Mountaineer Middle School A Developmentally Responsive Middle School By: Heather Lowman, David Melton, Andrew Samuels and Tina Smith

Philosophy and Mission Statement: Mountaineer Middle School is a community learning institution for students in grades 6 through 8 staffed with teachers who are highly qualified to teach young adolescents. The instruction of our students will be done in a safe, family friendly, and community supported environment that is academically challenging, socially equitable, and developmentally responsive.

Essential Attributes and Characteristics Developmentally Responsive Challenging Empowering Equitable

Organizational Components Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Leadership and Organization Culture and Community

Grade Organization Pattern A time of unprecedented physical changes. Cognitive growth. Young adolescents develop multiple ideas and can carry out their own activities for learning and moral responsibility. The importance of peer acceptance.

Interdisciplinary Team Organization Interdisciplinary team of four teachers: Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. Teams will have a common planning time each day collaborating across teaching specialties and sharing responsibilities for academic development, student advocacy, and student interest.

Flexible Block Scheduling

Advisory Program Advisory Programs organize teacher-advisors, students, and parents in a three-way partnership in order to help middle level students cope with complex personal, emotional, academic, and social issues of life. Advisory will meet Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 8:30.   Schedule of Activities Day One: Career Day Day Two: Game Day Day Three: Hobbies Day Day Four: Video/Media/Music Day Day Five: Community Service and Adolescence Issues Day

Support Personnel Administrators Office Staff Core and Non-Core Teachers Media Coordinator Instructional Facilitator Guidance counselors School Psychologist Speech and Hearing Impaired Staff Safety Officers Related Exceptional Children Services On-Site School Nurse

School Curriculum Core classes are Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies Core classes and Enrichment classes meet for 65 minutes each day Core classes standards are taken from the Common Core N.C Essential Standards Homeroom and Advisory will begin the day for 30 minutes each day

Core Studies Core subjects in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are: Language Arts Math Science Social Studies

Studies Beyond The Core Mountaineer Middle School acknowledges the value the related arts, we offer the following for the growth of our students: Health and Physical Education Media and Technology Education: 21st Century Skills Foreign Languages: Spanish and German Music: Band and Chorus Art: Visual and graphic arts Clubs: Beta, Spanish, Chess, Debate, Drama clubs, Student Council Exploratory Classes: Yoga, Cake Making and Decorating, Music Appreciation 101, Reelin’ & Rollin’ Skating Interscholastic Sports: Football, baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, cheerleading, and cross country track

Instructional Strategies Relevant Integrative Challenging E. Exploratory Integrated Studies 21st Century Skills Collaborative learning environments Required Professional Staff Development throughout the school year

Instructional Grouping MMS will participate in interdisciplinary teaming of students and teachers. Groups will have teams that include teachers, students of four core curriculum subjects. Each team will include approximately 20 students Teams will include students and teachers with diverse abilities and backgrounds. Teams will include students and teachers will diverse abilities and backgrounds Teams welcome student input and incorporate student interests Teams develop instruction to meet local, state and national middle level standards Teams meet with students and parents as a unit Teams group and regroup based on students needs, and for best instructional methods Teams help students build ownership in their education Teams put students first, and the welfare of the students guides all decisions and actions

Exceptional Learning MMS accommodates the needs of all learners. Identified exceptional learners will be placed with the appropriate services in accordance to their 504 plan or Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Learning Disabilities Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Speech and Language Disorders Developmental Disabilities Intellectual Disabilities Sensor Impairments Academically and Intelligently Gifted

Families and Community Supporting Students  Mountaineer Middle School will promote home-school partnerships that will actively involve the families. Newsletters Progress Reports Report Cards Parent-Teacher Conferences School and Class Websites Our school will partner with local businesses to provide new and exciting learning opportunities. Field Trips Guest Speakers

Families and Community Supporting MMS Our school is an inviting, safe place that has a supportive community that promotes an in-depth learning environment that enhances both the students' physical and emotional well-being. Research shows that it takes more than just a school alone to educate children; it takes the fundamental components of family and community involvement as well. Mountaineer Middle School demonstrates all the outstanding fundamentals, and commitment as being a developmentally responsive middle school that is relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory.

Works Referenced Jackson, Anthony, Gayle Andrews Davis, Maud Abeel, and Anne Bordonaro. Turning points 2000: educating adolescents in the 21st century. New York: Teachers College Press, 2000. Print. Powell, Sara Davis. Introduction to Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents. Westerville, OH: Association for Middle Level Education, 2010. Print.