Middle School Academic Program
Academics & Skills Benchmarks
The Schoolhouse middle school program offers students a chance to explore their curiosity while continuing to solidify their fundamental skills and acquire a breadth of content. Our science, math, reading, and writing developmental continua, along with California and national standards, serve as our curricular guide. These critical skills and content are infused in inquiry-based projects which are anchored in rich essential questions.
Middle School Overview
Academic Program
Structure
Extended Program
Pedagogy
Adventure Days/Service Learning
Adventure days are project-based experiences in the field that enhance academics and social-emotional learning, and expose students to the world beyond campus. Some of these days may include service learning and may be extended into overnights. Students also often design many of these experiences with guidance from their teachers.
Arts Integration
Teachers infuse projects and lessons with visual and performing arts, from math chants to dramatic performances of historical figures. Teachers ensure that all students gain a basic repertoire of the visual and performing arts.
Capstone Projects
During the middle school years, students will have 1-2 capstone projects in addition to the eighth grade presentation to mark key moments in their growth and development. Some projects may be incorporated into adventure days, overnights, or service.
Inquiry-Based Learning
This is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems, or scenarios. It engages students, empowering them to direct their own learning.
Project-Based, Real World, Hands-on Learning
In addition to adventure days, service learning, and overnights, students participate in real world hands-on projects on a daily basis in the classrooms.
Curricular Highlights
Advisory & Social-Emotional Learning
This program supports the social-emotional and study skills learning required for middle schoolers. Topics include time management, organization, self-advocacy, emotional regulation, positive relationships, puberty, decision-making, and much more.
Interdisciplinary Academics
During the middle school years, students can expect a range of interdisciplinary projects. While we have a math and science specialist and a humanities specialist, these teachers collaborate to fully integrate many or all disciplines including visual and performing arts.
Clubs/Committees/Leadership
In an effort to ignite passions and foster leadership, students have the opportunity to create and join clubs and committees. Library, green team, and leadership are some of our current committees.
High School Transition Program
The process to identify high schools for a student begins in seventh grade with the parents and students. Goal setting, self-awareness, and preparation for traditional tests, entrance exams, and placement tests are central to this program, which culminates with a student-created Reflection Project about their learning, passions, growth, and challenges. Ultimately, this presentation will be shared with prospective high schools as a part of the admission package.
Media Literacy/Digital Citizenship
Strong skills in this area are a requirement for 21st-century learners. We integrate this area of study into all academics and social-emotional learning, where students gain an understanding of the principles of media literacy and digital citizenship through hands-on projects and activities.
Physical Education & Sports
Fitness for Life, yoga, dance, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and cross country are several of the units we offer in PE. Intramural sports where students can play with other students and have an opportunity to experience organized sports is also available for students.
World Language Exploration
Each year, students will be able to study a language, either a new one or one they’ve studied previously. The goal of the program is to provide the language acquisition skills and phonemic awareness students will need when they deepen their language study in high school. Learning will take place online to provide regular practice. In addition, students will organize real-world experiences in the classroom, the city, and potentially beyond.
