Spencer Middle School

School Overview

School Identity and Context

Spencer Middle School, established in 1977, sits in the heart of Langford on Coast Salish land. Our core values—Empathy, Honesty, Kindness, and Respect— guide interactions within our school community. To foster connections and inclusion better, we organize students into eight cross-grade "Family" groups named after local animals in both English and SENĆOŦEN.

Our diverse student body speaks over 25 languages, reflecting the strength of our community. Our primary goals include nurturing a strong sense of connection, belonging and identity; improving literacy and numeracy skills; and promoting justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

We collaborate closely with community organizations, hosting annual 'Family Connects' nights involving up to 30 groups supporting Westshore students and families. Extracurricular activities at the school are rich and varied, with over 24 clubs and strong athletics and arts programs, involving almost half our student body.

With over 600 students and a staff of 70, including support for students with designations, English Language Learners and Indigenous backgrounds, Spencer Middle School thrives as a diverse and inclusive community hub.

Our Learners

What do we know about our learners?

To understand our students better, we gathered data from various sources, identifying three main areas to prioritize at Spencer:

Equity, diversity, and inclusion
Social-emotional learning and development
Systems and structures to support literacy and numeracy

Our data sources include surveys, assessments, academic performance records, and anecdotal 'street data':

Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI)
MyEd BC course marks
Equity Survey
Student Learning Survey
Foundation Skills Assessment results
Street data and School-Based Team data

Analysis revealed areas for growth:

Social-emotional well-being: While most students feel connected, many still lack important adult connections.
Agency and self-awareness: Many students rate their self-awareness as low, indicating a need for greater emphasis on student empowerment and service learning.
Literacy and numeracy: A significant portion of students are at the emerging and developing levels for literacy and numeracy, highlighting the need for improved tracking and support in these areas.

In summary, our focus areas revolve around equity, social-emotional support, and academic development, aiming to enhance student well-being and learning outcomes.

What evidence supports what we know about our learners?

Our Student Voice

After talking with students and reviewing their feedback, we found that students want more say in how they learn. Some students mentioned feeling bored at times or not having agency over what they learn. While Spencer is a big school, many students enjoy being here and almost all feel welcomed. Here are some things a few students said they appreciate in staff:

They make learning fun and engaging.
They help students connect and make new friends.
They treat students with respect and understand their humor.

In the future, we plan to create more chances for students to get involved and have a say, possibly through increased clubs, enrichment activities (such as 'Explore and Enrich' or 'E50', or a student council.

Focus and Planning

What focus(es) emerge as goals to pursue?

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Indigenous Education

Intellectual Development

Social Emotional Learning

School Goal 1

To develop our identity and build connections to place and people so that students have a strong sense of belonging and purpose.

Strategic Plan Goal

Engagement

Strategic Plan Engagement Objectives

Further the goals of the Na'tsa'maht agreement following the objectives of 'One Mind' and 'One Spirit'.

Action Plan

Place-based learning and pedagogy that incorporates diverse principles and practices and supports equity and inclusion (Na’tsa’maht indigenous education and outdoor, service-learning initiatives). We will utilize our NIE Department resources and role models to learn from the land and provide opportunities for staff to develop their pedagogy; undertake a professional book club (literature circles format) where staff can choose a specific area and focus; engage in service-work and outdoor learning for students.
Develop opportunities for connection and a sense of belonging at the school by supporting clubs focusing on diversity and inclusion and visibility of diverse cultures and people (i.e., a ‘welcome pole’)
Strengthen relationships and develop opportunities with community partners to support Spencer students and provide positive adult-student connections (family resource night and continue to develop community programs throughout the day).
To adopt a school-wide Social Emotional Learning resource/plan to develop a common language and understanding amongst staff and students (Open Parachute).
Increased opportunity for students to be engaged and share their voice (clubs, athletics, intramurals and student forum or council).
Emphasis on service-learning related to projects connected to place (i.e. environmental stewardship).
To work on the Spencer identity and "branding": fine tune Spencer communications plan and have a single "brand"/logo.

School Goal 2

To improve literacy and numeracy learning and development for Spencer students.

Strategic Plan Goal

Learning

Strategic Plan Learning Objectives

Provide opportunites for learners to develop critical and creative thinking skills.

Action Plan

Create a school-wide system for better understanding how Spencer students are doing in relation to literacy and numeracy(school-wide write/read, DART/DAM). The assessment will take place twice per year to start, specifically in the fall and the spring and will involve all students.
Support professional learning and development for staff to enhance pedagogy that incorporates Universal Design for Learning, First Peoples Principals of learning and student voice and choice.

How can the district support your goals?

Curriculum

Continue to provide release time or teachers to support us facilitating a school-wide read/write/numeracy assessment and the time to assess it (at least twice per year for each grade group). Join in with our professional book club and join in at staff meetings from time to time. Work out of an office at Spencer once per week to make connections with staff. Continue to offer ongoing workshops and learning for all staff and PVP and provide release time.

ELL

International

Facilities

Support our initiatives for service-based and land-based learning by providing access to the forested land beside the school and ensuring all minor capital projects that support our goals (i.e., welcome pole, gate/fence access, accessible and inclusive play space, enhanced garden) are supported and fulfilled in a timely manner. Fulfil any requirements of the Accessibility Act.

Finance

Human Resources

Inclusive Education

Provide release time for school staff to be involved in community partnerships that support diverse learners (i.e. continue to provide a TTOC for PEACE Program hikes each week). Ensure EAs (Education Assistants) are replaced when they are absent. In collaboration with Curriculum, provide support/training for Universal Design for Learning approaches for all teachers.

Na’tsa’maht Indigenous Education

Safe & Healthy Schools

Digital Solutions

Transportation

Pathways and Choice

Professional Development and Training

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Reflect, Adjust, Celebrate

Indicators of progress

Indicators of progress connected to Goal 1

Grants and sources of funding to support place-based learning and pedagogy – will strive to receive at least two per year
The number of clubs and students engaged in clubs, athletics, or opportunities at Spencer increases
Growth of community partnerships and opportunities to collaborate between community-school-families (Family Connects Night and participation and growth of formal/informal community partnerships)
Increased engagement and involvement of the Spencer Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
On-going data analysis to see continuous improvement.
Website and communications plan in effect and up-to-date. We will work towards a new Spencer logo and "brand" and incorporate indigenous principles and perspectives in this process.
Monthly cultural displays - involve Spencer community.
Greater opportunities for land-based and place-based learning.

Indicators of progress connected to Goal 2

We will have a school wide system at least twice per year to get a better sense of how our students are doing in literacy and numeracy (i.e. school wide write/read)
All staff provided the opportunity to engage in the school-wide professional book club.
MyEd course marks and FSA marks show an increase in students' literacy and numeracy development. FSA participation rates will rise.

How will we communicate and celebrate our progress?

Progress and Evidence to date

Goal #1 - Action Plan and Evidence/Reflection:

Grants and sources of funding to support place-based learning and pedagogy – will receive at least two per year. Reflection for 2024-25: We received a $20,000 grant for the playground. Currently in conversation with the municipality for another grant. Applied for Variety Grants, but did not receive. Received Indigo Grant ($8,000) for library to add diverse books to the library and classroom collections.
The number of clubs and students engaged in clubs, athletics, or opportunities at Spencer increases. Reflection: In 2023-24 Spencer had over 24 extra-curricular clubs, ranging from Chess, SOGI, D and D, Yearbook, Art, Dance, Cheer, Garden, Musical Theatre and Cricket, to name just a few. 3/4 of the student population and staff population were involved in supporting clubs. These numbers do not include Athletics and Intramurals Sports. We also held a Musical Theatre performance.
Growth of community partnerships and opportunities to collaborate between community-school-families (Family Connects Night and participation and growth of formal/informal community partnerships). Reflection: Increased community partnerships in 2023-24 (Game Ready, Access Westshore, City of Langford, Victoria Native Friendship Centre Library, City of Langford and Indigo Adopt-a-School Partnership.
Increased engagement and involvement of the Spencer Parent Advisory Council (PAC). Reflection: Increased parent involvement and engagement. We have the largest PAC Executive we have ever had, including two new positions added to the PAC Executive (community events and communications/media). Increased events are being offered, and the PAC has a social media account now.
Data sources continue to be analysed in relation to continuous improvement since baseline data was gathered in the 2021-22 schoolyear (SSL survey pre and post survey, equity surveys, MDI in several years, and annual SLS). Reflection: DART and 6 Traits of Writing was administered this year for almost all classes.
Website and communications plan in effect and up-to-date. We continue to work towards a new Spencer logo and "brand" and incorporate indigenous principles and perspectives in this process. Reflection: In collaboration with a Lekwungen artist (Jessica Joseph) we have created a new T-shirt incorporating Coast Salish design elements. The principal continues to work with the Communications Manager on a more comprehensive communications strategy for the school.
Greater opportunities for land-based and place-based learning. Reflection: Doubled the number of classes participating in the Salish Sea Learning opportunity; garden club has grown and now includes Friday afternoon land restorations.

Goal #2: Action Plan and Evidence/Reflection:

We will have a school wide system at least twice per year to get a better sense of how our students are doing in literacy and numeracy (i.e. school wide write/read). Reflection: Year Two - all classes (but two) did the fall DART and writing assessments. A spring assessment is still a work in progress.
All staff provided the opportunity to engage in the school-wide professional book club. Reflection: All staff participated in the book clubs, and chose between 8 different titles. Conducted the professional book club discussions during two staff meetings.
MyEd course marks and FSA marks show some increase in literacy and numeracy. Reflection: maintenance in students' literacy development while numeracy has gone down slightly, even though we have supported professional learning in numeracy. FSA participation rates have increased (65% in 2023-24 compared to 21% in 2021-22). On-track rate rose from last year, but is still a few percentage points below 2021-22.

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