Joyce Kilmer Middle School

Infobox School
name=Joyce Kilmer Middle School
address=8100 Wolftrap Road
Vienna, Virginia, 22182
motto=Dare To Excel
type=Public school
principal=Deborah Hernandez
enrollment=961
homepage=http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/KilmerMS/

Joyce Kilmer Middle School is a school in the Fairfax County Public Schools System in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, east of the city of Vienna. Kilmer serves grades 7-8. It was named after the journalist and poet Joyce Kilmer.

Feeder school

This school feeds into Madison High School , George C. Marshall High School and Langley High School.

GT program

Kilmer also has a GT program for students who have been determined to be "Gifted and Talented."

Demographics

Kilmer's student body in is 60% White, 21% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 5% Unspecified, 4% black, and less than 1% Native American.

Test scores

Kilmer is full accredited by the Virginia Department of Education. The following chart is for the 2006-2007 school year. [ [http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:18:2911617430722587::::P0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P18_TESTLEVEL:071,Grade%207 Kilmer MS School Profile] ]

Electives

Kilmer is known for its outstanding music program. The school received the Blue Ribbon Award for 2008, which is given to schools whose top performing groups from orchestra, chorus and band all receive Superior ratings at Festival, the highest rating possible. There are three full time music teachers: Orchestra, Melissa Brown; Chorus, Kevin Sapp; Band, Chris Weise.

7th grade electives

* Orchestra
* Chorus
* Band
* Art
* Family and Consumer Science
* Introduction to Foreign Language
* Inventions and Innovations
* Speech and Theatre Arts
* Technology Tools

8th grade electives

* Orchestra
* Band
* Chorus
* Advanced Theatre Arts Application
* Advanced Technology Tools
* Art
* Family and Consumer Science
* Introduction to Computers in Art
* Introduction to Foreign Language
* Speech and Theatre Arts Appreciation
* Technological Systems
* Technology Tools
* Foreign Language
* Journalism

Teachers

48% of the teachers have a Bachelor degrees, 52% have Masters degrees. There is an average of about 19.5 students per teacher. There is a 97% attendance rate.

GT center conversion controversy

In 2006, Fairfax County Public Schools decided that many Gifted and Talented students from Kilmer would be moved to Luther Jackson Middle School due to overpopulation. This created a controversy among Vienna parents, concerned with transportation issues and split-feeder schools - meaning that students would be split up from their classmates from elementary and middle school. This decision attracted media attention from the Washington Post, [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111500689_pf.html The Washington Post] ] Fairfax Extra, The Connection [ [http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?archive=true&article=69286&paper=73&cat=104 The Connection] ] and other local news. The School Board decided to open the new Luther Jackson GT Center in two stages. In its first year, only GT-eligible students in the base Luther Jackson district would attend, and Vienna students whose base middle school was Thoreau would attend the GT Center at Kilmer.

No contact rule controversy

Kilmer Middle School has a strict policy of "no physical contact", meaning that contact such as high-fives or hugs between friends are not allowed. A seventh-grade student, Hal Beaulieu, broke the rule when he sat next to his girlfriend during lunch and slipped his arm around her shoulder for approximately 15 seconds. He was reprimanded for his actions. Students are also regularly reprimanded when giving a hug in the hallways, even if it was only to give comfort to a friend of the same sex. Some view this policy as excessive while the principal, Deborah Hernandez, believes it is necessary to control an overpopulated school. The story was covered in multiple major media outlets including, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the Washington Post. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/17/AR2007061701179.html The Washington Post] ]

Teams

There are 10 teams at Kilmer.

7th grade

*Aces - This team has students with a mix of honors classes and regular classes, all honors classes, or all regular classes.
*Comets - This team has all GT students taking Algebra 1 Honors or Math 7 Honors. However, it also has a few special-education children who attend Kilmer Center.
*Explorers - This team has students with mostly all regular classes, but some have honors classes too.
*Voyagers - This team has mixed GT and regular classes. Some students have all GT classes; some have none. The ones with GT classes all take Algebra 1 Honors.

8th grade

*Navigators - This team has a mix of regular classes, Honors and Algebra 1
*Roadrunners - This team has all Honors GT courses with some of the students taking Honors Algebra, Honors Geometry or Algebra II
*Trailblazers - This team has a mix of regular classes, Honors and Algebra 1
*Rockets - This team has all Honors GT courses with some of the students taking Honors Algebra, Honors Geometry or Algebra II

7th and 8th grade

*Globetrotters - This team has students that are taking ESOL classes.
*Starcatchers - This team is for the mentally challenged students who attend Kilmer Center.

Alumni

*Mike "Dirt" Hindert, the bassist from the New York band The Bravery, attended Kilmer Middle school.
*Barry Weeks, record producer and staff writer for Universal Music Group attended Kilmer Middle school in the mid 1970s.

References