Vandenberg Middle School
Mountain View Blvd. VAFB, Ca. 93437
Telephone - (805) 742-2700
FAX (805) 742-2759
24-hour Absence Reporting 742-2777
Kathi Froemming - Principal
froemming.kathi@lusd.org
Vandenberg Middle School is excited about the educational possibilities for its students. Every staff member embraces a philosophy of academic rigor and works to ensure that each student has the foundational skills to be successful in middle school through college preparatory coursework in high school. Our Academic Performance Index (API) of 818 is testament to the quality of academic programs at our school. At the same time, an individualized approach recognizes students for where they are in terms of English Language Arts and math proficiency, but also provides the necessary support framework to facilitate student growth in these important academic arenas. VMS is equally committed to the idea of high expectations for all—not just English learners, gifted or low socio-economic students, but every student that we serve.
VMS has implemented reading and math improvement courses, piloted gender specific math and science classes, started an After-School Homework Club, continued participation in a trial reading program called Reading Plus under the auspices of Santa Barbara County’s United Way, and hired math tutors to individually work with students who are below basic or far below basic on California Standards Tests. We also continue to support the arts as a necessary component of a comprehensive education—instrumental music, home economics, art, drama, computers, leadership, French and Spanish, as well as a new strings course that was added this year.
VMS added another section of AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) for a total of four sections to serve the needs of students who are clearly capable of attending college, but require academic skill development and understanding of what it takes to get to college. Discipline is a strong thread in the fabric of our VMS vision that a quality education starts with classrooms where students demonstrate respect and appropriate behaviors. The idea of “the common good” is applied to situations where one or two students behave in a manner that prohibits a teacher from teaching or other students from learning. Succinctly, VMS will not allow a few to jeopardize the education of the many.
VMS believes in our program and that the result will be students who are academically capable of success in high school and college. A continued school-wide commitment to math and reading achievement will be apparent to everyone who is associated with VMS this year. When we join as various stakeholders of Vandenberg Middle School, we are powerful to exact great change and achievement. We look forward to working together as a community of lifelong learners to guarantee that each and every student at VMS receives an education that is worthy of the democratic ideals that are the hallmark of this great country. The VMS vision of academic excellence and achievement will continue to be supported by a strict dress code policy. The best schools in the country have a dress code because the tenor of a class is much improved without sagging pants, body piercings, hats, hoods and immodest attire. The focus becomes one of learning and respect for academics. Distractions are minimized and students are mobilized in a manner that is potent. A strictly enforced dress code is imperative as we move to a high performance standard for all students.
