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School Summary
Excellence: Every Child, Every Day. That is our motto at Mark Twain Middle School. We are diligently committed to excellence as we work with parents and the community in providing every child with a supportive and challenging learning environment. All students are empowered to achieve the highest academic standards necessary to become independent, responsible, and productive citizens. Our mission is to provide a safe environment which nurtures each student’s ability to learn and experience success. Our core beliefs and values are as follows: We hold that all children are capable of learning if given the time and a variety of ways in which to acquire knowledge. We believe in working with parents and the community to create a healthy nurturing learning environment through differentiation of instruction, having high expectations for all, and meeting students’ social and emotional needs. We also believe that our students’ academic successes lead them to be responsible citizens who will have a positive impact on the world. Our students are assigned to one of our 6 teams of approximately 125 students. We also have ESOL and Special Education 7 and 8th Grade Teams too! Each team is coordinated by the four core teachers (English, mathematics, science and social studies), a guidance counselor and an administrator. Teams create smaller learning communities within the large school setting. They also provide special events and positive recognition for students. Our rigorous electives program works in tandem with the core teams to build, strengthen, and reinforce student achievement, positive self-concept and health. Our “block” schedule allows students to attend all seven classes on Mondays, while spending longer periods of time in classes on Tuesdays through Fridays. This ensures students go “deeper” with content, have extended periods of time to practice new skills, and engage in complex reflection and meaning-making within each instructional session. It also provides staff with common time to focus on goals, planning, and data analysis to ensure each child is successful academically, socially, and emotionally. At the end of each block period day, Mark Twain MS is proud to introduce Extended Learning Time. This is time to provide specific intervention and remediation to students who need more support. It is also to provide silent, sustained reading time for students. The research is clear: every day, students should strive to read for 45 minutes. Families are reminded of this research as they carve out this time as well at home to support their child’s success and future. Lastly, our afterschool program boasts more than 25 clubs and activities for students focused on building academic, leadership, athletic, artistic, musical, and creative skills among our student body. Late bus transportation is provided three days a week in addition to our Tuesday and Friday program which runs until 6:00 pm with parent pickup. Communication is key at Mark Twain Middle School. Our award-winning website, weekly ConnectED Parent/Community email message from the principal, and FCPS 24-7 (Blackboard) pages (updated once a week by staff members) ensure that community members are informed about the goals and successes of Mark Twain Middle School. Our PTA meets once a month the second Thursday of every month and boasts events for students, financial support for best-instructional practice in the classrooms, and school reform initiatives to continue to allow us to meet the needs of students. Excellence: Every Child, Every Day.
Last Updated: 2009-08-10
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