Rebuilding Our Middle Schools—Inside & Out

The Sheboygan Area School District is investing in the future of our neighborhood middle schools in more ways than one. As we continue the exciting work of remodeling and rebuilding two of our three neighborhood middle schools, we are working just as hard on our approach to addressing the academic, developmental, and social needs of our middle school students. 

Our approach to rebuilding and remodeling our buildings aligns with the work we are doing to ensure that our middle schools are responsive, challenging, empowering, equitable, and engaging. As part of this effort, we have been leaning on best practices endorsed by the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE). The middle school educators at each of our middle schools completed a data-driven tool, The Successful Middle School Assessment, in October. Results from this assessment will further inform how we meet the unique needs of our middle schoolers.

Additionally, our three middle school principals, Todd DeBruin, Lindsay Ohlfs, and Joe O’Brien, modeled the importance of engaging in professional learning by attending the national AMLE Conference in early November. 

"Our trip to the AMLE Conference was an energizing opportunity to grow in our knowledge and passion as middle school principals,” said Lindsay Ohlfs, Principal at Horace Mann Middle School. “It reaffirmed the amazing work our district and our middle school staff have already worked hard to implement in our building and left me feeling excited to bring new ideas back to our students, staff, and community."

Our Middle Schools have already built in innovative practices -  like WIN Intervention, Advisory, and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) - which are exemplary when compared nationally.

We will continue to leverage our AMLE membership to shape our continuous improvement efforts as we strive to fully implement The Successful Middle School Model.  

AMLE - https://amle.org/annual/