9450 Pecos Street
Thornton, Colorado 80260
Phone: (720)975-5120
UC Denver Site Professor: Chris Bryan, Chris.bryan@ucdenver.edu
Site Coordinator: Janis Johnson, Janis.d.johnson@adams12.org
Principal: Jacque Kerr, Jacque.kerr@adams12.org
Niver Creek Middle school is a "problem-solving" school. Its goal is to achieve high levels of student achievement for all of its students through a focus on high expectations and student engagement, a sense of family which embraces the UC Denver Partnership and attention to the emotional well being of students, staff and families by balancing hard work and fun.
Focus
Niver Creek focuses on ensuring that all students achieve at high levels. The mission of Niver Creek Middle School is to advance the learning of each student, staff member and family through the continuous pursuit of high academic achievement in a standards-based, collaborative, respectful, and safe environment. It is the vision of Niver Creek Middle School to become a model of high academic achievement. As a staff, the teachers have agreed to the following commitments:
- All work undertaken by the school will be examined to ensure that it supports the school community in successfully meeting its vision and mission.
- All instructional practices will align with and support the vision and mission.
- Each person in the Niver Creek community has a clear understanding of his/her responsibilities and accountability in supporting the school in meeting its vision and mission.
- Each person at Niver Creek Middle School will respect the diversity of our community as we work toward the achievement of our vision and mission.
The staff has agreed to implement the following strategies in each classroom to ensure high levels of student achievement: use of Cornell Notes, teaching of expectations and use of High Expectations Point Sheet, and the use of facilitators for Data Driven Problem Solving discussions. In addition, they celebrate student success, use student agendas in every class, focus on providing bell-to bell instruction, engage in collaborative planning for standards-based lesson plans and assessments, and implement SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), the district literacy framework and cooperative learning strategies. In addition they have a "New Teacher Academy" to support educators new to Niver Creek. The purpose of the academy is to provide training in all the school-wide instructional practices.
Niver Creek Middle school's belief in high expectations is evident in their goal to be a "problem-solving" school. They recognize that a culture of collaborative inquiry will serve them and their students well. Two years ago, the staff struggled with maximizing instructional time. In order to provide an environment of high expectations for student engagement in learning, the staff collectively agreed to implement a system of beginning of class and review of class routines. Although routines varied from classroom to classroom, there was an understanding that each teacher would have a routine in place that included sharing the learning and language objectives for the day's lesson. The review of class routine was devoted to bringing closure to the learning through a quick check for student understanding of learning objectives. This structural change resulted in less time lost during transitions from class to class and greater student clarity about learning expectations. This is just one example of how teachers at Niver respond to the identified needs of their students. For the past two years, teachers have focused on their instruction. This year, they have broadened their focus on high expectations to include specific expectations for their learners. Students must be on time for class. They must be prepared, they must participate in the lesson/activity and they must not disrupt the learning environment With these expectations, failure is not an option. When students experience difficulty adhering to the expectations, supports are provided.
Family
The UC Denver partnership, which has been in place at Niver for 15 years, is the heart of the Niver Creek Family. The school values and takes pride in the partnership. There is an emphasis and strong belief that the partnership results in reciprocal learning experiences for all involved. Teacher candidates are integrated into the school community in a variety of ways. They participate in collaborative planning with their teams. Teachers/staff make themselves and resources available to them in order to enhance their learning experiences. They value communication. TCs have many opportunities to develop as teacher leaders. Currently, during site seminars, teacher candidates are developing resources to support teachers as they plan for rigorous instruction through high-level questioning. Site seminars are also a time for fun, team building, and getting to know each other.
We recently asked teacher candidates to share why they felt valued at Niver. Some of their responses follow:
"I feel valued at Niver Creek because teachers are willing to take you under their wing." - ;Melissa Andrews
"I feel valued at Niver Creek every time I come. The teachers are always very appreciative and glad that I came to help them. Also, the students I help most often are very thankful. They open up to me and let me get to know them as people, not just as students." - Amanda Metzger
"I feel valued at Niver Creek because my sweet tooth needs are adequately fulfilled. Also, the teachers and staff are considerably welcoming, helpful and trusting of my background and abilities." - Quinn Brett
"I feel valued at Niver Creek because individuals have expressed their appreciation for what I have brought and done within the school" - Nicole Long.
Fun
Turkey give aways, Friday Afternoon Clubs, Fun and Team building every fifth Wednesday, artwork, dancing, volleyball, grass roots basketball, triathlons, poker games and book clubs are a few of the "unofficial" but valued community building activities that may regularly be found at Niver Creek.
Students also have fun at Niver. Fortunately, many opportunities are available for them: Athletics, All Stars, and Art club, Barbell Club, Battle of the Books, Chess Club, Eagles' Nest, Environmental Club, Honor Society, Jazz Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Kingdom of Cards, Lacrosse Club, MESA/Math Counts, Spelling Bee, Student Council, Yearbook Club and Zoo club.
Recently we interviewed students to hear what they thought about having a TC in their classrooms. They shared that they "learn more stuff," "kids don't mess around as much because there are more eyes on them," "they have more help and learn more," and "because of one on one help they have raised their grades in classes with a TC."
The Niver Creek staff focuses on student learning and maintaining a sense of family and balance through purposeful attention to fun and celebration.