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District outlines ‘safe and welcoming’ middle-grades plan, highlights advisory curriculum and alignment
Summary
District curriculum leaders described a coordinated K–12 approach to create predictable routines, advisory lessons and restorative practices at Olympic Middle School and Oakland Bay Junior High to reduce referrals and support student transitions.
Curriculum and instruction leaders presented the board with a progress report on the district’s “safe and welcoming” priority, focusing on alignment for fifth through eighth graders at Olympic Middle School (OMS) and Oakland Bay Junior High (OBJH).
Adrienne Minery (director for pre-K–6) and Chelsea Brady (director for grades 7–12) described an intentional strategy to align structures, routines and expectations across the two middle-grade campuses so students who move from three elementary schools into OMS or OBJH encounter predictable environments. School leaders said the approach emphasizes executive-function skills, teaching students how to plan, set goals, regulate emotions and follow common-area expectations.
Principals and assistant principals described concrete changes taken from cross-campus observation visits: tightened lunch procedures, supervised outdoor lunch access, explicit common-area expectation lessons delivered at the start of the year and a no-cell-phone practice at the middle-grade campuses. Teachers described team-based common expectations for transitions between classes, material management and dismissal routines so students experience continuity between teachers.
Counselors and teachers said advisory time is used to teach problem-solving, goal-setting and test-taking strategies (including deep-breathing for stress management). Staff noted reductions in exclusions and referrals and reported improved student engagement since implementing aligned expectations and the no-phone approach. Administrators said advance family communication and staff training were key to successful rollouts.
The presentation included video examples of SEL/advisory lessons and highlighted staff efforts to scale practices across campuses. Leaders said they will continue monitoring referral and exclusion data, continue joint principal collaboration and expand training on restorative practices and PBIS (positive behavioral interventions and supports).
Board members complimented staff for progress and asked about the phone policy rollout; leaders emphasized early family outreach, consistent messaging and visible supervision as factors in the policy’s success at OMS and OBJH.
District leaders said the work is part of the ongoing implementation of the district strategic plan’s safety and engagement priorities.
