Middle School
Secondary Program
The secondary design is an integration of the current research in human development, the trends and issues in education, and the Montessori philosophy. The mission of the program is to provide opportunities for adolescents to be self-confident and gain self-knowledge, to belong to a community, to learn to be adaptable, to be academically competent and challenged, and to create a vision for their personal future; thus, to empower early adolescents.
The adolescent is:
- an active, self-directed learner
- a vital member of the class, school, city and global community
- a vital member of the teacher-student-parent team
- responsible for keeping commitments, being honest, and respectful
The Teachers are:
- facilitators for learning
- consultants for the students
- creators of a positive climate for learning
- communicators with parents and community
- role models
The school structure offers:
- a learner-centered environment
- a developmentally-responsive curriculum and teaching team of Montessori teachers with additional adults as resources
- parents-teachers-student partnerships
- multi-aged groupings of 12-15 year olds
- large blocks of uninterrupted learning time
- peer and cross-age teaching
The curriculum and instruction includes:
- transdisciplinary themes
- learning how to learn strategies
- personal learning plans
- mastery, coaching and exploratory activities
- long-term cooperative learning projects
- a strong sense of community and social interaction with peers
- meaningful and challenging work
- activities for self-expression, self-knowledge, and self-assessment
- activities that value all nine intelligences and a variety of learning styles
- activities to foster interdependence
- activities for learning economic independence
- school and community service projects
- activities that allow work on and with the land