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Middle School (Grades 5-8)

Overview

Middle School is often considered to be a transformational and challenging time. Physical, intellectual, social and emotional
changes are rapid and intense.

In fact, in the middle school years, the human brain changes at a rate matched only by the first three years of life. Students walk the tightrope between childhood and adulthood – they are no longer wee babes, but they are not yet ready for the rigor of the upper teen years, either. Often these middle years students are self-conscious, apprehensive, impulsive, and erratic (as well as creative, courageous, opinionated, fearless, and hilarious!). As tweens and young teens seek to distance themselves from their parents, and rely more on their peers, they still need and want nurturing from key adults.

Curriculum

Middle years students require thoughtful, engaged and developmentally appropriate schooling. To deal with all of the competing factors this in-between age brings, most studies have recommended smaller, more flexible schools, more individual attention and guidance from teachers, and more opportunities for reflection and self-expression. Small, K-8 schools enable a combination of close and sustained contact and support with independence, individualization, accountability, and self-reliance – necessary for this dynamic age group.

Our middle school program is designed to harness the potential of adolescents through a combination of a rigorous, research-based academic curriculum with a strong focus on the unique and essential social emotional skills tweens and teens need. We want our graduates to emerge as confident communicators, accomplished thinkers, empathetic friends and partners, adaptable learners, and creative leaders who are ready to enrich their next environment with their gifts.

Middle School Disciplines

Our holistic curriculum encompasses nine core discipline areas:

Meet the Faculty

Allison Gold

she/her

Middle School Math Teacher

[email protected]

the cooper school staff photo

Andy Mason

he/him

Choir

Dominick Sanders

he/him

Computer Science

Donald Whitley (Noodle)

he/him

Music

[email protected]

Joseph Moultrie

he/him

PE Teacher/ Floating Assistant

[email protected]

Kevin Hayes

he/him

Middle School Social Studies

[email protected]

Lindsay Dunn

she/her

Middle School Science Teacher

[email protected]

Maggie Keim

she/her

Middle School ELA Teacher

[email protected]

Stacy Peth

she/her

Yoga

Stephanie Morris

she/her

Spanish