Student and staff well-being is the foundation of academic success. Creating an environment where students and staff feel like they belong creates a positive culture for everyone to thrive.

Grace Snell will focus on self-care, social-emotional learning, and creating a sense of belonging and community for each and every stakeholder to build a bridge from elementary to high school by…

1. Engaging staff and students in interest-based clubs during the school day to create a sense of community and belonging to build relationships outside the typical academic setting.
2. Providing opportunities for stakeholders to become co-authors and increasing collaborative decision-making through avenues such as student council, instructional leadership team, and other advisory councils such as community town halls that meet in the winter and spring. 
3. Providing opportunities for staff to celebrate their colleagues through monthly activities that allow them to share how their colleagues positively impact the school culture. A few examples are PBIS Staff Members of the Month, who are nominated for modeling our PBIS pillars, ready, respectful, and responsible. Grace Snell's Portrait of a Comet, an honor given for modeling a characteristic of a portrait of a Grace Snell teacher leader (similar to GCPS's portrait of a graduate), will receive one award for each of the six components.
4. Recognizing students and staff through PBIS, celebrating those who model being ready, responsible, and respectful.

Creating systems to streamline support ensures that each and every student gets what they need. MTSS addresses the whole child by identifying social, emotional, and academic needs and creating a cohesive plan to address both simultaneously.

Grace Snell will address the social-emotional and academic needs of the whole child through the Multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) by…

1. Continuing the work of the MTSS team to assess and review student performance data (academic and wellness) and address student needs based on screener and performance data. Teams will meet weekly with members of the MTSS team to examine data, draft a plan, and monitor improvement.
2. Continuing the work of the PBIS program to teach students expectations and reward positive behavior.
3. Continuing with restorative practices.
4. Continuing students goal-setting and data tracking to create a sense of ownership in their education. 

Grace Snell will increase the percentage of staff indicating positive responses on the Educational Effectiveness Survey towards the following domain:

• Monitoring of Teaching and Learning
• Staff SY 2023 Baseline: 74%
• Staff SY 2024 Target: 77%

Grace Snell Middle School’s gifted population is underrepresented compared to like schools.

Grace Snell will expand students’ educational opportunities by…

1. Increasing gifted testing.

2. Encouraging current staff to participate in gifted certification.

3. Participating in vertical conversations about ways to increase gifted identification in earlier grades.

4. Seeking ways to increase accessibility to accelerated courses.

5. Creating clubs to promote awareness of STEM and STEAM.

Grace Snell will increase our gifted population from 8% to 11%.

As our focus evolves to include systems to address the whole child, Grace Snell will continue redefining our approach in setting, monitoring, and adjusting goals as we strive towards excellence every day.

Grace Snell will redefine inputs, behaviors, and outcomes by…

1. Meeting weekly in collaborative learning teams to develop lesson plans focusing on student collaboration and small group learning to meet the needs of each and every student.
2. Meeting monthly to review social-emotional and academic data to identify students who may need more support and develop plans to meet each and every student’s needs.
3. Working collaboratively with students to create social-emotional and academic goals and confer with students regularly about progress towards their goals.
4. Providing opportunities for teachers to engage in peer observations to determine standards for student success.

Grace Snell will increase the percentage of staff responding positively in the following domains on the Educational Effectiveness Survey:

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

• Staff SY 2023 Baseline: 85%
• Staff SY 2024 Target: 88%

Focused professional development

• Staff SY 2023 Baseline: 70%
• Staff SY 2024 Target: 73%

As the future continues to evolve, we understand the importance of preparing students for post-secondary success. To do this, students must explore their interests and understand how they can leverage their strengths to create a successful future, whether in the workforce or post-secondary education.

Grace Snell will ensure that students are post-secondary and workforce ready by…

1. Increasing the number of students performing at or above grade level in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies
2. Providing students opportunities to explore their interests through club opportunities such as STEM, coding, investing, etc. 

Grace Snell will increase the proficiency rate on Georgia Milestones for all grades by 4% in Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. 

English Language Arts:

• 6th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 32.92% P/D
• 6th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 37% P/D
• 7th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 33.07% P/D
• 7th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 37% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 37.43% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 41% P/D

Math:

• 6th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 21.32% P/D
• 6th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 25% P/D
• 7th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 29.62% P/D
• 7th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 34% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 23.01% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 27% P/D

Science:

• 8th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 24.59% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 29% P/D

Social Studies:

• 8th Grade GMAS 2023 SY Baseline: 35.57% P/D
• 8th Grade GMAS 2024 SY Target: 40% P/D

Stakeholder engagement is the nucleus of student success. Creating an environment where families feel welcomed, engaged, and included in their student's success is essential to student achievement. 

Grace Snell will build parents' capacity to support their student's academic achievement by implementing the activities identified in The Plan/The Promise and engage parents by…

1. Using Parent Square to communicate frequently with families in the language spoken at their home.
2. Welcoming new families with a comprehensive and detailed orientation, including available community resources, wraparound services, and academic resources to support their students. 
3. Hosting parent workshops such as Parent Empowerment Workshops responding to the needs requested by parents and timely local school data.

Grace Snell will increase the percentage of families indicating positive responses on the Educational Effectiveness Survey in the following domain:

Collaboration and Communication: 

• Families SY 2023 Baseline: 68%
• Families SY 2024 Target: 71%