We are currently working to integrate the functions from the old middle school website into the new site.  In the meantime, please go to http://ms.chimeinstitute.org to access grades, homework and upcoming events.

I.    Program Description

The CHIME Charter Middle School is an inclusive learning community serving children from 6th up to 8th grade where all students, their parents, and the school’s staff appreciate and value diversity. The rationale for inclusion is based on the belief that important academic, social, and ethical skills and attitudes are developed when students with various abilities, needs, and backgrounds learn together. A well-established body of research that is supported by federal and state law indicates that inclusion of children with disabilities benefits both students with and without disabilities alike.

The CHIME Charter Middle School is a collaboration among three important entities that include the CHIME Institute, a nonprofit organization with over a decade of experience in providing inclusive education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

A. Educational Programs

The mission of the CHIME Charter Middle School is to create an inclusive learning community where all students, parents, and professionals appreciate and value diversity in all its forms. It educates students to become conscientious, responsible citizens, whereby they will assume the role of life-long learners as they reflect upon and contribute to the cultural and civic life of the community. All students, grades 6th through 9th grade, will be supported to achieve high standards in both their academic and personal development through an educational program based in constructivist approaches and designed to engage students in problem solving activities at levels appropriate to their individual needs. In collaboration with California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), CHIME Charter Middle School serves as a laboratory in which faculty and students investigate how young teens learn and as a resource on inclusive education for educators, parents, policy makers, and others. It serves as a demonstration site for student teachers, supervisors, practicing educators, policy makers, and parents. The CHIME Charter Middle School is structured to create and support an inclusive learning community.

B. Practices Specific to CHIME Middle School

1. Co-Teaching
   At CHIME Middle School, the general education and the special education teacher work together. In a co-teaching model, special and general education teachers are partners in planning, teaching, and assessment. All children have two teachers, just as all faculty members have a responsibility to every student. This team brings a variety of strengths to the classroom and addresses curricular adaptations. While no one has all the answers, we remain available to each other. Together we are better.
   
   
2. Diversity
   We recognize diversity of learning styles, language and cultural backgrounds, developmental levels, social and emotional understandings, and learning abilities. Recognizing this range of diversity, our goal is to respond in constructive ways that honor the richness that it provides. This means understanding instruction from the point of view of our students and using approaches that will allow them maximum entry into the academic and social life of the classroom and school community. Additionally, it means that staff, students, teachers, and parents alike, respect and honor the very attributes that accompany such diversity, realizing that everyone contributes in unique ways.
   
   
3. Inclusive Community
   Created to support an inclusive learning community, CHIME Middle School accommodates a wide range of abilities and emphasizes student’s strengths. Approximately 80% to 85% of the students are typically developing or gifted, and 15% to 20% of the students in each class are diagnosed with disabilities.
   
   
4. Partnerships
   Staffing of the middle school emphasizes a collaborative approach in which parents, professional and paraprofessional staff, and university students and faculty work in teams to deliver collaborative, mutually planned educational programs.
   
   
5. Instructional Methods
   A variety of instructional methods are used to support the learning of all students. Students who attend the CHIME Charter Middle School experience a curriculum that is based on a constructivist concept. Students continually assimilate new information, test new data against what they already know and, based on new information, reconstruct a changed understanding of the world as they apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations. This constructivist-based approach is facilitated through cooperative learning and school-wide positive behavioral support. Finally, the program is highly individualized, building on each student’s strengths to accommodate different learning needs and styles. Each student who is eligible for special education services has an Individual Education Program (IEP) that conforms to all state and federal requirements. Instruction is also individualized for students who are not eligible for special education services, and each of these students has an Individualized Instructional Plan that specifies the student’s goals, objectives, and instructional strategies for the coming year.
   
   
6. Deep Learning and Block Schedule
   The curriculum is organized around central questions and themes which will encourage students to “uncover” the curriculum, taking the time required to construct meaning, all the while keeping in mind the necessity to adapt instruction for individual needs. Studying in depth reinforces our goal of helping the students know what it means to be a reflective learner, of what it takes to truly understand something. In order to be able to “go deep”, the CHIME Charter Middle School has adopted a block scheduling format. Using block scheduling provides the time for faculty to integrate curriculum, utilize themes and discovery learning, individualize to student needs, and encourage creative thinking. This format will also ensure that faculty teach creatively and address multiple intelligences and various learning styles, rather than relying on a strictly lecture format. Faculty is encouraged to collaborate, co-teach, and provide instructional links between the various courses for students. Classes are designed on a block schedule to accommodate a wide range of abilities and to emphasize individual student’s strengths.
   
   
7. Schools Attuned Methodologies
   In partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning at California State University, Northridge, and All Kinds of Minds, developed by world-renowned learning expert Dr. Mel Levine, CHIME teachers have been trained in the Schools Attuned program. Schools Attuned helps struggling students measurably improve their performance by providing training for teachers that integrates our understanding of variation in learning with a model for promoting student success.