We take pride in fostering personal responsibility in our students by allowing them to express their voices in many ways here at MMS. Early in our Leader in Me journey, we sought to examine and refine our mission statement. Feedback was gathered from our entire student body as we worked together to define the mission of Mattoon Middle School. Students are also involved in the development of classroom and grade-level mission statements.
In addition, students are invited to our monthly Lighthouse, Culture, Leadership, and Academic Committee meetings to have a seat at the table with our staff and administration while we engage in collaborative discussions and action planning. This system ensures that student voice is routinely sought out and utilized in the continuous improvement of our school.
Students also provide voice and choice in determining the clubs, activities, events, and leadership roles offered at MMS. We survey students annually on their engagement and satisfaction with current offerings. We also develop new activities based on their feedback and provide a process through which students can propose their own ideas for clubs, events, and leadership roles.
Our transition to Competency-Based Education provides students more voice and choice regarding how they learn and when and how their learning is assessed. Students have the opportunity to design their own learning in many classes where they have the option of creating personal activities to show mastery of the competencies.
Students are also offered a choice in their selection of Essentials classes (Industrial Tech, STEAM, Ag, Chorus, Mass Media, Band, Family & Consumer Sciences, and Art), allowing them to choose based on their own interests and passions. An annual student survey helps us determine our Essential class offerings. For example, our Ag program expanded this year due to increasing student interest.
