Annual Education Report - CAMS

February 20, 2026

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER), which provides key information on the 2024-25 educational progress for Carman-Ainsworth Middle School. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws. The school’s report contains information about accountability, student assessment, and teacher quality. If you have any questions about the AER, please contact Christopher Ochodnicky or Sara Strouse for assistance.

The AER is available for you to review electronically by visiting the following website: MI School Data, or you may review a copy in the main office at your child’s school.

For the 2025-26 school year, schools were identified based on previous years’ performance using definitions and labels as required in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school is one that had at least one underperforming student group in 2024-25. An Additional Targeted Support (ATS) school is one that had at least one student group performing at the same level as the lowest 5% of all schools in the state in 2021-22. A Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school is one whose performance was in the lowest 5% of all schools in the state, had a graduation rate at or below 67%, failed to exit CSI status in 2024-25, or failed to exit ATS status in 2021-22. Some schools are not identified with any of these labels. In these cases, no status label is given.

Our school was identified for: Additional Targeted Support.

We were given the label Targeted Support and Improvement (ATS) based on our students with special needs subgroup and our African American Economically Disadvantaged subgroup performance. Our special education subgroup is performing in the bottom 25% with the students with disabilities subgroup performing in the bottom 5%. Our African American Economically Disadvantaged subgroup is performing in the bottom 25%

1. PROCESS FOR ASSIGNING PUPILS TO THE SCHOOL
a. The Carman-Ainsworth enrollment process is as follows: Carman-Ainsworth Middle School is a School of Choice middle school. Prior to acceptance, in-district students are required to submit an enrollment application, updated immunization record, parent driver’s license, residency documents, and the student’s birth certificate.
b. Prior to acceptance, School of Choice students are required to submit an enrollment application, updated immunization record, parent driver’s license, residency documents, the student’s birth certificate, and two years of prior disciplinary records. Once these documents are received by the application review committee, parents will be contacted and informed whether or not their student has been accepted.

2. THE STATUS OF THE 3–5 YEAR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
a. The comprehensive needs assessment is conducted through Professional Learning Communities throughout the school year. Staff review multiple forms of data, including achievement, process, demographic, and perception data, during PLC meetings held 24 times during Late Start Wednesdays. Staff analyze this data to identify trends and make plans to adjust the school improvement plan through deliberate interventions to address identified gaps. Parents are surveyed, and information is shared with families. Parent input from surveys, as well as informal feedback, is used to guide administrators and staff in making improvements, including intervention decisions. Near the end of the year, teachers work in content-area groups to review their section of the school improvement plan. Using multiple data sources (NWEA, M-Step, formative and summative assessments, grades, behavior, and attendance), they determine what should remain and what should change for the following year. Priority Standards will be the focus for the 2024–2025 school year. The School Improvement Team compiles this information and updates the plan, which is shared with teachers the following August prior to the start of the school year. The updated plan is also shared with parents during the Title I meeting in the fall.

b. Results from the comprehensive needs assessment indicate a continued need to focus on reading strategies to improve NWEA data. Reading and writing lab classes are in place to support reading goals. Continued work on alignment, along with targeted reading interventions, will support student growth. Analysis of math data shows a downward trend in NWEA and M-Step scores; therefore, math lab classes are built into select student schedules. School Climate Survey results from parents and staff indicate a need to continue strengthening behavior supports to create the best environment for teaching and learning. Grade-level supports have been streamlined to include more clearly defined behavior intervention groups, and the Positivity Project has been implemented as the advisory curriculum.

c. School goals are directly connected to the priority needs identified in the needs assessment. Students must continue to grow in reading, writing, and math, which will also support achievement in science and social studies. Teachers are adjusting assessments to reflect the types of questions found on standardized assessments such as M-Step and PSAT. Teachers across all content areas continue to implement literacy strategies to support the goal of improving reading for all students, with some work addressed through Priority Standards. An additional school goal focuses on using positive behavior support strategies to increase instructional time for all students. The Positivity Project curriculum has been implemented during advisory to support this goal, and the school continues to focus on improving attendance. These goals align directly with the needs identified through data analysis.

d. School improvement goals address the needs of the entire school population as well as students requiring additional support through a multi-tiered system of support and intervention. Academic goals emphasize depth of knowledge, improved reading and math skills, and increased instructional time. All courses include a focus on the constructive response model as part of their goals. Tier 1 initiatives are supported by Accelerated Critical Reading Intervention and Reading Lab classes for students performing below grade level. In math, teachers emphasize mathematical modeling, problem-solving strategies, and skill reinforcement through the use of Big Ideas and the ALEKS adaptive support program. Students are regularly challenged to demonstrate understanding. Tier 1 math initiatives are supported by Math Lab classes for students below grade level. This tiered system supports both the whole school population and students needing additional reinforcement and is outlined and implemented through the revised MTSS handbook.

 

3.    A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH SPECIALIZED SCHOOL

3. 1. N/A
4. IDENTIFY HOW TO ACCESS A COPY OF THE CORE CURRICULUM, A DESCRIPTION OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION, AND AN EXPLANATION OF THE VARIANCES FROM THE STATE’S MODEL
   1. Access to a copy of the school’s curriculum, a description of its implementation, and an explanation of the variances from the state model can be found in the counseling offices of Carman-Ainsworth Middle School.
5. THE AGGREGATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS FOR ANY LOCAL COMPETENCY TESTS OR NATIONALLY NORMED ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
   1. N/A
6. IDENTIFY THE NUMBER AND PERCENT OF STUDENTS REPRESENTED BY PARENTS AT PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
   1. 2023-2024

                                         i.    568/665 parents/guardians attended parent teacher conferences (85%)

6. 2. 2024-2025

                                         i.    340/631 parents/guardians attended parent teacher conferences (54%)

 

We at Carman-Ainsworth Middle School are proud of the hard work and achievements of our students and staff, while also recognizing that there is always room for growth. As a staff, we look forward to continuing our partnership with the community to provide a school experience that moves in the right direction, preparing students to become lifelong learners and contributing citizens.

Sincerely,  

Christopher Ochodnicky and Sara Strouse

Co-Principals, Carman-Ainsworth Middle School