Our goal at Northwoods Middle School is to prepare scholars for their role as contributing members of society by infusing the elements found in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate in our instructional programs and our culture and climate. Each day, we strive to provide a safe, caring, and academically challenging learning environment where all students can achieve success. Northwoods Middle School continues to make progress in student achievement by providing high-quality instruction supported through effective professional learning community opportunities for teachers and intentional implementation of rigorous curriculum and academic expectations. We are committed to continuously using a variety of student-centered approaches to facilitate student growth, accelerate student performance, and meet all scholars’ academic needs.
Northwoods Middle School has been able to provide students with opportunities for high school credits in Honors Algebra I, Honors English I, and Spanish, along with exposure to Project Lead the Way courses, reading and mathematics interventions, digital adaptive content, arts-infused project-based learning, and other meaningful extracurricular activities. Additionally, our teachers seek to strengthen their instructional practices by learning new and innovative strategies to implement in the classroom by attending weekly professional development and sharing common planning periods. Our primary focus is to improve the percentage of students reading on and above grade level, so we are implementing several strategies to improve student achievement in reading. We utilize Language Live with students who are close to grade level to help accelerate their learning and offer students daily intervention in reading. We also have a trained Master Reading Teacher who works with students to improve their reading skills as measured on the MAP assessment.
We are continuously working to make steady academic progress, but we have also made considerable strides in changing the climate and culture of the school by creating unique opportunities for scholars to participate in activities that promote creativity, reflection, and growth. While our population continues to grow, our discipline has decreased with the assistance of Restorative Practices, PBIS, and Second Steps. Students are taking ownership of their behaviors and utilizing effective conflict-resolution strategies. This promotes critical thinking as a way to solve problems and improve communication skills.
We can proudly say that Northwoods Middle School has the best students and staff. We have a supportive stakeholder group that believes that the school, family, and community must share the educational responsibility for all of our students. We are confident that if we work together, our students will have a strong foundation and necessary support in order to achieve academic success throughout their educational journey.
Dr. Keturah Gadson, Principal
Ms. Zenovia Dixon, School Improvement Council Chairperson
