Dodge City Middle School

Dodge City Middle school is a very specialized school that understands the physical, intellectual, ethical, psychological and emotional development of the young adolescent and addresses those needs through a carefully planned school structure. (Learn More About Dodge City Middle School)

Instruction

Instruction 
To know the students meta-cognitive process is to know how specific instructional strategies are applied. To create learning environments where students mental abilities are challenged at the correct level of complexity and difficulty means that teachers must apply professional standards of classroom practices. In order to accomplish this task we must bring the fundamentals of professional pedagogy to the forefront of how instructional interaction supports leaning. The key to a successful learning experience is not at the stand alone knowledge level which in many cases classrooms of today formulate through mastery of concepts and to a lesser degree on the idea of scaffolding for reasoning. 

To ensure that students are prepared for the 21st Century we must continue to revisit theses practices and grow with experience. Teachers will be introduced to a new instructional strategy every nine weeks that support site and district goals. An instructional practice website will be established with resources including videos, and definitions for each of the targeted instructional practices. Principal, assistant principals and instructional coaches will meet on a regular bases to define practices as they develop a common language among teachers and teams. Principal and assistant principals will work with teams each nine weeks to follow-up and initiate a new instructional practice by defining and establishing a common language for the practitioner. Instructional evaluation pre-conferences and post conferences will be developed around the common language needed for defining instructional practices.

Assessments (Mastery Check’s)  
At Dodge City Middle School we believe that mastery checks are essential to show student knowledge of assessed content. These assessments are an integral part of our educational process. A tremendous amount of time is dedicated to ensure that our students strive for mastery of essential indicators. Students at this level are generally motivated by extrinsic factors such as grades, which are readily understood by parents and students. We also recognize that students come to us with different ability levels, and learning styles which we are able to accommodate by providing additional learning opportunities however, we do recognize the need to maintain high standards and performance. 

Tying benchmark assessments such as mastery checks to grades become an important component in holding students accountable for their own successes and increase the probability of accurate data and proper placement for extended learning opportunities and enrichment that are available to the students at DCMS.

Links to Curriculum Standards and Pacing Guide

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