Montville Public Schools

Leonard J. Tyl Middle School

Good to Great Proposal

The administration and staff at Tyl Middle School can be BEST at creating an environment where all students and staff feel safe, respected, and ‘special’. Some of the contributing elements include: instructional teams, the student advisory program, TOPS student character program, developmental guidance, special counseling groups, peer mediation, daily character-building messages - "Words of Wisdom," weekly staff newsletter "Mid-Week Musings", student recognition through the Honor Roll, Students of the Trimester and the "Delightful Dozen," staff recognition such as the Golden Apple Award and Montville Marvels, and a wide range of extra curricular clubs, sports and athletic teams.

Good to Great Progress ~ January 2007 Update

The Good to Great proposal ideas at Tyl continue to flourish. In addition to the ones mentioned above, we have implemented the following new activities/programs:

o Increase Parental Involvement
New to the Good to Great initiative this year was a formalized and focused effort to get parents more involved in school life at Tyl Middle School.  Each teaching team in our school was asked to develop parental involvement action plans at the start of the school year.  This is a focused effort to communicate and involve parents more.  Ideas include Good News Mailings, Teach the Parents Nights, and Administrators’ Evening Office Hours.

o Teacher Collaboration Teams
All staff are organized into teacher collaboration teams by grade level. Teams are organized by subject area.  For example, language arts and social studies meet as a team.  Science and math meet as a team.  Special education teachers are members of all teams.  Teams meet bi-weekly to analyze student data and plan instruction based on identified areas of need. 

o Tyl Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO)
The Tyl PTO has added a new and exciting element to its meetings this year. At each PTO meeting, a guest speaker or speakers, is invited to attend and give a presentation. This has improved attendance at meetings and has been a nice addition to our parent programming.   The PTO is making a concerted effort to develop family outreach nights, such as a family volleyball night, culture night, and movie night.

o High School Peer Tutors
Tyl started a peer tutoring program with Montville High School this year, through the high school’s Honor Society and Young Educators Society (YES Club). Approximately eight high school students spend several hours a week at Tyl working with our students during academic and exploratory periods.

o Student to Community Outreach
Students and staff at Tyl have made a concerted effort to increase community outreach this year. Outreach efforts this year have included aiding Hurricane Katrina victims, the New London homeless shelter, and organizing two canned food drives and a clothing drive.

o Our Daily Reading Workshop Program entitled, "A Time to Read"
All staff and students spend the first half hour of each day reading and discussing books of their choice. The main goals of our new reading initiative are to instill a ‘love of reading’ and to create ‘lifelong learners.’

o Student Advisory Groups
On Friday mornings, in lieu of our new reading program, staff facilitate discussions with a small group of students in a school wide program designed to support all students developmentally.

o Tyl’s After School Program
Beginning on January 4th, for two afternoons a week, students may elect to stay after school to receive one hour of academic instruction and one hour of enrichment activities of their choosing. The academic focus this year will address CMT areas of need. The staff has identified specific CMT strands that need attention and which will drive the instructional portion of our after school program.