Vision Statement

(To open a .pdf file of the Vision Statement, click here)

Linden Avenue Middle School will provide academically excellent, challenging, and developmentally responsive educational experiences that will facilitate students reaching their full potential.  Students will master the knowledge, skills, and habits necessary to successfully complete higher levels of education, develop a lifelong love of learning, become economically and civically productive adults, and grow into future leaders of our society.

Students will be challenged and energized through innovative techniques, time-honored practices, and, at times, humor that will address individual learning styles.   Students will be encouraged and expected to learn, communicate, and think for themselves. They will participate in lively discourse and understand the connections between disciplines through higher order thinking skills.   Students will understand and master important concepts, develop essential skills, and apply what they have learned to clearly defined assessments and real life situations.  An environment will be fostered in which the core curricula, the arts, and physical education are all highly valued and integral to student learning. The curiosity, energy, and interests of students will be further enhanced by extracurricular programs, which will encourage leadership opportunities.

Teachers and staff will remain active in professional growth and explore best educational practices and current literature.  Through common planning time, the teachers will discuss student achievement, share best practices and multi-disciplinary connections, examine student work in relation to their lessons, and develop strategies to address students’ various learning styles. Teacher collaboration will be ongoing, and new teachers will be supported with an experienced mentor to aid in their transition to our school.  Student achievement and the context for learning will drive teacher decisions about the type of instructional strategies to employ, the design of activities, and the means of assessment. 

The administration will provide the leadership, support, and resources necessary to promote and assist the instructional process. To promote student achievement and enhance the classroom-learning environment, teachers and staff will be provided with the latest technological hardware, software, training, and support. The physical space of classrooms and building as well as the instructional time will be utilized in a variety of ways to allow for flexibility and innovation.

A dynamic partnership between the community and the school will facilitate effective and consistent communication.  Families will be welcome, will be well informed, and will reinforce classroom instruction, high academic standards and behavioral expectations.  The community at large will provide resources and connections which will enhance and reinforce the educational process.  The community will support the school in creating a healthy, challenging environment which will allow students to have varied experiences.

To be better prepared for an ever shrinking global community, students will learn, teachers will teach, and the community will support a compassionate environment that embraces the joy of working with young adolescents. Together we will foster an atmosphere in which high academic expectations are celebrated, leadership is cultivated, and the process of learning is valued as much as the final product.