Lewis F. Cole Middle School has flourished as a stepping-stone to high school for 55 years. Each year, we build upon successful programs and add to our list of new accomplishments through the infusion of innovative activities and teaching strategies. The professional teaching staff and administration at the middle school take pride in developing students who are succeeding academically at each new level of learning, while incorporating the character elements needed to foster civic responsibility and good citizenship. Our large and culturally diverse school population continues to strive for excellence at every academic and social level. At the same time, we have been able to maintain a positive community profile, which embraces the spirit of volunteerism and intergenerational activities.
We continue to offer a comprehensive program of content studies. While accelerated programs in Geometry, Algebra, Science, and Language Arts meet the needs of our gifted and talented students, our basic skills programs help struggling students meet levels of proficiency. Special education teachers are able to fully accommodate students’ needs in a regular classroom setting through collaborative teaching programs. The library’s technology lab helps to supplement existing middle school programs and prepares middle school students for the rigorous demands of our high school.
We are extremely proud of our students and all of their accomplishments in the arts and sciences. Our school possesses many musically gifted students who excel on the performance stage. For the 2013-2014 school year, six of our students were selected for the Bergen County Regional Ensemble while eight additional students were selected for the Bergen County Regional Choir. This is an impressive feat considering almost 50 schools try to attain this recognition for their students every year. Along with our string orchestra and bells ensemble, Lewis F. Cole Middle School knows how to bring it together musically!
We also have to mention our accomplishments academically to prove how well-rounded we truly are as a middle school. 88 of our students received perfect scores of 300 on the Mathematics section of NJASK 7 and NJASK 8. That comes to approximately 17% of our student population. We have also been awarded First Place in Bergen County for the last three school years on the American Math Competition (AMC 8). These are incredible accomplishments that speak for our incredibly strong mathematics faculty.
Along with the arts and sciences, we offer a wide range of clubs and activities for our students to get involved in after school hours. Intermedia, our school’s literary and fine arts magazine, won a Gold Crown Award last year for its outstanding publication. Only two middle schools in the entire nation received this recognition. We also offer a yearbook club, student council, peer mediation team, bias busters club, math team, after-school band, after-school choir, after-school bells ensemble, Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.), and after-school intramurals. We also forged our path towards establishing middle school athletics by adding a Girls Volleyball team- our first athletic team in school history. Our commitment to our students’ growth goes way beyond the classroom and reaches out for social and emotional belonging.
Several major initiatives were implemented this year at Lewis F. Cole Middle School with technology being at the forefront of those plans. The first was the installation of 10 new interactive projectors for our classrooms. This plan also helped us to convert 13 chalkboards into white boards. We are also preparing for a start to the long-awaited construction project at our middle school. This project will add eight new classrooms and transform current offices and classrooms into a new, more modern design. Three new science labs will be built while our music room, fine arts room, and library will receive large makeovers. This is an exciting time that brings a lot of hope and vision for a bigger and better school for our students and teachers.
Our curriculum is consistently being modified to meet the individual needs of our students and to align our instruction with Common Core Standards dictated by the State of New Jersey and United States Department of Education. It is always our goal to revise our curriculum so that it remains a living, breathing document which provides guidance and resources for teachers, students, and parents alike. Last year, we finalized the newly developed curriculum for language arts. This year, we will work on science and social studies with the goal of aligning teacher lessons with Common Core Standards and integrating technology at every level.
Along with all of this, our teachers are also preparing for a new evaluation system under the Charlotte Danielson Model. We will also be using the Teachscape software to conduct all evaluations. This is a major paradigm shift for our teachers who have been working hard to meet accountability demands from our local, state, and federal agencies. All teachers must also have two Student Growth Objectives completed by November 15, 2013 in order to begin the process of measuring student growth through data.
As a community, we are committed to moving LFCMS forward. It is our goal to further reinforce an already strong academic program that will prepare our students to be future communicators, analysts, and synthesizers of knowledge. All students must become critical thinkers, life-long learners, and contributing members of our community. We always take pride in our work and look forward to assisting all students in their academic and social challenges.