Principal's MessageDear Montgomery Learning Community, Montgomery Middle School is devoted to nurturing learners who engage in an ongoing process of academic growth and self reflection. All of our students are prepared to represent themselves, their school, and community with respect, confidence and pride. They are responsible for creating their unique path to prepare them for high school and beyond. In order to provide a pathway toward success, our Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) supports this goal by providing a multicultural environment that emphasizes learning, social tolerance and high expectations for all. Given the latest California English Language Development Test (CELDT), English Learners (EL) is expected to make up 43% of the total school population with the majority at the Intermediate Overall Proficiency Level (OPL). Montgomery Middle School has identified the development of academic reading skills across the content areas and mathematics problem-solving as two areas of need in which our SPSA has allocated resources to help Montgomery Middle School achieve its goals. Our SPSA also places special emphasis on providing intervention programs to students who score below grade level on the California Standardized Tests (CST) through computerized-based programs such as the Jamestown Navigator and Bridge to Algebra. As well, we have the support of a full-time Striving Readers Resource Teacher to provide professional development to the staff across the content areas and to push-into the classrooms. Also, the English Language Arts Resource Teacher is a Reading Specialist who provides small group instruction via a pull-out model to assist EL Intermediate students who scored Basic or Below on the CST. In addition to these services, we also have the English Learner Support Teacher (ELST) who provides the needed support across the content to our English Learners. As a result of the strategic and focused work that has been established at the site, the 2009 CST data showed good gains and the site has met most of its SMART goals. BiographyJonathan Ton, the principal of Montgomery Middle School, is excited to be in a culturally diverse community such as Linda Vista and is clearly passionate about what he does. As a Vietnamese immigrant, he brings his background, cultural and language skills to serve our student population. He wants to be at a school which needs and values those traits so he can "give back to the community." His favorite thing is the opportunity to be in the classroom. He does routine "walk-throughs", speaks individually with each teacher, and gets to know the students personally. He has studied at UCSD, SDSU, and USIU (U.S. International University) and has a BA in French Literature, an MA in TESOL, and a teaching and Administrative Credential. He began his teaching career as a Teacher's Assistant (T.A) at La Jolla High School, followed by six years at Crawford High School in the English Language Development Program. After five years as Vice Principal at Taft Middle School, he came to Montgomery in January of 2006. Mr. Ton feels that the greatest strengths of Montgomery Middle School are its diversity and its teachers. They excel at looking at the student as a whole - not just their academic needs. In his tenure at Montgomery, he wants to serve the school in the following ways:
The Community of Linda Vista looks forward to all the good work Mr. Ton will do! |