What do great leaders, innovators, game changers, and citizens have in common?

They all do the work.

Middle School is the beginning of developing students' personal responsibilities. To start, they become responsible for getting themselves to classes on-time. Teachers have more expectations for the preparation students must complete before class. Students now find themselves managing their time to balance extracurricular activities with a heavier workload. They start possessing the maturity to recognize the consequences of their behavior and actions. As their teachers and parents can hold them accountable, they begin to understand how to hold themselves accountable.

It means coming in for extra help before school with a teacher to understand a tricky concept instead of giving up. It means responsibly using technology and conducting appropriate behavior on social media. It means choosing healthy habits and responsible choices, and understanding how those affect others' lives. It means thinking of themselves as citizens with the power to affect the positive change they want to see in the world. It means completing homework on time and setting themselves up for success.

Middle School provides the first taste of independence and the challenges it presents. We want to focus on students recognizing the power of their potential and that they can be successful in whatever they pursue as long as they #DotheWork.