Tour the School

Students from feeder schools tour Kelly in May. During open house in September, students have the opportunity to guide their parents to each of their classrooms to meet teachers and get overviews of class expectations. Here's some photos of the school.

A student welcomes you to Kelly Middle Schools. Come on in!
The school office is a friendly place.	The main hallway at passing time.
Student surveys reveal that lunchtime...	... is students' favorite time of day.
Computer technology is an important part of the curriculum.	The computer lab fills up before, during, and after school.
Ms. Cooper's science lab is bursting with experiments in progress.	Ms. Monroe's band class fills up quickly, so sign up early.
What does a locker room look like? Well, it's not a mystery any more.	Yes, there ARE private shower stalls in the locker room.
We have a bike lock-up so that bicycles are safe while students are in class.	A typical classroom.
The game room is a popular hangout during lunch. The pool tables are always full.	The game room also has foos ball and ping pong tables.

Let's see, can I remember the combination?	Success!

History of the School

The Colin Kelly Junior High School student body was organized in 1945 and was the third junior high school to be established in the Eugene School District. It was the first consolidation in the overall merging of smaller school districts in Lane County.

The seventh and eighth grade students chose the school’s name from a list of heroes, statesmen and presidents. They wanted to commemorate a modern-day hero. Captain Colin P. Kelly, II, a B-17 bomber pilot, was among the first servicemen to lose his life at the beginning of World War II. Students wanted to honor Kelly and all young flyers who were giving their lives to win the war.

During the early months, this young school was honored by a personal visit from Col. Charles H. MacDonald and Maj. Leonard Flo of Washington, D.C., in memory of the famous flyer. These distinguished guests presented the school with a picture of Colin Kelly and replica of his plane. Through Maj. Flo’s efforts, the Boeing Aircraft Company presented the students with a B-17 propeller on April 23, 1947. The propeller can be seen today on the outer wall at the entrance to the school.

The new junior high school officially opened its doors in a foster home at Woodrow Wilson Junior High, now Lincoln Community Center, in September, 1945. The first year and a half the students were double-shifting with the Wilson students and had classes from 7:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 24, 1945, for the first new school building in Eugene in 21 years.

On January 27, 1947, 375 students and 14 teachers moved into their new 18-room building. It was the showplace of the area with its unique architectural design. Window placement assured electricity was not needed most days. Built toward the end of World War II, the building reflects the shortage of materials.

As student enrollment increased, it became necessary to add rooms. In the fall of 1951 a music room was added. Also added were a new industrial arts room, a homemaking room, and another classroom on the north side of the gym. The following year a new art room, health room, and combination science-mathematics room were built. Several years later, eight more rooms were added. During the summer of 1966, the girl’s locker room was enlarged. At the same time, the homemaking rooms and staff room were enlarged.

In 1951, the seventh and eight grade students of the Coburg School District were assigned to Kelly when it consolidate with the 4-J District. The addition of these students filled Kelly to the brim with a student population of 900. Once again in the fall of 1957 Kelly hosted another school. The newly formed North Eugene High School held classes at Kelly until its building was completed.

In the 1983-84 school year, the 4-J School District changed from junior highs to middle schools. Middle schools included sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, moving ninth graders into the high schools.

In 1985 a group of teachers and administrators began planning the Eugene School District’s first technology-based alternative program. While planning the alternative program, proposals submitted to Apple Computer, Inc. resulted in the district’s participation in the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow project. Through this project, the district acquired more that $300,000 of donated instructional technology products for use by the da Vinci Alternative Program. Classes began in September, 1987. In the fall of 2002 Apple computers were replace with PC’s.

There have been many changes at Kelly since its beginning in 1945. With the 1993 addition of the mid-level program for the Japanese immersion school, Yujin Gakuen, the name was amended to Kelly Middle Schools: home of Colin Kelly, da Vinci Alternative and Yujin Gakuen.

In the fall of 2008, the daVinci alternative program was merged with the Kelly neighborhood school blending together the strengths of both. While it was difficult to mark the end of what has been a successful program, daVinci has brought much to Kelly Middle School and we have all grown as a result.

Kelly focuses on continual instructional improvement and uses project-based learning to promote critical thinking skills and habits that foster life long learning.

Vision Statement

Vision Statement
Kelly Middle School is a student-centered community recognized for
academic excellence, social responsibility, and cultural awareness.

Mission Statement

The mission of Kelly Middle School is to create an inclusive learning
environment that challenges, prepares, and empowers students to be
contributing and compassionate citizens of the world

Technology Mission Statement

In order to prepare students for a technology-rich society, we will weave instructional technology,
critical thinking, and global communication into everyday teaching and learning.

Our Staff’s Commitments are:

· to collaborative methods of teaching, learning, and communicating

· to the utilization of a variety of teaching methods designed to reach diverse student learning needs

· to the development of lessons and activities relevant to students interests, needs, future life skills

· to the teaching of skills which encourage respect, kindness, safety, and a sense of belonging

· to the preparation of students to be successful in a technological society

· to the involvement of the community in preparing our students for future challenges

Our Students’ Commitments are:

· to the acquisition of cooperative skills

· to the assumption of responsibility for their academic success

· to the demonstration of tolerance, respect, and kindness

· to the establishment of goals for success in their futures

· to active learning of technologies and processes which will enable them to succeed in an increasingly demanding environment

Our Parents’ Commitments are:

· to active involvement in their children’s academic and social success

· to the formation of a partnership to create a successful environment at Kelly Middle Schools

· to assist in involving the community in forming alliances that foster further educational opportunities for students.