Jonas E. Salk is committed to an educational program that is student-centered, challenging, purposeful, interdisciplinary, and interconnected. Salk provides many opportunities for students to explore their personal talents and interests, (no matter how fleeting). The school is based on a culture of respect, caring and appreciation. Our organizational structure helps connect students with adults so that no student is anonymous. We strive to involve parents with their child's learning, and to make them knowledgeable about what their children are doing in school and how they can support the school's mission. Salk is committed to forging linkages with the community that support student learning.

During their journey through the "middle years," students are changing physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. Middle School philosophy strives to address academic needs while attending to personal needs. Salk has high expectations and offers quality learning opportunities for all. We consider ourselves a "family" with all that this implies.

Students want relevance. They need to see connections among and between programs, connections between school learning and the real world, and connections between what they are learning and their futures. Our staff connects programs through teacher teams, interdisciplinary programs and a strong exploratory program. Students are eager to learn. They are also active, easily distractible social beings who need instructional experiences that engage them in varied learning activities, opportunities to interact with peers and time to learn. Our teachers utilize a variety of teaching strategies, project work, cooperative groups, active learning and, where possible, block/flexible schedules.

Staff members are people, too. To successfully ensure that all students learn at high levels, Salk's teachers are life-long learners. They continue to learn and grow professionally. Teachers here work well together, modeling teamwork and cooperation. They maintain strong contacts with parents, develop interdisciplinary connections and have a support system for change and risk-taking. The administrative structure of Salk strongly supports their efforts.