Garfield Heights Middle School leaders told the Board of Education on Nov. 10 that they are focusing this year on increasing student achievement, expanding co-teaching and cutting chronic absenteeism.

At the start of the meeting, Mr. Rex (middle school lead) said the buildings three goals are to increase overall student achievement, implement a co-teaching model to accelerate growth and reduce chronic absenteeism from a cited 60% to 40%. "Our mission here at the middle school is to ignite the potential of an everyday scholar," Rex said during the presentation.

Why it matters: District staff tied instructional changes and attendance work directly to academic performance. The middle school reported that hands-on, project-based experiences produced notable gains in some science pre-/post-assessments, and staff flagged gaps in assessment alignment that they are investigating.

Key attendance efforts: Rex described a multi-pronged attendance campaign that began in October, featuring weekly recognition (trophies and a bulletin-board tracker outside the classroom), perfect-attendance rewards (more than 70 students had perfect attendance in the first quarter) and a new morning tutoring/busing program, "Bulldog Express," set to run Nov. 17 through March 27 to bring scholars to school earlier and provide preschool tutoring. "We're trying to target [students] to get them here every day," Rex said.

Discipline and PBIS: Presenters described PBIS (positive behavior supports) work that aligns expectations across elementary, middle and high school. Staff reported 608 discipline incidents so far this year compared with 500 last year and attributed some of the rise to increased documentation and referral practices; they also said the district is coaching teachers on in-class interventions to reduce minor referrals. "First, they have to know that they care about them," a presenter said about relationship-based strategies.

SEL and restorative supports: Dean Hayes, described as the middle schools dean of culture, will start restorative round tables for tier-2 students on Nov. 17. Groups of about five students will meet for six sessions (during lunch) through January 2026, with journaling and peer-led conversation; students completing the cycle will receive a lanyard.

Programs and enrichment: The middle school secured a $15,000 Project Lead The Way grant for design, modeling and space-focused coursework; show choir resumed and the football team went 8-0 this season. New clubs (crochet, planned chess club) and a leadership program for sixth and eighth graders were also highlighted.

What's next: Board members asked about expanding project- or problem-based learning beyond science; staff said training and partnerships are underway but implementation takes time and funding. The presentation concluded with the board thanking staff for transparency and the update.