Samuel+Slater+Middle+School

= Samuel Slater Middle School =

By Shaina Fimbel


// "Samuel Slater Junior High School is committed to providing a safe, healthy supportive, welcoming, and cooperative learning community in which students are encouraged to embrace diversity, to meet high academic standards, and to develop life-long learning habits necessary for active participation in a free and democratic society." //

__**Introduction**__ This context report will cover a background of Samuel Slater Middle School, located in the western region (02860) of Pawtucket, RI. This report is a useful resource for any parent with students attending this school, as well as any community members who would like to increase their knowledge of their surrounding schools, district, and community. This report covers an overview of the most recent SALT report, some important facts and statistics about the school's demographics, NECAP scores, special education opportunities, and the overall safety. media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=samuel+slater+junior+high+pawtucket+ri+02860&sll=37.857507,-95.712891&sspn=32.075868,69.345703&ie=UTF8&hq=samuel+slater+junior+high&hnear=Pawtucket,+RI+02860&ll=41.874477,-71.40031&spn=0.0088,0.006295&output=embed" width="425" height="350" align="center"

__SALT Report__
The last SALT report for Samuel Slater took place in 2005-2006. Samuel Slater is a three-story, red, brick building, that is quite old; approaching its one hundredth year in operation. However, the school does make the effort to keep up with renovations. They recently reconstructed a parking lot, put in new fencing, and developed a new multi-purpose field. Despite its age, inside the school it is brightly lit, extremely clean, and full of colorful posters. Overall, it is a very cheery and positive place for children to be working.

Samuel Slater has a very extensive staff working for them. It is composed of 58 full time teachers for the 651 students who attend (a ratio of about 11 students per teacher). There are also seven teacher assistants, one principal, one assistant principal, and two secretaries. Two other extremely important groups within the school include five custodians and seven cafeteria workers. The school is very well-staffed and is sufficient for the amount of students enrolled at Samuel Slater.

Samuel Slater offers many extra-curricular activities for its students. There are 15 after school clubs, reading and math homework sessions, as well as interscholastic and intramural sports. An interesting program this school offers is the Child Opportunity Zone (COZ). This is a program where parents can meet for workshops and discuss sponsored clubs and activities for their children. Samuel Slater provides many opportunities on varying fields for its students.

The Rhode Island Department of Education listed several commendations as well as recommendations for Samuel Slater. They were praised for having caring, involved teachers who "go the extra mile". Also, they have good foundation building in reading, writing, and problem solving. They were given many ideas for improvement as well. The school should expand their problem solving and reading instruction throughout all curricular areas. Also, students need to be solving problems more independently and increase their abilities in reading analysis and interpretation. The teachers need to give more feedback on students' quality of writing, as well as continue using graphic organizers and rubrics to help them improve it. Most of all, all the students at Samuel Slater must be held to high expectations.** **

**__ [[image:ss2.jpg align="center"]] Demographics__**
** There is diversity among the students at Samuel Slater Middle School. Out of the student population, 54% are male and 46% are female. The African American population (37%) and White population (31%) are about equal, and there is also a large number of Hispanic students (30%). Only 1% of the students are Asian or Native American. Overall, there is near equal distribution of sexes and races among Samuel Slater students.

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__ NECAP and Assessments__
Overall, Samuel Slater's test scores below proficient in all areas compared to Rhode Island as a whole. According to the graph below, in math, only 36% is proficient, compared to 51% in RI. In reading, 43% versus 60%, and in writing, 37% compared to 42%. Both grade 7 and 8 take the NECAP exams every year. For 7th grade, only 34% of the students are above proficient and 66% is below. In reading, again only 39% is above proficient, and 57% is below. Grade 8 has tests in math, reading, and writing. For math, only 36% of students were above proficient, while 64% were below. Also, in reading it was 45% above, versus 55% below, and in writing there was 42% above and 37% below. In conclusion, the testing scores of Samuel Slater are below average and need to be improved.

__School Safety__
** Samuel Slater is a decent environment for students to be in. Some students have gotten robbed while being at school (20%) which I feel is a very high number for a middle school. Also, 8% of students are teased by other peers, and 6% have been offered to buy drugs while at school. However, on average there is less use of tobacco products and marijuana when compared to other Rhode Island middle schools. Overall the students said they feel safe while they are at school.

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** __Special Education__ **
Samuel Slater's statistics for special education are very comparable to the rest of the state. A large portion, 84% of students, are not receiving an special education. Only 14% of students participate in general education with support, just slightly higher than the state average (12%). Again, the percentage of people who are self-contained are both low and similar. Also, there are no students from Samuel Slater that are homebound or hospitalized. Overall, the amount of students receiving special education in Samuel Slater is the same as the rest of Rhode Island. There are 25 targets for Samuel Slater. At the moment they are only meeting 24. Therefore, the school is making insufficient progress. **
 * __Annual Yearly Progression__

__Conclusion__
Samuel Slater is a school that has been in the Pawtucket district for almost one hundred years. Despite its age, it is still fulfilling its duty as an institution providing quality education for its students. Samuel Slater is home to a safe and diverse community. Although its testing scores are below the average for the rest of Rhode Island, the scores are improving and teachers are working hard with their students to improve their ablilites in all areas. Also, this school is average for the number of students participating in special education. Based on the SALT report, there are definitely some improvements needed at this faciltity, but overall, this is a decent school for students to attend and get an education.