Conway Junior High School

School Action Plan

2019 - 2020

Area of Concern
Results of the 2019 ACT Aspire indicated reading as an overall area of
concern for Conway Public Schools. Data indicated 65% of our
eighth-grade students and 48% of ninth grade students scored proficient in
reading.

Goal
● 70% of CJHS 8th grade students will score proficient or above
on the 2020 ACT Aspire test.
● 55% of CJHS 9th grade students will score proficient or above
on the 2020 ACT Aspire test.

Strategies
a. ELA teachers will provide explicit teaching of reading strategies
for fiction and nonfiction that utilize the signposts and
questioning outlined by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst.
i. All teachers of social studies, science, and math will
provide explicit teaching of reading strategies for
nonfiction.
b. ELA teachers will provide explicit teaching of a three-stage
close-read model: first close reading for key ideas and details,
then close reading for craft and structure, followed by close
reading of paired passages for integration of knowledge and
ideas.
c. ELA teachers will instruct students in the use of a CPSD
standardized annotation method to be shared and implemented
cross-curricularly district-wide.
 d. ELA teachers will implement explicit teaching of a
cross-curricular, horizontally and vertically aligned curriculum of
vocabulary through Greek and Latin roots.
i. Teachers of math, science, and social studies will also
implement explicit teaching of the vocabulary curriculum
described above.
e. ELA teachers will implement instruction of grammar followed by
implementation of a vertically and horizontally aligned grammar
curriculum (including the explicit teaching of spelling rules).
f. ELA teachers will provide students with regular writing
assignments for developing explicitly taught grammar skills and
provide individual and unique feedback to each student. CJHS
will maintain cross-curricular expectations for writing
well-developed paragraphs with proper punctuation,
capitalization, and grammar.
g. ELA teachers will implement unit plans with a common
structure and pacing for all grade levels of ELA which includes
morphology, grammar, paragraph writing, one-on-one writers’
conferences, feedback/revision, signpost/questioning reading
strategies, and close reading strategies for standards. Units will
include the following:
i. Unit 1: Reading Fiction
ii. Unit 2: Reading Nonfiction
iii. Unit 3: Extended Application of Reading Skills (Reading
Novels/Drama)

Professional Development
ELA teachers received professional training in evidence-based strategies to
equip them to meet the diverse needs of their students during the 2019
school year.
Science, social studies and math will receive professional growth training in
evidence-based strategies to equip them to meet the diverse needs of their
students during the 2019 school year.

Implementation Plan
● Spring 2019, CPSD provided professional development training for
ELA teachers.
● Summer 2019, CPSD will provide professional development training
for science and social studies teachers.
● Spring/Fall 2019, Conway Public Schools will procure the necessary
resources to support the curriculum.

Evaluation
ACT Aspire interim data and ACT Aspire summative data will be utilized to
determine the ongoing effectiveness of the curriculum.
 Conway Junior High School
School Action Plan
2019 - 2020

Area Of Concern
Results of the 2019 ACT Aspire indicated reading as an overall area of
concern for Conway Public Schools. Data indicated 65% of our
eighth-grade students and 48% of ninth grade students scored proficient in
reading.

Goal
● 70% of CJHS 8th grade students will score proficient or above on the
2020 ACT Aspire test.
● 55% of CJHS 9th grade students will score proficient or above on the
2020 ACT Aspire test.

Strategies
● Non-core teachers will receive training for processing information to
accurately identify key ideas and details in a reading passage. This
process will be used every time students are required to read and
understand content specific text in the classroom.
● Non-core teachers will receive training in the meaning of Greek and
Latin prefix/suffix/root words and will teach students how to
breakdown a word to derive meaning.

Professional Development
CJHS will train all teachers August 6-9 in the area of identifying key ideas
and details in a content specific passage. CJHS will also train all teachers
in Greek and Latin prefix/suffix meaning.
Implementation Plan
● April 2019, CJHS polled department chairs too determine their depth
of knowledge in teaching critical components of reading
comprehension.
● April 2019, the Literacy Team, consisting of three administrators, an
instructional facilitator, a special education teacher, and an 8th and
9th grade literacy teacher, met to determine the target goals for
implementation.
● May - July 2019, a process for instruction will be developed by the
Literacy team to be implemented during the 2019/20 school year.
● August 2019, all teachers will be trained in the process for
determining key ideas and details as well as identifying and
understanding Greek and Latin prefix/suffix/root words.
● Teachers will schedule observations to ensure efficacy and
consistency in instructional delivery of the literacy process in content
specific text.
● Teachers will implement strategies twice monthly.

Evaluation
ACT Aspire interim data and ACT Aspire summative data will be utilized to
determine the ongoing effectiveness of the curriculum.
 Conway Junior High School
School Action Plan
2019 - 2020

Area of Concern
Student physical and verbal conflicts distract students from learning,
promote a negative school culture, and cause students to miss instruction.
Administration, staff, and parents contributed to the process of identifying
student conflicts as a goal.

Goal
During the 2020 school year, CJHS will reduce the number of student
conflicts by 20% from 2019 levels. This reduction in student conflicts will
reduce the number of in-school and out-of-school suspensions, thus
increasing student achievement.

Strategies
● An incentive program to include rewards for students who do not
engage in conflicts.
● Teacher delivered lessons on conflict resolution.
● Citizenship training program for students who engage in conflicts.

Professional Development
Teachers will need professional development on the conflict resolution
lessons. This professional development will occur in August of 2019 and
will be facilitated by the CJHS administrative staff and instructional
facilitators. CJHS trained two teachers on the citizenship training program
during the 2017 school year.

Implementation Plan
● David Yates and Preston Echols, CJHS assistant principals, will be
responsible for this goal’s implementation and progress monitoring.
 ● CJHS administration will train students on the conflict resolution
program as a whole during the first week of school through an
assembly.
● CJHS administration will be responsible for assigning students to
citizen training as conflicts occur.
● Progress monitoring will occur through pulling discipline data from
eschoolPLUS, citizenship training observations, and classroom
observations.

Evaluation
Goal success will be evaluated at the end of the 2020 school year.
● CJHS administration will use discipline data from eSchoolPLUS to
determine the change in the number of conflicts during the 2020
school year.
● CJHS administration will use the results of the district school culture
survey to determine the program’s effect on school climate. This
survey is completed by staff, students, and parents.
● We will monitor and adjust program components as needed based on
an evaluation of the program.