A Parent's (Positive!) Perspective on Moorestown's William Allen Middle School

In April of last year, Money Magazine designated Moorestown, New Jersey, located in southern New Jersey, as the 'top town' in America in which to live. High on Money's criteria list was the school system; about ten years ago, Moorestown's school district received an overall "Blue Ribbon" designation, of which the school's administration is justifiably very proud. Of all six schools within the Moorestown school district (three elementary schools, an upper elementary school, the middle school and the high school), the William Allen Middle School is considered by most township residents to be the overall top school in the district; this high rating stems from many factors. Included among them are the student to teacher ration, relatively small size of the student population, and the distinction that graduates of WAMS (William Allen Middle School) are very well prepared going into their high school career.

The school, which was extensively renovated three years ago, is located at 601 North Stanwick Road; their telephone number is 856/778-6620. WAMS houses students in grades seven and eight, most of whom come directly from the sprawling school building known as the Upper Elementary School. (The Upper Elementary School was completed about eight years ago, houses students in grades four through six, and was designed to alleviate overcrowding at both the elementary and middle school facilities. It is currently in a state of flux, having had three principals to date and currently employing an interim principal while school administrators seek out a new candidate for a permanent principal.) Much of the positive parental response regarding WAMS comes, quite frankly, as a result of students leaving the chaotic conditions at the Upper Elementary School, coming to a smaller student body, a smaller physical structure, and more hands-on, interactive and caring teaching professionals at the WAMS.

WAMS' principal, who has been at the school for the past five years, is Ms. Sharon Jacoski, who boasts a Bachelor's degree in English, a degree in Teaching from The College of New Jersey, and her Educational Administration degree from Gwynedd Mercy College. Quite tall, well-groomed and spending much of her time keeping in tune with her students, Jacoski is a constant fixture at school events, including athletic games, music and vocal assemblies, Back to School Night, the school's annual Open House, awards ceremonies and more. She is very much a hands-on administrator, backed by a very pleasant, hard-working administrative and curriculum staff. Her gentle but no-nonsense demeanor sets the tone for most of the school faculty and staff. (Many of the teachers and staff at WAMS have put in considerable career time there; they like the overall school philosophy of preparing the students for the challenges of high school, like and understand this sometimes difficult age group, and work very, very well with each other.)

Physically, the school is on one level, with branches for differing classrooms and subject matter flowing from the center of the school itself. It also offers programs of students (Honors and Advanced Placement) courses very similiar to the high school, as well as mirroring the high school in athletics, clubs, and a Gifted and Talented program for the fine arts. The school has its own orchestra and drama club, which perform on numerous occasions throughout the school year. Its Art Club is not your normal art club; there is also a branch for Anime, sculpture and photography as well. Coming from the Upper Elementary School with its open cubbyholes, learning to live with an actual locker is a real challenge for many of the students - plus a lesson in learning how to be responsible for school material and their own work. The school has a Homework Club, Spanish, French and Latin clubs (which are great fun, especially the Spanish Club's annual food fest!), a Challenge Club for students to test their limits with (supervised) physical activities like hiking and rock climbing. There truly is a club or group for students of every interest and talent, something that is a 'first' for these youngsters. Students are encouraged by a long-time group of guidance counselors to pursue each and every activity in which they have an interest; students meet with their guidance counselors on a routine basis.

Perhaps the most important aspect of learning at WAMS is the Team Teaching philosophy, which was re-instituted four years ago. Team Teaching groups the students into 'clusters'; they follow a format in which they are seen throughout the year by the same group of teachers depending upon what language they are taking, any special needs that must be addressed, and their academic ranking (i.e., Basic classes for those who have the greatest intellectual needs to Advanced Placement/Honors courses for those who excel academically). This Team Teaching concept works extremely well because the 'cluster teachers' for each group meet on a regular basis to discuss the progress, improvement, possibly academic deterioration of every student in their cluster; each teacher knows the individual students very well, and thus are able to track their progress throughout the school year. Early intervention, if needed, is available very quickly because each teaching cluster sees the same students throughout the course of the school year. Students also benefit from having the same teachers throughout the year as well; they learn to know what is expected of them, and what teaching styles each teacher utilizes.

In addition, WAMS has a fabulous sports/athletics program, with their own Athletic Director (Charlotte Heenan). For the first time in their careers as students, a wide variety of athletic programs are now available: boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, wrestling, track, cross country, lacrosse, field hockey, softball, baseball and more. (Recently affiliated with the school district is the ice hockey program for boys.) WAMS follows a pretty strict regime on how middle school athletics play out. There are school team for each 7th and each 8th grade class; no one is cut from any program because the philosophy is that all students should have the chance to learn a sport and deserve equal playing time. While some parents may fret because they feel that their student athlete is more talented on the field, it is a very honorable system in which children, ALL children, learn the basics of the sport. For many students, this is their first introduction to playing a certain sport, especially field hockey and lacrosse. (While some of their peers may have been playing on club teams for years before entering WAMS, the school's philosophy literally levels the playing field for all.)

WAMS also has a very strong parent Home and School Association, made even stronger and viable because parents are dealing with only two grade levels. A high rate of fundraising is conducted by the Home and School Association to raise funds for field trips, class parties, class dances (of which there are two or three per year), artist performances, an in-classroom program called "Art Throughout the Ages" in which parent presenters display (and explain) over a dozen artists' works, giving the children the history of the artist and the pieces being discussed. In early January of each year, the high school (which is adjacent and a very short walk from WAMS) hosts a Program of Studies Night for eighth graders and their parents, helping them to decide on their schedule for ninth grade. Another innovation that the school district instituted about three years ago is "Transition Day". To assist in the adjustment of moving to a new school building, Transition Day takes place on the day preceding the first full day of classes after the Labor Day holiday. (No school district in the state of New Jersey opens before Labor Day, for a variety of reasons (mostly involving the Jersey shore.) Transition Day is an early-dismissal day for students in coming to grades 4, 7 and 9; the day is meant to help a student acclimate to his or her new building by following a modified schedule which is typical of a normal school day there. In addition to following the modified schedule, informative workshops and assemblies are planned for the students at their 'new' school; volunteer 'buddies' from the new school also help students with any questions or concerns they may have (mostly about those darned lockers again!)

As the parent of two students who had very successful and happy years while at WAMS, I have nothing but good things and high praise for the school. In the stormy sea of adolescence, WAMS is a real safe haven and place to call 'home' for many of its students.