Front: Jennifer Polk (After School Specialist) and Dana Walker (Assistant Principal) Back Row: Mark Greenfelder (Principal), Maggie Rasnic (Director of Student Services), and Bob Simmons (Assistant Principal) Welcome to the Thoreau Middle School website. At Thoreau, we are committed to providing the best middle school education possible in a safe learning environment. The Thoreau staff is especially trained to work successfully with early adolescents, and it is our on-going commitment to keep abreast of the latest educational research so that we can help each student achieve academically. We also believe that success is best attained through the cooperation of students, parents and the school staff. To this end, the Thoreau staff supports the following “Tenets of School/Parent Partnership:” * Parents and educators should work together in a partnership to support the ongoing education of students. * The Thoreau staff believes that the best education for students is achieved through frequent and open communication between parents and teachers. * As professionals, we recognize that parents have extensive knowledge of their children and we respect the input parents have to offer. * Parents should feel welcome at our school and should feel comfortable visiting at any time. * Parents should talk frequently to their children about the educational experiences their children are having. * Early adolescence is a time for students to experience independence. Parents should continue to provide nurturing but should likewise allow their children to grow and mature through independent experiences. * Despite the fact that early adolescents do not necessarily wish their parents to be involved in their school life, it is especially critical that parents remain involved during these important years of growth. Through the combined efforts of all of our stake holders, we can make our motto of “Excellence in Action” a reality for every student.