Middle School Course Information

In Loudoun County Public Schools, middle school provides a supportive and stimulating environment for students as they make the transition into adolescence, increasing academic demands and greater self-reliance. The middle school program takes in to account the developmental needs of young teenage years that are characterized by uneven social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Middle school bridges the elementary school years that focus primarily on developing basic skills and the high school years that emphasize specialized preparation for post-high school education and careers. While using and further developing the basic skills, middle school encourages students to explore a variety of subject areas and activities, including careers and special interests.

Middle School Structure

Houses: Each middle school is divided into three sub-units called Houses, one for each grade level. Each grade level is assigned to an academic house for core curriculum classes, with students moving to other educational elective areas outside their House.

Staff in each House work together to coordinate activities, deliver instruction, and meet a multitude of student needs. The staff in each House may include:

• Dean: the primary administrator for the area

• School Counselor: provides academic, college/career, and social/emotional counseling to individuals, groups, and classes

• Teachers: provide instruction in the core academic areas and help students develop their academic abilities and skills

• Administrative Assistant: provides the clerical needs of the House. Each student is assigned to a homeroom where the student receives report cards and general information.

Block Schedule

Students at each middle school are in an eight-period, alternating block schedule. Each instructional block is approximately 89 minutes in length. Students have four instruction blocks daily. Every other day most students have a Resource period. For 6th and 7th grade students the Resource period may last approximately 45 minutes; for 8th grade students, the Resource period lasts for an entire block. Students selected for Spectrum participate in Spectrum instead of Resource period. Some of the activities of the Resource period include working directly with teachers to expand learning and interests, receiving remediation and reinforcement of skills, reviewing information that is proving challenging, working on homework, and using the media center.

Spectrum, a year-long class, provides enrichment for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who have been identified as gifted in terms of general intellectual ability. This course is offered in place of Resource for 6th and 7th graders. 8th graders split a 90-minute block between Spectrum and Resource. Eligibility for the gifted program is determined by prescribed criteria established by the school division and approved by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Spectrum offers a variety of multi-disciplinary academic experiences with an emphasis on critical thinking skills and problem solving. Gifted students are further challenged academically by enrolling in honors level instruction, such as science, English, and social science, or in advanced math classes.

Interdisciplinary Teaming

Students are assigned to an interdisciplinary team, a group of academic teachers who share a common group of students. These teachers collaborate to plan and coordinate lessons and assignments, examine individual needs for enrichment and remediation, meet with parents, and work to assure student success.

Registering for Classes

The registration process for rising 6th and current 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students occurs near the beginning of the second semester of each year. School counselors are generally responsible for this activity, but teachers are also involved in making recommendations.

• The grade-level school counselor meets with students in a small group, classroom or resource setting, or individually to explain course options, recommendations, and requirements. Course selections are based on the student’s current academic progress and interests as well as teacher recommendations.

• The student shares these course selections with parent/guardians for review. Any questions concerning course selection should be directed to the student’s school counselor.

• 7th grade students begin to develop an Academic Career Plan (ACP) with the assistance of their school counselor. The plan allows students to tentatively plan future high school course selections that support goals for further education and roles in the world of work. Plans can be changed during high school based on the changing needs and desires of individual students. Decisions made during middle school influence a student’s success in academics and future choices.

Course Selection, Courses for High School Credit

The courses selected during middle school impact which courses the students can take during high school. Students who complete Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trig, Robotics, and/or one or two years of a world language in middle school will be able to complete advanced classes, even college-level classes, while still in high school. Students who begin world language study during middle school will be able to advance their command of the language because they will be able to spend more time studying the language. Also, some students choose to study a second world language while in high school. For other students, early world language study allows them opportunities to pursue advanced career and technical education courses, pursue fine arts studies in more depth, or delve into other areas of study.

Virtual Loudoun courses are not available to middle school students during Terms 1 and 2. They may enroll in one (1) course in Term 3-Spring/Summer Session. In addition, non-LCPS courses are not available to middle school students during the school year or during the summer. Courses taken at an institution or with a vendor may not be transferred in for credit during middle school.

Academic and Career Plans

All students will develop a personal Academic and Career Plan (ACP) during 7th grade with the support of their school counselor and family to be reviewed by the fall of the student’s 8th grade year and completed by their 11th grade year. The components of the ACP shall include, but not be limited to, the student’s program of study for high school graduation and a postsecondary career pathway and cluster based on the student’s academic and career interests. The ACP is designed to be a working document that maximizes student achievement by having the student accomplish goals in middle and high school that lead to postsecondary and career readiness.

In addition, it will provide each middle and high school student a personal learning plan that aligns academic and career goals with the student’s course of study. (VDOE: Academic and Career Plan)

How to Read Course Descriptions

The following explains the descriptions, requirements, and electives for each grade level of middle school:

• Course Title: name assigned to each course

• Course Code: number assigned to the course for use with the Student Information System. The course code is generally used by school administrators and school counselors to plan schedules

• Levels: indicate whether the course is grade level or honors

• Prerequisites: the requirements a student must meet to be able to enroll in that class

• Credit: indicates if course receives a high school credit

• SOL Test indicates that the course has a Virginia Standards of Learning test at the end of the school year