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Buford Middle School

Ready for Greatness!

The Buford Middle School motto is "Ready for Greatness." Each year, the school makes greater and greater strides in addressing the academic, social, and personal needs of adolescent learners. Staff members and students have worked together to develop high expectations for academic success and personal responsibility. Such collaboration creates a strong school community in which students, teachers, and parents are partners in the learning process.

Through a comprehensive program of study that details courses for grades 6-12, Buford prepares its students for success in high school and beyond. The Career Cruisers tool is used to identify individual interests that may be pursued in core classes or electives. Parent conferences are held several times during the year to make sure that both students and parents fully understand what progress is being made toward high school graduation. Honors level courses are offered in some subjects for students who are ready for accelerated learning.

Classes follow a block schedule for sustained learning and a sharper focus on core classes. Teachers use the “Understanding by Design“ model to create lesson plans that fully engage students for longer class periods and develop higher order thinking skills.

Buford has the strongest site-based athletics program in the area, offering more than 20 activities year-round. Approximately half of the students participate in at least one school sport. Other after school clubs are devoted to drama, yearbook, gardening, and student council. Students also can stay after school to receive academic help. In all, 75% of the student body participates in an extra-curricular activity-academic, fine art, or sport- during the school year. In order to educate all students so that they will become responsible and productive citizens in a culturally diverse society, Buford employs a rich variety of enrichment and intervention resources so that every student can identify and nurture his or her talents.

Buford Middle School sponsors multiple community service projects throughout the year. Recent activities include fundraising on behalf of victims of the Haiti earthquake, donating blankets for animals at the SPCA, and collections for the Santa Fund and food bank during the holiday season.

The City Schoolyard Garden at Buford is a unique learning partnership where students explore connections between food, health, and the environment through hands-on activities, fully integrated into the curriculum. City Schoolyard Garden is a non-profit, guided by a Board of Directors and funded through community and grant support, under the umbrella of Virginia Organizing.  Their staff includes a full-time Garden Educator at Buford. In addition to hosting classes in the garden ranging from life science to art to physical education, CSG operates after-school and summer programing and develops curricular resources for teachers to use in classroom instruction. The City installed a rainwater harvesting system to collect and store rainwater from the gym roof for garden irrigation.

SLIDESHOW OF CITY SCHOOLYARD GARDEN ACTIVITIES

Images and slideshow provided by City Schoolyard Garden.

History of Buford

Named in honor of Charlottesville educator Florence Buford, Buford Middle School opened in August 1966 as one of two junior high schools. (Walker School was the other). In 1988, Buford became the City‘s only middle school, housing grades 7 and 8 and Walker became an upper elementary school, serving grades 5 and 6.

Awards and Recognitions

• In 2012, sixteen Buford orchestra students were chosen for the Junior Regional Orchestra for grades 7 - 9, including one student who was given the role of prestigious role of Concertmaster.
• The Buford Band Program reached a major milestone when the Buford Symphonic Band received straight Superior Ratings at the Virginia Band Directors' Association Concert Festival. This marked the 29th consecutive year that the Buford Band program has achieved a Superior rating at the District Level.
• Twenty Buford students won awards in the Annual Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair including three 1st place, two 2nd place and three 3rd place exhibits

Opportunities for Parent Involvement

Buford has an active PTO to organize special events such as the book fair and to support school programs. Athletic events at Buford attract hundreds of cheering fans. International Night is a popular school tradition that features international foods, exhibits, and performances. The annual school Health Fair is held in conjunction with a Community 5K Walk/Run activity to encourage fitness as a family activity.

What Parents Say about Buford School:

“My experience with the staff has been outstanding. My child does not want to miss school for any reason. That is saying a lot about his positive experiences.”

“I absolutely love Buford School. I can never thank his teacher enough for the way she single handedly turned my son around. We have had the best two years we have ever had. I don't say lightly that you have a superior educator there.”