To: Board of Education members
From: Dr. Brian Osborne, Superintendent
Date: December 19, 2011
Re: Proposed middle school enhancements through the 2015-16 school year
A Vision for the South Orange and Maplewood Middle Schools
The vision of the South Orange-Maplewood School District (SOMSD) is to be the topperforming diverse suburban school district in the nation. The mission is to prepare each and
every student, regardless of demographic or socioeconomic background, for postsecondary
educational success.
For middle schools, this means that the vision of the South Orange and Maplewood Middle
Schools is to become the top-performing middle level system in the nation by focusing on
academic excellence, responsiveness to student needs, and social equity.
Over the last several years, our middle school staff and administration have collectively focused
on what should be taught and what teaching should look like. We have built capacity, raised test
scores, improved curriculum and increased access. Revised curricula, the development of
common assessments across the grade level content areas of two middle schools, and the
development of a common vernacular regarding instruction have all contributed to what the
Association for Middle Level Education has outlined as the first goal in moving toward a quality
middle school: “ensure(ing) that all middle level students participate in challenging, standardsbased curricula and engaging instruction, and that their progress is measured by appropriate
assessments, resulting in continual learning and high achievement.” In addition to the work our
district has undertaken around teaching and learning, our middle schools have recently instituted
structural changes that were aimed at placing more of our students on a common path to
excellence, with more sixth and seventh grade students provided access to our most challenging
curricula. This foundational work provides the momentum for continuous improvement through
further positive changes.
Read more HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment