Vision  

The vision of TCMS is to become a technologically advanced “back-to-basics” public charter school that includes a spectrum of academic programs, which provide expanded systems of learning to fulfill the demands of a diverse student population. 

Terrace Community Middle School seeks to provide all students having a variety of learning styles and at various levels of achievement, a foundation of knowledge, which will allow them to have successful academic careers.  We believe that all children can learn and that children will rise to meet the high expectations of their parents and teachers.  We believe that self-esteem comes from meeting challenges and overcoming them and from confidence gained through the acquisition and mastery of skills.  Therefore, we offer the students the opportunity to be challenged by a rigorous, classic core curriculum taught in a planned progression by teachers who stress abundant practice and careful feedback. 

The founders believe that parental and community involvement is crucial to the success of the students and the school as a whole.  Therefore, opportunities should be created for the parents and members of our community to come to our school to learn, to teach, and to work as a team with the students, teachers, administrators and directors.  The Governing Board includes at least one teacher and one parent representative. 

The Governing Board believes that the school should be “family friendly.”  Furthermore, the school offers tutoring for students, as well as extra-curricular activities and programs.  Parents have the opportunity (and are invited) to meet with faculty after working hours.

TCMS shall continuously improve its educational practices in order to achieve its goals: 

• Highest student achievement for ALL students
• Safe, secure and respectful school climate
• Engaged and supportive parent and community involvement
• Appropriate, timely and cost-effective staff training and development
• Effective and proactive classroom support
• Results-oriented school operation

• All students can learn
• All decisions are student-driven, supported by data and research in the student’s best interest
• Success for students is a shared responsibility
• Expectations for learning, achievement and behavior are set at the highest standards and shall not be compromised
• At Terrace Community Middle School, all members will be highly effective and caring professionals who will ensure that each and every student learns, grows and succeeds; and each member of our school community is treated with dignity and respect

Our History

In 1994, a group of parents became concerned their children were not acquiring the skills necessary to succeed in high school, college, and the work place. This group was joined by an equally concerned group of teachers and business leaders in the community. An Advisory Board was established to determine the ideal way to achieve our goal.

The goal was simple: Establish a school to teach all students to read critically, write coherently, and use numbers comfortably as tools. A modified Department of Defense Curriculum was chosen because it is a classic core curriculum designed to be implemented on a limited budget.

In January 1998, the Back-To-Basics Charter School Foundation, Inc. was incorporated and an administrative board was established. We were granted a charter three months later. The first year commenced in August 1998 with fifth through seventh grades. Eighth grade was added in the 1999-2000 school year which also marked our first graduating class.

We invite all parents and interested parties to attend the Board of Directors meetings on the second Wednesday of the month at 6 pm in the school's cafeteria.

Documents relating to the school and minutes of all Board meetings are available in the Administrative Offices (second floor). Please feel free to contact the Board of Directors with any questions you might have. We invite everyone to be an active participant in TCMS.

The TCMS Curriculum is based on high standards within classic, core academic subjects. The curriculum focuses on the mastery of reading, writing and mathematics skills appropriate to the educational level of individual students.

Abundant opportunities to practice these skills are provided in class and through homework assignments. The core curriculum is based on the Department of Defense Curriculum and is paired with the Florida Sunshine State Standards.  Our curriculum guide is now available on-line.

The sudden acceleration of academic expectations for students entering TCMS may be stressful for some. A school counselor is on-hand to help students and families through the transition period. Additional study skill techniques are also taught to help students learn to use their time efficiently and to develop effective study habits.

For those students who need extra help with homework or difficult assignments, teachers are available by appointment to provide tutoring.  Class sizes are limited to twenty-two students. Self-discipline and academic effort are required of every student and real academic success is the result. 

The program includes a developmental athletic program to help students learn a sport in a relatively non-competitive environment. Sports will be encouraged as a means to physical fitness and an understanding of teamwork.