The Middle School Adolescent Program (Seventh–Eighth Grade):

Middle school is a time of transition and transformation. Children are transforming into adults and are on a journey of becoming the person they will become. We give them guidance and space, and offer them a brave place to grow in confidence through this sensitive transition time in their lives.

Every phase of Montessori is carefully designed to be consistent with the personality and characteristics of children at that stage of development. Middle school students are entering what Maria Montessori called the Third Plane of Development. Students need a safe place to make decisions without adults. Hilltop Montessori teachers give them the strategies to make those good decisions and help adolescents think for themselves. At the completion of our middle school program, students have learned how to learn, not because of extrinsic motivators but because of their own integrity. Positive outcomes we look for at this level are: confidence, optimism, self-discipline, tenacity and helpfulness.

The 4 Core Principles/Goals of our Montessori Middle School:
*Instill a voluntary sense of passion for excellence. If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
*Have a set of values to live by
*A tradition of service to others
*Have a global understanding

Our aim is to prepare students for what comes next. That way it will not matter whether their future teachers are “good” or “bad”. Hilltop Montessori students know how they learn best and can teach themselves. They can create the larger picture for themselves, evaluate their own learning, know how to work with others, and know a wide range of strategies for problem solving. Subjects are not siloed into separate blocks. Hilltop Montessori takes an integrated approach to learning where subjects interact and validate each other. Students are learning how to be an adult-independent, responsible, and confident in their environment.

When middle school students graduate from Hilltop Montessori, they are not only prepared for high school-they are prepared for life.