A message from Mr. Daniel R. Johnson, Principal

Eisenhower Middle School

EISENHOWER MIDDLE SCHOOL – OUR VISION FOR OUR STUDENTS

Middle schools are a unique entity.  We are the transition for students as they progress from elementary school to the high school.  As we strive to recognize that each child comes with unique strengths, challenges, and needs, everyone at Eisenhower Middle School maintains high expectations for all our students. In this, we hold a vision that is aligned with Turning Points schools that our students will leave our middle school able to:

• Think creatively
• Identify and solve complex and meaningful problems
• Know and advocate for their passions, strengths, and challenges
• Communicate in varied formats
• Work well with all students within the building
• Lead healthy lives focused on life-long activity and wellness
• Be ethical and caring citizens of a diverse world

Middle school philosophy focuses on the whole child.  In this, our vision is focused on the social, emotional, ethical, and academic growth of all of our students.  We focus on these aspects in order to create a foundation for the child that they can build upon during their lives.  The risk factors that begin to creep into a child’s life during the middle school years, grades 6, 7, and 8, increase with expanded exposure to all of life’s challenges, forcing them to make decisions and choices that take part in forming this foundation. 

This is why EMS continues to revisit curricula, in order to strengthen our academic program, providing students with a solid academic core as they transition to the high school.  While we work to make sure that all of our students are proficient in reading and mathematics through rigorous coursework, we also acknowledge that a challenging middle-level curriculum is distinguished by activities that engage students and develop their analytical and problem-solving skills.  This is the curriculum format that we have undertaken as we continue to revise our offerings to our students.  Our new curricula taps into young adolescents’ emerging abilities to understand complex concepts and make multidisciplinary connections.  We have also increased our students’ exposure to art, music, world languages, technology, and wellness, understanding that middle level students need the opportunity to explore these varied educable prospects. 

Furthermore, we continually look at programs that we can offer to the students that will teach them about tolerance and caring, all while striving to create an atmosphere in which all of our students feel safe.  This focus on the ethical and emotional aspects that students will struggle with as they mature gives those students information so that they can make well-informed decisions.  Our staff is committed to forming solid relationships with our students in order to model social interactions with our students.

This multi-layered approach will allow our students to be prepared to contribute to society in significant ways. At the middle level, students have a growing awareness of the world outside of their immediate family.  In understanding this, we know that students at this age need to see and feel the relevance of their work, as well as how it connects to their lives and the world around them.  That is why we strive to make the work that students do in school have both intellectual depth and authentic purpose.  Rather than seeing their need for social contact and their physical energies as liabilities, we attempt to harness these qualities to increase learning opportunities.

Each of our students brings unique gifts and experiences, along with a varied capacity for learning, to our building everyday.  This is the challenge that our middle school staff welcomes as we create a learning environment that will allow all students to succeed.