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About Our School
Robert J. Elkington Middle School (RJEMS) promotes the “Whole Child” with programming designed to engage and educate all students. At RJEMS, we strongly believe in the potential of all children. We are the home of approximately 900 students that arrive each day ready to continue the learning process.
Beyond educational standards such as Math and Reading, our students are also exposed to courses featuring the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiative. In addition to Engineering Units embedded into our 6th grade Science Curriculum, RJEMS offers Industrial Technology as a 7th-grade class.
The arts and language are also an important facet of our students’ education. Our students are able to participate in our excellent music and art classes as well.
The Middle School also has a Middle Area Learning Center as a school within a school. Strategies used here include scientifically proven academic interventions and smaller class sizes to help below grade level students in the area of Reading.
We are proud to be a strong school community where together, we are better.
Our History
Opening our doors for the first time for the 2003-2004 school year, the new Robert J. Elkington Middle School was named after a longtime Grand Rapids English teacher and School Board member. An additional wing was added in 2008 for 5th grade, which has since moved to the elementary level.
The 168,000 square foot building features a wing for each grade, a commons area, art, technology, and computer education classrooms, and a media center. The school, which sits on 45 acres in the northwest part of the city, also includes a triple gym, eight-lane swimming pool, eight tennis courts, along with baseball, football and soccer fields.
Additionally, the school is air-conditioned, the floors are made of a durable material called terrazzo and the exterior is made of brick and brown sandstone. Automatic irrigation will help keep the grass green from spring through fall.
The large commons area is adjacent to the administrative offices and seats 320. The gym can hold 900 and the pool area up to 600. Each of the wings has bathrooms and eight to ten classrooms. The separate wings for each grade level keep different-age students separated.