Middle School

Adolescence is a period of dramatic physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth. It is during the Middle School years that the ability to reason abstractly and to think analytically emerges. Students begin to question the relevance of what they are learning and to think about how to apply what they know to real world situations. They are energetic and social. They thrive in a collaborative and active learning environment.

Park's Middle School teachers understand the complexities of this developmental phase and they are committed to creating a stimulating, safe, and caring atmosphere. They are dedicated to supporting their students as they confront the many challenges of adolescence.

At Park we have thoughtfully planned each year of Middle School to respect the distinctive developmental characteristics of this age. For example, we make the most of the need for social interaction by providing regular opportunities for collaboration and group projects. We channel the students' high energy by building working physics models of rockets, playing Explorers, a game that requires them to strategize how they would colonize 13th Century North America, and with physical education opportunities that range from yoga and weight training to interscholastic teams. We engage their curiosity, going beyond the rote memorization of facts, and challenge them to think critically about everything from long division to American history. Our Middle School curriculum and teachers are keenly responsive to the unique needs of adolescents.

Advisory: House can be like home

Advisory programs are designed to deal directly with the affective needs of young adolescents. In the best of these programs, young adolescents have an opportunity to get to know an adult really well, to find a point of security in the institution, and to learn about what it means to be a healthy human being.
National Middle School Association

Four times per week Middle School students attend "House", a small group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders and a faculty advisor. House is a time to share announcements, talk about activities, read quietly, review progress with advisors,-or socialize. The House Advisor is an advocate, confidant, and mentor. The Advisor is also the primary school contact for parents. Students generally stay in the same House for three years, and relationships formed in House - with both teachers and students - often continue well beyond Middle School.

Curriculum by Design

Given the nature of young adolescents, middle level educators inevitably are involved in more than the acquisition of information. They must be cognizant of varied levels of development, existing attitudes, diverse cultures, and give sufficient attention to the non-cognitive aspects of student growth in order that the cognitive aspects can be achieved successfully.
Understanding and Appreciating the Wonder Years
Dr. John Lounsbury

In order to create a curriculum that addresses the characteristics of this age group and moves students toward higher levels of cognition, the Middle School faculty considers national standards established by such organizations as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Teachers of English. Additionally, teachers draw on their years of professional experience and they participate in extensive professional development activities. Park's acclaimed F. Parvin Sharpless Faculty and Curricular Advancement program (FACA) enables teachers to share expertise in their subject areas through intensive collaborative work during the summer. Unencumbered by school year responsibilities, they draw on fresh input from outside professionals, read, research, write, and discuss new ideas with their colleagues.

One recent FACA of particular importance to Middle School was Understanding Young Adolescent Learners. During this four-week study, a group of Middle School faculty read the latest research on early adolescent brain development and met with neuroscientist Dr. Jay Geed of the National Institute of Mental Health to discuss his longitudinal study on the adolescent brain. The faculty gained valuable perspective on the science of how this age group thinks and learns.

Interdisciplinary Themes

Each year in Middle School is guided by an overarching theme. Each theme provides a lens through which to view curriculum, affective learning, and co-curricular work.

Sixth Grade: Community

It is the objective of the school that students develop sensitivity to the needs of others, within the school and in the larger community.
The Park School Philosophy

Sixth grade is considered by many as marking the end of childhood. Compared to fifth graders, sixth graders are more absorbed in their own academic accomplishments and more influenced by their peers. They often question the relevance of what they are learning. According to Chip Wood, author of Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14, "They begin challenging their assumptions about the world and in turn they challenge many of the adult parameters they have previously accepted as relatively clear and just."

Sixth grade is, therefore, an optimal year to focus on the theme of Community. It gives students the opportunity to consider their roles as individuals in a larger group and to experience different kinds of communities firsthand. Across the sixth grade curriculum, students study world geography, ecology, literature from around the world and consider how their own social interactions help or undermine our own community.

Seventh Grade: Identity

Young adolescents are engaged in self-exploration and self-definition as they attempt to define who they are and what they do.
Joan S. Lipsitz, former director of the Center for Early Adolescence at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Seventh graders continue to need the guidance of patient and supportive adults while they seek opportunities for autonomy and experimentation. As they become more insightful and empathetic, they express greater awareness of current events, politics, and social justice. Twelve and thirteen-year-olds begin the adolescent quest for self-discovery and search for an answer to the question, "Who am I?"

With Identity as the theme for seventh grade, the curriculum provides students with valuable perspectives on private and public, personal and community identities. What can literature tell us about who we are and what other people's points of view might be? What does the study of American History tell us about who we are as Americans? In Life Skills classes a series of speakers leads to examination and reflection on their students' own cultural, religious, and family connections.

Eighth Grade: Advocacy

If given the opportunity to skip middle school, I would definitely consider it, but in the end I don't think I would. It holds way too many valuable memories, experiences and life lessons.
Excerpt from a Park student's 8th grade essay

By eighth grade, students become more concerned about their futures; they seek opportunities to actively effect social change and begin to look ahead and wonder how they will negotiate Upper School. Their thinking is more abstract and they are more capable of synthesizing what they already know with new information. They begin to better appreciate how their studies connect to a bigger picture.

The thematic focus on Advocacy provides students with the context to formulate and defend their own claims. Across the curriculum, they learn to select evidence that supports their theses, consider other points of view, and analyze the impact on their proposed audience. The culmination of the Middle School experience is the eighth grade speech. Effective advocates must be able to present thoughtful arguments, a skill which crosses all subject boundaries. In their classes, students refine their research techniques in preparation for delivery of a persuasive speech on a topic of their choice that is presented to their Middle School peers, teachers, and invited guests.

Mathematics

The Middle School Math program builds on the work done in the Lower School. Our program is an integrated program that covers such topics as number, geometry, algebra, graphing, probability and statistics, linear algebra, and basic programming. There is an emphasis on problem solving, conceptual understanding, and lots of practice applying those concepts in new situations. Students must be able to explain their thinking as they present their solutions. Classes are grouped according to the depth and nature of their understanding, the amount of prior study, and work habits.

The end of Middle School marks the transition from one important educational phase to the next. Our students have investigated, experimented, explored, and written about a wide range of academic and social topics Thoughtful teachers have guided and nurtured them through some of the rocky stages of early adolescence. Park students emerge from their Middle School experience full of the hope and optimism that comes from a developing confidence in their own abilities. They are prepared to take on the challenges of Upper School.