Northside Middle School (Norfolk, Virginia)

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Official name Northside Middle School
Principal Dr. Andrea P. Tottossy
School type Public
Operated by Norfolk Public Schools
Location 8720 Granby Street
Norfolk, Virginia
United States
Grades 6-8
Religious affiliation None
Enrollment 1221 (Year 2003/2004)
Closest high school (9-12) Granby High School
Community served Ocean View and surrounding area

Northside Middle School is an American public school, located in the community of Ocean View in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. It teaches grades six through eight. After completing grade eight, most students go to Granby High School, which is outside of Ocean View, but still inside Norfolk.

As with other Norfolk Public Schools, there is a statistical approach to improving education at Northside, with a heavy emphasis on test scores. The approach has shown some success in improving test scores, but is sometimes criticized by those who feels it doesn't help a child's overall education.

[edit] Special programs

A special education specialist works with children with learning disabilities, who make up roughly 13% of the overall student population. Roughly four percent of the children are designated as gifted.

[edit] Maritime Studies Pathway

Norfolk Public School's Maritime Studies Pathway is a special program for only three schools in the district: Ocean View Elementary School, Northside Middle School, and Granby High School. The environmental education content is concentrated on the Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the U.S) and its 64,000 square mile watershed.

Components of the program include:

  • Aqualab - A lab with where students directly handle live marine animals.
  • The Chesapeake Bay Student Conference - Annual chance for students to share knowledge of the Bay with community members and other students.
  • Field trips - Day and overnight troops to area of interest.
  • Gardening - Learning through the school's courtyard garden.
  • Hydroponics - In door gardening by students.
  • Oyster restoration - About four oyster floats are monitored, to place healthy one year olds on an artificial oyster reef.
  • Shad restoration - Part of program where 1000 baby shad are brought to Northside each spring. The fry are studied, monitored, fed, and released by students.
  • Stream monitoring - Monitoring for pollution and other factors.
  • Composting - Promotes recycling from cafeteria food.

[edit] External links