The Middle School Program is designed as an integration of current research in human development, educational theory, and the Montessori philosophy. The mission of the program is to provide opportunities for adolescents to become self-confident, to belong to a community, to learn to be adaptable, to be academically competent, to possess practical life skills, and to create a vision for their personal future. The structure is

• learner-centered

• developmentally responsive

• dependent on parent-student-teacher partnerships

• multi-aged with 12- to 14-year-old students to allow peer and cross-aged teaching.

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Montessori wrote that in an ideal classroom for adolescents, "...there would be all kinds of artistic occupations open to free choice both as to the time and the nature of the work. Some must be for the individual and some would require the cooperation of a group. They would involve artistic and linguistic ability and imagination..." Therefore, our middle school combines both direct instruction (lessons given by the teacher to a group of students) and student exploration (resources used by the student at the student's discretion).

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The seven components of our program are:

1. Montessori Adolescent Philosophy

2. Land

3. Adventure

4. Business

5. Service

6. Internship

7. Academics