Middle School: A Crucial Juncture

Insights from our Middle School Director, Spencer Burton

Being a young adolescent is both exhilarating and startling; their bodies and minds undergo dynamic change as they experience and understand the world around them with ever-increasing depth and complexity.  This is just part of what makes working with middle school students so rewarding. It is also precisely why the village around them is such a crucial variable.  As their frontal lobe matures, it is essential that they receive sound instruction and wise counsel from dedicated mentors and teachers while navigating the crossroads of adolescence. 
 
These middle years (Grades 6 - 8) are the stage during which they can begin to master the mechanics of writing, develop confidence as communicators, comprehend more complex texts, and master pre-Algebra & Algebraic skills.  These are the foundational skills upon which all of the learning to follow will be built. This stage is also the time during which they begin to develop those habits critical to living life well - habits such as managing impulsivity, persevering in the face of challenges, and listening with empathy. The development of these habits and foundational academic skills are central to the Christian Liberal Arts & Sciences education we offer at The Covenant School. 
 
Our faculty genuinely knows, serves, celebrates and cares for each of our students. The size of our program enables our faculty to maintain the level of communication with each family, enabling us to establish a true partnership with our parents.  This degree of partnership is what enables us to set high standards, both academically and behaviorally, while also maximizing opportunities for growth when the inevitable mistakes common to adolescence occur. These factors foster that which is essential to flourishing at this, or any age: true community.  We would love the opportunity to share this community with you and to investigate how The Covenant School could help your son or daughter become more curious, courageous, tenacious, engaged, and compassionate learners during these middle years. 
 

The Covenant School

Birdwood Campus | Lower School | Pre-K–Grade 5 |
1000 Birdwood Road Charlottesville, VA 22903 | 434.220.7309

Hickory Campus | Middle and Upper School | Grades 6–12 | 175 Hickory Street Charlottesville, VA 22902 | 434.220.7329
Located in Charlottesville, VA, The Covenant School is a non-denominational, private, Christian day school for Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, visual and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.
The Covenant School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, nationality, ethnic origin, or sex in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, tuition assistance programs, athletic and other school-administered programs, nor in the hiring of faculty or staff.
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