Hello and welcome present and future students, families, and community members to Whitman Middle School's new home page.

I would like to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me. My name is Michael Starosky and I am the new principal at Whitman. My professional background includes being the assistant principal at Whitman for the last five years and six years as a middle school teacher at Mercer Middle School in Seattle. I am also a Whitman alumnus having attended as a student in 19... well, a really long time ago.

Our goal at Whitman is to go from a good school to a great school. I believe with our committed, caring staff and supportive parent and community involvement, Whitman will be a great school very soon. Along with a committed staff and parent community, we have the best students any school could hope for!

Whitman is a safe, secure and welcoming school where we have high expectations for our students academically, behaviorally and socially. Whitman is a good school in most all areas. Our goal as a staff is for Whitman to become a great school in all areas.

Our school's reputation and success begins with strong parent/guardian concern, support, and involvement. A major goal of Whitman Middle School is for every student to reach or exceed grade level in reading, writing, and math. We also want our students to be kind, considerate, and involved in matters of the heart as well as the mind. Our staff is committed to challenging our students in a caring, respectful and academically rigorous environment.

Whitman is one of Seattle's largest middle schools, with 945 students scheduled to be enrolled this fall. We are a diverse school with approximately one third of our students being students of color. We have Advanced Learning, Special Education, and ELL/Bilingual classes. We are continuing our commitment to smaller learning communities, with scheduling that emphasizes blocking of core subjects and common teacher teaching-teams and planning periods. These smaller learning communities personalize education so that children are well known by both adults and students, helping to ensure their success.

As a larger middle school, we are able to offer a variety of specialty programs. We offer classes in three world languages, Japanese, French, and Spanish. Our students may have the opportunity to travel as 8th graders to a country where each language is spoken. Our music department has five bands, guitar, choir, and two orchestras. We also offer classes in yearbook, computer-aided design, wood technology, TV production, journalism and art.

Our Out of School Time program, funded by the Families and Education Levy, offers after-school athletics, drama, cooking, tutoring, chess, rock climbing, land-sailing, and other activities supervised by school staff or community members five days a week. Our successful athletic programs include soccer, basketball, Ultimate Frisbee, track, and volleyball. Along with our varsity athletic programs, we offer both junior varsity and developmental playing opportunities for our students. Last spring Whitman won the city championship in both boy's soccer and co-ed track.

We have a strong student support team of counselors, a nurse, a family advocate, three administrators, a librarian, a security person, and three office staff members. They provide both in-class and out-of-class academic and behavioral support for students. Whitman also partners with Seattle Mental Health and Getting Youth Beyond Barriers in School (GYBBIS) to support students and their families.

We have an excellent large, involved, and supportive PTSA. Our PTSA's goals are aligned with the five major areas of the Superintendent's Advisory Committee on School Family Partnerships: Communication, Student Learning, Parenting, School Decision Making and Advocacy, Collaborating with the Community, and Volunteering.

Our parents and families volunteer in a variety of ways including working in classrooms, the library, and the offices; writing and organizing newsletters; and sponsoring a variety of fund raising activities. The Academic Giving Campaign (AGC) allows for the direct funding of initiatives supported by the PTSA which include Teacher Professional Development, classroom based curriculum enhancement, and teacher grants. These grants pay for guest speakers, equipment, field trips, and other curriculum activities that support student learning.

This school year our staff will continue the work of our Whole Faculty Study Group, focusing on examining both formal and informal data. Staff will work together to make informed, intentional decisions on their instruction based on student data. The Study Group members will work in two-hour blocks of time during our early release and late arrival days. By aligning best instructional practice based on student data, we will increase student achievement. This year we will also have the fortune of having both a Literacy Coach and Math Coach in our building to support teachers in their lessons and instruction.

In addition to our study groups, staff will be working on these five major initiatives: The Readers/Writers Workshop and Balanced Literacy, Connected Mathematics Program 2 (CMP2), Science, Cultural Competency, and the Read A Million Words campaign.

Being actively involved at Whitman, whether you are a student, parent, or community member, helps ensure our staff's mission of making Whitman Middle School a great school for all students. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please email or call me. Thank you.


Sincerely,
Mike Starosky, Principal

"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline." Jim Collins

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