All Concord Middle School staff are committed to cultivating a climate that nurtures the following values in our students:

  • Community: Compassion and loyalty towards the world outside of the self.

  • High Achievement: Confidence and willpower to learn from mistakes, appreciate success, and grow towards one’s potential.

  • Lifelong Learning: Passion to discover new interests and to uncover the fascinating in the mundane.

Overview

Concord Middle School (CMS) is a 6-8 middle level school with a total population of 742 students housed in two nearby buildings, the Peabody building (6th grade) and the Sanborn building (7th and 8th grades). The middle school model combines both a Department and Team structure in order to maximize both content expertise and support of the student as a whole child. We are fortunate to have a staff of 75 experienced professionals who share a common expectation of excellence. CMS is an inclusive school that provides a safe, orderly environment conducive to learning, with a student/teacher ratio of approximately 104 to 1 and an average class size of 21. The learning process is taken very seriously at CMS. Much attention is paid to qualitative skills such as critical thinking, process learning and creative problem solving. By objective measures, CMS students also do well, with above average scores in the 8th grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System English Language arts, mathematics, and science & technology tests. Students are well prepared for transition into high school and ultimately college.

Our students are talented, multi-faceted young people. Examples of their accomplishments include but are not limited to the following: awards in local, state and national curriculum based competitions, successful participation in the Geography Bee, Model United Nations Conference, Math Counts, District Chorus, Orchestra and Band. Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities are very popular at CMS. This year students will perform in band, stage band, chorus, orchestra, dramatic play, and the musical, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Participation in interscholastic and intramural sports is high at CMS, with enrollments in fall, winter and spring intramural and inter-scholastic sports. Other activities offered after school include: Math Team, Yearbook, Newspaper, Open Studios, and Environmental Club. CMS students through Student Leadership have initiated community service projects such as Jump Rope for Heart, a raffle for The Red Cross Disaster Relief, a bottle drive for The Jimmy Fund, a food drive for The Open Pantry and a toiletry collection for shelters in Waltham, Ayer and Boston. Student Leaders also play an integral part in effecting change at CMS contributing ideas for playground design and lunch menu items.

The level of parent involvement and participation is high and takes many forms including traditional classroom volunteer work and chaperoning field trips, fund raising and participation on committees such as the Concord Education Foundation, Parent and Teacher Group, and the School Advisory Council. Parental input is encouraged and valued in the building based, decision-making management model of CMS.

Professional improvement is a way of life for the faculty. Teachers participate in staff development in-service programs, workshops, professional conferences and advanced degree work, always striving to remain current in their knowledge of pedagogy and strong in their commitment to life-long learning.