Fox Meadow Middle School tells Harrison Board it is improving attendance and classroom culture, plans double-block instruction for ELA and math

Fox Meadow Middle School presented an update to the Harrison School District 2 Board of Education on March 19, describing changes in staffing, supports and instruction that school leaders say have improved school culture and student engagement.

The presentation, given by the principal of Fox Meadow Middle School, said the school currently has 57 total staff, including 31 full-time teachers, two counselors, two social workers, two student success center staff, one social-emotional wellness specialist, one psychologist and one dean of relative practices. The principal said the school is on “improvement status” and is implementing a block schedule next year that will double-block ELA and provide targeted interventions and extension activities.

“Our ELA specifically is going to be double blocked. They're going to have an hour of core instruction, then they're going to have 40 minutes of targeted interventions and extension activities,” the principal said. “They're also going to be double blocked, meaning they'll have ELA every single day to increase that seat time and increase that exposure.”

Nut graf: School leaders told the board the changes respond to multi-year stagnant or declining academic measures and to behavioral challenges the school faced in prior years. They described social-emotional staff and restorative practices as central to stabilizing classrooms while instructional changes aim to raise proficiency by increasing time on core skills and more targeted interventions.

The presentation included five-year trend data for ELA and math and referenced MAP and ACCESS results. School staff said MAP and ELA scores had trended down or stagnated and that the double-block model is intended to provide dedicated intervention time for students across skill levels — from those who need remediation to those who need enrichment.

“The access data ... tells us we need to do some different things. It’s why we're super excited about the double block next year for ELA and math to really target the learners who need additional supports,” the principal said.

School staff described a suite of social supports and community partnerships that they said help students access school and learning: Big Brothers Big Sisters, mentoring groups, targeted supports for students experiencing loss or immigration-related stress, restorative circles and community service projects inside the school. Staff said the school has gone “40 plus days this year without a fight,” compared with daily behavioral incidents the prior year.

Multiple students from Fox Meadow spoke to the board during the presentation. One student, identified in the meeting transcript as Imani, told the board, “I feel like the school community is very welcoming ... this year, with the support ... I definitely have improved and I enjoy going to school and being able to learn and get new experiences.” Another student said they value the counselors and social workers who provide one-on-one time.

Board members praised the presentation and the school’s “night-and-day” change in culture, and the board moved on after expressing appreciation for student voices and staff work.

Ending: District staff and board members said they will continue to monitor the school’s progress as the double-block schedule and other interventions are implemented next school year. The school encouraged board members and the public to visit Fox Meadow to see the changes in person.