"Young adolescents long for independence, and they'll grab for it irresponsibly unless we provide carefully orchestrated ways for them to grow into it."

This quote from Linda Crawford, co-founder of the Developmental Designs approach we use in our Middle School, underscores the reasons why we provide ample and meaningful leadership opportunities for our Middle School students. Two of the four basic needs of students in this developmental stage are autonomy and competence. Our leadership program is aimed at providing the structure and scaffolding to incrementally add responsibilities that appeal to students while calling on greater and greater degrees of independence, competence and responsibility.

In early adolescence, we see students at a crossroads, heading down one of two paths or teetering dangerously between the two: the rebellious path, where they try to grow autonomy and competence by resisting healthy lifestyle choices or the path where they embrace adult expectations, responsibility and independence. The path students choose is influenced greatly by the expectations we set forth for them, as well as the opportunities we provide them with to exhibit their responsibility.

Middle School students not only need to feel that they belong, but that they are important contributors to the community. We view our students as responsible and capable and communicate that we expect them to embrace the leadership roles we offer them. We provide a wide variety of leadership opportunities, where students are encouraged to model responsibility and independence, which also reinforces the feeling that they are a vital members of our community. Here are a few examples:

• Middle School students wrote and ratified their own social contract through Advisory group representatives.
• Fifth and Sixth Grade students model leadership at lunchtime with younger students.
• Seventh Grade students are organizing small groups to oversee recess equipment maintenance and purchases, plan middle school dances and determine how funds raised on dress down days will be donated to causes.
• Eighth Grade students planned a fashion show to highlight school uniform features. They hosted the weekly Middle School Meeting to demonstrate how meetings should be run, and they have the responsibility to greet and help students as they exit cars and enter school in the morning.

Middle School social contract written and ratified by our students.

Every day at school, our Middle School students have opportunities to balance a growing number of privileges and responsibilities to see that the day goes well for every member of the community. In class, one day, one of my students jumped up to help me as I struggled with falling papers and books. As he helped out, he commented, "I've got your back Mrs. Lukens."  

Because our Middle School students are valued as leaders in their most critical years, we are able to guide them down a path toward responsible independence that then provides a solid foundation for success for high school, college and beyond.  

Best regards,

Fran Lukens

Head of School