Page 22 - Priorities #46 2010-March/April

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When Caitha Ambler started as Dean of Priory’s Middle School last fall, she was full of ideas about the direction she wanted to see the middle school take. She’d been a 6th and 7th grade teacher at
Priory for 11 years, an experience she loved. During those years, she observed that the middle school at Priory was based on the so-called “junior high model,” in which students in the middle grades tend to be seen as high schoolers in training.
“Since we’re a six through twelve school, and being in this physical space, we are set up like a high school. The facilities are amazing. We have a pool, we have a gym, we have the Performing Arts Center, all these things you might not find in a K through eight school.” Despitethesebenefits,DeanAmblersawaneedforPrioryto move toward the “middle school model” for its sixth through eighth graders, a group she sees as having its own separate needs and identity. “It’s important to be mindful of the fact that this developmental age is really different than being in a high school.”
Mrs. Ambler started her own teaching career in the elementary grades,andthatgaveherahelpfulperspective. “Isawwhereincoming sixth graders had come from—a very kid-friendly environment—into this junior high model where they acted more like miniature high school students. But middle school kids shouldn’t be acting like high school kids yet.” In K through 6 schools, she points out, sixth graders are still playing on the playground at recess, and that freedom to act like kids is something she’d like to give back to middle schoolers.
BrotherEdwardconcurs. “AsthePrioryhasgrownanddeveloped, we have become much more in tune with the developmental needs of the middle school. One of the earlier headmasters and I used to joke that many people on the faculty felt middle schoolers were high schoolers in short pants. And we would laugh—and then cry inside because we weren’t adequately addressing the needs of middle schoolers.”
Addressing those needs is all about balance, says Dean Ambler. “I think of it like a teeter-totter. You have to find a balance, being respectful to middle schoolers but also giving them guidance. You want to give them kid-friendly activities but not dumb anything down.” She explains, “we still have a very rigorous academic program, and we want to support them in being kids for as a long as possible, because they need it. They need both.”
As soon as Mrs. Ambler was hired as Middle School Dean—the spring before she took her new post—she kicked off her mission to enrich the middle school experience. She surveyed Priory parents, students, and teachers, looking for input. Then, in the fall, she assembled a new Middle School Vision Team, a group that included core middle school teachers, Ruth Benz, and Brother Edward. Together, they articulated a shared vision—to create and support a developmentally appropriate middle school—and established three important goals for the coming year.
Separate Identity, Separate Space
One thing that everyone on the Vision Team agreed upon was thatthemiddleschoolneededitsownspace. Therefore,thefirstand most ambitious goal of the Vision Team was to create a campus area specifically for the middle school. “Benedictine Square is more of a highschoolhangout,”saysAmbler. “Themiddleschoolersarealittle intimidated. People will say, but we like having all of the kids together. But they’re not really together. If you actually go out there and watch what’s happening, you’ll see that the middle schoolers hang out in the hallway by their lockers.”
After a tour of campus, the team saw that Church Square, the courtyard at the top of campus, would be a perfect home base for the middle school. It was close to important buildings—the library, science classes, the computer lab—and middle grade classrooms could be clustered around the square with the long-term goal of futureclassroomsbeingbuiltoffthelibrary. Amblerseesatie-intothe Benedictine value of hospitality here. “We’re going to have a name, Priory Middle School, and make it feel like a really welcoming place. They’ll have their own bathrooms, their own games and balls they get toplaywith. They’llhavetheCubShackandselltheirowntreats. It will be their area.”