Bertie Middle School opens its doors to Bertie County Schools on school year 2007-2008.

It came as two middle schools in the district closed on school year 2006-2007. Because of this, Bertie Middle School has only done the NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey in 2008 and 2010. This school year 2010-2011 is only BMS 5th year.

Based on the results above, all teachers rate Bertie Middle School 83.7% in 2010-2011 as a good place to work and learn. This indicates a great improvement from 56.9% in 20072008. They believe that teachers are given much importance and consulted effectively especially about issues concerning instructional practices and solving problems.

Though 70% of the teachers believe that the management of time still needs some improvement, they believe that BMS is a good place to work and learn. Overall, 82.99% of the teachers in 2010-2011 school year are satisfied with all conditions indicated in the chart above. The chart below shows the differences between school year 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 teacher working conditions.

The chart above indicates that teachers at Bertie Middle School are very much satisfied the way the administration manages student conduct. This condition shows the highest

difference between the results on the first year of the school and last school year. They also believe that the administration makes sure that expectations are implemented consistently throughout the school year. 11.62%, which is the lowest difference, shows that teachers believe that something has to be done with utilization of time at the school particularly on efforts to minimize the amount of time they spend on routine paperwork that they are required to do. With a rating difference of 16.48%, teachers have seen a great effort by the administration to improve on professional development (PD) of all staff. In my interview with some members of the faculty, they said that the implementation of professional development programs has also been very consistent, even if it means that they themselves would facilitate PD sessions. Overall, Bertie Middle School is one force to reckon with. With teamwork between the administration and the staff, the school will become one of the best middle schools in the region. BMS recognizes deserving students by giving them some awards or recognitions. Below is a list of some of the awards or recognitions BMS distributes each year: Principals List, A/B Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, Accelerated Reader, PBIS and EOG Awards. BMS values parent involvement in their childrens achievement and success. Because of this, teachers are required to communicate with their students parents in a regular basis and keep a logbook to document it. BMS also encourages outside guests to speak to classes. The principal sends a welcome letter at the beginning of the year introducing the new members of the staff, beginning-of-the-year schedule, and orientation for the incoming 6th grade students, and other communication pieces such as emergency action plan in the event of a lockdown.