J. Ryan Glaze - Assistant Principal (H - N)
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What a thrill to be serving students, parents, teachers, and the many other stakeholders that make Jenks Middle School such a dynamic place to be! Never in my educational career have I worked in a community that assigns so much pride and trust in their schools than what is evidenced here, and that is something I work hard to preserve each and everyday. We have a history of high achievement and success here at the Middle School, and we know that a great deal of that should be attributed to you. For that, we are ever-thankful. We currently serve approximately 1,700 students in grades 7 and 8 at Jenks Middle School. With a campus of that magnitude, we are very focused on systems processes and systems improvement. While we have had plenty of historical success and feel like we do an outstanding job of meeting the needs of our students, we are constantly looking for ways to get better. This philosophy of continuous improvement is one of the defining characteristics of our site and district. One of the ways that we try to help students and parents assimilate into such a large campus is by structuring our core-content classrooms in a "Team" model. In this model, a smaller group of students will share a group of core-content teachers that are located in a "pod" of classrooms in close proximity with one another. This helps students to identify with a smaller subset of peers and geographic portion of the campus. It also allows for our teachers to build stronger and more meaningful relationships with the students they are teaching and embeds opportunities for collaboration. A great way to understand teaming is to think of it as a "school within a school". Another focus here at the Middle School is that of "Homebase" or "Advisory". Each student will be assigned a Homebase classroom with a small (20 or less) group of peers from their team. The Homebase teacher will work with these students to identify and work towards the achievement of goals. They will build relationships with these students and advocate for them throughout their Middle School career. They will perform grade checks, facilitate team building activities, and help promote the passions and beliefs that make each of the students "tick". Homebase is one of our most powerful tools for guiding these adolescent students into adulthood, and help them achieve great things in their Middle School years. At Jenks Middle School we also pride ourselves on allowing for innovation and inquiry in our learning environments. As 21st century learners, we realize that the tasks that await our students in adulthood are very likely tied to careers/professions that look much different than the traditional jobs of our experience. Many of them many not even exist yet! Because of this, we facilitate opportunities for our students to use content to perform tasks that will be essential in their futures. Just as important as their proficiency in the content is the student's ability to think-critically, solve complex problems, work collaboratively with peer groups, navigate technology, etc. We facilitate this by honoring the student's curiosity through inquiry and giving them choices about how they demonstrate their learning. This commitment to individual learning and innovation has led to some very exciting work in previous years, and I'm excited about where it will take us, and our students, in the future. There are many things about our school that are noteworthy and commendable, but the most notable are the students, parents, and community stakeholders that support us so passionately. If you are among those, then I'd like to thank you again! If you're considering moving or enrolling in the district to find yourself among them, feel free to contact me with any questions that I might help you with. I'm proud to serve this school and proud to be a Trojan!
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| School Phone #918-299-4415 ext. 5302 | Email Me | ||
Jenks Public School