The Gateway Middle School Mission
The Gateway Middle School Program is designed with our students in mind. Our students, who have learning disabilities, learn best when they are given the opportunity to: observe, envision/imagine, express, and reflect as they learn.
Gateway teachers place a strong and systematic emphasis on thinking and perceptual skills. Our aim is for students to engage deeply, persist in their inquiry, stretch their thought process and explore a range of possibilities as they problem solve.
We believe that the success and effectiveness of our educational program is measured when our students find moments in time - key educational experiences at Gateway - that connect and give meaning to their own lives and to their roles within a broader community. Our goal is to matriculate students to college preparatory high schools with a sense of self-awareness, academic achievement, and personal discipline.
INTRODUCTION
From its very beginnings, The Gateway School has addressed the need to educate students through an integrated perspective that incorporates cognitive, language, perceptual, sensory-motor, and social emotional development. The curriculum at Gateway is delivered through methodologies that best promote the individual student's growth in these particular domains. Areas of cross curricular emphasis are woven into the curriculum to ensure that knowledge and skills do not become overly fragmented. Educators at Gateway continually assess the learning needs of each of their students and closely monitor the changing learning profiles of individual students and their cohort groups.
Students are presented with significant academic demands as well as increasing expectations for independence, responsibility, and leadership, all within a supportive and positive environment. They are encouraged to appreciate the value of being cooperative as well as independent learners and to become creative problem solvers. Given the challenges and possibilities presented by adolescence, social / emotional learning and the development of executive functions are essential elements addressed in the educational program.
The following is an overview of The Gateway Middle School program, which emphasizes the development of executive functions and education in the humanities, math, science & technology, physical development, and the arts.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
The executive functions of the brain help a student to self-regulate when faced with the demands presented in academic and social settings. They are responsible for the student's internal ability to independently set and achieve goals and to inhibit specific behaviors that interfere with focus. These functions impact the student's ability to self-monitor his or her social relations, to read social cues, and to reflect upon his or her own actions. In an academic setting, such functions also determine a child's organizational skills as well as his or her ability to initiate a task and to reevaluate work. Gateway's Middle School program addresses the development of these functions as part of all content areas of study, through small group and whole class instruction by specialists, and through courses specifically designed to address this critical area of development.
THE HUMANITIES
Through the Humanities, students read and are exposed to a variety of literary genres and build the essential skills of writing that are needed across the subject areas. The program provides opportunities for discussion and for increased exposure to, and awareness of, diverse points of view. Students identify essential questions and bring their own rich experiences to classroom conversations and written work.
Flexible grouping is used to facilitate the writing and reading processes. Students are strategically assigned to learning groups based upon individual academic and social learning styles. Opportunities to learn cooperatively and to experience the value of collaboration are presented frequently, as such social interaction leads to deeper conceptual understanding and a consolidation of learning.
MATH, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY
The Math, Science, and Technology program encourages flexible, independent and creative thinking. Students at Gateway work to build an understanding of math, science, and technology principles and their application to real world problems. Skills and procedures are introduced slowly and are practiced until students become adept.
In mathematics there is flexible grouping of students. Students are assigned to learning groups based upon individual academic and social learning styles. Opportunities to learn cooperatively and to experience the value of collaboration are presented frequently, as such social interaction leads to deeper conceptual understanding and a consolidation of learning.
Computers and other technological tools are used in and out of the classroom to enhance learning, increase efficiency and productivity, and promote creativity.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
The Physical Development program centers on the encouragement of positive behaviors and attitudes that will impact the physical, social, and emotional well-being of adolescents. Students are encouraged to reach personal and collaborative goals and to maintain positive relationships. They are given opportunities to recognize the benefits of engaging in regular physical activity and to see physical activity as a means of enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and communication.
THE ARTS
Dance, music, theatre and visual arts are seen as strong, comprehensive academic disciplines in their own right. The Arts program offers skills-based classes in many media, while understanding that the arts can infuse any academic study taking place throughout the School. Various performance opportunities occur throughout the year. The Arts are also seen as organizers to help students predict sequences, process ideas, devise strategies, and put what they are creating into clear language. Such experiences provide opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving and the synthesis of ideas.
CROSS-CURRICULAR EMPHASES
The development of abilities, acquisition of skills, and accumulation of knowledge is promoted throughout all areas of study at The Gateway Middle School. Often, the various academic disciplines emphasize the abilities, skills, and knowledge particular to the understanding of each specific discipline. With that in mind, we introduce several areas of cross-curricular emphasis that permeate students' studies at Gateway. These areas of emphasis help to ensure that knowledge does not become overly fragmented and that skills acquired and abilities developed in one area of study are also applied to other studies.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES THAT SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING
In addition to the program areas described earlier in this Overview, The Gateway Middle School utilizes several programmatic structures to support the overall development of students. Each program structure supports various aspects of development, and together they are an integral part of the students' educational experience. These structures also provide critical time for individualization in addressing the needs of each student.