Introduction to Barren County Middle School

Barren County Middle School is located in the small, rural Kentucky town of Glasgow, 95 miles southeast of Louisville and 95 miles northeast of Nashville, Tennessee. With a population of approximately 14,000 (estimated from 1994 data) Glasgow is a close-knit community. Residents in the community know Barren County Middle School students as neighbors and friends. Parents talk about seeing their child's teacher in the grocery store or dry cleaners and taking advantage of these opportunities to catch up. The students at BCMS reflect the demographics of the community: they are primarily white with strong ties to the local church. The economic background of BCMS students is diverse, although according to 1990 census data, the median family income in Barren County was $23,507. Residents include small business owners, employees in nearby factories, struggling farmers, and some successful entrepreneurs.

When the school first opened in 1994, it combined more than 600 students from four middle schools into one building. Of the 570 7th and 8th grade students at BCMS, 255 are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and 69 are in special education programs. The school maintains strong ties with more than 30 local businesses and community groups involved in school activities. Parents are also involved in both academic and extra-curricular aspects of school life. In fact, the school has won state awards for its parent volunteerism and local awards for outstanding contributions to the community.

BCMS maintains a 96 percent student attendance rate and has been recognized by the state of Kentucky as being "in reward" academically because it met its improvement goals on the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). Indeed, the academic and non-academic assessments from the KIRIS demonstrate a path of improvement for BCMS: in 1994, the first year BCMS was in existence, it ranked 141 in the state according to the KIRIS assessment. It has consistently increased its ranking since then, and in 1999-2000, it ranked 26th in the state.

The school's motto is "Pride, Teamwork and Tradition," with teamwork as one of the hallmarks of the school. BCMS is structured around four teams, whose teachers meet, plan, and teach together; in classes, students work together in small groups to explore topics or solve problems; teachers from both the same and different subjects combine their classes to teach a lesson or unit together; teachers, parents, students, and administrators make decisions together about school-wide issues; parents are in classrooms, in the main office, and participating as students in after-school classes with their children.

Although BCMS has made terrific gains in academic climate, it continues to be responsive to the needs of young adolescents and strives to create equal opportunities for all its students, including those most at risk. The school continues to change, grow, and struggle, realizing that being a high-performing middle-grades school is not so much "arriving" at a place as it is continuing on a path toward improvement.

Principal Michelle Pedigo's commitment and hard work were rewarded by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, which selected her as the National Middle Level Principal of the Year for the 1999-2000 school year. As of 2000-2001, Michelle accepted the position of Director of Secondary Instruction for the Barren County School District. Mark Wallace is the new principal of BCMS.

Schools to Watch Home | Our Criteria | Visit Our Schools | Links | Tell a Friend | Talk to Us | National Forum