Assistant principal outlines plan to publish and track middle school non-academic skills

Justin Connell, assistant principal at Jamestown Middle School, told the Jamestown Public School Board on March 2 that the district is formalizing non-academic skills (citizenship) with a published expectations grid for middle-school students.

"The goal is 100% publication," Connell said, describing a three-part rubric (Responsible, Respectful, Safe) with nine subitems that staff assess weekly. He said teams calibrate during shared "team time" and that levels (4, 3, 2, 1) map to expected, commended, struggling and intensive support outcomes. Connell said the grid is intended to make behavior assessment consistent across classes and grade levels.

Connell described the grid'to'eligibility connection for extracurricular activities: generally, a student becomes ineligible if they receive a "two" in two different classes or a "one" in any class; suspensions within the week also can affect eligibility. Eligibility is assessed on a week'to'week basis, he said. He added that the system aims to avoid penalizing a student based on a single teacher'student disagreement.

Board members asked how the expectations intersect with special education and counseling. In response to a question from board member Melissa Gleason, Connell said special education students are treated as "general education students first" and can receive in'the'moment supports such as brief breaks and other safety nets so that instruction for the rest of the class can continue. He told the board that counseling referrals currently come through emails and team meetings and that building an automatic referral pathway tied to grid outcomes is an area for future development.

Connell acknowledged staff workload concerns tied to documentation. "Some teachers said it's 2,700 clicks a period," he said, noting that the district is exploring ways to reduce the burden while preserving useful data for teachers and parents. He said the district is refining the process through its MTSS-B (multi-tiered systems of support for behavior) work and local team meetings.

Connell said Jamestown Middle School has piloted weekly tracking and posted expectation posters in common areas to reinforce behavior norms. He said teams are considering incentives for high-level performance (level four), including recognition such as student-of-the-month breakfasts and team awards.

The presentation closed with an invitation for continued parent communication and a suggestion that staff processes be streamlined to make weekly monitoring more sustainable.

The presentation and subsequent questions occupied the board education portion of the March 2 meeting; no formal board action to change the eligibility rules was taken at this session.