Hillsboro Middle School—Faculty Handbook

U.S.D. #410

Thank you for your commitment to the children of Hillsboro Middle School!  One defining characteristic of this community is a heart of service and you teachers of HMS need to be commended for how you demonstrate this on a daily basis! 

 

We all know the students of this age group are experience a tremendous amount of apprehension as they experience new activities and freedoms to go with their biological changes.  This is formula for excitement or disaster and sometimes both at the same time.  As teachers of middle school children, we understand that we may have to work especially hard to better understand the best way to tap into their educational strengths. 

 

In a recent publication from the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Phi Delta Kappa and KnowHow2Go.org middle school students were surveyed about a variety of educational concerns.  One section of this publication reinforces what we know about the impact teachers have on their students.

 

Caring Teachers are Key to Student Success

“Middle school students clearly believe that helpful teachers help them learn more, but more teachers need to provide such support.  At the same time, middle schools have been criticized for lacking rigor, an there has been a push for middle school teachers to focus only on content mastery.  The challenge for school reformers is to resolve the tension between the need for caring, helpful teachers and a desire for a rigorous and demanding course of instruction...Although middle–level teachers should demonstrate competency in their subjects, the faculty and administrative team should also convey a sense of caring so that students know that adults have a stake in student learning.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know it is everyone’s goal here at HMS to be as helpful as possible for each of our students.                                                     

                                                                              Thanks again!

 

If you would like to look at the complete poll findings of the survey named above click here.