Roosevelt Middle School's mission is to empower all students to be community leaders.  To assess progress towards this mission, we have organized a set of indicators under the general categories of Strong Academic Foundation, 21st Century Skills and Community Ethic.  Each student will have a set of growth goals under each of these categories.  We emphasize both GROWTH and MASTERY, which respects the notion that each student is at different levels and has different interests and skills, yet we hold ALL students to high standards no matter who they are.  We believe in the infinite and amazing ability of all of our young people.

Each student's goals will be reached through three types of strategies: personalized learning, real-world application, and a whole child approach.  These three types of strategies combine to form a concept we call The Roosevelt Experience.  

Personalized Learning is an approach that understands that though we aim to have all students achieve at high levels, each student is different and is equipped with a unique set of skills and abilities.  Thus, we at Roosevelt attempt to provide a learning experience that provides opportunities to learn through various paths, people, places, and pacing.  For example, in our math classes a student may be grouped with certain students one day, working on quadratics.  The next day she may be grouped with other students, working on the pythagorean theorem.

Real-World Application is a concept whereby we attempt to make learning happen within the context of the real world in which the students live, not just theory.  We design our humanities classes to tackle real-world social issues, and our STED (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Design) classes have students find solutions to real-world scientific problems.

Our Whole Child Approach means that we recognize that young people are emotional beings, not mechanical robots.  They must feel loved, welcomed, safe, and respected.  They must be trusted to make their own decisions and learn from their successes as well as their mistakes, and know that when they do take missteps that caring adults and peers are there to help them learn.  One way this manifests at Roosevelt is that students are taught how to community and solve conflicts through Restorative Practices.