Jonas Clarke Middle School - Lexington, MA

Jonas Clarke Middle School is a community of caring individuals committed to students’ academic, social and emotional growth. Our student body comprises grades 6, 7 and 8 and over 860 students. Our school community is diverse, representing over 33 countries, speaking at least 24 languages, and including a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds.

We recognize that individual learners are the most critical factors in curricular planning and courses are designed to provide students the best instruction possible and the opportunity to experiment in a supportive environment. In addition to our major subject areas, we offer a three-year, five day per week world language curriculum and a variety of electives including engineering, art, guitar, chorus, band, orchestra, journalism, speech and debate, and drama to consistently challenge and engage students. In addition, we believe in providing students what they need when they need it. As such, we have implemented general education interventions including reading and math intervention classes, a guided study course, and a learning center that students access for help and support. With the assistance of these intervention classes we continue to see academic growth improve.

Thanks to supportive staff, innovative pro-social programming, and challenging academic rigor we consistently develop students’ independence and their ability to make positive choices. We have a long-standing history of community service and each year many students volunteer to help out in the community. In addition, we have implemented a program to promote pro-social behavior, and created the Chain Links and Linked In Clubs to encourage a chain reaction of kindness. Our desire is for students to demonstrate mastery of essential skills while fostering creativity, collaboration, and citizenship.