HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL
Franklin L. Williams Middle School 7 strives to provide a safe environment that is educationally stimulating as well as a productive place where all children can succeed. The administration, faculty and staff provide leadership that promotes effective teaching so that learning can take place.FLW Middle School 7 dedicates itself to the intellectual, physical, social and emotional growth of its students. Our school’s goal is to produce well-educated, well-rounded members of society, who will become successful citizens. FLW Middle School 7 works cooperatively with parents and community to build a strong partnership that will afford students a strong basis from which they can reach into the future. Parents are kept abreast of all activities in the building and are encouraged to visit the school at all times. This mutual respect between the school and the community benefits the children and better equips them to face the many challenges teenagers meet today.
The curriculum at FLW Middle School 7 is fully aligned to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content standards to prepare students for course work in high school. District mandated initiatives with curriculum outlines are developed, reviewed and evaluated by district curriculum committees. Project-based culminating activities are integrated across the curriculum.
We are a fully inclusive school, where children with special needs are interwoven into our traditional classrooms. An inclusion teacher, trained in the special needs of these students, as well as pull-out replacement teachers, assist in this inclusion process. Special class programs and general education teachers, also, accommodate individual learning styles and assess and group students according to their individual needs.
FLW Middle School is equipped with state of the art technology. A Computer Laboratory is accessible to both students and faculty. Students are encouraged to use technology, to publish their writing and to produce culminating activities. Technology workshops such as, using laptops with students, preparing power point presentations, using digital cameras, using Microsoft Word, recording assessment data and running comparison reports are offered by the Library Media Specialist and supported by the Technology Liaisons available. This technology is used to address various learning styles and the data is used to assess student achievement. Faculty incorporates technology standards into lessons across the curriculum.
Academics drive FLW, Middle School 7. Our academic program is rigorous and demanding. Our 6th, 7th and 8th graders are challenged everyday in literacy, mathematics, science and social studies. We have an uninterrupted block of at least 90 minutes for literacy instruction in all classrooms. The students are engaged in a wide variety of literacy activities, such as the100 Book Challenge, which initiates independent reading in school and at home. Guided reading delivers instruction geared to each students reading level. Core novels are incorporated into the literacy program through Shared Reading and the Writer’s Workshop devotes 45 minutes of Language Arts instruction to daily writing activities to promote writing skills. To further increase literacy instruction, literacy is incorporated into Social Studies and Science; in addition, we use thematic project-based learning and performance based assessments. FLW Middle School 7 maintains a mathematics program that is consistent with the NJCCCS and the JCBOE’s adopted curriculum. Students meet in 90 blocks of time for small group instruction and use technology for achievement in mathematics.
Activities that encourage student self-confidence, foster camaraderie, offer after-school tutoring and support sportsmanship are also an important part of Middle School 7. We offer extended day programs for academics, clubs for recreation; honor, credit and effort roll for recognition of work well done, field trips that widen our students’ horizons and participation in various team sports such as football and volleyball.
The administration and staff is committed to the development of the whole student. The cultural diversity of our students is celebrated at FLW, Middle School 7. Students are encouraged to learn from and about their ancestry. Traditions and customs of all cultures are recognized and honored.
It is the belief of Franklin L. Williams Middle School #7 that students who graduate from this school will be prepared to meet the world with a confidence and an assuredness that comes from a caring and supportive administration, staff, parents and community.
Susan Decker
201-714-8342