Mountaineer Middle School

1. Mountaineer Middle School By: Brad Bentley, Karli Dempski, Madison Lewis, and Jacob Fleming

2. Philosophy Mission Statement: Mountaineer Middle School’s mission is to be developmentally responsive to students’ emotional, behavioral, and cognitive abilities and to implement teaming, advisory, and exploratory courses to help shape the adolescents’ individuality.

3. Organizational Structure • 6th Grade: Tsunamis, Cyclones, and Hurricanes • 7th Grade: Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Landslides • 8th Grade: Asteroids, Comets, and Shooting Stars 4 teacher per team 3 teams per grade 25 students per class 300 students total per grade

4. Teaming Teaming is essential to the true middle school concept because teachers are able to meet in a common planning time, discuss what’s going on in their classroom, have other teachers to bounce ideas off of, and coordinate lessons with other subjects. It also gets the teachers familiar with each other, and this allows for them to cater to their students needs better.

5. True Middle School 11-15 year old students are going through rapid social, physical, and emotional changes at this age, and need extra support and care to guide them in the proper direction needed, based on an individual basis. Grouping 6th-8th graders together makes responding to developmental needs easier.

6. Curriculum Mountaineer Middle School strives to have relevant, integrative, challenging, and exploratory classes that pertains to the specific needs of 6th-8th graders.

7. Core Curriculum Integrative curriculum is essential in teaching students so that they can see the commonalities among subject areas. The curriculum should relevant to students so that the information is effective and efficient to their lives. “Relevant curriculum creates new interests, opening doors to new knowledge and opportunities for ‘stretching’ students to higher levels of learning.” (TWB 11-15)

8. Beyond-the-Core Classes Examples: Foreign Languages, PE, Band, Dance, Chorus, Drama, Home Economics, and Technology These classes will be used to help children in the middle school find their bliss if they can’t find it in regular core classes. These classes teach students about music and art appreciation, or how to keep a healthy lifestyle. Beyond the Core classes will be graded on curriculum like other regular core classes, and will be considered just as important as regular core classes.

9. Exploratory Classes Exploration in curriculum through exploratory courses broadens students’ horizons and increases interest in school. These courses are no less academic and provide for life long learning. Students may choose from various courses such as sporting, outdoor activities, writing, or cooking.

10. Advisory Program Implementation of an advisory program is a fundamental structure to any middle grades program. Advisory time will have forty-five minutes a week and students will meet in a group of eighteen to discuss goals, concerns, social relations, and anything students find important.

11. Advisory Layout Month 1: getting to know your peers Month 2: learning organizational skills Month 3: developing proper study habits Month 4: having/developing friendships Month 5: importance of extracurricular activities/hobbies Month 6: family relationships Month 7: DARE programs Month 8: positive body images Month 9: making good decisions

12. Personnel • 3 Special needs assistants- they are there as support to the special education teachers and to be in classrooms that those teachers can’t be in, and reinforce what the teachers are working with the students • 1 School Psychologist- for students that need additional time to talk about drastic needs such as family problems • 1 Social Worker- for teachers and other personnel that to utilize for situations that need action • 1 Nurse- to be on call at all times and to promote health for the school • SRO- to provide extra security to not only teachers, but to students as well • Librarians- 2 people to provide a clean vast learning environment, to be technologically inclined, and to be a smiling face to see • 36 Core Teachers • 10 Non-core Teachers • 1 Principal- oversees staff and is available to answer questions and provide support to faculty members • 2 Assistant Principals- helps support the principal and is more hands on in what’s going on in the school • 2 Counselors- is there for students that want to talk about things from academics to supporting them in making a sports team. • 3 Special needs teachers- one for each grade to provide to exceptional learners and be active in classrooms for the learners that require assistance.

13. 6th Grade Schedule

14. 7th Grade Schedule

15. 8th Grade Schedule

16. Exceptional Learners These learners will have a variety of ways to get what they need from the classroom. Students will have IEP meetings with teachers and other aids that are needed for the student, and will have a say in what is important for them to get out of the school year, whether they want to be able to do better in math or write better. IEP meetings for teachers will happen weekly so that they can discuss what is working for that student and what is not. Inclusion of the student in a classroom when needed is essential because they want to feel as normal as possible.

17. Family and Community Teachers hold a “Parent Night” every quarter for them to come in and see what their student is learning Letters home to parents frequently Teachers attend sporting events to show their support of the students Teachers contact home when needed and stay regularly in touch with parents PTA- parents and teachers work together to make changes when needed Reaching out to local businesses (bring in guest speakers) Fundraising nights

18. Instructional Strategies • Cooperative Learning Strategies: • Small groups of students working together, support one another • Getting away from Traditional rigid learning • Effects of Cooperative Learning: • Increase achievement, improve retention, active learning, empower students, promote inter-personal communication skills

19. Instructional Strategies continued • Activities for Cooperative Learning • Require students to depend on others to succeed (group work) • Provide individual accountability • Utilize face to face interaction among students (making deeper connections with material) • Focus on interpersonal and group skills (communication) • Incorporating Cooperative Learning • Decision making, problem solving • Summarize, debate, and describe throughout lecture