Lincoln Middle School Setting and Context
Demographic Characteristics
Lincoln Middle School’s demographics are similar to most Colorado middle schools and only differs in a few small ways. Students enrolled at Lincoln are 47% white, 46% Hispanic, and 7% of students classified as “other.” Females make up 45% of the population, while males make up 55%. 70% of students are on free and reduced lunch. There are 506 students, and 34 teachers, making the student to teacher ratio 15:1. According to most recent standardized tests, Lincoln is in the bottom 30% of Colorado middle schools with a math proficiency score of 42% and a reading and language proficiency score of 54%.
Classroom Environment
The art room at Lincoln has brick walls and a chalk board, a computer projector with a document camera, and a large aggressively orange counter lining it’s walls. On the west wall of the room there are bookshelves, a kiln, and three large cabinets with “bins” where students keep their work and journals. The back half of the class has tall tables and stools, the front half has low tables and chairs. On the east side of the room are cabinets witht suplpies, bookshleves with many books, and the teacher desk.
School-wide Policies for Management
Within the school each teacher uses what is called a redirect system. When a student is misbehaving or being disruptive, they receive a first redirect, the language sounds like “Can you fix the problem?” this invites the student to take responsibility for their actions and redirect their behavior. After the student says yes, the teacher lets them know they’ve received a first redirect. If behavior persists, the student receives a second redirect. If after the second redirect behavior is still persisting, they receive a third redirect, a meeting in the hallway. During the conversation in the hallway the teacher will try to find out why the student is behaving this way and figure out the best way for them to continue in the classroom, this may include a few minutes of break, checking in with a counselor, or a different mode of the assignment. If after a solution has been applied behavior still persists, the student gets an office referral and goes to speak with the dean, principal, or assistant principals. After this meeting the student must complete a problem solving sheet with the teacher to work out how the student will fix the problem in future class periods.
School-wide Policies for Safe Schools
When a student at Lincoln Middle school violates a policy or law; principals, counselors, student assistance staff, and school resource officers work with both student and parents to take disciplinary action and decide the best course for that student to be successful. Lincoln Middle School’s objective for disciplining students is to help that student develop and maintain self-control, respect for themselves and others, and socially acceptable behavior. Part of Lincoln’s RTI process is considering expulsion the last case scenario.
School-wide Policies for Conflict Resolution
Restorative justice is a meeting that sometimes takes place when a student has an incident with another student or staff member. All involved parties meet with the dean of students and work through the problem and make a plan for future positive interactions.
School-wide Policies for Integrated Services
Students with special needs at Lincoln Middle School are at many different levels of abilities. Some work full time with integrated services teachers, some have a few classes with the rest of the student body, and some travel with a para. Lincoln Middle School is dedicated to helping each student succeed, and follow 504’s, IEP’s, and behavior plans strictly. Each week there is also a meeting for each team called “kid talk” where teachers talk about any struggling students and how we can further help them.