Demographic information for Montreal (Prompt #1)

I looked at the RIDE reports for Montreal (the code name I will use for my school in this blog), and came away with some facts and conclusions.

Montreal serves 601 students in grades 6 through 8.  They are staffed with 49 teachers, creating a 12.4 to 1 student/teacher ratio.  The school is 65% Hispanic, 6% white, 21% black, and 9 % Asian.  About 9 out of 10 students qualify for free or reduced lunches.  2% of students are enrolled in ESL programs.  Only 1 out of 6 children are "latchkey kids" (spending more than 3 hours a day, 3 times a week unsupervised).

Montreal is struggling in terms of performance.  Even though they hit their participation, attendance, and ELA targets in 2008, 3 out of 4 students are non-proficient in math and 2 out of 3 students are non-proficient in reading.  There is little difference in performance between poverty and non-poverty students.  Montreal is currently classified as making insufficient progress.

Discipline is an issue at Montreal.  80% of the teachers surveyed from Montreal reported that students in their class were disrupting the work of other students.  During the 2007-2008 school year, Montreal logged 160 in-school and out-of-school suspension hours per 100 students.  There were nearly three times as many out-of-school suspensions, as compared to in-school suspensions.  Students were suspended mostly for cutting class, disorderly conduct, and insubordination.

While there are some positive points, there appears to be an overall disconnect in the community surrounding Montreal.  The parent-teacher relationship appears to be strong, with over 40% of parents reporting that a teacher had contacted them to let them know their children had done well or improved in their studies (above the state average).  80% of parents surveyed believed that the school valued them as important partners in the educational process.  The students, however, do not share the same view.  Only 1 in 4 students felt they could talk to their teachers about academic issues, and only 1 in 6 felt that they could talk to their teacher about personal or family problems.

The staff may also have issues.  The teachers appear to have banded together, with over 80% of the teachers feeling that they work well as a team, and 100% reporting that they have respect for the ideas and opinions of other members of the teaching staff.  However, only 25% of teachers felt that they had a voice in determining school policy, and only 10% reported that curricula were integrated across subject areas.  There may be a growing divide between staff and administration at Montreal.

I must go now.  After all of this statistical analysis, my ear has begun oozing out of my brain.  I must run and catch it.