Aside from the toddler years, middle school years are among the strongest formative years for students physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, and academically. During this time, students can face enormous personal and social challenges. In the nurturing environment of a small school, faculty know their students and provide them with the tools to navigate these challenges. Students discover who they can be and want to be by establishing their standards of identity and setting their moral compass. Smaller middle schools, particularly in a K-8 setting, are crucial for students’ success during this time of their life.
Fostering a Safe and Healthy Learning Environment
When children are placed in an environment that allows them to be seen and heard, they feel comfortable learning and exploring. With the availability of teachers and other adults they can turn to at school other than their parents, they have opportunities to hear a wider range of perspectives and to see clear connections between values taught at home and those taught at school. Additionally, feeling seen and heard by caring adults outside of the family can give them the confidence they need to step into leadership roles. In a smaller environment, they can feel cared for, nurtured, and challenged. Ultimately, this allows students to feel confident, even in the face of setbacks or challenge.
Discovering Their Passion
It is critical for both academic and personal growth that students be allowed to explore a number of different activities and sports at school. Many students who don’t experience a smaller middle school setting can go their whole lives with undiscovered passions. In a smaller school environment, students are able to explore theater and drama, visual arts, sports, Mock Trial, participate in outdoor learning activities, and more - without prior experience. Providing all of these different options is essential for children to develop their own unique passions and helps to build confidence. These many opportunities also allow for them to step into leadership roles and set positive examples for younger students.
Life After Middle School
When students leave middle school, it’s important that they leave “fully baked.” This means that students have developed resilience in the face of challenge and have a solid understanding of their own identity, personal standards, and moral compass. When students mature and grow in an environment where they are nurtured and cared for, and where there are no labels and limits on who they are or what they can do, they are better able to make healthy, positive decisions. Ultimately, the ability to make positive life decisions will affect them well beyond their high school and college years. This is why choosing the right middle school is so important.
Berkeley Hall School
The environment at Berkeley Hall is designed to cultivate and foster confidence and critical thinking to ultimately create student leaders. Unlike many students who experience the grade 7-12 school model, Berkeley Hall middle school students enter high school “on top.” They are equipped with the mindset and all the personal, academic and social tools necessary to become a success in high school and beyond.
