About Washburn Rural Middle School

Washburn Rural Middle School houses half of Auburn-Washburn's sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, organizing each grade level into teams to preserve the feeling of a smaller school.

Our Mission

WRMS is committed to providing an engaging and safe learning environment, where students are challenged to be creative, resilient, and prepared for success. Our mission is to foster a community of belonging, while maintaining high expectations. With the support of dedicated educators, students will be encouraged to take risks, grow through mistakes, and reach their full potential while building lasting relationships rooted in empathy and understanding.

Our Vision

Working to keep students safe:

  1. Build and nurture a positive school climate
  2. Ensure physical and emotional safety
  3. Maintain a stable and dependable learning environment
  4. Employ a safe school plan, incorporating the best available practices

Recognizing both individual and group efforts:

  1. Respect the individual learning styles of all students
  2. Expect all students to think and produce independently
  3. Expect students to work cooperatively in an increasingly interdependent world
  4. Practice collaboration among all members of the learning community to ensure student success

Making a difference in our community:

  1. Prepare responsible and productive citizens
  2. Teach respect for all people
  3. Teach students to work together in a diverse society
  4. Encourage activities that support our community and a global society
  5. Reward positive leadership roles in our community

Strive for excellence:

  1. Identify and ensure mastery of essential skills
  2. Empower students to challenge themselves at the highest level
  3. Focus on continuous improvement
  4. Engage in continuous self-assessment and results-based decision-making to ensure student success

Our Motto

Students are… Empowered to Succeed, Encouraged to Grow

History

Washburn Rural Middle School started off as Jay Shideler Junior High in 1964. The Junior High moved into the old Washburn Rural High School, located off Wanamaker Road, and was named after the principal Jay Shideler. In 1987, the name was changed from Jay Shideler Junior High to Jay Shideler Middle School when the ninth grade moved into the high school.

As enrollment outgrew the school, a new middle school was built in its current location off of 61st Street. When the school moved, the name was changed again to Washburn Rural Middle School, and the old building on Wanamaker became Jay Shideler Elementary School.

In 2007, a bond was passed which approved the building of a new elementary school and the renovation of existing schools. In 2009, the middle school began construction of a new gymnasium, locker rooms, a full cooking kitchen, auditorium, and the remodeling of the old cafetorium into a music room, and the old serving kitchen into four new classrooms.

Today, Washburn Rural Middle School houses 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students that come from three of the six attendance areas. The students are divided into two teams per grade level in order to help keep the feel of a small school.