10 Reasons for Panther Pride

Diversity and Strength in Size

Glasgow Middle School is the largest Middle School in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We proudly service a richly diverse community of learners, students and their families over thirty five languages and have family origins in fifty four different countries. We come together every year to celebrate our diversity at our Multicultural night enjoying food, traditions, and showcasing the talents of many of our students.

College and Career Readiness

AVID is an elective course students apply to take at Glasgow Middle School, empowering them for college readiness. Students visit college campuses, practice learning strategies, and take ownership of their academic success. For the 2025-26 school year, AVID's one binder organizational system will be implemented across all 6th-grade classes, fostering consistent academic habits.

Student Programs

The Glasgow After School Program averaged 155 students daily and offered over 20 clubs and activities. Students had access to a wide variety of enrichment opportunities, including popular options such as Basketball, Soccer, Track & Field/Cross Country, Chess Club, Anime, Dance Club, and Cooking Club, among others. Our Middle School Cross Country and Track & Field programs saw exceptional participation, with over 150 students involved across fall and spring seasons. These teams also competed in seasonal meets, showcasing school spirit and athletic achievement. In addition to athletics, students engaged in competitive academic and recreational events. Glasgow proudly took part in intramural competitions with other FCPS middle schools, as well as multiple Appian Board Game tournaments hosted across the county.

Multi Lingual Learners Success

At Glasgow Middle School, we're incredibly proud of the fantastic progress our Multi-Lingual Learners (MLs) are making, showing clear and consistent growth! From 2024 to 2025, we saw a significant 7.4-point increase in WIDA growth, with almost half of all ML students showing great improvement in their language skills. We're also seeing more students become fully English proficient, with a 2.3% increase in those leaving ESOL services, and a huge jump to 41% of MLs with disabilities meeting their language goals. 

Superior Performing Arts

Our talented students excel in the arts! The Virginia Music Educators Association designated Glasgow a Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor it bestows. The Blue Ribbon designation is awarded to schools that receive superior ratings for their most advanced Chorus, Band, and Orchestra ensembles. In total, Glasgow has seven ensembles perform at assessment, all earning Superior or Excellent ratings. Our very own Band Director, Andrew Sharrock, was also recognized as FCPS's 2024-25 Outstanding Secondary Teacher!

IB Middle Years Program

At Glasgow Middle School, an instructional focus on the IB MYP's Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills directly enhances students' self-monitoring of their learning efficacy. By explicitly teaching self-management and thinking skills, for example:  teachers empower students to actively plan, organize, and reflect on their educational journey. This consistent practice across all subjects enables students to critically evaluate their own learning strategies and progress, fostering a deeper understanding of what helps them learn best.

Excellence in the Staff

The staff at Glasgow Middle School demonstrates excellence through their deep commitment to student success and continuous professional growth. Our teachers are trained in numerous research-based frameworks, including Kagan, GLAD, IB, and AVID, to provide effective instruction. This dedication is also seen in our veteran educators who have committed their careers to Glasgow, a commitment recently celebrated with Andrew Sharrock being named the FCPS 2024-25 Outstanding Secondary Teacher and a long-serving food service staff member also receiving recognition.

Inclusion

The Best Buddies chapter at Glasgow Middle School has been named the Outstanding Chapter of the Year for middle schools in Virginia and Washington, D.C. Best Buddies is a program that creates opportunities for students with and without disabilities to form meaningful friendships. Despite being a first-year chapter, Glasgow Middle School was recognized for its impressive work in promoting inclusion through engaging events like gingerbread house decorating and Pictionary. The program has been praised by both students and staff for creating a welcoming space that has increased after-school participation among students with disabilities.

Mentorship

At Glasgow, students, staff, and community members take their roles as mentors very seriously. The mentoring program goes above and beyond to make the large campus feel more like a close-knit community. Our students take on roles as mentors to help new students navigate the large building and make connections among our nearly 1,800 students. Staff and community members as well volunteer their time to support students through mentorship-- providing guidance, advice, and encouraging all students to set and reach their goals.

School Culture

At Glasgow MS we adopted personal agreements from our IB and AVID programs to strive to be Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Learn each day. These commitments provide a common vision and language for our students and staff to support one another each day. At Glasgow students and staff have worked hard to make school a place where students want to be and feel valued.