About Us

Pierce Middle School: A Place to Grow, Belong, and Thrive

Pierce Middle School is more than a building — it is a community where young adolescents are known, challenged, and celebrated. Many of our faculty members have devoted 20 years or more to Pierce because they believe, as one veteran teacher loves to say, “Pierce is a great place to be.” Their commitment, combined with the energy of new staff who quickly become part of the Pierce family, creates the stable, caring environment our students need to take academic and personal risks.

Welcoming Students & Families

Middle school can feel like uncharted territory, so we begin supporting students long before the first day of 5th grade. Each January administrators and counselors host an information night for incoming families, followed by spring visits to our feeder elementary schools--Defer and Maire. In May, future Trojans spend a morning at Pierce touring classrooms, eating in the cafeteria, and participating in team‑building activities. An 8th‑grade–led WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) orientation then kicks off the school year and continues with mentoring events that help new students feel seen and supported.

Living the P.I.E.R.C.E. Values

Daily attention to Social‑Emotional Learning is at the heart of our school culture. Teachers weave conversations and reflections into lessons, hallway interactions, and class meetings, always returning to the attributes our students chose to define a Pierce Trojan:

Perseverance · Integrity · Empathy · Respect · Courage · Effort

Through morning messages, PBIS lessons, and school‑wide assemblies, we show students what these traits look and sound like and celebrate when we see them in action.

Positive Behavior & Personalized Guidance

Our PBIS framework recognizes good decisions with Reward Signatures that can be redeemed at the  Trojan Treasure Trove or for mid-year and end-of-the-year raffles; it is not uncommon for our student body to earn over 11,000 positive signatures in a year. Two full‑time counselors loop with students for all four years, coaching them through friendship challenges, goal‑setting, and the transition to high school.

Engaging Academics & Expanding Choice

Pierce offers a thoughtful progression of opportunities:

• 5th Grade: Students learn within a supportive team of two to three core teachers, rotate through exploratory electives, and may begin band or orchestra or choir.
• 6th Grade: A second rotation exposes students to Life Skills, Physical Education, and additional creative arts choices.
• 7th–8th Grade: Learners design a schedule that reflects their passions—world languages, broadcast journalism, digital art, industrial arts, foods, advanced music, and more—while continuing rigorous core studies.

Opportunity Beyond the Bell

Pierce offers more than two dozen clubs—from Robotics and Future Cities to Drama, Fishing, and Cross‑Country—and 7th/8th grade interscholastic sports such as Volleyball, Basketball, and Track. If a club does not yet exist, we help students create it.

Partnership with Families & Community

Our vibrant PTO raises approximately $30,000 annually through the Fun Run, funding cultural field trips (e.g., the Holocaust Memorial Center, Arab American National Museum, Henry Ford Museum), year-end celebration activities, classroom grants, and scholarships to ensure every student can attend 5th Grade Camp and the 8th Grade Washington, D.C. trip.

It takes a special educator to teach middle school, and Pierce is full of them. Together with our families, we proudly nurture more than 500 Trojans each year — helping them grow in

• Perseverance
• Integrity
• Empathy
• Respect
• Courage and
• Effort.

Pierce truly is a great place to be—and an even better place to grow.

Proud to be Trojans!

Principal Sara Dirkse