Options
Search
Windsor Mill Middle School

English Language
Arts Department

Building confident readers, thoughtful writers, critical thinkers, and strong communicators prepared to understand complex ideas, support their thinking with evidence, and succeed in high school and beyond.

READ.
•
THINK.
•
WRITE.
•
COMMUNICATE.
Read • Analyze • Communicate

English Language Arts at Windsor Mill

English Language Arts is about more than reading a story or completing a writing assignment. Students learn to analyze ideas, evaluate evidence, communicate clearly, discuss multiple perspectives, and make meaning from increasingly complex texts. These skills support success across every content area.

📚

Every Student Has a Voice

Our classrooms create opportunities for students to read, question, write, discuss, revise their thinking, and communicate ideas with confidence.

📖

Ms. Spencer

English Language Arts

Department Chair

Ms. Spencer

English Language Arts Department Chair

Ms. Spencer leads the Windsor Mill English Language Arts Department in strengthening standards-aligned literacy instruction, collaborative planning, analysis of student learning, and preparation for increasingly rigorous reading and writing expectations.

Ms. Spencer teaches English Language Arts in Grades 6 and 7.

✉ Email Ms. Spencer
English Language Arts Achievement

Our MCAP Data Story

Data helps our department recognize progress, identify strengths, and focus instruction on the literacy skills students need most. Select a view below, then select any bar to learn more.

39.46% 2025–26 Overall

Building on Our Growth

Overall ELA proficiency increased from 23.97% in 2021–22 to 39.46% in 2025–26.

+15.49 Points Since 2021–22

2025–26 ELA MCAP Performance

Percentage meeting or exceeding expectations

38%

Grade 6 English Language Arts

38% of Grade 6 students met or exceeded expectations on the 2025–26 ELA MCAP.

Long-Term Growth 23.97% → 39.46%

Schoolwide ELA performance has increased substantially since 2021–22.

Highest Grade Result Grade 7 • 50%

Half of Grade 7 students met or exceeded expectations on the 2025–26 ELA MCAP.

Instructional Focus Evidence + Writing

Continued focus on close reading, evidence-based reasoning, written response, and standards-aligned literacy instruction.

Schoolwide Literacy Strategy

Attack the Prompt

Students use a common strategy to unpack academic prompts, determine exactly what the task requires, organize their thinking, and respond with relevant evidence. The strategy supports literacy across ELA, Science, and Social Studies.

🎯
01

Read

Read the entire prompt before beginning a response.

02

Unpack

Identify important directions, vocabulary, and task words.

03

Identify

Determine what the response must explain, analyze, or argue.

04

Respond

Plan the response, select evidence, and answer the task directly.

Student ELA Support

myPerspectives Resources

Students can revisit texts, review literacy skills, strengthen writing, and use digital resources connected to classroom learning.

📚
Start with the unit you're studying in class.

Use your current myPerspectives unit to reread selections, review vocabulary and skills, revisit annotations, and prepare for writing and performance-based tasks.

myP

myPerspectives

Access digital texts, multimedia, interactive lessons, writing activities, and resources connected to the myPerspectives English Language Arts curriculum.

Explore myPerspectives →
6

Grade 6 ELA

Revisit Grade 6 texts and practice comprehension, vocabulary, evidence use, writing organization, and analysis skills connected to current units.

Grade 6 Resources →
7

Grade 7 ELA

Review Grade 7 texts, vocabulary, author choices, evidence-based analysis, informative writing, and argumentative writing.

Grade 7 Resources →
8

Grade 8 ELA

Revisit Grade 8 texts and strengthen analysis, source synthesis, argumentation, evidence use, and high-school-ready writing skills.

Grade 8 Resources →
✎

Writing Support

Use writing models, source-based prompts, planning tools, and revision strategies to strengthen informative and argumentative writing.

Review Attack the Prompt →
✓

Need Help?

Reread difficult sections, annotate important evidence, review unfamiliar vocabulary, and contact your teacher when you need additional support.

Meet the ELA Team →
The Literacy Journey

Building Toward High School

Literacy expectations increase intentionally across middle school as students become more independent readers, writers, thinkers, and communicators.

🌱
Grade 6 Build comprehension, evidence use, vocabulary, and writing foundations.
🔎
Grade 7 Analyze ideas, author choices, arguments, and increasingly complex texts.
🎓
Grade 8 Synthesize sources, evaluate arguments, and write with greater independence.
⚖️
Argument & Debate Apply Grade 8 literacy through evidence, argumentation, reasoning, and discussion.
Meet Our Team

English Language Arts Faculty

Connect directly with your student's teacher regarding coursework, assignments, progress, reading support, or academic needs.

📖

Ms. Spencer

English Language Arts
Grade 6 ELA
Grade 7 ELA
✉ Email Ms. Spencer
Department Chair
📚

Ms. Shelby McNeill

English Language Arts
Grade 7 ELA
✉ Email Ms. McNeill
✏️

Ms. Walder

English Language Arts
Grade 8 ELA
✉ Email Ms. Walder
⚖️

Ms. Gratton

Argument & Debate
Grade 8 Argument & Debate
Standards-Aligned Literacy Extension
✉ Email Ms. Gratton
🔤

Ms. Lisa Washington

Reading
Grade 6 Reading
Grade 7 Reading
Grade 8 Reading
✉ Email Ms. Washington
📕

Ms. White

Reading
Grade 6 Reading
Grade 7 Reading
Grade 8 Reading
✉ Email Ms. White
💜

Ms. Dotson

Special Education
Self-Contained ELA
Grades 6, 7 & 8
✉ Email Ms. Dotson
Our Instructional Focus

More Than Reading the Text

Students develop literacy habits that allow them to understand, communicate, evaluate, and apply their learning across content areas.

01

Read Closely

Analyze complex texts, identify important ideas, and make meaning from details and structure.

02

Use Evidence

Select relevant evidence and explain how it supports an analysis, claim, or conclusion.

03

Write Clearly

Organize ideas, develop reasoning, revise writing, and communicate with precision.

04

Communicate

Listen, discuss, question, defend ideas, and engage respectfully with multiple perspectives.

Questions About English Language Arts?

Families should contact their student's teacher first regarding coursework, assignments, progress, reading support, or academic concerns. Department-level questions may be directed to ELA Department Chair Ms. Spencer.

Contact the ELA Department →
Windsor Mill Middle School English Language Arts
Read deeply. Think critically. Write with purpose. Find your voice.