to include the Computer Science Web Design, Video Productions and Digital Photography classes to meet this requirement. All students had one trimester of health at each grade level. Counselors taught weekly lessons in health classes on topics such as stress management, friendship skills, and suicide prevention. Our year-long Leadership class offered students in 7th or 8th grade an opportunity to develop leadership skills, take a lead role in public speaking during assemblies and provide services to our school community. Yearbook was another year-long class available to 7th and 8th grade students. Students in this class create a polished and professional yearbook each year. Students who show interest and leadership in Video Productions are eligible to apply for a yearlong I-Lynx Leadership class which produces our morning announcements, school PSA videos, videos for assemblies and the end-of-year video.
Improving Student Achievement
Two courses offered at Pacific Cascade are of interest to students who struggle with learning. Math 180 is offered in all grades, and is a year-long class that students take in addition to their regular math class. It provides systematic instruction in the missing or weak math concepts and students are gaining in confidence and skill. Read 180 is offered at all grades and provides systematic instruction to strengthen reading comprehension as well as confidence in reading aloud and confidence in reading textbooks for other classes. Our Learning Strategies program is open to all students. It is a class period to get and stay organized, a chance to get help from a teacher on class or homework, and a quiet place to get a head start on homework. All middle schools received an Issaquah Schools Foundation grant to open the library after school for drop-in student use. We also received Issaquah School Foundation grants to offer a comprehensive tutoring/homework completion class we call 7th period. The District’s mentoring program, VOICE, is well-represented here at Pacific Cascade. We have many volunteers who come during the school day into study skills classes to assist and support students.
Special Programs
Pacific Cascade offers a continuum of class offerings. In the elective area we continue to strive to build new and interesting class offerings for students. Special education classes in math, reading and writing are offered throughout the day, as well as a focus on our Inclusive practices, offering co-taught classes in Language Arts and Social Studies. Advance Language Arts classes are offered at each grade level, and students can accelerate in both Mathematics and Science.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Pacific Cascade offers many co-curricular activities; Math Club, Art Club, Robotics Club, Chess Club, National Junior Honor Society, Scrapbooking Club, Board Game Club, Environment Club, Builders Club, Geography Bee, Jazz Band, Jazz Choir, Newspaper Club, and a full complement of competitive and intramural athletics. Many parent volunteers help to supervise these clubs, and this is an area we hope to grow in the coming years.
What’s New
Continued growth in the Highlands has our school at max capacity! Teachers are working together to meet the needs of all students.
State Testing Two tests given to middle school students—The Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science help indicate how well Issaquah students are learning.
COVID-19 Disclaimer
Due to early facility closure and suspension of end of year testing, 2019-2020 assessment data is not available. The data below relfects the school’s scores for the 2018-2019 school year.
Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)
The SBA consists of two parts: a computer adaptive test and a performance task. Writing is included at every grade level and students are asked to solve multi-step, real-world problems in math. Performance tasks ask students to determine an array of research, writing, and problem solving skills. The SBA results describe student achievement (how much students know at the end of the year). The Grade Level Total ELA and Grade Level Total Math charts on the right-hand side of the page indicate the percent of students in sixth, seventh, and eigth grade who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math on the SBA compared to the percent of students who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math district-wide.
6
t
Gr ad
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Di st r ic
8 e Gr ad
Di st r ic
e Gr ad
Di st r ic
e Gr ad
t
0 7
0 t
20
6
20
78.7%
81.2%
73.8%
76.6%
79.0%
Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)
st
ric
t
78.0%
Di
8 e
0
82.7%
Gr ad
The WCAS fulfills the federal requirement that students100 be tested in Science once at the elementary level. The WCAS measures the level of proficiency students 80 have achieved (what students know and can do) based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The WCAS assesses all three dimensions of the 60 learning standards (Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts). The numbers on the chart represent the percentage of 40 students in grade 8 who met or exceeded standard on the NGSS compared to the percentage of students in 20 grade 8 who met or exceeded standard district-wide.
75.5%
t
40
79.2%
Di st r ic
83.3%
8
79.1%
e
77.7%
Gr ad
79.0%
t
79.6%
Di st r ic
60
7
60
e
80
Gr ad
80
40
Math
100
t
English Language Arts (ELA)
Di st r ic
100