Built as a junior high school in 1961, Arundel Middle School (AMS) serves the growing community of West Anne Arundel County, comprised of families from varying backgrounds across several neighborhoods. The 1,070 children who comprise Arundel Middle come to us from Odenton, Four Seasons, Piney Orchard, and Waugh Chapel Elementary Schools. While many of our students have spent their educational years in one of our feeder schools, approximately 15% of our student population are children of military personnel stationed at nearby Fort George G. Meade.
As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure initiative of recent years and expanding commercial development along Veterans Highway, our area is experiencing housing expansion projects in many neighborhoods with some newly planned neighborhoods underway. Arundel Middle’s present military-dependent students represent 15% of our total population. Approximately 20% of our families from Four Seasons and Piney Orchard Elementary Schools serve in the armed forces. The growth in our area has prompted the need for a new school addition which will break ground in the spring of 2020. With over 1,070 students currently attending and new students enrolling weekly, ‘growth’ is our middle name!
Additionally, we have a strong Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program at all three grade levels, and AVID pillars of instruction are infused throughout the content areas. Teachers work together daily to incorporate the use of the AVID Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, Reading (WICOR) strategy and focused note-taking with greater student confidence and self-efficacy in the selection of tools to support active learning. A visitor to any classroom will see students engaging in artful thinking routines, Socratic seminars, and other active learning strategies.
