Mission

Our mission is to create a school community where junior high students discover their unique potential, develop self-worth, dignity and responsibility, learn to think critically and creatively, become lifelong learners, show concern for others, and seek to achieve their personal best.

What Makes Us Special

Frontier puts a priority on developing students' self control by framing all rules as choices with fair, predictable consequences for those choices.

The Make Your Day (MYD) program allows students and teachers to self-assess whether they have lived up to that expectation. MYD also has one main rule: No one has the right to interfere with the learning, safety, or well-being of others. The program makes Frontier a safe, positive place where learning is the priority.

Raising expectations and standards

In 2007-08, 79 students passed all three sections of the WASL. We‚'re proud of the hard work our students are doing to meet state standards -- and we plan to do all we can to get each and every student over the bar. In 2007-08, we will focus on math to make sure our students have the skills they need to perform at a high level on the WASL math test. Our efforts include new math curriculum and classes for select students and ongoing training for teachers.

Community connections

Students perform the following services: school beautification, assisting elementary school teachers, working with FJH teachers, helping in the Independent Living Skills classroom, church youth groups, feeding the homeless, helping with music concerts, assisting handicapped and more.

Parent and community involvement in learning

Frontier encourages and welcomes parent involvement in all aspects of school life. Parents may volunteer in the classrooms, office, library, hallway or lunch room.

We firmly believe that the more positive adult interaction our students encounter each day, the more students can benefit from those connections. Frontier also has a greatly involved body of parent volunteers who help the school with a variety of projects.

Top-notch staff

Frontier has 49 classroom teachers. They average seven years of teaching experience and 63 percent have a master's degree. They are joined by a wonderful support staff who have students' best interest in mind in all that they do.

WASL success

Our WASL scores showed strong improvement across all content areas. Seventh grade reading scores increased 22 points and math rose ten points. Eighth grade math increased five points.

Adequate Yearly Progress

Frontier Jr. High did not meet adequate yearly progress - AYP - as defined under the "No Child Left Behind" Act. Of the 36 areas measured, the school made all but four of the required benchmarks.

Each year individual schools and the school district must "raise the bar" in gradual increments so that by 2014, 100 percent of students achieve proficiency in each subject area.

Bethel School District

Bethel School District serves about 17,500 students in 17 elementary schools, five junior highs (with another opening its doors in 2010), three comprehensive high schools, one alternative junior high/high school, and an online academy. The district has won national awards in technology and communications, as well as state awards in professional development, energy conservation, and the arts. In addition, five district teachers have earned "Washington State teacher of the Year" in the last 25 years - more than any district in the state.

The Bethel School District covers 202-square miles in south Pierce County. The area is one of the fastest growing in the Puget Sound region. In 2006, district voters passed both a four-year levy for operations and a $175 million bond to build new schools. As part of the first phase of the bond, two elementary schools and one junior high (temporarily housing Spanaway Lake High School) were opened in September 2009.

In 2007-2008, the district‚'s budget was $158 million, about 80 percent of which went to salaries and benefits. About 1,050 certificated staff and about 1,000 classified (support) staff work for the district. Tom Seigel joined the district in 2001 as superintendent. He previously worked in Boulder, CO as a superintendent. Prior to his work in public education, Seigel served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, completing his military career as a Commander.