Booker Middle School is the Visual Performing Arts Magnet and houses the NeXt Generation Technology Academy for the Gifted & Talented program nestled on 42 acres in north Sarasota County. Facilities include 11 buildings constructed in June of 1992. An additional two-story building was completed in 2004 to accommodate the growth of our program and maintain small learning classroom communities for all of our students.
In 2006 a 15 module Synergistics Technology lab was awarded through a $85,000 Perkins grant to provide opportunities for students to explore a wide variety for careers. In July of 2009 the school was updated with new desktop and laptop computers through the district refresh program. Each classroom will include a set of laptop's and each team of teachers will share a laptop cart for group use. The school currently houses five multi-platform computer labs for instruction, such as Graphic Design and student progress assessment. In addition, our networked classrooms state of the art interactive Promethean Activboards with varied and advanced interfaces to the NeXt Generation technology.
The campus has a 500 person capacity gymnasium, a weight room, 400 meter track, tennis and racquetball courts and fields for soccer, baseball and football. BMS is part of the 21st Century Learning Community Grant, which partners with local organizations to provide after-school programs such as tutoring, sports, culinary arts, and enrichment to students. In addition, we offer a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and activities including National Junior Honor Society, Odyssey of the Mind, Forensics, Civil Air Patrol, Student Council, WEB-Where Everybody Belongs, CollegeEd, Jr. Achievement, Green Tornadoes Environmental Club, Poetry & Book Club, Yearbook, and YMCA Achievers.