Home/School Compact

Thurgood Marshall Middle School and the parents of the students participating in activities,

services and programs agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff,

and the students will share responsibility and show mutual respect for student academic

achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership

that will help students achieve California's high academic standards.

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

Thurgood Marshall Middle School will:

1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning

environment that enables participating students to meet California's student academic

achievement standards as follows:

• Offer a learning environment that encompasses rigorous academic standards and high

  expectations in citizenship for our students. The MMS mission is:

  to provide a learning environment that will enable each student to reach

  his/her highest potential in a safe, threat-free atmosphere. Our educational

  approach will combine exploration and creativity, discipline and dedication,

  and teamwork and individuality. Students will achieve academic excellence

  through participation in a strong core curriculum as well as elective,

  exploratory and community service programs. They will develop critical

  thinking and effective communication skills and the ability to make reasoned

  moral and ethical choices. They will practice tolerance in preparation for life

  in a multicultural society. We will provide a strong guidance program that

  addresses the physical, social and emotional needs of our students. Students

  will leave us prepared for the broadest range of academic options in high

  school.

  • Meet the needs of our 21st century learners. We believe we must provide opportunities

    for our students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, communicators

    and leaders. We believe our students need opportunities to analyze and synthesize

    information to solve problems with a new perspective.

    • Provide programs to meet the needs of every student. We have rigorous Seminar and

    GATE programs and a supportive Special Education program. Our students also have

    many choices to discover their talents. We also have an extensive music program that

    includes Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Band, Orchestra and Choir. We

    provide a variety of other electives that include Drama, Art, Video Production,

    Spanish, Exploring Technology, Digital Art/Photography, Junior Model United

    Nations and Yearbook. (For a complete listing, please visit our website.) Our sixth

    grade students can also enroll in our Elective Wheel of courses that include

    Keyboarding, Art, Drama, Music and Exploratory Technology.

    • Have a Library Media Center. Our Library Media Center provides students with

    supplementary instructional resources such as novels, dictionaries, encyclopedias, online

    resources and a friendly place to study!

    • Encourage and advocate for parental involvement at all levels. Thurgood Marshall

    Middle School is fortunate to have a very active Parent Teacher Student Association,

    School Site Council and Site Governance Team. Thurgood Marshall Middle School

    meets monthly with the School Site Council, Site Governance Team and the Parent

    Teacher Student Association (PTSA). The PTSA provides additional funding to

    purchase instructional materials, including specific support for GATE and Seminar

    programs and technology maintenance. Our School Site Council and Site Governance

    Team provide guidance to the principal in budgetary decisions and governance of

    school items.

    You will find that at Thurgood Marshall Middle School we provide a nurturing and

    challenging educational experience to meet the individual needs of our students.

    • Hold parent/teacher conferences during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to

    the individual student's achievement.

    • Individual Parent/Teacher meetings (upon request)
    • Student Study Teams - this meeting is an intervention to support students who

    are struggling academically and behaviorally (upon request)

    • 504 meetings - this meeting supports students with an identified disability (upon

    request)

    • Individualized Educational Program meetings - this meeting supports students

    with special needs (upon request)

    • Provide parents with frequent reports on their student's progress.

    o Parents can track their student's progress through a variety of methods. All

    parents have access to PowerSchool. In PowerSchool, parents may review their

    child's grades and attendance. Some teachers may provide alternate online

    resources to track assignments and grades. Progress Reports will be distributed to

    students at the end of the following week after the progress report period ends.

    § Counseling department provides daily and weekly progress reports for

    students upon request.

    § Individual teachers may distribute class progress reports at various times

    and/or post grades online.

    • Provide parents reasonable access to staff.
    • MMS has a voicemail system where parents can leave voice messages for their

    student's teachers and/or other staff members. All staff members will return correspondence as soon as possible and usually no later than three business days during the work week.

    • On the MMS website, http://marshallmiddle.org/staff contact/email information

    is available. Please visit the MMS website for up-to-date information regarding

    MMS.

    • Parents can also contact the administration or counseling department in order to

    support their student academically, socially and emotionally.

    • Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their students' classes and to

    observe classroom activities, as follows:

    MMS welcomes parent volunteers!

    • All classroom volunteers, parent chaperones must have a TB clearance and pass a

    security clearance. Please contact the main office for more information.

    • If a parent is interested in being a volunteer but did not return the volunteer form,

    parents can sign up to be a volunteer in the main office.

    • MMS welcomes all parents to visit our classes! If you are interested in visiting

    our classes, please contact your child's teachers to make an appointment to visit

    your student's classes.

    PARENT RESPONSIBILITES

    We, as MMS parents, will support our student's learning by:

    • Monitoring our students' attendance
    • Limiting doctor appointments during the school day to after school
    • Limiting family vacations during the school year
    • Making sure that homework is completed and turned in on time
    • Monitoring my student's progress online via PowerSchool
    • Checking our students' planners on a daily basis
    • Prioritizing our students' extracurricular time in order to support a successful

    student

    • Staying informed about our students' education and communicating with the

    school by promptly reading all notices from MMS and SDUSD either received

    by our students or by mail and responding as appropriate

    • Visiting the MMS website for up-to-date information regarding MMS at:

    http://marshallmiddle.org

    • Attending school events/functions in order to learn more about our students'

    educational experience

    • Participating in decisions related to our students' education
    • Volunteering, when available, at MMS

    STUDENT RESPONSIBILITES

    We, as MMS students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and

    achieve California's high standards by:

    • Attending school on a regular basis
    • Following school rules
    • Being accountable for learning
    • Participating in class
    • Doing homework every day and asking for help when needed
    • Using our student planner on a daily basis
    • Reading at least 30 minutes every day outside of school time
    • Attending after school assistance / tutoring as often as needed
    • Being responsible citizens to our school and community
    • Being responsible and caring citizens online
    • Encouraging other students to be successful academically and socially
    • Prioritizing our time in order to be successful students