Academics
Denny Academics Overview
Denny International Middle School is a wonderfully diverse learning community focused on high academic expectations for all students. Outstanding and dedicated teachers in each subject area engage every student in challenging, student-centered curriculum.
If you need to contact a teacher by phone please respect their teaching time. Check their schedules or phone before or after school hours.
The Denny Way
At Denny International Middle School:
I am READY
I am RESPONSIBLE
I am RESPECTFUL
Throughout the year, Denny teachers will work with all students during advisory to prepare them for success in life. Students will also have the opportunity to evaluate themselves on meeting The Denny Way.
Art
Denny International’s art program provides students with the experience to explore, learn, and produce works of art within a variety of mediums.While incorporating the basic elements and principles of art, emphasis is placed upon the art of other times, cultures and regions of the world.
Dual Language Immersion
As part of our International School focus, students may choose to study in another language besides their own.
ELL (English Language Learners)
The English Language Learners (ELL) class is offered for students learning the English language.
Language Arts/Literacy
Denny International Middle School has a partnership with Teachers College Reading and Writing Project through Columbia University. Through this partnership our teachers are trained to guide our students to engage in reading and writing in an authentic way.
Mathematics
At Denny International Middle School we believe that ALL students are mathematicians. It is our goal to meet all students’ math needs and help them excel in their global community. We offer secondary math classes during the school day and even 8th period classes after school to help students develop mathematically. In addition, students are given the opportunity to participate in specialized advanced classes in all grade levels. Denny International’s 8th grade honors classes work with the algebra curriculum to earn high school credit.
Music
The Denny International Middle School Music Department is one of the premiere middle school music programs in our region. We pride ourselves on having the most diverse offering of music classes of any middle school in our city and one of the most diverse offering of music classes in our state. In addition to offering band, orchestra, jazz band and choral music, Denny is the only middle school in the Seattle Public Schools to offer marching band, steel drums and mariachi. The Denny Music ensembles boast performance schedules that rival that of many high school programs in the past three years traveling to the Reno Jazz Festival in Reno, Nevada; the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho; the Disney Magic Music Days in Anaheim, California; the Heritage Music Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Music in the Parks Festival in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
Physical Education
The Denny Physical Education team focuses on success-oriented physical education for all students with positive, non-threatening experiences. Our focus is on the health and fitness of our students. The goal of this program is to improve students’ health and fitness through age-appropriate fitness levels while teaching them how their bodies work.
Proyecto Saber
We are pleased to offer Proyecto Saber, a Latino-focused academic support class, to our students. The program works closely with students and their families in pursuit of the goal of getting all students ready for high school, college and life. In addition to academic skill enhancement, Proyecto Saberbrings in community partners as guest speakers and helps to coordinate parent education offerings.
Science
Our approach to science education is grounded in the development of critical thinking skills. Students learn through hands-on projects and experiments – giving them skills to solve problems as well as to read and write scientifically.
Additionally, Denny is increasingly a STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) school. Many of our science teachers, in addition to our Gateways to Technology class instructor, have been trained in Project Lead the Way to help integrate enhanced STEM skills into the science curriculum.
Social Studies
Social Studies classes are yearlong courses at Denny International Middle School for all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Sixth graders study Ancient Civilizations for one semester and Modern Eastern Hemisphere in the second semester. Seventh graders study United States History starting from the Native Peoples through the Reconstruction Era, post-Civil War. Eighth graders study Washington State History for one semester, followed by a semester of World Geography.
As an International Middle School, learning experiences in the subjects are broadened to help students view ideas, issues, events, and themes from, possibly, multiple perspectives and cultural viewpoints in order to support them as they develop their global competency.
Special Education
At Denny International, we believe that students with disabilities should be educated with their general education peers to the maximum extent. Depending on the needs of the individual students, we utilize a variety of program models: Inclusion (co-teaching), Resource Room (for Level 2/3 students),Low Grouping (for developmentally delayed students), and Behavior Intervention Programs (for students identified as Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled).
World Languages
Denny International Middle School encourages all students to experience world languages and currently offers classes in Spanish and Chinese for students at all three grade levels. Students learn fundamental skills in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing the target language, with a focus on the geography and culture of the countries where those languages are spoken. Teachers use a variety of methods and resources that go beyond the textbooks, and design tasks and activities to promote cultural understanding and give students opportunities to use the language in a variety of meaningful ways. The goal of these programs is to teach students to communicate at a basic level and prepare them for higher levels of language instruction in high school