As programming at New Ulm Middle School has continued to grow and evolve over the last three years, the focus remains on maintaining a student centered approach designed to meet the varying needs of all middle level learners. New Ulm Middle School educators are committed to meeting both the academic and social emotional needs of the students and are able to do so through a balanced approach within the classroom and school program.

New Ulm Middle School uses a Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) program to address students’ behavioral and emotional needs. This year, the middle school counselors in collaboration with the PBIS team, have been working to identify and employ specific interventions and strategies to help students. The team uses a systematic approach to provide identified students with targeted instruction and support specific to their individual behavioral or social emotional needs. Another way that New Ulm Middle School has stretched to meet the needs of all learners is through the development and use of a sensory room. The sensory room is designed to help students regulate their behavior and maximize learning in the classroom. Identified students follow a series of exercises or activities using special equipment and learn how to better regulate their behaviors in the classroom. Additionally, New Ulm Middle School has incorporated the use of a certified therapy dog in school counseling sessions to help students feel more comfortable in discussion or working on skills.

In an effort to further expand the school district’s Career and Technical Education program and provide students with further opportunities for hands on, experiential learning, New Ulm Middle School has repurposed an existing shop space into a digital Fabrication Lab. The lab is home to a wide range of technologies, including 3D printers, CNC Routers and a laser engraver, which allow students to use digital tools create and innovate solutions to real world problems.

As part of the school’s focus on literacy, New Ulm Middle School has partnered with the New Ulm Public Library to develop and implement a program called Media on the Move. Together the two organizations are working to promote literacy by issuing every middle school student a public library card. Students can check out and return books at the public library, or have the option of ordering books online to be delivered to the middle school, where they will be checked out and returned.

Go Eagles!