Charter School Process: DPI Dissemination Grant (Year 2)

Wright Middle School has been awarded two DPI Charter School Dissemination Grants. This is an excerpt from the Year 2 grant submitted December 2000.

V. CHARTER SCHOOL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

School Program Description

School History

In December of 1994, James C. Wright Middle School was the first MMSD school to be granted charter status. Named after one of Madison's civil rights pioneers, the school actually began operating in August of 1993 with a class of 80 sixth graders at a temporary site under the name "Madison Middle School 2000". Renamed Wright Middle School and moved to a new facility in South Madison in the fall of 1997, Wright has a full complement of grades 6-8.

Mission Statement

To successfully educate all students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to participate fully in an evolving global society by providing ...

• comprehensive, integrated, thematic curriculum
• a multi cultural/mufti ethnic curriculum and staff
  
• innovative, flexible ways of teaching and learning, and
  
• a familial environment characterized by challenge, support and respect

through

• participatory decision-making by students, families, and all staff
  
• student involvement in many aspects of their learning,
  
• small class sizes
  
• recruitment and retention of students and exemplary staff,
• extensive use of technology and the arts, and
• partnerships with families, business, educational cultural and community resources.

Student Enrollment

Wright has a student body of 220 students with a capacity of 240. Because Wright is a school of choice, enrollment is open to students living anywhere in the MMSD West High School attendance area. The "school of choice' process has yielded a student body that has the highest concentration of students of color, and that presents the highest needs, of all middle school populations in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Educational Goals

As an MMSD school, the educational goals for Wright students are expressed by the District's content and performance standards for ail middle school students. These standards are aligned with Wisconsin's model academic standards, and embrace the scope and content of Wisconsin's educational goals. Like all middle schools Wright participates in the 8th grade WSAS knowledge and skills exam, and the Terra Nova test administered to students at the 6th and 7th grade levels.

District Financial and Other Support

Funding levels for all MMSD schools are based on a district-wide allocation formula that accounts for need as well as the size of the school's student body. Under this formula Wright receives over $1.1 million in operating funds a year. Wright also enjoys support from a variety of community based agencies, foundations, and business partners.

School Management and Leadership

Since its inception Wright has emphasized site-based management and active involvement of parents and the community. Parents and community members participate in a variety of standing committees, which form the basis for Wright's shared governance structure. The staff, parents, principal and community representatives all play a key role in the decision making process at James C. Wright.

VI. PROPOSED WORK: Year 2

In our original grant proposal we outlined a comprehensive plan to develop a website, a site visit program, and material to be sent to various groups who express interest in the information we have collected. In the first year of the two year project, we have focused on the development of material that will be found on the website.

At the conclusion of the first year, we have found that the project is more involved than originally anticipated. Developing the website (as outlined in our two year grant) requires a great deal of investigation. The contract consultant responsible for the project has conducted interviews with many of the individuals who were instrumental in the establishment of the school. There are many more interviews left to be conducted with parents, city officials, and school district administrators. Collecting the factual and anecdotal information is arduous and time consuming, but this information is necessary if the project is to be completed accurately.

In addition to the interviews the project coordinator has had to research information housed with the local newspapers and television media. Again, the purpose of the this collection of data is to be able to download media accounts of our school's programs and overall school development so there is an accurate depiction of what has taken place over the past six years.

Finally, the project coordinator in conjunction with the school principal and a parent committee has been reviewing a mountain of pictures and written documents to determine what information should be down loaded onto the website. The selection process is by committee and we have just begun. In trying to select the best information available to tell the "Wright Middle School Story", it is clear that the majority of work in this area is still ahead of us. Attached is an outline and chart attached detailing the information that will be found on the website.

Once the project is complete we should have one of the most comprehensive state- of- the- art websites in the country. It will accurately and succinctly capture the development of a successful charter school. The website will feature information presented in a multi-media format with pictures, music, and video. The beauty of using this project for dissemination is that it will be accessible to anyone anywhere in the world who has Internet access.