CHRISTINE WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELING: Frequently, middle schools are physically attached to a high school or they exist as a stand-alone environment for students in Grades 6 through 8. According to research, however, this model has multiple flaws. A far more successful model is the K-8 paradigm—which I have witnessed successfully implemented at The Peck School.
A far more successful model is the K-8 paradigm
When Peck’s eighth grade class returned at the start of this school year, I was delighted to see how each student matured over the summer months. The magical growth from seventh grade spring to eighth grade fall is transformational. From day one of the new school year, these students embraced both the privileges and the responsibilities of reaching the pinnacle grade at The Peck School.
Where else but in a K-8 environment could the very challenging years of adolescence be positively offset by the opportunity to be role models and leaders for eight other grades of younger students? Our eighth graders are not living in the shadow of older high school students. They are at the top of the ladder, and have finally reached (as one wonderful alumna recently described quite eloquently) “the pot of gold at the end of the Peck rainbow.”
This is what makes the K-8 education model so profound. At the awkward time of adolescence, in those crucial years before secondary school, our students come to reflect upon and know themselves well. They develop a strong sense of self-confidence and ownership in the school. They are the proverbial “big fish in the little pond.”
To have this experience immediately before heading to new secondary school homes is tremendously empowering. Had they hedged the uncertainties of secondary school acceptances and left Peck before graduating our K-8 program, they would have missed out on the climax of the K-8 trajectory. That would be like quitting a marathon at mile 25!
Staying the course in a K-8 program and experiencing the privileges and responsibilities of eighth grade are the most positively self-defining experiences an adolescent can achieve in school. To be in a school where everyone, both faculty and peers, knows you well and has watched you grow-up is the safest and most secure environment in which to advance from tween to teen. Knowing that your daily choices make you an example to the younger students encourages a deep sense of responsibility and maturity.
Historically, parents who choose a K-8 education for their children do so for typical reasons: strength of the particular school; consistency of curriculum throughout grade progression; familiarity of location, students and faculty. When their children are only 5 and 6 years old, though, they may not be thinking of the leadership opportunities to which their child will be exposed at the end of a K-8 program. They may not be thinking about the benefit of a familiar environment when their child is entering adolescence. These are, ultimately, the most important reasons to choose, and choose to complete, a K-8 education.
At The Peck School,
students travel through adolescence
with strength, values
and appropriate support.
At The Peck School, students travel through adolescence with strength, values and appropriate support. Each year builds upon the prior year in academic, social, and emotional development. Because challenging transitions are eliminated in these formative years, students maintain a sense of security and safety.
Ultimately, by the completion of a K-8 program, students are primed for success in secondary school. Research demonstrates that they achieve greater success academically and socially than students transitioning from a “middle school”.
Have faith in your K-8 school, have faith in your child, and stay on course with your child’s full K-8 trajectory. The rewards will be plentiful and apparent.
