Clifton Middle School A School in the Monrovia Unified School District

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How Clifton Organizes the School to Support Student Progress

Provide interventions and assistance within and outside of the school day: Clifton offers numerous opportunities for students to receive academic support including a study hall period in which 25 heterogeneously grouped students remain with the same staff member each year. The study hall allows students to receive help on assignments from teachers or other peers and enables students to build positive relationships with school staff. Clifton also offers tutoring after school and additional support for struggling students from counselors.
Strategically group students according to academic needs: Clifton provides classes at a variety of levels to target students� needs (e.g., English language development and special education courses). Students are strategically placed in courses at the appropriate level; for example, the principal encourages placing high achieving students in honors courses with identified Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) students to further motivate students to succeed.
Offer support and resources for teachers: The principal believes her primary job is to support Clifton�s teachers. To ensure that teachers can adequately support all students, teachers are given opportunities for collaboration and staff development as well as the materials and resources they need to be successful.
Encourage parent involvement:Clifton invites parents of incoming sixth graders to a meeting before the school year to share Clifton�s vision.

Focus on learning and assessments: Clifton uses pacing guides, common assessments and benchmark exams to monitor student progress and to inform instruction. The principal encourages teachers to focus on student learning and to make adjustments to instruction when necessary to ensure that students truly understand the content.
Integrate technology to provide immediate feedback: Clifton staff use DataDirector to organize and analyze data. This technology allows teachers to identify where students are struggling and target areas that need to be re-taught.
Regularly examine data to identify areas of need: Every month, Clifton students take Tungsten Assessments on the computer in language arts and math. Results from these assessments provide teachers with useful information on a student�s expected performance on the California Standards Tests. Teachers also use the information to determine if students have mastered concepts and standards.
Use data to support teacher collaboration: During early release days, teachers discuss and share data results and develop strategies to improve instruction. Common assessments allow teachers to collaborate around student progress and teaching practices.

District Vision Statement:

All schools will be Distinguished Schools, we will have achieving students and we will have graduates prepared for life.

District-wide vision and goals: Monrovia Unified School District has a clearly articulated vision and five guiding goals (see side insert) that create an overall culture of accountability and academic achievement.
Instructional leadership and development: The superintendent and her cabinet provide instructional leadership meetings for principals once a month and other opportunities for site-specific professional development. Administrators are also given release time to collaborate with other administrators in the district.
High quality teaching staff: The district is committed to recruiting and maintaining a high quality teaching staff by providing support for struggling teachers and removing under-performing teachers. The principal works with the Associate Superintendent of Human Resources to evaluate teachers and provide support when needed. If a teacher does not meet expectations, after adequate support is given, the teacher will not be granted tenure or a veteran teacher will be given suggestions for improvement. Teachers are evaluated according to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.

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