Medea Creek Community

Medea Creek Middle School: Community Profile

Medea Creek Middle School comprises a continually evolving learning community of 900 children. The staff includes 41 teachers, two and a half full-time equivalent counselors, six instructional aides, a full-time librarian, four food service personnel, and three clerical support staff. In addition, we have the services of a school psychologist, a speech and language specialist, and a coordinator for our English Language Learners. There is a united focus on providing challenging and meaningful experiences for our children. Every child is viewed as an individual with unique qualities and needs that are linked to success in school and in life. These individual differences are valued and nurtured through thoughtful and progressive teaching. Our school continually adapts to keep pace with our students' diverse and changing needs through a variety of support programs, including our special education and GATE programs.

Medea Creek Middle School is located in the suburban community of Oak Park in Ventura County . Teachers designed the physical plant when our new school was built in 1992. Previous to that, we shared a campus with the high school. The central focuses of the main classroom building are a skylight-roofed library and small group work areas. There are four buildings in all, plus four individual bungalows and a modular two-story complex containing ten classrooms. A highlight of the school is its emphasis on technology with two new PC computer labs and a technology lab. There is a strong emphasis on the arts with beginning to advanced classes in art, drama, chorus and band. We draw primarily middle class students with supportive, well-educated parents who are interested in education. Our relatively homogeneous population is 95% Caucasian, with the remaining 13% representing a spectrum of culturally and linguistically diverse ethnicities. The children who attend the school live in safe and attractive neighborhoods dotted with parks. Oak Park , a suburb outside Los Angeles , is a place where people jog in the evening and children walk to school.

Oak Park Unified School District contains six schools, of which Medea Creek is the sole middle school. The Board and Superintendent are committed to site-based management with students as the primary focus. Their track record shows consistent support and encouragement for the innovative techniques used by our school. Oak Park is a place where the leadership truly values education.

When measured by traditional standards of grades, test scores and attendance, our students show tremendous success. In class, students are provided with a standards-based curriculum that is made meaningful by hands-on experiences. The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of all children. Students also grow socially and emotionally through Medea Creek's emphasis on social responsibility and citizenship. The school's vision dictates that all students enjoy an interesting and intrinsically motivating educational context for rigorous academic standards. Differentiation of instruction is a high priority. In this way, we are most likely to inspire students to become able, confident, lifelong learners who contribute to our society.

California League of Middle Schools
6615 East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 120, Long Beach, California 90803
Voice: 562/430-3136 or 800/326-1880 . . . FAX: 562/430-5607. . . E-Mail: info@clms.net