The Middle School program was founded in 2004, and continues to be based on:

  • The School’s mission statement and the focus on international community, respect, authentic best self, and voice
  • The research-based principles of successful middle schools – culture, curriculum, and leadership – according to the Association of Middle Level Education
  • The core elements of self-esteem in girls, according to Dr. JoAnn Deak's principles of connectedness, competence, and confidence
 
Assessment

We support our students to thoroughly and accurately understand themselves as learners, see learning as a continual process, and develop internal motivation. Accordingly, our system of assessment and evaluation is as follows:

  1. We involve students actively in understanding the goals of each assignment and, where possible, we work to differentiate the target outcomes for each student according to their unique profile, strengths, and needs for growth.
  2.  We provide a great deal of formative assessment as students progress through their work, to help them see strengths and challenges along the way, view learning as a continual process, and in the end produce their best possible work.
  3. We often involve students in self-evaluating their completed work, through rubrics, narrative comments, and/or conversations.
  4. Three times a year at midterm, we share progress reports with families that include individual student comments written for each course. End-of-term progress reports include an overview comment written by the advisor plus athletics and skills comments.
  5. All of these practices, including having eliminated all letter grades, are built on the principles of This We Believe and designed to respond to and support the unique developmental needs of young adolescents.
Supporting Middle school Students in their Independent Learning

Learning support for each middle school student begins in the classroom, where teachers organize classes with the developmental needs of middle school students in mind. It continues in both the classroom and in advisory, where successes can be celebrated and challenges can be discussed so students can consider different strategies and solutions. 

If students are having difficulty with academic skills, they may also seek support in the Middle School Skills program. Additionally, teachers, advisors, and families may recommend a student join the program. Here, they can learn to organize their planner, their backpack, their digital materials, or their notebooks. They can also learn to take notes, to strengthen writing skills, or strengthen other skills as needed. Depending on their needs, a student might drop in for a single session or enroll for a longer period of time. This program is free to all students.

Students with more specific and longer term learning needs may register with the Director of the Academic Center for one-on-one support. Additionally, we provide space for students to meet remotely for outside tutoring and other support if needed.

As with all we do in the middle school, the goal is to meet students where they are and help them move forward, both building on existing strengths and acquiring new skills.