Middle School Program » Middle School Program (6th-8th Grades)

Middle School Program (6th-8th Grades)

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Middle School Mission & Vision

 
The mission of City View Charter School Middle School is to empower all students with the skills and knowledge to become compassionate, curious, collaborative young people who create a more peaceful world through global awareness, critical thinking, and a commitment to action and service. The staff at CVCS believes in working together with colleagues, students, parents, and the community to provide an inquiry-based learning environment that guides students to become knowledgeable, open-minded, reflective, and caring individuals who can apply learning through global and local contexts. With academic integrity and rigorous programs, students will develop intercultural understanding to help develop a better world.
 
City View's Middle School Program strives to develop community leaders through:

    • CHARACTER EDUCATION
    • CONNECTED  COMMUNITY
    • SERVICE-LEARNING
    • SCIENCE & ARTS INTEGRATION
    • ADVENTURE
 
 
As part of the EL Education Network (formerly Expeditionary Learning), we use a set of practices, curriculum, character framework, and professional development to support student achievement. This project-based learning model is active, challenging, and collaborative.

 

Middle School Expeditions

Middle School Learning Expeditions are long-term, in-depth investigations of a topic that engages students with authentic hands-on experiences. Expeditions are the heart of  City View’s methodology. Although some curricular skills are taught separately, most content is taught through the expedition topic. Each expedition has specific and well-defined academic goals developed from state standards. Most expedition topics are strong in literacy, environmental science, local resources, and social justice.
 
In middle school, the expeditions will be taught throughout the multiple subjects: math, science, and ELA, building a broad knowledge base for our students.


Middle School Fieldwork

Fieldwork in Middle School looks a little different than in City View's K-5th grades. Middle School Fieldwork generally includes overnight excursions that can be 2-4 days long.  
 
Outdoor School:
Our 6th graders attend Outdoor School with our 5th graders, which allows them to mentor and guide the younger students in an outdoor learning environment. 
 
Voyages Retreat:
 Each fall, the middle school starts off with a voyages retreat. Our Voyages retreat is generally a time for students to learn more about their crew and build a sense of identity. This fieldwork is a building block for the year.
 
Compass Retreat:
Middle School's mid-year, the students will start looking towards their future with our Compass Retreat. This retreat is a chance for students to tour local colleges, learn about what it takes to get into college, and experience what a typical college day may look like. The second part of this retreat is an opportunity for the students to get exposure to other fields of employment for their future. The goal of this fieldwork is to have students focus on career exploration and adventure.
 
Summit Retreat:
Summit retreat is the final fieldwork activity each school year. It is a chance for students to come together late as a crew and have a final adventure. At this time, we also celebrate our 8th-grade students as they head towards high school.
 
Additional fieldworks occur throughout the school year that extends the academic content knowledge.

 

Daily Scheduling

City View’s middle school program model is designed around EL Education’s instructional philosophy.  
EL Education uses three dimensions of academic achievement to support academic and social-emotional learning. The instructional model consists of Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character and Culture, and High-Quality Work.
All grades have required core classes and fieldwork that are attended based on the program model.  The content is arranged within a 5-period day, with the primary core content happening in the morning.  After lunch, students attend CREW, WIN (What I Need) time, and electives. Middle School students also participate in PE/Health 3 times a week.

City View implements the EL Education ELA curriculum, which is rooted in authentic topics relevant to real-world problems. Each curriculum module varies in content from the 6th to the 8th grade. The module lessons consist of a 45-minute block of content-based literacy instruction. Built to the needs of middle school learners, our block teaches and assesses the Language Arts standards for each grade. Modules are composed of authentic real-life problems that are culturally relevant by grade and standards.

City View uses the Amplify Science curriculum to meet the Next Generation Science Standards.  The curriculum rotates yearly in a three-year cycle of Earth Science, Physical Science, and Life Science.

CPM Educational Program has provided problem-based instructional materials and professional development for teachers since it began.  CPM teaching strategies focus on how students best learn and retain mathematics. Teaching strategies rely on the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and are based solidly on methodological research in teaching mathematics. The research-based principles that guide the course are:

  • Students should engage in problem-based lessons structured around a core idea.
  • Guided by a knowledgeable teacher, students should interact in groups to foster mathematical discourse.
  • Practice with concepts and procedures should be spaced over time; that is, mastery comes over time.

CPM and CCSS Mathematical Practices are deeply and seamlessly interwoven into the daily lessons. The course balances procedural fluency (algorithms and basic skills), deep conceptual understanding, strategic competence (problem-solving), and adaptive reasoning (application and extension). 

In Physical Education class, students will learn about different areas of fitness, including strength, flexibility, cardio-vascular health, nutrition, injury reduction, core strength, and balance. Students will set personal fitness goals and develop a fitness plan. They will track their success and work to improve their outcomes. The class is appropriate for all ability levels. Physical Education for middle school meets three times per week. 

WIN Time is a 40 minute period Monday-Thursday embedded in the master schedule for students to prioritize their level of learning.  WIN Time acknowledges diverse academic levels and provides intervention and accelerated academic and social-emotional support. It can reinforce academic content that may need additional time to comprehend.  While some school-wide initiatives might occur during WIN Time, teachers will not be teaching new course material. No homework will be required during WIN time.  As this is school instructional time, students are expected to be in the classroom or designated learning space for the entire WIN Time period.  To support ownership and responsibility in learning students will be asked to set WIN goals for each class period.  A universal exit ticket is required. 

Electives are student-driven by interest and staffing strengths. At the end of the day, students have the option of two electives. Electives are held on either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday, and none on Fridays. Electives are changed quarterly and incorporate student choice. Some electives are semester-long only. Electives are based on staffing, and topics vary based on teacher strengths.