Gates Chili Middle School is divided into three 6th - 8th grade communities of learning: the Amerks, Redwings, and Rhinos. Most students remain in the same community throughout their entire middle school experience, resulting in a sustained relationship with the educators who serve them.  

Our school community structure provides the following: 

• Greater sense of belonging (closer relationships with peers and teachers) 

• Added convenience for students with many classes close to one another in a specific wing of our school 

• Reducing student movement throughout the building, creating additional instruction time; increasing interactions between your student and their teachers and peers within a community, while helping reduce disciplinary issues.   

Since these communities comprise one much larger school, GCMS students enjoy the best of both worlds, with school-wide theme weeks, clubs, socials, performing groups and athletic teams. GCMS students are mixed in several of their exploratory classes that enable new friendships and rekindle old ones with students who are members of any one of our three learning communities. Providing optimal learning environments has been an essential goal of the school district.  The creation of Middle School communities has helped us to take a significant step forward to this end. 

HOW ARE WE ACHIEVING OUR VISION?

• Three communities spanning grades six through eight are in operation. 

• We try to have students remain in the same community for the duration of their time at Gates Chili Middle School; however, this does not always happen. 

• Communities are housed in separate wings of the building. 

• Each community is assigned its own administrator, mental health professionals, and teams of English, math, science, and social studies teachers whose rooms are housed together in a common hallway. 

• The location of the cafeteria, gymnasium, library, art, family and consumer science (FACS), technology, and music wings remain common to all students.