Middle School

Middle School: Grades 6-8

Our Middle School program emphasizes organization and transition, preparing young learners for the faster pace and more demanding academics that await them in High School. Executive functioning becomes an even greater priority as Middle School students assume more independence in their daily routine and more responsibility for their course work.

Quick facts:

• 6th through 8th Grade
• Small class sizes, 6:1 average student/teacher ratio
• Google Chromebooks for every student
• Emphasizes executive functioning, responsibility and structure
• Targets students’ abilities and needs with differentiated instruction
• Encourages independent use of learning strategies and self-advocacy
• Prepares students for High School
• Provides rigorous multisensory, arts-based curriculum
• Offers engaging after school activities
• Fosters healthy competition and teamwork through interscholastic athletics

Middle School students study English, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. They also engage in a wide array of electives - drawing, painting, graphic design, photography, drama, set design, music, creative movement, and fitness - to round out their academics. Written language is strongly emphasized; you’ll find it woven throughout our Middle School curriculum. Our daily language arts classes encourage students to explore all forms of written expression. Middle School mathematics concentrates on abstract reasoning as well as computation skills. In true Lab tradition, the full spectrum of arts is used to help students access challenging new material. Technology plays an important role in the Middle School with interactive projectors, Promethean ActivInspire, Chromebooks, Google's G Suite for Education, Read & Write for Google, iPads, Daydream VR headsets, a 3D printer, and software programs effectively enhancing the classroom experience. 

Middle School students also participate in weekly division-wide problem-based learning challenges that include science, technology, engineering, arts, math, teambuilding, and self-awareness components. These challenges are part of a creativity and innovation curriculum with a goal of creating purposeful solutions to community or global problems and entrepreneurship.