Draper Park Middle School is a highly successful 6-8 middle school in Canyons School District. Our school adheres to the principles of “middle level philosophy,” which includes a system of interdisciplinary teaming to provide teachers with time to collaborate, an emphasis on high-quality tier-1 instruction, along with intentional, data-driven academic interventions, and a focus on positive behavior interventions. We believe middle school is a time for students to explore many different subjects and topics and determine what interests they want to continue exploring when they reach high school or college. Our educational program is governed by four key values: student achievement, teaming, interventions, and elective class options. We believe these values help prepare all of our students for success in high school, college, and a future career.

The systems Draper Park Middle School implements are based on our aforementioned core values and the effective practices defined by the research Flowers et al. (2000) published in their canonical article on effective classroom practices at the middle level. Those classroom practices include: high levels of academic rigor; meaningful, relevant, and integrated curriculum; opportunities for active learning; and a positive climate based on respect (p. 53). Furthermore, Flowers et al. found that these practices were more likely to have an amplified affect within the context of interdisciplinary teaming (p. 54-55).