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About

Intro to Central School

This academic home to the District’s oldest students boasts large, windowed classrooms, a comprehensive Crawford Learning Center, Spartan Tech lab, two gyms, fitness center, two auditoriums, instrumental and choral music rooms, sunlit art room, and science classroom laboratories.  Central School reflects a developmental approach to its pre-adolescent students.  Through team teaching, interdisciplinary studies and activity classes, the staff creates programs geared specifically for 10 to 14 year-olds.

Schedule and Lunch
The Central School day begins at 8:15 AM and ends at 3:25 PM with a 42-minute lunch/recess break.  Before and after school bus service is available to students in the District.  All students eat lunch at school; the PTO sponsors a daily lunch program or students bring their lunch from home. Before and after school bus service is available to District students.  

Curriculum and Instruction
The curriculum includes mathematics, literacy  (reading, writing, word study, grammar), science, social studies, technology, music – instrumental and vocal music, visual arts, modern languages – French or Spanish, and physical education. The variety of teaching styles and techniques utilized allow students to experience cooperative, individualized and teacher-directed learning.  Report cards are issued four times during the school year and viewed as learning tools for students.  Letter grades measure achievement of specific criteria and are supplemented by teacher comments.

Social Emotional Learning, Extracurricular and Glencoe Junior High Project
Themes of SEL competencies are incorporated into the daily instruction and daily advisory period.  Strengthening our students’ social emotional competencies is a core goal for the middle school years. Service learning projects have become important ways to incorporate the meanings of monthly themes.  Students are encouraged to participate in many before and after school extracurricular activities sponsored by the PTO and District.  They include musical groups, athletics, Science Olympiad, Debate Club, French and Spanish Club.  Central School enjoys a unique relationship with the Glencoe Junior High Project, an independent youth organization located within the school building.  Students may drop in during lunch and after school for relaxed activities and conversation with peers and professional youth workers.  The Glencoe Junior High Project sponsors many civic engagement activities and the annual musical as ways for students to engage with others in a meaningful way.

Advantages and Highlights
Through field trips, students at Central School take advantage of the many resources in the greater Chicago area.  The Cultural Arts Program, sponsored by the PTO, brings various performers to the school and provides an in-depth involvement by grade level.

Highlights of the Central School year include the Book Fair, Halloween festivities, musical concerts, and award assemblies.  Special grade-level experiences and celebrations make the Central School experience unique and engaging for our middle school students.