ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠI recently reviewed two current educational studies which strongly make the case for why Kindergarten through Eighth Grade schools - and not separate elementary and middle schools - are best for students. As early as the 1980's, research evidence has accumulated against the models of both the traditional junior high school and the now common middle school. The studies focused on the fact that expecting children to make a big transition to a whole new educational environment at the onset of puberty not only goes contrary to common sense. It also provides greater challenges for maintaining motivation and self-esteem; negatively impacts the intellectual demands placed on students as well as students' grades, academic performance, and close relationships with their teachers; and creates more negative attitudes about school. A number of studies have shown that placing students in smaller, more intimate K-8 schools mitigates these negative trends.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠEven the title of the recent Fordham Institute's Fall 2005 study on middle schools speaks volumes. “Mayhem in the Middle: How Middle Schools Have Failed America” contends that separating middle school age children from the elementary grades has “contributed to a precipitous decline in academic achievement among American early adolescents.” The study documents that, with the current separate middle school configuration that is the norm in America, “academic achievement plummets between fourth and eighth grades” and serious course work “takes a back seat to such ends as self-exploration, socialization, and group learning,” The study urges more widespread consideration of a K-8 model that keeps parents more closely involved with their children, that focuses “first and foremost on students' acquisition of essential academic skills and knowledge,” that maintains higher academic standards, that allows for a more gradual transition to independence, and that provides meaningful extra curricular opportunities for students as they mature.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠThe Rand Corporation's 2004 study “Focus on the Wonder Years: Challenges Facing the American Middle School” similarly recommends reducing the number of educational transitions foisted upon students. It also suggests establishing more positive peer cultures, creating stronger disciplinary systems, hiring more teachers who are experts at their subject matter, and having schools stay more connected to parents. The report furthermore found that separate middle schools tend to diminish curricular continuity and faculty knowledge of, and perspective on, their students.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠSince its very early days, The Country School has believed in providing a strong and nurturing Kindergarten through eighth grade program that provides individual attention, high standards, developmental appropriateness, challenging academics, and a close partnership with parents. We continue to believe that our younger children benefit from the model provided by our older students, and that their teachers and curriculum stretch them further since instruction is based on a thorough knowledge of the demands that lie ahead. We also feel that our older students benefit from being in a wholesome, positive, and values-focused environment that has reasonable but high expectations for all. Our older students also benefit from the curricular and personal continuity that our program and setting provides and from the leadership opportunities and gradual transitions we create.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠOne only has to spend some time with our older students to see the power that comes from our K-8 continuum. Still, it's good to know that recent research validates what our school has been believed in, and consistently delivered, for almost 75 years.