Small Middle Schools

[Bill Ivey]

I got the message asking about small independent schools and schedules. I thought I'd start a discussion here.

We are definitely small - 28 students (16 8th graders, 12 7th graders). We are an all-girls school for boarding and day students.

I'll attach our daily schedule and a key to who takes what when. Beyond what is listed, we have usually been able to

There are a few special circumstances:
1. Two 7th graders take Geometry in the Upper School.
2. Two 8th graders take Algebra II in the Upper School.
3. Three students are in the Chamber group.
4. Two students are in the Big Band.
5. Most years, we are able to squeeze in Dance by sacrificing a period a week of 7th grade "Exploring Language" during the spring term.

Any questions, just ask!

Take care,
Bill

P.S. I could see this discussion touching on other "small middle school" topics besides schedule. Maybe?!

[Tracey Muise]

OUr school is PK-8. There are 41 students in middle school. We have one 1/2 time (am only) math teacher and share our "cocurricular" teachers with the rest of the school. Both of those teacher issue constrain our schedule. We were able to extend our day by 10 minutes this year which gave us considerable classroom time.

[Marcy Mann]

Thanks, Bill and Tracey, for your input. I'm impressed by what you are able to do!

In addition to providing schedules, what do people think is most important to include in MS programs? Schedules show the goods, so to speak, and I'm grateful for all input, but I'd love to read a bit about what your schools have included/excluded and what variables went into making those decisions. With so many constraints imposed by small size, what are your priorities?

Thanks!
-Marcy

[Marcy Mann]

Hi Bill - My MS curriculum ctte looked at your materials yesterday and found them interesting. Our MS is only 34 students so our size is comparable, and we also have an ESL program. What percentage of your students in MS are doing your ESL program?

Thanks a bunch.
-Marcy

[Bill Ivey]

Hi!

Sorry, I missed this when it first came through. We began the year with 8/28 students in our ESL program, and currently have six. I suspect it will shift to four or five in a few days as several kids are about to take the placement test in an attempt to move up to mainstreaming.

Take care,
Bill