Buford Middle School

The Buford Middle School motto is "Be at the Right Place, at the Right Time, doing the Right Thing, with the Right Materials."  Through a comprehensive program of study that details courses for grades 6-12 and a variety of extracurricular activities to serve the needs of adolescent learners, Buford prepares  students for success in high school and beyond. Accelerated and honors level courses are offered in  subjects for students who are prepared to advance beyond the typical course progression. Staff members and students work together to develop high expectations for academic performance and personal responsibility. College visits are a regular feature of Buford life.

Classes follow a block schedule for sustained learning and a  focus on core classes. Teachers use the “Understanding by Design“ model to create lesson plans that fully engage students for longer  periods and develop higher order thinking.

Buford Middle School is the first public school in the Commonwealth Engineering Design Academies, a laboratory school partnership with the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and Curry School of Education. The project – the first of its kind –  pairs  University of Virginia professors with local public school teachers and students.  The Buford Engineering Design Academy – to be followed by similar high-tech labs at Charlottesville High School and Albemarle County’s Jack Jouett Middle School and Albemarle High School – is linked via video to the partner lab at the University of Virginia, enabling U.Va. professors and students to offer lessons and develop innovations for the participating laboratory schools. 

Buford has a strong on-site athletics program, offering more than 20 activities year-round. Approximately half of the students participate in at least one school sport and 8th grade student may participate in junior varsity activities at CHS.  Other  clubs are devoted to drama, yearbook, gardening, and student council. Students  can stay after school to receive academic help. In all, 75% of the student body participates in an extra-curricular activity-academic, fine art, or sport- during the school year.

The City Schoolyard Garden at Buford is a unique learning partnership where students explore connections between food, health, and the environment through hands-on activities. City Schoolyard Garden is a non-profit, guided by a Board of Directors and funded through community and grant support.  In addition to hosting classes in the garden, CSG operates after-school and summer programming and develops curricular resources for teachers. The City installed a rainwater harvesting system to collect and store rainwater from the gym roof for garden irrigation

Named in honor of Charlottesville educator Florence Buford, Buford Middle School opened  in August 1966 as one of two junior high schools. (Walker School was the other). In 1988, Buford became the City‘s only middle school, housing grades 7 and 8 and Walker became an upper elementary school, serving grades 5 and 6.