Carson Middle School


Carson Middle School is a suburban, middle school in the North Allegheny School District. The school is located in McCandless Township, Pennsylvania. In 2013, Carson Middle School had an enrollment of 687 pupils, with 7% of pupils coming from a low income home. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Per the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2010, the school reported an enrollment of 720 pupils in grades 6th through 8th, with 55 pupils receiving a federal free or reduced-price lunch due to family poverty. The school employed 57 teachers, yielding a student teacher ratio of 12:1. The Pennsylvania Department of Education reported that 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind. Carson Middle School was founded in 1974, but North Allegheny had used the building as an intermediate high school until 1968.

History

Carson Middle School began as Carson Intermediate High School, built in 1968. It was named for North Allegheny Senior High School's then-principal John E. Carson and served grades 9 and 10. In 1974, grades 9 and 10 moved to the current building of North Allegheny Intermediate High School. CIHS's name changed to Carson Middle School, for grades 6 to 8.
In 1994, Carson was named a Blue Ribbon school. To display this, a blue ribbon is shown above one of the entrances to the school.

Academics

;2013 School Performance Profile:
Carson Middle School achieved 90.6 out of 100. Reflects on-grade-level reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement. In reading, 87% of the students were on grade level. In Mathematics, 89% of the students showed on-grade-level skills. In Science, 75% of the 8th graders demonstrated a grade level understanding. In writing, 91% of the 8th grade students were on grade level. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools, achieved an academic score of 70 or higher.
;Western Pennsylvania ranking:
In 2013, Carson Middle School 8th grade ranked 6th out of 149 western Pennsylvania middle schools. The 7th grade ranked 10th and the 6th grade ranked 43rd. In 2009, the 8th grade was ranked 7th out of 141 western Pennsylvania middle schools based on three years of student academic achievement in PSSAs in: reading, math writing and one year of science.
;AYP status:
From 2003 through 2012, Carson Middle School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress status each year.
;PSSA Results:
;8th Grade Reading:
;8th Grade Math:
;8th Grade Science:
;7th Grade Reading:
;7th Grade Math:
;6th Grade Reading:
;6th Grade Math:
GOAL is a gifted student program in North Allegheny, where students scoring high on assessment tests, like PSSA or IOWA testing, take a specialized test to get into the GOAL program. The gifted program adds extra curriculum to a regular class, when one or two days per week are reserved for the GOAL teacher to come into the class and teach the students alternative skills than the ones that other students take regularly. The Carson GOAL teacher is Dana Boyd. In 2014, 12.66% of Carson Middle School's students were identified as gifted.

Schedule

The school starts at 8:20 AM and ends at 3:00 PM. There are 8 classes in a day, including the lunch period. Each period lasts 48 minutes, with the exception of the lunch periods, which last 30 minutes. There are 15 minutes allocated for reading, called SSR, also known as DEAR each day.
The bell schedule is based on a system revolving around the lunch periods. Since each grade eats lunch at different times, periods 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are either 30 minutes or 18 minutes long. Two pairs of these period names are attached every day to make a single period, such as "Period 4/5", "Period 5/6", or "Period 7/8". This changes for different grades, i.e. in 6th grade, a period might be called 5/6, and in 7th grade, a period might be called 4/5.
Each school day is either an "A Day" or a "B Day". If one school day is an A Day, the next school day will be a B Day, and so on. The purpose of these names are to switch special classes, like a musical class, which are Band, Orchestra, Chorus, and General Music, and a Physical Education class. On A Days, a student will either have a music class or a P.E. class, and the next day, he/she will have the other one.
Usually, Wednesdays and Thursdays of every week have what are called "Activity Periods." This is a 41-minute-long study hall at the end of the day. Students can do their homework, study, visit the school library or a computer lab, make up tests, etc.
Schedules change on 2-hour Delay days due to weather or technical problems. On these days, classes are shortened and if there is an Activity Period scheduled, it is canceled.

School safety and bullying

The Carson Middle School administration reported there were zero incidents of bullying in the district in 2012. Each year the school safety data is reported by the district to the Safe School Center which publishes the reports online.
The North Allegheny School Board has provided the district's antibully policy online. All Pennsylvania schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy incorporated into their Code of Student Conduct. The policy must identify disciplinary actions for bullying and designate a school staff person to receive complaints of bullying. The policy must be available on the school's website and posted in every classroom. All Pennsylvania public schools must provide a copy of its anti-bullying policy to the Office for Safe Schools every year, and shall review their policy every three years. Additionally, the district must conduct an annual review of that policy with students. The Center for Schools and Communities works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to assist schools and communities as they research, select and implement bullying prevention programs and initiatives.
Education standards relating to student safety and antiharassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.

Teacher of the Year

Carson is also home to the 2008 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, David Woten, Jr. He is the choral teacher for grades 6 and 7, and also one of the general music teachers to grade 8.
Mrs. Anne Funk was honored in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for being 2009 Pennsylvania Orchestra Teacher of the Year.

Events

On March 7, 2008, Dr. Marcia Martin died from cancer. She was the 15-year principal of Carson Middle School from 1989 to 2004, and was a teacher in Carson earlier for another 16 years.
John Yastion, a custodian at Carson Middle School since 2003, was recognized for saving a man's life after he had a seizure, on November 13, 2008. He was commended by the North Allegheny Board of Directors for his actions.
;River City Brass Band
Once a month, Carson Middle School hosts the River City Brass Band. The band performs in the auditorium on a Friday night, September through May.