Description: Centennial Middle School (CtMS) is part of the Montrose County RE-1J School District and educates students in grades six through eight. The city of Montrose is situated on the Western Slope of Colorado and serves as the commercial hub for a fairly rural area. Enrollment, as of October 3, 2023 is 582 students. Our free and reduced lunch eligibility is 51.9% of our student population. Approximately 46.5% of our students are multilingual learners and 43.1% of our student enrollment is…
considered minority. 38.7% of our students identify as Hispanic. 18.2% of our students qualify for special education services while 10% qualify for the gifted and talented program sponsored by the district. CtMS supports students with diverse special needs and is the home to the most restrictive program within the Montrose County School District. The Developmental Communications Class supports students learning speech and communication. CtMS also supports students with severe special needs whose primary focus is not communication. During the 2018-2019 school year, CtMS stakeholders (parents, community members, administrators, and educators) re-applied for and again received School of Innovation status by the Montrose County School Board RE-1J. Innovation status, under the current application, will expire in 2024. CtMS's narrative, therefore, will be guided by our strategic action plan, innovation waivers, and three foundational values: rigorous curriculum, quality teaching, and character-based education, in addition to data analysis of the 2022-2023 SPF. As an Innovation School, CtMS is empowered with the flexibility not only to sustain current trends in meeting performance indicators of Academic Growth and Academic Growth Gaps, but also to execute our goal of meeting performance indicators for Academic Achievement. Per our building strategic action plan, administration drives the expectation that students see the relevance of their class lessons and can advocate for their own learning through relation to success criteria. Both students and teachers actively engage in a process of improvement. Teachers expand the focus of curriculum to unify our school vision toward authentic, relevant learning experiences and cultivate community among stakeholders. Innovation status allows CtMS to increase the frequency and customization of professional development, training, and planning. This is necessary to meet the needs of our diverse student population and foster a culture of excellence. Innovation status continues to bring constructive change to CtMS, providing a pathway to leverage innovations that target a rigorous curriculum, quality teaching, and character-based education. Embedded in the school infrastructure, these innovations ultimately reinforce CtMS's core mission to inspire a lifetime of learning in a truly high achieving, diverse, and vibrant learning community. Quality Instruction Centennial is a community of practice. Staff holds each other to high standards and works hard to raise achievement expectations for all students. As a component of adhering to professional standards, teachers participate in a variety of professional learning practices. All teachers have participated in instructional rounds to observe colleagues and gain instructional insight to improve daily teaching practices. Teachers understand that we are part of a larger educational system and strive to implement new and innovative strategies. These strategies include cooperative learning opportunities, meaningful implementation of technology, and shared opportunities for growth and reflection. All students are expected to perform at a high academic level at Centennial Middle School. Equal access to education involves providing students with unique and varied options to demonstrate their learning. One initiative is our co-teaching model. This comprehensive model addresses a variety of student supports needed in core subject areas. Special education teachers and a CLD teacher paired with content experts take into account diverse student needs while specifically collaborating to instruct students with disabilities and culturally linguistically diverse students. Common plan time is also permitted in the schedule. The co-teaching model is inclusive of culturally and linguistically diverse students, who need ongoing support in academic and social areas. In supporting teachers instructional process, an Academic Coach was introduced to the staff to assist teachers in developing and implementing high-quality, standards aligned instruction. This position supports new teachers with classroom management and provides a liaison between administration and staff. The academic coach visits frequently with teachers to support lesson plan design and data analysis. School staff work hard to encourage all students to reach their potential. Our mission is student-centered, connecting growth to student achievement. We realize that a vital part of this achievement growth includes open, honest, and frequent communication. Students conduct end of year surveys in each class giving teachers feedback on their learning experience allowing teachers to reflect on instructional practices and student relationships. Students are also active participants in data portfolios. These portfolios showcase student data, creativity, and examples of their work. Leadership Centennial Middle School was recently re-designated as a Colorado Trailblazer School to Watch. This recognition celebrates Centennial's dedication to student success, culture, and equity. Centennial is proud to hold this honor as it indicates the staff's willingness to adapt to new and existing challenges within the educational climate. We have a Colorado of the Year Principal who models a work ethic, respects all, and drives our vision. Expectations and staff norms are meaningfully prioritized and clear. Joe Simo is masterful at setting boundaries and moving obstacles for the betterment of staff and students. Meghan Waschbusch, as our new assistant principal, consistently applies fairness and leverages equitable disciplinary strategies including restorative practices. Both administrators set the tone for the building and have masterfully guarded the core of our culture. Recently, Centennial introduced a new Dean of Students position to support our goals of the strategic action plan. The Dean of Students handles student discipline issues and serves as the assistant athletic director. The newly created position allows our administration team to support teachers through classroom visits, instructional support, and building professional relationships. Because of this shift in roles, our administration team is afforded the opportunity to support restorative practices with students as they are present and involved in classrooms.
Accredited with Distinction - This is assigned to the highest performing districts. These districts are meeting or exceeding expectations on the majority of performance tasks.
Accredited - Districts with an overall rating of Accredited are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Accredited with Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Accredited with Priority Improvement Plan - These districts are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Turnaround Plan - These districts are identified as among the lowest performing districts in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these districts until they improve.
Accredited with Insufficient State Data - These districts are assigned this accreditation rating when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a district received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.
School Ratings
Performance Plan - Schools with a Performance Plan are meeting expectations on the majority of performance metrics.
Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as lower performing. They may be meeting expectations on some performance metrics, but they are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on many.
Priority Improvement Plan - These schools are identified as low performing. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Turnaround Plan - These schools are identified as among the lowest performing schools in the state. They are not meeting or are only approaching expectations on most performance metrics. The state will provide support and oversight to these schools until they improve.
Insufficient State Data - These schools are assigned this plan type when the state does not have enough data to report publicly. To better understand why a school received an Insufficient State Data rating, all publicly reportable data are reflected in the performance framework report. More information about these ratings is available here.