Scarsdale Public Schools

During these years, school plays a critical role in helping shape a child's identity and positive self-esteem. In the past, large, impersonal “junior high schools” exacerbated the difficulties of adolescents and often left them feeling disconnected from school and their teachers.

Scarsdale Middle School is unique, and has been for many years, because its structure most closely reflects what research says is essential for middle schools to be safe, efficacious and responsive places in which early adolescents can grow and thrive.

While today many middle schools have teams of teachers, most still do not have “houses,” “neighborhoods,” or similarly named smaller communities of students within the school. Scarsdale Middle School has five such smaller communities—Butler House, Cooper House, Fountain House, Popham House and CHOICE, a grades 7-8 alternative program. Students are equally divided among the four Houses, each of which is smaller in size than the elementary schools that our students previously attended.

A student's House is his or her “home away from home,” a base for all three years, from which their day begins and in which a student spends approximately half of his or her day. Students take their four core academic subjects—English, math, social studies and science -- in the House. They have a homeroom period to start the day in the House and also eat lunch in the House, a unique feature among middle schools nationally.

What is also unique about our Middle School is that each House is guided and supervised by a House Counselor, a certified guidance counselor who gets to know each student in that House personally, and tracks individual progress over the course of three years. House Counselors fill multiple roles for parents, students and staff, as conduits of information, resolvers of conflicts, intermediaries among constituent groups, and as the primary point of contact between home and school. The House Counselors exemplify the school's commitment to maintaining a vital and human connection between adults and young adolescents. They serve as models of professional and personal respect and dignity, extended to every student. They guide, counsel, re-direct and set limits for behavior, while helping students to channel their energies in productive and positive directions.

The House Counselors understand that each year of middle school is unique, and that the changes from sixth to seventh to eighth grade are profound and must guide the nature of adult interactions with students. Counselors meet with students on an ongoing basis, individually, in small groups, and in formal classes or small assemblies in the House. Relevant topics such as cheating, academic responsibility, bullying, and organizational and study skills are discussed.

The Youth Services Project, jointly funded by the Board of Education and the Village of Scarsdale, also provides crucial assistance to students. Currently three Youth Counselors serve the Middle School. Youth Counselors meet individually with students and also in groups centered on specific themes such as friendship, divorce, family illness or behavioral management.

The Middle School is also fortunate to have two school psychologists on staff who meet individually or in groups with students and parents, and also conduct testing for students under consideration for classification as special needs students. In addition, there are two full-time nurses on staff to address the many health-related issues that come up during this period of development, from the minor scrape to managing more serious conditions.

In order to provide a strong safety net for students here, one of the Assistant Principals chairs the Counseling Coordination Committee, which meets on a bi-weekly basis. The Committee consists of the House Counselors, Youth Counselors, psychologists and nurses. They discuss individual students of concern and make certain that whatever services these students need are being provided on a consistent and timely basis.

Since its inception in 1974, the CHOICE program has provided an alternative learning experience for seventh and eighth graders. In this smaller-school atmosphere, students and teachers can work together to create a positive, supportive community. CHOICE develops a close-knit community of learners over a two-year period. In addition to its academic focus, the program especially seeks to foster personal growth and development. Group process, community service and self-governance help students form a sense of community that is special and meaningful.

The curriculum includes mathematics, science, Humanities, and CHOICE Studies while students integrate with the main building for foreign language, quarterly and PE/music. Mathematics students follow the seventh grade advanced mathematics curriculum that prepares them for the high school level math class in 8thgrade. Science classes emphasize hands-on laboratory learning and science applications. The Humanities program combines the teaching of English and social studies and focuses on historical turning points.

The CHOICE Studies period allows students to explore individual interests, typically through interdisciplinary study of major social, political, scientific and economic issues of our times. Students will write a research paper and create a documentary about a current global issue. During these processes students are asked to think critically, weigh alternatives and make difficult decisions after considering competing viewpoints. This culminates with the CHOICE Film Festival in April and some of the documentaries will be included in Human Rights Day presentations.

In 2009, The CHOICE Studies program began a partnership with Yale University's Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER) where students learn to view themselves as global citizens of our very complicated world. With visits to Yale's campus in New Haven, Connecticut as well as sessions at CHOICE, students experience other cultures and customs, learn about the history of various world regions and listen to the stories of people from countries like Iraq, Ghana and China.

It is necessary for middle school to be different from elementary school, because young adolescents have needs that are very different from their pre-adolescent years. It is a time for students to experiment and try on new identities to see which one fits them best. They have an emerging need for greater independence, albeit a need that must be tempered with continued adult guidance and support. That need also manifests itself in the form of testing limits and authority, which can be exasperating for teachers and parents alike. Students at this age, though, are also very idealistic about people and the world and are enthusiastic participants in community service projects. They are also hypersensitive to adult behavior and easily see the hypocrisy in what we do versus what we say. Providing them with positive adult role models becomes critical.

Here are some essential differences in structure and expectations between elementary and middle school that students will experience:

• There is homework, usually every night
• There are formal quizzes, tests and grades
• They will have a different teacher for each subject, each year
• Beginning in grade seven, they will take final exams
• They will have a schedule which they must learn to follow
• They will have a locker, which will require them to organize their day

Parents experience these differences as well. For example, your child will be much less enthusiastic about your coming to school. If they pass you in the hall they might very well pretend they don't know you.

They will seemingly become less communicative about school, usually greeting the daily question, “What did you do in school today?” with a resounding, “Nothing!” However, they will think you are invisible as you drive them to soccer practice because they will talk non-stop to their car mates about everything under the sun. Listening quietly at such times will probably tell you much more than direct questioning!

Here are some tips from the National Middle School Association's pamphlet “How to Enjoy Living with a Preadolescent.”

• First, get ready for changes! Change is the one constant in adolescence. Accept these changes and behaviors as inevitable and necessary but not forever.
• Be willing to listen, but don't pry. Listen carefully but avoid lecturing.
• Don't give in to manipulation, but don't use power unless it's urgent.
• When reprimanding, deal only with the presenting problem; don't bring up other or past issues.
• Don't let your middle schooler's moods dictate your moods—keep your sense of equilibrium.
• Understand that middle school often means turbulent times for friendships. All friendships have ups and downs, even with “best friends.”
• If your child is in the midst of a longstanding friendship that is breaking apart, the best you can do is stand by and be a good listener. As difficult as it is to see our child hurting, taking sides or intervening is not appropriate nor will it help.
• Understand that a part of dealing with their anxiety about themselves and whether or not they “belong,” is the adolescent's need to take risks, like jumping off the garage roof or being aggressive in sports. As parents you need to be their safe haven, assuring them that you are there for them
• Realize that there are some enjoyable moments during this time—actual conversations may occur, for example. You will be impressed with your child's ability to handle more complex social interactions. Their ability to think and create and connect ideas will become more and more apparent. In short, you will see them begin to mature and that will delight you!

While the relationship between parents and school changes in these middle years, the importance of a strong partnership between the two does not change. A child's growth and development depends upon alignment of home and school so that students receive a consistent message from both. Consistent, positive contact among families, the teams of teachers and House Counselors helps to create a climate of trust between the most important adult influences on a child.

Parents can assist the school by letting us know about family situations or personal issues that could impact a child's functioning at school. All such communications are kept strictly confidential. Likewise, the school assumes responsibility for communicating with parents in a timely fashion so that parents know how their child is handling his or her academic workload, as well, informing parents about other issues that inevitably arise during the middle school years.

Scarsdale Middle School continues to assess its home-school communications and develops new methods of keeping parents “in the loop.” The primary means of communicating with parents is electronic, with email blasts sent to all parents or sub groups of parents when needed. Parents also have access to information about their child through the parent portal of Infinite Campus, the district's database and information system. After establishing a log-in, parents can check the parent portal to read their child's mid-period progress report, check his or her schedule and attendance and review the quarterly report card. Each teacher has a website through the Middle School page on the district website that is accessible to parents. Teachers use the site to let parents and students know what assignments and activities are occurring in their class or on a team. We are committed to helping parents stay on top of their child's education and development.

Scarsdale Middle School has long offered a strong academic preparation that engages students in learning. A special priority is also to encourage young people to commit themselves to better the lives of others.

One of the great rewards of teaching early adolescents is that they sincerely believe they can make a difference in the world, while the greatest challenge may be their proclivity to narcissism. For both reasons, the school emphasizes activities that pull students out of themselves and their world into the world of service. This approach is consistent with the district's motto, Non Sibi—“not for one's self alone.”

Scarsdale Middle School makes a conscious and concerted effort to fulfill the district motto of Non Sibi. We express that motto in our oft-repeated phrase, “From Me to We.” Our annual Human Rights Day teaches students to “Think Globally; Act Locally” about a wide range of world, national and local issues. Our Student Organization places a strong emphasis on service to the school and community. They have participated in activities ranging from Habitat for Humanity to fundraising for a number of charitable causes. Each year, for example, they contribute almost 5,000 pounds of canned goods to the Westchester Food Patch. Some of our sixth students participate in an intergenerational project where students interview elderly citizens about the various phases and events of their lives and will produce podcasts of these interviews, along with other activities.

The school community is also noted for its “green school” initiative that has spread awareness of the urgency for sustaining our environment, locally and globally. A number of environmental activities, including a school garden, are part of this initiative. Our approach here, as with all activities, is to help students “learn it by living it.” At this level, it is essential that adults do the work alongside students, not do it for them. Adults must serve as role models of work and service that lead to productive and fulfilling lives.

In these ways and more, Scarsdale Middle School takes students beyond the world of academics and begins to prepare them in attitude and in action to be the responsible leaders and citizens of the future world community.