A.R. Rucker Middle School is diligently working to develop and grow students in all areas of their lives to ensure that they are best equipped to face any new challenge they are met with. To help us reach this goal, we will continue to center our improvement efforts on the four domains of the Schools To Watch Program (Academic Excellence, Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity, and Organizational Structures and Processes). Systemic approaches are in place for instruction, professional development, discipline, and community involvement and partnerships. We have worked hard to return to somewhat of a normal school year and move forward from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have learned from our past experiences and have continued to be creative in providing opportunities for our students to be involved in athletics, afterschool programs/activities, and with the arts to ensure that we are meeting their needs both socially and academically.
A. R. Rucker Middle School’s 2021-2022 school theme has been “One team…One Dream: Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts!” and together the faculty, students, and community have truly been a united team in this ever changing year. Working as a cohesive unit, teachers and students have had to think outside of the box and to be innovative to build relationships, meet the needs of our 21st Century learners, and foster a love for learning in new and engaging ways. The faculty and staff have worked to set goals for our students and ensured that systemic approaches were in place to foster academic growth in all classes. Teachers have participated in a variety of virtual and in person professional development opportunities that have allowed them to better understand and use Google classroom as the platform for delivering and differentiating instruction, using the workshop model as the method for delivering instruction in the core content classes, and looking at a variety of technology-based resources to use in their classrooms to enhance student engagement. Teachers and departments have used Google Meet as their main platform to meet and plan as teams, grade levels, and departments.
As team players, the students, the staff, the parents, and the community have united to help ensure that learning is taking place each day for all students. A.R.Rucker Middle School is a one to one technology based school and all students have a district issued Chromebook that has been allowed to travel between school and home to ensure that learning is taking place in and out of school. This has created new paths for how instruction is delivered and for how students complete and turn in assignments. As the year began with students completely back in the building, learning has continued to follow a technology rich basis for instruction. The school’s media specialist and the technology coach have collaborated with teachers and pushed into classes for co-teaching opportunities to really move students into the digital world and really differentiate and customize instruction for all students. The School Improvement Council (SIC) and the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meet to discuss where we are instructionally and what we can do to improve the overall atmosphere of the school.
The students of A.R. Rucker Middle School are provided with a variety of opportunities to participate in athletics, the fine arts, academic challenge, and two different afterschool enrichment programs. The pandemic may have altered our perspective on extra-curricular activities, but our students and staff have worked to ensure that as a whole, we are successful in all educational arenas.
The faculty and students of A.R.Rucker Middle School have truly been a united team as they have navigated this year and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have continued to make gains in our efforts to reach academic excellence. As A.R.Rucker Rams, we Respect, Achieve, Motivate, and Serve in all that we do to ensure that every student matters and every moment counts!
Michelle Crosby, Principal
