About Ardsley Middle School

Ardsley Middle School is situated on approximately 30 acres of rolling hills near the center of the Village of Ardsley. Its superb facilities include a swimming pool, an outdoor amphitheater and a large gymnasium that can be divided to create 3 separate teaching stations. Three large athletic fields support the physical education program.
The school also contains a 600-seat auditorium and a large-group instruction room. There are specially equipped rooms for technology, home and career skills, science and art.

The Library/Media Center contains an enhanced collection of print resources and a computerized catalogue system as well as an expanded area for whole class or individual work and meetings. Fifty networked PCs with access to the Internet are located throughout the library and in an adjoining computer lab.

The music suite includes rooms for the band, orchestra, and individual practice, as well as a nearby room for chorus rehearsal. In addition, there is a music lab with computer/keyboard stations that enable students to read, write, record and practice music.

An outdoor classroom at the pond serves as a site for environmental studies, science exploration and interdisciplinary projects. The Ardsley Education Foundation continues to support the expansion of environmental education facilities, including the WeatherNet program. This is consistent with the Ardsley Middle School theme, “Our Environment: Where We Make a World of Difference.”

Organization/Curriculum
The United States Department of Education recently recognized Ardsley Middle School as a National School of Excellence. The curriculum is varied and provides a challenging educational program within a warm and nurturing environment. Ardsley Middle School serves about 779 students in grades 5 through 8. The staff includes a building principal, an assistant principal, three full-time guidance counselors, a full-time speech/language therapist, 2.5 psychologists and 76 teachers. The school is organized into grade level teams that offer departmental and interdisciplinary teaching. The team organization provides closer contact between teacher and student as well as among students. Teams are scheduled so that there is time for interdisciplinary planning and conferencing with students, parents, and/or support service staff.
The instructional program of the Middle School is enriched through a wide variety of activities such as: a five-day environmental field trip in the sixth grade, Colonial Day in the seventh grade, a three-day field trip to Washington D.C. in the eighth grade, and Foreign Language Week celebrations.

Grade-level teachers provide instruction in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. Foreign language teachers are part of the team in the seventh and eighth grades. Students are instructed by specialists in music, art, library, physical education, technology, home and careers and computers.

With the assistance of support staff, special education students are integrated into regular classes. Special education teachers work closely with grade level teams as part of the collaborative/integrated special education program. Accelerated students have the opportunity to study Regents Mathematics as seventh graders. All eighth grade students participate in Regents Earth Science and Mathematics.

Activities
A full range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, including modified and interscholastic sports, publications, musical and theatrical performances are offered to Ardsley Middle School students to complement the academic programs. An active student government plans all special events including dances, recreation programs and school/community service. We are especially proud of the recognition these programs have received:
"Apogee," Ardsley Middle School's Literary/Art Magazine, continues to be a medalist in the Columbia Scholastic Press competition.
Ardsley Middle School students are consistently chosen to participate in All County Band, Orchestra and Chorus.
The mathematics teams have a history of excellence on the regional, state and national levels.
First place in New York State Mathematics League in 1993, 1996, 2002.
Five Ardsley Middle School students ranked among the top 10 in the Westchester County Foreign Language Competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Foreign Language.