Union Vale Middle School tells Arlington board about team building, project-based learning and expanded supports

Administrators from Union Vale Middle School presented to the Arlington Central School District board about instructional and community-building work at the school, emphasizing activities intended to strengthen relationships and support learning as students transition between elementary and middle grades.

Presentation highlights included: structured team days and field trips for sixth through eighth graders to foster peer and teacher relationships; a CanFEL assembly to set positive expectations; project-based learning in science and technology classrooms (students iteratively building magnet-powered machines and conducting liquid-density experiments); and grade-level team activities that provided hands-on, collaborative work. Administrators noted that sixth graders arrive from four different elementary buildings and that early relationship-building helps students transition more smoothly.

The school described a “buddy” approach in special areas to integrate Journey students and said Journey programming has been expanded to keep more students in-district, enabling two Journey teachers to collaborate and create continuity as students age into middle school. Teachers and leaders also noted piloting a new literature-based ELA curriculum for sixth grade and wider use of IXL in math to support instruction and interventions; staff said the new materials were chosen to create alignment across teachers and to address areas where students had plateaued.

Board members who visited the school in a recent walkthrough reported seeing student engagement in classrooms and praised instructional practices that encouraged tinkering, iteration, and student problem-solving. One board member noted the value of front-loading relationship building because it supports later academic interventions when students need additional help.

No formal decisions or votes resulted from the presentation; staff were invited to continue sharing outcomes and implementation details as programs develop.