Middle School Curriculum

We believe that our young adolescents deserve a middle school experience that is developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering and equitable. 

In the middle school model, teachers in core subject areas collaborate as a team to meet the social-emotional and academic needs of a common group of students and includes:

• Grades 6-8
• Student-centered teaching
• Seven periods or a block schedule of 4 classes daily that include electives and a Foundations Advisory class
• Teachers, counselors, social workers, and support staff work together to provide students with lessons that help them navigate peer conflict, friendships, bullying, stress and anxiety.
• Academics include challenging core and elective courses and college and career readiness programming.
• Every student is supported for who they are and who they hope to become by honoring and celebrating their culture, race/ethnicity and gender.
• Middle schools will strengthen English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum that expands Writer’s Workshop to 6th grade.
• Middle school schedules will be adjusted to a seven-period day to allow time for flexible scheduling, electives and a whole class period for the Foundations Advisory class.

American Indian Magnet School  •  Battle Creek Middle School  •  Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet  • Creative Arts Secondary school  • E-STEM Middle School  •  Farnsworth Aerospace 5-8 Campus  •  Global Arts Plus Upper  •   Hazel Park Preparatory Academy  •  Hidden River Middle School  •  Hmong Language and Culture Middle School  •  Highland Park Middle School  • Humboldt Secondary School  •   Global Arts Plus Upper  •  Murray Middle School •   SPPS Online Middle School  •   Open World Learning Community  •  Washington Technology Magnet Secondary School  

• English
• Hmoob
• Español
• Soomaali
• 

Foundations is an advisory class to help ease the transition for students from elementary to middle school.

Foundations is an advisory class that helps students ease into the transition from elementary to middle school.

• The class will help students build a community of connectedness among their classmates and their teacher.

• The class is designed to help students feel connected to and advocated for by a team of teachers and staff.

• Students will be part of a caring environment with a focus on academic achievement, digital citizenship, social-emotional learning and college and career topics.

• Every student participates in the full period class (held every other day).

• The class is graded as Pass/No Pass.

Learn more about the middle school model as designed by the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE).

Saint Paul Public Schools is using the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) to guide its middle school model. The following resources help explain more about how middle schools function to help students achieve. 

Young Adolescent Development

Developmental Characteristics of Young Adults

Middle School, Not Junior High

This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents