Carson Middle School

Carson Middle School (CMS) is a suburban, middle school in the North Allegheny School District. The school is located in McCandless Township, Pennsylvania. In 2013, Carson Middle School had an enrollment of 687 pupils, with 7% of pupils coming from a low income home. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.[2]

For the school in Fort Carson, Colorado, see Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8.
Carson Middle School
Address
300 Hillvue Lane

Pittsburgh
,
Allegheny
,
Pennsylvania
15237-5344

United States
Information
TypePublic
MottoSomeplace Special
Established1974
School board9 locally elected members
School districtNorth Allegheny School District
PrincipalAnthony Greco
Faculty59 teachers
Grades6–8
Number of students687 pupils (2013), 717 pupils (2011)[1]
 • Grade 6235
 • Grade 7213
 • Grade 8239
Color(s)Black and Gold
Athletics conferenceWPIAL
MascotEagle
WebsiteCarson Middle School
School District region in Allegheny County

Per the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2010, the school reported an enrollment of 720 pupils in grades 6th through 8th, with 55 pupils receiving a federal free or reduced-price lunch due to family poverty. The school employed 57 teachers, yielding a student teacher ratio of 12:1.[3] The Pennsylvania Department of Education reported that 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.[4] Carson Middle School was founded in 1974, but North Allegheny had used the building as an intermediate high school until 1968.

History

Carson Middle School began as Carson Intermediate High School (CIHS), built in 1968. It was named for North Allegheny Senior High School's then-principal John E. Carson and served grades 9 and 10. In 1974, grades 9 and 10 moved to the current building of North Allegheny Intermediate High School. CIHS's name changed to Carson Middle School, for grades 6 to 8.

In 1994, Carson was named a Blue Ribbon school. To display this, a blue ribbon is shown above one of the entrances to the school.

Academics
2013 School Performance Profile

Carson Middle School achieved 90.6 out of 100. Reflects on-grade-level reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement. In reading, 87% of the students were on grade level. In Mathematics, 89% of the students showed on-grade-level skills. In Science, 75% of the 8th graders demonstrated a grade level understanding. In writing, 91% of the 8th grade students were on grade level.[5] According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools (less than 73 percent of Pennsylvania public schools), achieved an academic score of 70 or higher.

Western Pennsylvania ranking

In 2013, Carson Middle School 8th grade ranked 6th out of 149 western Pennsylvania middle schools. The 7th grade ranked 10th and the 6th grade ranked 43rd.[6] In 2009, the 8th grade was ranked 7th out of 141 western Pennsylvania middle schools based on three years of student academic achievement in PSSAs in: reading, math writing and one year of science.[7] (Includes schools in: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Westmoreland County, and Washington County.)

AYP status

From 2003 through 2012, Carson Middle School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status each year.[8]

PSSA Results
8th Grade Reading:
  • 2012 - 96% on grade level (84% advanced). In Pennsylvania, 79% of 8th graders on grade level.[9]
  • 2011 - 98% on grade level, 85% advanced (1% below basic). State - 81.8% [10]
  • 2010 – 98%, 85% advanced (1% below basic). State - 81%[11]
  • 2009 – 97%, 84% advanced (2% below basic), State – 80%[12]
8th Grade Math:
  • 2012 - 94% on grade level (76% advanced). State - 76% [13]
  • 2011 - 90%, 71% advanced (3% below basic). State - 76.9% [14]
  • 2010 – 95%, 75% advanced (1% below basic). State - 75%% [15]
  • 2009 – 92%, 76% advanced (2% below basic), State – 71% [16]
8th Grade Science:
  • 2012 - 85% on grade level (6% below basic). State - 59%
  • 2011 - 78%, 42% advanced (9% below basic). State – 58.3%
  • 2010 – 84%, 38% advanced (5% below basic). State – 57%
  • 2009 – 86%, 48% advanced (6% below basic), State – 55% [17]

GOAL

GOAL (Gifted Opportunities for Advanced Learning) is a gifted student program in North Allegheny, where students scoring high on assessment tests, like PSSA or IOWA testing, take a specialized test to get into the GOAL program. The gifted program adds extra curriculum to a regular class, when one or two days per week are reserved for the GOAL teacher to come into the class and teach the students alternative skills than the ones that other students take regularly. The Carson GOAL teacher is Dana Boyd. In 2014, 12.66% of Carson Middle School's students were identified as gifted.[18]

Schedule

The school day starts at 8:20 AM and ends at 3:00 PM. There are 8 classes in a day, including the lunch period. Each period lasts 48 minutes, with the exception of the lunch periods, which last 30 minutes. There are 15 minutes allocated for reading, called SSR, also known as DEAR each day.

The bell schedule is based on a system revolving around the lunch periods. Since each grade eats lunch at different times, periods 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are either 30 minutes or 18 minutes long. Two pairs of these period names are attached every day to make a single period, such as "Period 4/5", "Period 5/6", or "Period 7/8". This changes for different grades, i.e. in 6th grade, a period might be called 5/6, and in 7th grade, a period might be called 4/5.

Each school day is either an "A Day" or a "B Day". If one school day is an A Day, the next school day will be a B Day, and so on. The purpose of these names are to switch special classes, like a musical class, which are Band, Orchestra, Chorus, and General Music, and a Physical Education class. On A Days, a student will either have a music class or a P.E. class, and the next day, he/she will have the other one.

Usually, Wednesdays and Thursdays of every week have what are called "Activity Periods." This is a 41-minute-long study hall at the end of the day. Students can do their homework, study, visit the school library or a computer lab, make up tests, etc.

Schedules change on 2-hour Delay days due to weather or technical problems. On these days, classes are shortened and if there is an Activity Period scheduled, it is canceled.

School safety and bullying

The Carson Middle School administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the district in 2012.[19] Each year the school safety data is reported by the district to the Safe School Center which publishes the reports online.

The North Allegheny School Board has provided the district's antibully policy online.[20] All Pennsylvania schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy incorporated into their Code of Student Conduct. The policy must identify disciplinary actions for bullying and designate a school staff person to receive complaints of bullying. The policy must be available on the school's website and posted in every classroom. All Pennsylvania public schools must provide a copy of its anti-bullying policy to the Office for Safe Schools every year, and shall review their policy every three years. Additionally, the district must conduct an annual review of that policy with students.[21] The Center for Schools and Communities works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to assist schools and communities as they research, select and implement bullying prevention programs and initiatives.[22][23]

Education standards relating to student safety and antiharassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.[24]

Teacher of the Year

Carson is also home to the 2008 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, David Woten, Jr. He is the choral teacher for grades 6 and 7, and also one of the general music teachers to grade 8.[25]

Mrs. Anne Funk was honored in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for being 2009 Pennsylvania Orchestra Teacher of the Year.

Events

On March 7, 2008, Dr. Marcia Martin died from cancer. She was the 15-year principal of Carson Middle School from 1989 to 2004, and was a teacher in Carson earlier for another 16 years.[26]

John Yastion, a custodian at Carson Middle School since 2003, was recognized for saving a man's life after he had a seizure, on November 13, 2008. He was commended by the North Allegheny Board of Directors for his actions.[27]

River City Brass Band

Once a month, Carson Middle School hosts the River City Brass Band. The band performs in the auditorium on a Friday night, September through May.

References
  1. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data - Carson Middle School, 2013
  2. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Professional Qualifications of Teachers Carson Middle School, October 4, 2013
  3. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Care Data – Carson Middle School, 2010
  4. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Professional Qualifications of Teachers Carson Middle School, September 29, 2011
  5. Pennsylvania Department of Education (October 4, 2013). "Carson Middle School Academic Performance Data 2013,".
  6. Pittsburgh Business Times, Western Pennsylvania School guide, April 2013
  7. The Rankings: Eighth grade, Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15th, 2009.
  8. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Carson Middle School AYP Overview, April 6, 2011
  9. "How is your school doing?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 15, 2012.
  10. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Carson Middle School Academic Achievement Report Card 2011, September 29, 2011
  11. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Carson Middle School Academic Achievement Report Card 2010, October 20, 2010
  12. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Carson Middle School Academic Achievement Report Card 2009, September 14, 2009
  13. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 21, 2012). "Carson School Academic Achievement Report Card 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  14. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA and AYP Results".
  15. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "2009-2010 PSSA and AYP Results".
  16. The Times-Tribune (September 14, 2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 PSSA results".
  17. The Times-Tribune (2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 Science PSSA results".
  18. PDE, School Performance Report - Carson Middle School, 2013>
  19. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Safe School Center (2012). "Pennsylvania Safe Schools Online Reports - Carson Middle School" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  20. North Allegheny School Board (2006). "Anti-Bullying Policy 3585".
  21. Pennsylvania General Assembly (2006). "Regular Session 2007–2008 House Bill 1067, Act 61 Section 6 page 8".
  22. Center for Safe Schools of Pennsylvania (2006). "Bullying Prevention advisory".
  23. Pennsylvania Department of 10Education (2012). "Bullying, Hazing, and Harassment Resources". Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  24. Pennsylvania State Board of Education (January 11, 2003). "Pennsylvania Academic Standards Health, Safety and Physical Education".
  25. 2008 State Teachers of the Year Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine David Woten - 2008 State Teachers of the Year
  26. "Pittsburgh Tribune - North Allegheny principal's enthusiasm affected many lives". Archived from the original on 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  27. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – North Allegheny school custodian commended for helping fellow diner
  • Carson Middle School - Home Page
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