Janna Rush, Principal
Grade level: 6–8
Free and Reduced Meals: 41.6%
Year school began to implement innovative practices: 2013
We are a STEM infused comprehensive middle school. Two of our feeder schools have a STEM or A-STEM focus. Our innovative practices are rooted in the theme of “Creativity and Wonder, Innovations and Technology.”
We use unique programs to reach all students such as Hands on Horses and AVID. We have Algebra for all 8th graders and serve as a math/science studio site for other schools. Our students are learning computer science and robotics. Our science teachers have committed to using flipped learning with Chromecarts for students. We were recently awarded a 4H grant for Tech Wizards and after school program.
Our Equine Assisted Learning Program, Hands on Horses, is impacting greatly. Students attend once a week to learn about themselves and others through activities with the horses and reflection on thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and patterns. As a result, students develop greater respect for themselves and others, self-esteem, and problem solving strategies.
We have implemented Big Ideas and Habits of Mind and Interaction in all classrooms with Pre-AP strategies. Educational outcomes in traditional settings focus on how many answers a student knows. We are interested also in how students behave when they don't know an answer. The Habits of Mind/Interaction are performed in response to questions and problems – the answers to which are not immediately known. We believe intelligence is not only having information but also knowing how to act on it.