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After spending more than a year taking a deep dive into best practices for middle schools, Bornblum Jewish Community School has implemented a number of new programs and structures for the 2024-2025 school year.

“Bornblum’s middle school program has always prepared our students well for the high school years. But over the last year, we took on the challenge of how to make Bornblum Middle even better. Many of the changes implemented this year are the result of this work,” says Daniel R. Weiss, Head of School at Bornblum.

Perhaps the biggest change implemented for this school year relates to class schedules. Bornblum Middle now operates on a six-day rotation of classes, rather than a traditional model where students have the same classes each day. According to Jill Cross, the school’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction, “The rotating schedule with longer class periods, allows students focused learning time in the core general and Jewish studies classes over the course of the year. Plus, with the rotating schedule, students are not always missing the same classes when the school has days off for holidays and half days.”

In addition to increasing focused learning time, Bornblum Middle has increased experiential learning, whether in core general studies subjects like science, or in other areas of the curriculum.

“It is widely believed in education today that we are preparing students for jobs that have not yet been invented. This requires not only knowledge in traditional subjects, but a new emphasis on soft skills like collaboration, communication, adaptability and conflict resolution. Having this toolbox will help our students to succeed in any situation, including in those jobs not yet invented,” says Weiss.

In an effort to build these soft skills, Thursdays are outside the schedule rotation at Bornblum Middle, and are dedicated to experiential, hands-on learning. Students have advisory and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) classes which focus on student development. In middle school, SEL centers around a curriculum called #winatsocial which helps parents and students navigate social media safely. Additionally, every Thursday, students have LOFT (Launching Our Future Thinking) which offers a new focus each quarter, with students engaging with Facing History and Ourselves, Digital Citizenship, Echoes, which is a study of Jewish leadership, and work with artist-in-residence, Ephraim Urebvu, on Jewish contributions to the Civil Rights Movement through an art-based project called, “Tiles of Unity: Shared Stories of Solidarity.”

Thursdays are also dedicated to Design Thinking where students develop empathy by examining challenges that others face and designing solutions to those problems.

“There is an empathy crisis in our country. Statistics show a more than forty percent drop in empathy among our youth. Design Thinking teaches students to solve problems, but more importantly, it teaches students to approach the world with empathy and to experience life’s challenges from the perspective of others,” says Sally Baer, Bornblum’s Director of Student Services and Assistant Head of School. “It teaches dedication to helping others and to being a force for good in the world.”

Design Thinking at Bornblum Middle is more than just another class. Students in middle school create an individual Capstone project using the Design Thinking model.  Now in its second year, the Capstone program gives students the opportunity to explore their individual passions.

“Our Bornblum Middle School students will dedicate this entire year as a force of good for others using their individual passions to spark innovation. Our Design Thinking faculty, school leadership team, and community volunteers will support students as they research and identify needs within their field of interest and as they develop viable solutions to help others,” says Samantha Schmidt, a Design Thinking teacher at Bornblum.

“This year our focus is helping our students take their Capstone projects closer to producing prototypes and even final products that solve problems for others. We have a really impressive bank of tools for our students to use, whether it is our giant Thunder Laser cutter, our new resin 3D printer, or the many other design tools like Cricut cutters, a sound studio, a sewing and fabric arts center, or our green screen video production area. Student will each get hands-on experience using these tools to design and produce their solutions,” says Cross.  “And each student will graduate Bornblum with a portfolio of three Capstone projects that will be impressive to the many selective high schools where our students seek admission.”

Reflecting on the changes to Bornblum Middle, Weiss shared, “We know our innovative scheduling and refined programs will be a transition for our middle school students, but our incredible faculty and administration are committed to supporting our students and their families as they adapt to these changes. We believe deeply in the changes we have made because they are based on a deep examination of student needs in the middle school years. We are confident that Bornblum Middle will produce more well-rounded, adaptive and resilient students who will be prepared for the unknown world in which they will live. Our students will be prepared to succeed wherever they end up. If we can create a generation of students who look critically at the world around them, and use their talents to figure out how they can make their world a better place for everyone to live, then we will have created something unique and lasting at Bornblum Middle.”