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Elementary SchoolsMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolArt / Music / SportsThe Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District Website
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Jamesville Elementary
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Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School is home to approximately 800 students in grades five through eight. The building is also home to the District’s indoor swimming pool 
The Middle School offers a strong academic program that motivates and challenges students’ intellectual development. Teachers hold high expectations for the academic performance of students at all levels, while recognizing the emotional and physical growth occurring during this phase of the students’ lives. The curriculum provides the opportunity for students to work at appropriate levels of difficulty. The Middle School utilizes a team teaching model. These teachers are responsible for the five subject areas of English, social studies, math, science and reading. Teachers on the team jointly diagnose the academic, social and personal needs of subgroups and individual students assigned to their teams. Through a common planning period, guidance personnel and administration are involved in monitoring the changing educational needs of students. In addition to the grade level team, the students also work with special area teachers. In fifth grade, students study art, music and physical education. In grades six and seven the special area subjects are expanded to include foreign language, home and career skills and technology education. J-D Middle School’s philosophy is centered on this: The Middle School program is child-centered, not teacher or subject centered. Faculty members here, in spite of the diversity
Of the many special programs the Middle School offers, the Homebase Program is a great source of pride. Homebase consists of a group of students from each grade level that meet with the same advisor first thing each morning. This time is used to prepare for the day’s activities and discuss issues relating to school, home and the world community. The goals of the Homebase program are:
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| Our flagship, Jamesville-DeWitt High School, is a modern building, which houses approximately 840 students. The faculty is headed by the principal and two assistant principals. Department chairs (teachers with reduced teaching duties who receive additional compensation) assist the administrators. Each department holds monthly meetings. To keep the flow of communication moving in the right direction, there are also monthly staff meetings for the faculty.
All departments have their own office space. A spacious faculty room with computer workstations and additional work space make the teaching environment all the more pleasant and productive. Staff members also have access to the computer labs and an e-mail account. Each school day from 2:20pm to 3:00pm is an activity period where students can meet with teachers for extra help with their work. Student Clubs also use this time to meet and hold activities, all overseen by faculty advisors who receive a stipend for their efforts. The student body of the high school is a diverse group of high achieving individuals. Their academic performance indicates test scores well above New York State and similar school averages. SAT scores also rate above state and national levels. We take great pride in the large number of Merit Scholars that come out of our district every year. The high school Learning Center/Library is a fully automated, modern facility with many resources for students to benefit from and enjoy. It is a place to read books, periodicals, look at slides, filmstrips and loops, listen to tapes and look for information of all kinds. The library computer system is driven by Winnebago software, an integrated, cross-platform circulation and catalog system. It is an award-winning choice for thousands of libraries worldwide. Winnebago was included in the Media & Methods 1999 Awards Portfolio, and was selected for Curriculum Administrator's Annual District's Choice Award for both 1998 and 1997. There are 2 state-of-the-art computer labs in the high school, with access to DOS, Windows and MAC platforms. While computer literacy is taught starting in the elementary school, the high school offers the most intensive training. Freshman are required to take a class in technology literacy. It is an interdisciplinary, project-oriented course designed to support technology requirements and applications of other ninth grade content courses. Units focus on word processing for specific content course writing assignments, TI-82 graphing calculator problem solving for math and science, using the Internet to collect data for classroom research and facilitating student use of software and hardware to complete course projects. This course provides the framework for the electronic comprehensive portfolio of student achievement. At the high school level, there is a wide array of programs and electives for students of all achievement levels, from advanced placement courses through Syracuse University to our progressive pre-engineering program – Project Lead the Way. With over 95% of our students going onto higher education, our Career Center is a very important place for students to gain information about colleges, universities and various occupational information. All students will become acquainted with materials in the Center through career education in grades 9-12. College representatives also use the Center to meet with students, and speakers representing specific occupations appear on a regular basis. A job-shadowing program is also available to students. Jamesville-DeWitt high school is a place where young adults begin to stretch their wings. It is our goal to give them the freedom, guidance and opportunity to discover themselves, set and reach new goals and graduate with a solid educational base to take them far into the future. |
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| The Fine Arts are a large part of the J-D curriculum, and are fully supported by the community. The Art Department offers many electives, including ceramics, drawing and painting, and photography. Many of our art students have received local and statewide recognition for their creations.
In a time when the fine arts are suffering due to budget cuts, Each year, all J-D students are encouraged to audition for the school’s musical to be performed in the Spring. It’s a full scale production with the show band providing musical accompaniment. Students are also needed for stage crews, costumes, lights, tickets, programs, sets – all aspects of production. The Concert Band is comprised of student musicians recommended from the middle school or auditioned by the band director. They perform a variety of literature from classical to contemporary –most at level six, the highest level of difficulty determined by the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). Concert band members may also audition for a number of performance ensembles: Jazz, Brass, Clarinet, Percussion and Woodwind Quartet. There is also a Pep Band – a fun group that plays at all high school football and basketball games. High school sports can be one of the greatest educational experiences our students can have. Goals for the sports program are to teach discipline, goal setting, communication, problem solving, sacrifice and the value of hard work. To keep programming going strong, the All Sport Booster Club plays a very important role in assisting our student athletes, coaches and spectators. Funds generated by the Booster Club have provided many items not available through the school’s budget. An end-of-season banquet for each and every team is put on by the Boosters, where sportsmanship is celebrated and rewarded. The Jamesville-DeWitt Red Rams Section III sports roster includes:
There are many coaching opportunities for teachers within the J-D district sports program. Each of these positions receives an additional stipend. |
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Student Highlights | The Syracuse, NY Area |
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each content area: Language Arts, mathematics, science, social studies and exploratory arts including art, music, physical education and library.
they represent, possess three evident characteristics:
Jamesville-DeWitt’s music program is alive and well both vocally and instrumentally. Students learn the fundamentals of singing technique and music reading in the Concert Choir. They also have the opportunity to audition for Select Choir and In Achord, a show choir that performs popular type music and includes choreography. All of the groups perform multiple concerts during the year both at school and throughout the community.
