Learning at Dunn Middle School

Dunn Middle School Mission Statement: The mission of Dunn Middle School is to provide the educational, physical, and administrative resources required to stimulate and nurture the maximum individual growth, academically and personally, of its students. Resources for students include a professional faculty and staff dedicated to providing the individual attention that promotes student achievement through a balanced academic and enrichment program. Additionally, DMS reaches out to experts in the community to share a wealth of skills and talents with our students. Our school fosters a close-knit, family atmosphere in a country environment wherein all members of the Dunn community are encouraged to participate in the process of education and personal growth.

"Children are remarkable for their intelligence and ardor, for their curiosity, their intolerance of shams, the clarity and ruthlessness of their vision." - Aldous Huxley Since its founding in 1979 Dunn Middle School has provided 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students with an education that is challenging, fun, and rewarding during their vital "middle" years. At DMS we nurture the qualities of youth -- wonder and excitement -- to foster the skills and character necessary for success in future academic and creative endeavors. In a setting where class size averages 10-15 our students embark upon diverse and substantive learning experiences during these critical and remarkably fruitful middle years. Dunn Middle School students often accelerate in their academic and personal development.

As Mark Twain said, "The only thing that spoon feeding teaches is the shape of a spoon." DMS employs a full range of traditional and progressive teaching strategies where genuine problem solving takes the place of busy work and spoon- feeding. Long and short-term projects, cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and workshop style learning are emphasized. In history and writer's workshops students learn the crafts of the historian and the writer from the inside out. Through inquiry and lab experiments in science, and applied math tasks, students gain a degree of mastery for the discipline of each subject through hard work, trial and error, and watchful mentoring.

With an average 10 years of classroom experience, our teachers bring to the curriculum not only credentials and relevant degrees, but also a passion for learning that burns brightly. Ultimately, learning is a personal matter. The superior quality of academics and enrichment at DMS issues directly from the high personal standards and inquiring minds of its teachers, not from top down mandates or state guidelines. Our unique community of learners is identified by these essential attributes.

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE: Our staff meets around one small table to make thoughtful, prompt decisions, where faculty enjoy substantial ownership over program ACADEMIC RIGOR: Small classes and teacher commitment to a challenging, yet supportive learning environment forge a bold skills-driven curriculum. EXTENSIVE ARTS AND ENRICHMENT: Utilizing the varied skills of its faculty, as well as local artists, DMS offers arts and enrichment of unrivalled breadth and depth. Every afternoon is devoted to far-ranging offerings. RESPECT: Students, teachers and parents all know one another well enough to enjoy and expect respect and trust as community standards, yet a first name basis means that each individual must earn their respect. ACCOUNTABILITY: Students do not slip through the cracks in a community where they are held accountable for every assignment and for their behavior on a daily basis. PARENT INVOLVEMENT: Our parents are allies for the common cause of educating children. Parents readily communicate their concerns and ideas, and participate in school events, trips, and classes. BELONGING: Every DMS student is a known and cherished entity; thus nurtured, they grow to embrace the school's motto, Carpe Diem (Seize the Day). CARPE DIEM!

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