Principal's Message
Ross Academy of Creative and Media Arts (RACMA), is located in the city of Artesia and has an enrollment of approximately 600 students in grades seven and eight on a traditional calendar system. Our mission is to challenge students academically and creatively through the use of innovative technology. Our student centered environment fosters respect for and acceptance of all diverse cultures. In partnership with our parents and the community, Ross students become responsible learners for the 21st century. Our students experience an academic program enriched with the arts and technology. Students choose from a wide variety of electives in the creative and media arts, including popular classes unique to a middle school such as AVID, Improvisation, Speech & Debate, K-ROSS TV Broadcast, Media Productions, Project Lead The Way, Musical Theater, Guitars and Ukuleles, 3-D Printing, Advanced Art, Ceramics, and Media Productions. Ross is the only middle school in ABC that offers a Zero Period Physical Education, designed to allow students the opportunity to take more than one elective class, and a Dual Immersion Spanish program where qualifying students are enrolled in a Spanish Language elective (Spanish II level) and a History class taught only in Spanish. Ross enjoys a history of recognition and honors: A 2017 California Gold Ribbon with a Title I Academic Achievement School recognition, a 2017 and 2018 Honor Roll Award from California Business for Education Excellence, and was one of a few California middle schools selected as a 2018 School To Watch.
Our teachers embrace a collaborative culture where highly competent teams work interdependently with the primary goals being to increase student achievement and prepare our students for the challenges that lie ahead both in high school and their adult lives. Ross Academy embraces a culture of collaboration where teachers work together to support areas of strength, share best teaching practices, and analyze student data that help drive our instructional decision-making. Ross has fourteen teachers who are members of the District's Technology Integration Project (TIP), a program designed to assist schools in developing and maintaining 1:1 classrooms. In connection with TIP, Ross developed Technology Across the Curriculum (T.A.C), a school-wide endeavor that promotes and supports technology used in all subject areas. All of our core subjects provide students 1 to 1 access to technology which allows students to engage with the curriculum in new and innovative ways. We assess our effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions, and our primary focus is to increase student achievement.
We believe that the social-emotional wellbeing of our students is critical to their overall success. Ross has two social workers and one school psychologist that work with students as needed. Additional resources are provided including USC social work and LMU Counselor interns. Academic supports for students include before and after school intervention classes, tutoring centers, test preparation and additional personnel in some math and English classrooms. Our after school sports, band, parade band and color guard programs provide students with an opportunity to express their athletic and creative talents. The EXTRA (Extended Time for Raising Achievement) after school program also provides additional academic, fitness and enrichment activities. All classrooms have 80" big screen televisions, Elmo Document Readers, Laser Projectors or an additional 48" television allowing teachers to provide multi-media presentations to students, and a new state of the art computer lab with 35 iMac Desktops is available for all teachers and students.
Parents have many opportunities to participate in our school activities through PTSA, which has more than doubled in membership in the last year, School Site Council, English Language Advisory Committee, (ELAC), Parent Leadership Academy, Band Parents Support Group, and various volunteer programs for the front office and special school activities. At Ross Middle School, we work in partnership with parents and the community as we recognize and value their importance as primary stakeholders in the education of our children. As Ross continues to pride itself in being innovative and willing to take risks and explore ways to improve, The Principal's Student Advisory Council (PSAC) was initiated in 2015. The PSAC consists of student representative of Ross Academy who meet with the Principal monthly to discuss ways to increase cultural awareness and plan cultural activities throughout the year.
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the middle schools within the ABC Unified School District to provide for all students within our culturally and ethnically diverse populations, a gradual and orderly transition from the classroom of the elementary setting to the departmentalized programs of the comprehensive high schools. We are schools in which a strong academic and technological focus and a safe, supportive and caring environment are created and sustained with the needs of the early adolescent foremost in mind. We recognize that at this age student needs are unique, that students require special knowledge and understanding, and that their physical and intellectual changes affect their social and emotional responses. Thus, we work in partnership with our staffs, students, parents, and community in pursuit of educational excellence and higher learning for all of our learners.
Our teachers embrace a collaborative culture where highly competent teams work interdependently with the primary goals being to increase student achievement and prepare our students for the challenges that lie ahead both in high school and their adult lives. Ross Academy embraces a culture of collaboration where teachers work together to support areas of strength, share best teaching practices, and analyze student data that help drive our instructional decision-making. Ross has fourteen teachers who are members of the District's Technology Integration Project (TIP), a program designed to assist schools in developing and maintaining 1:1 classrooms. In connection with TIP, Ross developed Technology Across the Curriculum (T.A.C), a school-wide endeavor that promotes and supports technology used in all subject areas. All of our core subjects provide students 1 to 1 access to technology which allows students to engage with the curriculum in new and innovative ways. We assess our effectiveness on the basis of results rather than intentions, and our primary focus is to increase student achievement.
We believe that the social-emotional wellbeing of our students is critical to their overall success. Ross has two social workers and one school psychologist that work with students as needed. Additional resources are provided including USC social work and LMU Counselor interns. Academic supports for students include before and after school intervention classes, tutoring centers, test preparation and additional personnel in some math and English classrooms. Our after school sports, band, parade band and color guard programs provide students with an opportunity to express their athletic and creative talents. The EXTRA (Extended Time for Raising Achievement) after school program also provides additional academic, fitness and enrichment activities. All classrooms have 80" big screen televisions, Elmo Document Readers, Laser Projectors or an additional 48" television allowing teachers to provide multi-media presentations to students, and a new state of the art computer lab with 35 iMac Desktops is available for all teachers and students.
Parents have many opportunities to participate in our school activities through PTSA, which has more than doubled in membership in the last year, School Site Council, English Language Advisory Committee, (ELAC), Parent Leadership Academy, Band Parents Support Group, and various volunteer programs for the front office and special school activities. At Ross Middle School, we work in partnership with parents and the community as we recognize and value their importance as primary stakeholders in the education of our children. As Ross continues to pride itself in being innovative and willing to take risks and explore ways to improve, The Principal's Student Advisory Council (PSAC) was initiated in 2015. The PSAC consists of student representative of Ross Academy who meet with the Principal monthly to discuss ways to increase cultural awareness and plan cultural activities throughout the year.
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the middle schools within the ABC Unified School District to provide for all students within our culturally and ethnically diverse populations, a gradual and orderly transition from the classroom of the elementary setting to the departmentalized programs of the comprehensive high schools. We are schools in which a strong academic and technological focus and a safe, supportive and caring environment are created and sustained with the needs of the early adolescent foremost in mind. We recognize that at this age student needs are unique, that students require special knowledge and understanding, and that their physical and intellectual changes affect their social and emotional responses. Thus, we work in partnership with our staffs, students, parents, and community in pursuit of educational excellence and higher learning for all of our learners.