Middle School
George Walton Academy's middle school – sixth, seventh, and eighth grades – provides a smooth transition for students from lower to high school as well as from childhood to adolescence.
A Balance of Freedom and Responsibility
Middle school students develop into thoughtful, responsible and self-aware students as they prepare to meet the academic expectations of a college preparatory curriculum at the high school level.
Philosophy
The middle school years at GWA overflow with deep learning as well as opportunities for students to discover, cultivate and pursue their own interests.
Along with increased freedom and privileges, students begin to accept more responsibility for their actions. They’re encouraged to become self-reliant and self-disciplined and to develop an understanding of how they best approach learning on an individual level. As these adolescents mature into principled young men and women, they take control of their own growth as scholars, collaborators, citizens and contributors.
Curriculum
The middle school curriculum broadens students’ exposure to foundational subjects and concepts while stressing critical, interpretive and evaluative thinking skills. With a strong emphasis on reading and mathematics, teachers begin to integrate material across subject area lines in a cross-disciplinary approach.
Teachers also begin to diversify traditional subject areas; the middle school curriculum covers general life and physical sciences as well as world and U.S. history. Students will find opportunities to pursue honors or advanced-level coursework within some departments.
Middle school encourages student exploration of interests by offering an introduction to elective courses. Sixth grade students experience a language rotation which includes Spanish, French, Latin, and Technology. During this rotation, students spend nine weeks surveying each of these courses to encourage the possibility of discovering new interests. Similarly, the seventh grade elective rotation includes a survey Fine Arts rotation of Drama, Chorus, Visual Arts, as well as a deeper exploration of Digital Citizenship. Having been exposed to these offerings and others, eighth grade students have the liberty of choosing their own semester electives from a plethora of offerings intended to introduce students to new experiences and potential passions.
By the time students reach the end of their eighth-grade year, they’re fully equipped for the academic rigor of high school classes at GWA.
