Willard Middle School
Robert Ithurburn, Principal
LaDonna Higgins, School Secretary
2425 Stuart Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
Phone: (510) 644-6330
Fax: (510) 548-4219
Zoey Zotigh, Coordinator
Berkeley LEARNS After School Program
Phone: (510) 644-6557
- Willard PTA
- School Accountability Report Card
- School Accountability Report Card 2006-07
- API Results
- STAR Results
- Facilities
- Garden and Nutrition Newsletter
School Information
Stop by Willard Middle School anytime from early morning to late afternoon and you will find the Library Media Center packed with more than 60 students. The boundless energy and enthusiasm that is found here is indicative of the love of learning that is instilled in Willard students by their extremely dedicated staff. The students and staff share the same high expectations and work together to realize them. That work and those high expectations are reflected in every facet of the Willard curriculum:
- 6th graders studying geography become cartographers, creating their own "Lost Continent" designs, including land and water features, legends, a scale of miles and color elevation key.
- 7th grade math students study the area of polygons by designing their dream houses then constructing models to scale. After completing a cost analysis (and coming in under budget) they compose a realtor's sales brochure, or a magazine article describing the features of their house. "We want students to make real-world connections," teacher Jesse Ragent explains.
- Two of the nine novels 8th graders read are by Ernest Gaines. In reflective pieces, students write about their own ideas, interpreting the literature and the issues that are raised. In their expository essays they prove their own theories.
Willard takes advantage of its neighbor, the University, to make sure that every student has the individual support he or she needs to do well in class. Some 200 Cal students mentor, tutor and counsel Willard students in one-to-one and group relationships. Willard's Youth Support and Americorps programs, provide these and other services to both students and their families.
The community's support for Willard is perhaps most obvious in the profusion of gardens that cover the grounds. Thanks to the Greening Project, an ongoing collaboration between school and community volunteers, native California, butterfly, vegetable and flower gardens all flourish, as do an orchard and a wetlands which produces papyrus for papermaking. As part of the science curriculum, sixth, seventh and eighth graders participate in every stage of the planting cycle, raising worms, turning compost, nurturing seedlings and harvesting their own crops as they study the importance of agriculture in ancient civilizations.
With the variety of activities offered and the balanced curriculum, Willard is a wonderful place for students to excel at the Middle School Level.