Jack Wagener - Principal

Community Heroes Rock Garden Video

Altoona Middle School
A Place Where Everyone Can Succeed

We believe each and every child deserves a world class education…welcome to Altoona Middle School! Students, parents and the community are welcome into the planning and preparation of their child’s future. Our curriculum offers rich academic and exploratory courses supported with abundant technology. Altoona Middle School staff utilizes teaming, project-based learning and cooperation to facilitate a school environment where the focus is on the whole child’s intellectual, emotional and social development. If Altoona Middle School can ignite the child to learn to live and love to learn while embracing challenge and change, we have accomplished our goal. Our highly qualified staff is blessed with great community support. You are always welcome here. Please stay in touch and visit us often. The coffee is hot and the water is cold!

Jack Wagener
AMS Principal and proud member of the AMS Team

Philosophy

The philosophy of Altoona Middle School is to educate our children in partnership with the family and community to live responsible, creative and fulfilling lives as contributing citizens of the United States and the world.

Mission

Altoona Middle School is dedicated to providing a comprehensive curriculum that recognizes the unique intellectual, physical, social, emotional and artistic needs of the young adolescent.

We provide programs and opportunities emphasizing:

High academic standards
Accountability
Cooperation and respect for others
Exploration and creativity
Problem solving and decision making
Proficiency in current technologies

Our goal is that through these efforts, students will become competent and confident with the skills and knowledge needed to meet the challenges of the future.

Our School

Altoona Middle School is a fifth through eighth grade facility serving the needs of approximately 500 students. We believe in partnerships at Altoona Middle School. When students, staff and parents/guardians are working together, then schools are a place for student success, which is both academically stimulating and emotionally supportive. Through this partnership approach, we hold students accountable for both academics and behavior.

• The middle school philosophy will be increasingly understood.
• Students will become increasingly responsible for their own behavior and academic 
  achievement.
• As partnerships are fostered, trust will be increasingly exhibited throughout the middle school
  community.
• The students are held accountable for mastery of the curriculum.

Middle School Beliefs

During the early adolescent years (ages 10 to 14) students are different than elementary or high school pupils. They are in the most dramatic period of growth and change of their educational lives.

Instruction at the middle school must be different than at elementary or high school. Our middle school strives to teach students based on how an early adolescent thinks.

Educational programs must also be different. Effective learning in the middle school has opportunities for both additional help and challenge. The program addresses the interests and needs of the "whole child".

Middle School Curriculum

Altoona Middle School strives to offer educational experiences which promote growth, challenge and success. instruction is adapted to the rates of learning, achievement and reading levels of the students. Pupils participate in a core curriculum of English and spelling, reading, science, math, and social studies. Interdisciplinary meetings are held among staff members to evaluate student progress and to make adjustments as necessary. 

Exploratory Curriculum

In addition to core classes, middle school students study subjects such as art, music, family and consumer education, foreign culture, business, technology education, and physical education. These courses are important, as they allow students to explore their interests, prepare them for independent living and are a basis for later educational choices.

Activities/Programs

1. Teacher communication with parents/guardians when a student is in danger of failing.
2. Review progress reports and report cards every four to five weeks and communicate concerns with parents and guardians.
3. Have an improvement staffing including: parents/guardians, teachers, students, and administration. This meeting will conclude with a written report identifying a specific plan for success. An improvement staffing may happen more than once per year, and it may be done over the phone if everyone is in agreement.
4. We will organize after-school study clubs on an as needed basis. Also, teachers will be available to students until 3:30 p.m. on days they are not required to attend staffings or meetings.
5. Hire teachers to remediate course benchmarks for students who have not mastered the material required for future school success. This would take place at the end of each quarter, one to three days from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. It could also take place on Saturday or during the summer.
6. Require or suggest a self-study correspondence course to make up a deficiency not offered during summer school. This could be paid for by the district or the parent, depending on the individual situation.
7. If previous interventions have failed, a split grade schedule would be followed during the upcoming year. (i.e. A student may have some eighth grade and ninth grade classes and have the opportunity to catch up over two years, providing they apply themselves.)

Homework Policy

• Homework incorporates a wider definition than most students realize. It includes the completion of work not finished in class, completion of short-term assignments, review of work completed that day, and study for quizzes and tests.
• Students who schedule a study time on a regular basis to complete homework have an advantage over those who do not.
• The most common reason for failure is related to the inability to complete required assignments.
• Students are reminded that when they return to school following an absence, they are expected to check with the teachers about make-up work and to catch up on assignments and tests.
• Homework assigned during absences are due 3 days from the day that the student returns to school.
• If students are absent, parents/guardians may request homework by calling the middle school office by 10:00 a.m. The message will be given to the teachers and the homework assignments can then be picked up in the office that day between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m.