Middle School Reform continues

Middle School Reform is a three-year, $10 million effort to revamp the county's 38 middle schools. The Middle School Reform is designed to raise student performance, close the achievement gap, and increase the level of academic rigor in middle schools. Schools will be able to choose from 31 new courses that have been field tested in the MSMC or Phase I middle schools. New program offerings incorporate rigorous coursework, including seven high school credit courses, with engaging content and innovative units of instructions. Several of the program components are multi-year offerings with course pathways that run from grade 6 through grade 8.

As middle school reform efforts continue, the Fiscal Year 2009 budget includes a proposal to expand a number of courses offered in the Middle School Magnet Consortium (MSMC) to additional middle schools. The move to add courses would begin with the five Phase 1 schools — Earle B. Wood, Benjamin Banneker, Sligo, Roberto Clemente and Montgomery Village — and nine middle schools that will be a part of Phase 2, which haven't yet been selected.

Over the summer, teachers at these schools received additional training to assist them in boosting academic achievement. Interactive technology is also playing an important role in the classroom to enhance students' learning experiences.

Several new courses will be offered at the five schools:

• Arts Investigation: An elective where students will engage in and analyze visual arts, dance, music and theater.
• Computer Art Fundamentals
• Computer Aided Drafting/Design with Applied Robotic Engineering
• Foundations of Art A/B*
• Forensic Science Grade 8
• Information Communication Technologies: An elective that will make technology an integral part of instruction.
• Introduction to Engineering Design*
• Lights, Camera, Literacy! which connects filmmaking and text by helping students learn how to read visual text and create effective visual communications. During the course, students will work together to produce a short film.
• Lights, Camera, Film, Literacy!
• Readers Theatre Grade 7
• Software Applications by Design A/B*

*High School credit course

External link: Middle School Reform