Adolescence is a remarkable and complex time of life that involves immense physical, emotional, and cognitive change — and great developmental variance; some students arrive in middle school full-fledged teenagers, while others take more time to enter the first stages of puberty.
Dr. Maria Montessori went so far as to describe the adolescent phase as “a period of so much psychic transformation that it bears comparison with the first period from birth to six” (The Absorbent Mind).
At Washington Montessori School, these insights are not abstract; they are the foundation of our trailblazing Middle School program, intentionally designed to meet the needs, vulnerabilities, and extraordinary strengths of early adolescents.
Inside Washington Montessori School’s Middle School program
Since 1981, WMS has offered a unique Middle School experience that blends the ethos of the Montessori philosophy with an academically rigorous, high school–preparatory curriculum.
The goals of our Middle School program are:
- To foster a safe, nurturing atmosphere where every student feels a sense of belonging and is treated with respect and dignity.
- To instill in our students the belief that each and every one of them has something important to contribute to the world.
- To provide an academic program that challenges all skill levels and inspires a lifelong love of learning.
Here’s how we do it.
A communal learning environment
Though students are largely separated by grade for academics, the WMS Middle School experience is intentionally designed to retain the communal feel of the traditional mixed-age Montessori classroom. Sixth graders, the youngest middle school students, stay in a cohort for their academic classes, which allows teachers to address the skills needed for the transition to middle school — including metacognition, organization, study skills, and social skills. 7th- and 8th-grade students are in mixed-age classrooms, empowering the 8th graders to be school leaders, and the seventh graders to benefit from the example set by their older peers. Throughout the day, all three grade levels are regularly combined for music, art, PE, Advisor Group, recess, and other community gatherings.
Character education is at the core of the program, emphasized in everything from the classroom assignments to the social expectations. Mutual respect, inclusivity, and decision-making that prioritizes the good of the group are emphasized as attributes of a healthy community member. As our students mature through the program, they come to understand that they have space and energy to thrive as individuals because of the health of the community as a whole.
Providing the space for self-discovery
Every detail of our Middle School program is designed to nurture the “sensitive period” of adolescence. This means balancing a young person’s need for movement, hands-on activity, and social connection with purposeful opportunities for focus, reflection, and self-discovery.
Independence and intrinsic motivation are nurtured through real-world responsibility and the freedom (within limits) to explore emerging interests; our Middle School educators are experts at knowing when a student needs guidance, assistance, or the space to figure things out on their own.
By providing adolescents with a safe space to explore, stretch, and grow, they come to understand not only the interests and perspectives that make them unique, but the potential they have to shape the future.
Balancing Montessori principles with high school preparation
A cornerstone of the Montessori philosophy, at any level of education, is the idea that education is most effective when it follows the child. Our Middle School program maintains a Montessori environment where students can comfortably learn at a self-directed pace, while also ensuring each student is confidently prepared to meet the challenges of high school. The curriculum is carefully designed around adolescent themes and areas of interest to engage students at a compelling and developmentally appropriate level.
Though WMS does not assign letter grades, mastery is demonstrated through the introduction of scored tests and projects, presentations, and writing assignments. Assessment is an ongoing practice, allowing teachers the flexibility to adjust lessons to improve learning and to stress revision as a critical part of the learning process. Portfolios to measure progress, establish goals, and collect feedback are maintained by each student, giving them a sense of agency, accountability, and accomplishment over their academic journey.
Let’s take a closer look at the academic curriculum by subject.
The Middle School academic curriculum
Humanities and English
The Humanities and English curriculum follows a three-year cycle and focuses on the study of American and world history, literature, and culture. Students learn to be effective writers and nuanced thinkers through frequent opportunities to practice writing essays, research papers, and creative pieces, delivering oral presentations, participating in debates and Socratic seminars, and engaging with current events.
Science
The Middle School Science program also follows a three-year cycle encompassing Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science. The program encourages scientific discovery through labs, activities, field studies, and research, as well as design thinking and problem-solving. Students learn to design, conduct, and report on controlled experiments with the appropriate use of laboratory apparatus and methods of measurement.
The science curriculum culminates in the 8th-grade Expert Project, an independent, long-term research project that involves a formal research paper and the Expert Symposium, during which they share their work with the Middle School community.
Mathematics
Middle School Math is grouped by grade level, but instruction is based on individual development and learning style, empowering students to learn at a positive pace that paves the way for future success in math. For some, that means taking time to solidify critical skills before moving on to more abstract material, while for others, it’s the freedom to engage with more challenging material. Each student’s math journey is different, but by the end of eighth grade, most students have completed a thorough Algebra I course, and many go on to excel in Geometry or Algebra II as high school freshmen.
Spanish
In order to foster understanding and communication, we expose our students to Spanish in many forms and through many senses. Auditory, oral skills, reading, and writing are all integrated into our Spanish curriculum, beginning with foundational grammar work in sixth grade and progressing to more advanced language skills in seventh and eighth.
An amended Spanish curriculum is also available to support the accelerated learning and development of heritage speakers.
Music
As part of their Specials schedule, Middle School students take one music class per week. These classes — world drumming and guitar— allow students to explore the elements of performance and music theory that interest them most.
Middle School students also have the option to join a non-auditioned chorus that meets weekly and performs during school and community events (the vast majority of students choose to participate). There are also ample opportunities for students to refine their skills after school, from private instrumental lessons to participating in the iconic Middle School Rock Band.
Art
Middle School students attend a weekly art class, where they work on a variety of projects in different media, in both two and three dimensions. Additionally, art history and related art projects are regularly integrated into our humanities and science curricula.
Physical Education
Physical literacy is an essential element of the WMS educational philosophy and is especially critical for the physical, intellectual, and social development of adolescents. Middle School students are encouraged to participate in some form of physical exercise three days each week, and take one PE class during the school week. Three seasons of competitive team sports are offered after school (soccer and cross country in the fall, basketball and skiing in winter, and tennis and track and field in the spring), in addition to a Middle School Outdoor Club that meets once a week.
Signature WMS MS experiences
In addition to our curricular offerings, the WMS Middle School program provides students with a wide variety of supplemental experiences designed to enhance and support their holistic development. These include:
- Advisor Group — Upon entering the Middle School community, each student is assigned an adult Advisor. The mixed-grade advisor groups serve as both a comfortable home base and a locus for personal growth and development, with a focus on group problem-solving and personal reflection. Advisors also provide individual assistance with academic organization and emotional support as necessary. They are the link between school and home and become the point person for communication with families.
- Community Meeting — Students attend daily morning meetings where they learn how to become effective communicators. These structured meetings give students an opportunity to practice cultivating social relationships, enhance conflict resolution techniques, and define and strengthen the skills necessary to collaborate and communicate effectively.
- Community Service — To emphasize the power and responsibility of being of service, Middle School students have classroom jobs in advisor groups and develop service activities on campus and in the larger community.
- Green Team — Sustainability and environmental stewardship are of the utmost importance in the Middle School, in large part due to the efforts of the Green Team. For over twenty years, the Green Team has spearheaded many of the sustainability efforts at WMS, including implementing campus composting and recycling programs, creating eco-friendly, refillable cleaning products, and replacing invasive plants with native species.
- Internships — Each fall, the 8th-grade class goes out into the community to apprentice at a business or organization. During their time away, the students are asked to work hard and keep journals, and when they return, they share their experiences with the MS community in a formal presentation.
- Life Skills: Foundations, Hero’s Journey, and Leadership — These classes address issues of particular concern to adolescents: family and peer relations, puberty, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and sex education. In addition to these topics, each grade has a particular focus for social and emotional growth during their year: 6th is all about joining the Middle School community, 7th is the Hero’s Journey (a yearlong rite of passage program), and in 8th, students explore their connection to the outside world.
- Outdoor Education — The Montessori adolescent philosophy emphasizes the idea that physical work and a connection to nature help young people discover their strengths and capabilities. In addition to the annual outdoor education trip in the fall, field studies and other outdoor activities are incorporated into many aspects of our curriculum.
- Trips — Students organize, research, and participate in overnight trips in the spring. The focus on service, community, and culture guides the students in planning these trips.
Come see what middle school can be…
Graduates of our Middle School program are consistently appreciated for their prepared, enthusiastic approach to learning, their passionate and diverse interests, and the maturity of their communication, leadership, and critical thinking skills. As one independent school educator put it, “WMS students have strong habits of mind. They don’t see their education as transactional.”
With a foundation rooted in Montessori principles and a curriculum designed to prepare students for the rigors of high school, our transformative program empowers adolescents to become thoughtful, motivated, and self-aware young people capable of making meaningful contributions to their communities — and the world.
If you have questions about our Montessori Middle School program, please reach out to the Director of Middle School. And if you’d like to schedule a visit, please contact the Director of Enrollment — we’d love to show you what middle school can be.
