Muller Road Middle School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by empowering every student to achieve academic and personal success, preparing them to contribute to the advancement of our global community. For the 2023-2024 school year, our motto “We Win” inspired our school community to relentlessly pursue excellence in all endeavors. When students strive to excel, they exhibit academic agency, taking ownership of their learning and overall school experience.
Muller Road Middle School aims to unite a diverse community and to empower and challenge all students in a safe, supportive, and rigorous environment, cultivating academic excellence and fostering social and emotional growth. We achieve this by ensuring that our faculty and staff create a student-centered environment aligned with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD) Whole Child Initiative. This initiative emphasizes that optimal learning occurs when students are Challenged, Healthy, Engaged, Supported, and Safe (CHESS). Through this framework, students connect deeply with their learning experiences, equipping them to be Future Ready. Our mission and vision also align with the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE), an organization committed to supporting educators in reaching every student and fostering academic excellence, social equity, developmental responsiveness, and well-structured educational processes.
Recognizing the unique social and emotional challenges of middle school, Muller Road is committed to being developmentally responsive. We aim to see students as individuals and provide necessary wrap-around services to support their positive development. To address this need, we have implemented an advisory program that includes mindfulness activities every Monday to help students regulate and start their week positively. Additionally, school administrators and counselors deliver daily affirmations and positive messages on the morning news, reinforcing our core values: Behavior, Leadership, Involvement, Scholarship, and Service (BLISS). We encourage students to embody these values both in school and the community. Students who exemplify BLISS are rewarded with Muller Bucks, redeemable for items that bring joy to middle school students. This is part of our positive behavior intervention and rewards system. We also hold quarterly awards assemblies to recognize students for outstanding grades, character, and citizenship, among other qualities. Our "Grades Right, Behavior Tight" quarterly celebrations reward students with high academic standing and exemplary behavior, providing a 90-minute event with activities such as ice cream parties, dance parties, and interactive games. This initiative encourages students to maintain high standards throughout the school year. Additionally, our “Popsicles for Progress” program rewards students who show academic improvement on their quarterly benchmarks.
Academics are a pivotal focus at Muller Road. We have innovatively restructured our advisory model to provide students with an additional 30 minutes of enrichment or remediation daily, rotating through their core course teachers. By the end of each week, students receive extra time with each core teacher, supporting both enrichment and remediation needs. We also offer quarterly grade recovery opportunities for students needing to catch up in up to two core courses, ensuring they remain on track academically.
Muller Road offers five high school credit courses, including English 1, Algebra 1, Geometry, Spanish 1, and a Computer Science elective. These courses give students a head start on their high school journey, allowing them to take more advanced courses in the future.
We are proud to have an award-winning magnet program, The Leadership Academy at Muller (LAM), led by Magnet Schools of America 2023 Magnet Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Emily Eberlin. Our Leadership Magnet students engage with the state standards and Hirsch's Core Knowledge as part of their leadership curriculum. They also benefit from extended learning opportunities, such as field studies and guest speakers, optimizing their educational experience.
Muller Road is fortunate to have strong support from our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and School Improvement Council. The School Improvement Council has proposed a comprehensive catalog of resources to help parents support their children’s academic needs. Our PTO has raised over $30,000, funding various school needs including support for our music programs, athletics, teacher appreciation, supplies, teacher reimbursement, and school branding. The collective commitment from educators, students, families, and the community is essential for our success, and we are grateful for our supportive parent community's dedication to achieving our goals.
Dr. Brandon R. Ross, Principal
Andrea Vaughn, SIC Chairperson
