Weatherbottom Middle School

A newly redesigned school servicing our districts 6-8th graders

Prepared by:
Ms. Jodie Clouser
Ms. Emily Driver
Mr. Hank Mann

1
2

Why Reorganization?

Contents:

Within this bulletin, you will find

information regarding the reorganization of Weatherbottom Junior
High School, servicing grades 7-9, into
Weatherbottom Middle School,
servicing grades 6-8. The reasons we
have decided to do this are many, but
below are our three primary concerns.

School Organization.3

(1) Adolescents between the ages of 11

and 14 experience more physical,
mental, and emotional changes than at
any other point in their lifetimes
besides infancy.
(2) Because young people begin
grappling with issues earlier than when
Weatherbottom was first organized, it
is important to group students with
peers experiencing the same struggles
and questions they are.
(3) Studies show that adolescents learn
much better in an environment with
adult advocates trained in
understanding adolescents and their
characteristics.

Advisory Program3
Faculty and Staff4
Curriculum4
Instruction4
Exceptional Learners5
Connection to the Community.5

WMS Fosters Developmental

Responsiveness Through:
Semester-long themes
Project-based learning
Community and Service Learning
Active and Available Adult
Advocacy through Staff and Faculty
Motivating, Exploratory
Coursework
Responsiveness to Student Needs
and Interests
Faculty/Staff Collaboration and
Development

Our Philosophy:
To meet the needs of young adolescents and develop them into
curious, competent learners and citizens.
To cultivate students with regard to their individuality and
participation in society.
To provide equity in support of our students, to foster student
strengths, and value each child.
To create individuals that have a love for learning and service in the
community.
2

Weatherbottom Middle School serves 600 students (200 per grade). Each
grade will be split into two interdisciplinary teams of four teachers. This
gives us a core teacher/student ratio of 1:25.

Advisory Program
Our advisory program will take place at the end of every school day, with a longer
advisory period on Fridays. Fridays will be spent participating in service advisory,
an ongoing service learning project undertaken by each advisory class to encourage
community participation.
What is the goal of advisory? Put simply, advisory exists to foster academic and
personal support for students, to create school as a safe place, to educate students
about issues relating to their desires and unique needs to cultivate students voices,
to inspire students towards citizenship and service, and to encourage diversity.
Advisory Curriculum:
6th graders will focus on team building and transitioning to middle school, while 7th
graders will move into exploring their individual identities and issues facing
adolescents. 8th graders will begin preparing for high school transition while
continuing the focus of their 6th and 7th grade years.
All students will focus on creating an exploratory
community, seek to gain knowledge about personal
issues and others experiences, work to develop
considerate attitudes and empathy, cultivate
teamwork, engage in activities and discussion, and,
above all else, participate in service and community
based learning.

The Advisor:
Is an Advocate
Leads the student
team in Cohesion and
Inclusion
Acts as a Role Model
3

Faculty and Staff

Each team contains 4 core teachers, each responsible for
two of the following subjects: Math, Science, English, and
Social Studies. This promotes interdisciplinary learning
and collaboration amongst instructors.
In addition, our school will hire teachers for Art, PE,
Band, Chorus/Theater, Technology,
Horticulture/Agriculture, Spanish, German. Chinese, and
ESL. Each teacher in the school (Core and Elective)
instructs a course as part of our exploratory program,
through which students can enhance their own interests
in an informal classroom setting.

A good teacher can

inspire hope, ignite
the imagination,
and instill a love of
learning.
-Brad Henry

All instructors and students are supported by an

abundance of Support Personnel, including but not
limited to: Principal, Guidance Counselors, Nurses,
Psychologists, AIG specialists, EC teachers, Resource
Officer, and a Community Service Coordinator.

Curriculum and Instruction

Our curriculum is organized around the principle that each
student deserves an education geared toward their individual
abilities and interests. To facilitate this, we strive to provide a
relevant and interesting curriculum to all students.
Part of our curriculum revolves around service learning, which
will be undertaken by individual advisory groups. Students are
graded on this based on their participation and effort.
Each teacher will seek to integrate technology into the
classroom in a relevant way and gear their instructional
methods to students individual needs. Assessment will be
project-based, as this allows for fairer evaluation of each
students abilities.
Because we believe organizing students into classes by ability
to be unfair, each classroom will be composed of learners of
all skill levels. Teachers will differentiate instruction to suit
the level at which each student is working. Students who are
in Academically/Intellectually Gifted or Exceptional Childrens
programs will have additional instructors and coordinators with
whom they will work for more individualized instruction.
4

Why Weatherbottom Middle School? Here are a few

additional things that make us unique compared to
other schools in our area:
Exceptional Children
EC students will be fully included whenever possible. EC
teachers in each grade will collaborate with core teachers
to supplement each students unique abilities.

Life Skills
For those students who are unable to be in a general
education setting, a life skills classroom is offered. This
class focuses on important skills and supports self-reliance
as students transition to adulthood.

Academically/Intellectually Gifted Students

AIG students will have their normal coursework
supplemented by an AIG specialist. This collaboration with
their core teachers will result in more challenging work,
and will help keep AIG students engaged in their normal
classroom setting.

Communities Supporting Schools

As themes are chosen for each semester, community
figures will speak at the school regarding those topics. We
welcome the communitys involvement in school life as
students learn how their schooling relates to real life
applications.

Schools Supporting Their Communities

The most innovative part of our curriculum is our inclusion
of service to the community. This allows students to
discover new interests, contribute to our community, and
create a space for themselves within the adult world.
Monthly school potlucks will support parent/student
involvement within the learning community.
5