Introduction
Harlem Academy inspires excellence with a rigorous curriculum wrapped in a joyful and ethical school culture. We foster confidence by setting up real challenges for all of our students, nurturing their talents, and supporting them to meet their goals. We work with focus and determination but take time to celebrate each other’s achievements and share in life’s special moments.
Skill development is the foundation of a Harlem Academy education. We believe that strong character habits and core academic skills, such as reading, writing, and critical thinking in math and science, are the key ingredients students need for success at top secondary schools and as contributing members of the community. To build these skills, our approach combines depth, practice, challenge, and engagement in every
curricular area. Learning to speak publicly is also part of every Harlem Academy student’s journey, and our students get the chance to present in front of family and friends at least 24 times throughout their Harlem Academy career during regular Celebrations of Learning.
“We have noticed how our child has developed new personal skills and a sense of belonging. It is a journey that never ends, and we thank the school for their support and guidance.”
SARA GEBRA PARENT, CLASS OF 2032
The vision for character education at Harlem Academy is expressed in our School Creed and our four community pillars (initiative, integrity, compassion, and determination). Students learn the School Creed as kindergartners, and it remains a foundation for learning, reflection, and improvement; a springboard for discussion in advisory and community meetings; and a touchpoint for lessons in every academic area. Each verse ties to one of the four pillars:
Initiative
I am bold and creative. I take opportunities to lead. I seek help when I need it.
Integrity
I am honest and reflective. I choose to do what is right Even when it is hard or no one is watching
Compassion
I listen carefully. I speak kindly. I care for my community.
Determination
I make the most of each day. I learn from my mistakes. I don’t give up.
Community meetings are one of our most treasured traditions. Held weekly for each division, every meeting is anchored by a reading, story, or activity that examines an aspect of the School Creed and emphasizes the habits most critical to students’ success. Our meetings also include commendations, where teachers recognize a student’s action that lived up to our pillars and Creed or demonstrated growth. This positive recognition serves as a strong driver of our values and sets an example for other students’ growth. Each meeting also includes a recitation of our School Thanksgiving and School Creed, as well as time for silent reflection and informal greeting.
During their time at Harlem Academy, students are guided to reflect as they define their journeys and shape who they are individually and as members of a community. At the end of kindergarten, students write a letter to their graduating self about the things they accomplished that year and their hopes for the future – a tradition they will repeat every year and then read when they graduate.
Fifth graders emerge as leaders in elementary school when they lead their own community meetings. Sixth graders kick off middle school with their first three-day trip to the Princeton-Blairstown Center for outdoor adventure challenges and team building. In eighth grade, students take a four-day leadership trip to Washington, D.C., where they meet with our nation’s leaders and build lasting memories with teachers and classmates. Ultimately, our graduates take these skills and experiences with them to thrive at the highest academic levels and one day make a mark on the world.
“Celebrations of Learning offer repeated opportunities for students to step out of their comfort zones, make mistakes in a safe environment, and come out having conquered their fears – accomplishing something they maybe didn’t realize they could do.”
VINNY DOTOLI HEAD OF SCHOOL
Primary School
OVERVIEW
The primary school (grades K-2) uses a homeroom model. Students can arrive as early as 7:15 a.m. and may stay until 6 p.m., with required programming running from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Students work with various adults on the team but most closely with a core team of two teachers who take lead responsibility for advancing learning, holistic growth, and family partnership.
Throughout the week, students participate in various activities focused on building habits for community contribution aligned with the School Creed. Each day begins with a morning meeting where students practice greeting one another, sharing with the group, listening carefully to others, and mindfulness. At the end of each day, students complete any remaining classroom jobs, prepare to go home, and organize for the next day. The class gathers for a closing circle on the rug to celebrate what they’ve learned, share commendations, and say goodbye.
LITERACY
Primary students spend over two hours daily focused on literacy, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Our literacy program seeks to build confidence, independence, and a foundation for long-term academic success.
The primary school uses the Benchmark Advance literacy program, which includes materials developed for the following grade level. The curriculum focuses on nonfiction reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and phonics within integrated units.
Read-alouds are incorporated into each day to connect back to our School Creed, prompt a whole-class discussion, or just bring smiles to students’ faces.
Teachers help students find library books they will enjoy to foster a love of reading. Primary students read texts many times to practice fluency, gain comprehension, and develop an understanding of story patterns. At least one day per week, they go to the school’s library to find additional independent reading books.
Students engage in differentiated, technologybased literacy practice using a variety of platforms. We use Newsela to offer students engaging articles at their reading level, Accelerated Reader to monitor comprehension and guide students toward individualized goals, and Benchmark practice to gather actionable data and target instruction.
MATHEMATICS
Primary school teachers use the Math in Focus Singapore math program. This rigorous program teaches students to become effective mathematical problem-solvers. Each new concept is concretely introduced with physical manipulatives, such as linking cubes or teddy bear counters. After mastering the concrete, students move to pictorial representations, such as drawing pictures or symbols. Finally, students make the connection to abstract representations such as algorithms. Math In Focus provides family resources to link every lesson at school with realworld mathematics at home. Students use the online personalized learning tool IXL to reinforce skills and build fluency. During primary school, students are encouraged to view themselves as inherently mathematical thinkers who can use their number sense and learned procedures to reason about quantities, shapes, and patterns.
Kindergarten
Throughout the year, kindergartners build foundational number sense as well as fluency and confidence with counting and comparing. Students focus on counting numbers up to 20 and place value for ones and tens. Students learn to determine the number of objects in a set and to compare sets to determine which is bigger. Students build an understanding of addition as putting sets together and subtraction as taking away or taking apart. Kindergartners also begin to explore geometry with an understanding of shapes and their attributes.
First Grade
First graders extend their comfort with counting and comparing numbers up to 100. Students focus on the place value system, connect the concrete addition of objects with our standard addition and subtraction algorithms, and represent and solve problems using addition and subtraction. Students also build mental math strategies and develop fluency with adding numbers mentally up to 20. Students also begin measuring the length and weight of objects and analyzing data using pictorial graphs and bar graphs.
Second Grade
In second grade, students begin working with larger numbers up to 1,000. They gain confidence comparing and ordering numbers and using addition and subtraction strategies that require regrouping. Students are introduced to the use of bar models as a tool to represent and solve two-step addition and subtraction problems. They develop their measurement skills for both the metric system and customary system and solve real-world problems involving length and mass. Students in second grade begin learning multiplication by using repeated addition of equal groups and explore multiplication facts for 2, 5, and 10. Students extend their data analysis skills by creating their own picture graphs.
SCIENCE
We use the inquiry-based FOSS curriculum to guide lessons as students develop an understanding of the world around them and hone skills in inquiry, investigation, and analysis.
Kindergarten
In the animals unit, students observe differences in structure and behavior between common land and water animals and learn about their basic needs.
The materials and motion unit introduces the study of natural resources and how the properties of materials determine their use. During the trees and weather unit, students observe day-to-day changes in weather over the year and the impact weather has on living things.
First Grade
The year begins with an earth science unit introducing the scientific method, which students will use throughout their time at Harlem Academy. In the air and weather unit, students explore the properties of air and learn about the factors that impact weather patterns. Students use musical instruments such as the xylophone to explore sound during the sound and light unit. The year ends with a unit focused on how plants and animals grow and survive in their habitats.
Second Grade
Students start the year studying rocks and soil using simple tools such as screens and handheld magnifying glasses to observe, describe, and analyze these earth materials. Students then explore solids and liquids and compare the properties of each state, observing the effects of heating and cooling, and even make slime! Students end the year with a focus on how insects and plants interact. They see the life cycle of several insects unfold right before their eyes and build on what they learned in first grade to grow plants in their classroom.
HEALTH
As part of morning meeting and closing circle, students engage in the Health Smart curriculum, which focuses on making healthy choices and developing positive habits. This comprehensive program covers emotional and mental health; personal health and wellness; safety, injury, and violence prevention; food and nutrition; physical activity; alcohol, drug, and tobacco prevention; and healthy relationships. In addition, the program focuses on goal setting, decision-making, accessing information, and advocacy.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Students have 10 periods each week to get outside and exercise, including seven recess blocks and three physical education periods. During recess, students can play soccer, basketball, or four square; make up creative games; or relax with friends. During this time, our goal is to guide students in developing collaboration, leadership, and problemsolving skills by offering them independence alongside thoughtful supervision.
Our structured physical education program provides cognitive content and instruction designed to develop motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness. Held three times per week, this curriculum specializes in providing individuals with the tools necessary to grow their minds and bodies to overcome perceived limitations.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
In partnership with Harlem School of the Arts, primary students take arts classes twice per week with professional teaching artists in specialized art, dance, theater and music studios. The program allows primary students to study visual arts (fall and winter), dance (fall), percussion (winter), and improvisational theater (spring). Celebrations of Learning include a dance performance, arts showcase, and theater performance. As the oldest members of our primary division, second graders join in our elementary school art exploration with a former docent of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, first discussing works of art in the classroom and then seeing them in the museum.
SPANISH
Students have two periods of Spanish instruction. Using interactive activities, read-alouds, games,
dancing, and arts and crafts, students will expand their language skills while building the confidence to express themselves verbally and in writing. Students learn and use vocabulary and grammar, with a focus on greetings, numbers, shapes, family, body parts, days of the week, seasons, months, and weather. Students will also explore Hispanic and Latinx cultures and traditions.
CHESS
Students in kindergarten through fourth grade have a weekly chess class with a coach and time for independent play. Students are also welcome to join the chess team, which meets weekly.
HOMEWORK AND CHOICE
As an optional block at the end of each day, we provide a quiet study space for students to complete their homework. Even in the youngest grades, we encourage independent completion of homework. However, teachers are available to answer questions, give additional practice work, guide students in choosing independent reading books, and help students organize their desks.
After study hall, students have choice, which is a period of self-selected, educational play. Students can choose from activities such as block building, mancala, chess, and more.
As students progress through the primary division, we are always thinking about ways to expand opportunities and prepare them for the move to elementary school. Second graders take part in the elementary school after-school enrichment program, which includes Spanish, science, art, and sports/games, followed by time to finish homework. (This sequence is described in more detail in the elementary school curriculum section.)
7:30 - 8:05 (optional)
8:05 - 8:25 (optional)
8:30 - 9:00
9:00 - 10:00
SAMPLE PRIMARY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
10:00 - 10:55 Math Literacy
11:00 - 11:35 Recess Recess
11:40 - 12:10
1:20 - 2:20 12:15 - 1:15
2:25 - 3:25
3:30 - 4:00
4:00 - 5:00 (optional)
Enrichment: Chess Club and Academic Support Enrichment: STEM Enrichment: Art Enrichment: Spanish
Enrichment: Sports and Games
5:00 - 5:45 (optional) Homework
Elementary School
OVERVIEW
The elementary school (grades 3-5) uses a homeroom model. Students can arrive as early as 7:15 a.m. and may stay until 6 p.m., with required programming running from 8:25 a.m. until 4 p.m. Students work with various adults on the team but most closely with a dedicated lead teacher.
Each day begins with a morning meeting on how students can integrate the School Creed into their daily decision-making. A closing meeting offers time for reminders, celebrating small wins, and ensuring that each student gets an individualized moment with the teacher before they leave for the day. “Fun Fridays” are held during morning meetings and closing circles, offering a chance for students to end the week with special games and other choice activities. At the end of each day, “check out” is dedicated to organizing planners, putting away materials, gathering materials for homework, and preparing for the next day.
Fifth graders have some special responsibilities as the oldest elementary school students. They work in small groups to lead a community meeting, sharing a community message with third and fourth graders that highlights an aspect of the School Creed, including a focus on “I make the most of each day” and “I care for my community.” The fifth grade class also plays an important role in welcoming our incoming class of sixth graders to our school community. This includes planning activities for “moving up day,” when new students join returning students for a half day with the next year’s teachers and schedule.
LITERACY
Elementary school students spend over two hours each day focused on reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Our goal is to continue fostering a love of reading and a mastery of skills so that students leave elementary school with confidence, independence, and a foundation for long-term academic success.
The elementary literacy program serves as a bridge from the primary school program to a novel-driven study in middle school. Grades 3-5 use their gradelevel Benchmark Materials, which have a mixture
of fiction and nonfiction reading and writing skill development. As students advance through elementary school, we integrate more complex writing assignments and literary analysis by implementing our novel study. In the spring, fourth graders embark on the literary journey of “One Crazy Summer” by Rita Williams-Garcia, and fifth graders delve into the rich narrative of “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Muñoz Ryan.
All three grades continue with integrated lessons in grammar and vocabulary. Teachers also continue to make time for read-alouds, selecting texts to model habits and strategies of good readers, foster a love of reading, and amplify an inclusive tapestry of voices, with a focus on Black, Latinx, and other authors and characters of color.
Teachers help students find library books they will enjoy to foster a love of reading. Elementary students read texts many times to practice fluency, gain comprehension, and develop an understanding of story patterns. At least one day per week, they go to the school’s library to find additional independent reading books.
Students engage in differentiated, technologybased literacy practice using a variety of platforms. We use Newsela to offer students engaging articles at their reading level, Accelerated Reader to monitor comprehension and guide students toward individualized goals, and Benchmark practice to gather actionable data and target instruction.
MATHEMATICS
Students develop conceptual understanding and procedural skills in numerical operations, geometry, data analysis, measurement, and problem-solving. Concepts are taught using the Math in Focus Singapore math program. This challenging curriculum focuses on teaching fewer concepts with greater depth and more complex problem-solving than typical U.S. programs. By beginning with concrete examples, moving to pictorial demonstrations, and then connecting to abstract concepts, students acquire skills to tackle increasingly difficult problems. Students also use the online personalized learning tool IXL to support their learning in the classroom and at home. Throughout elementary school, students build positive identities as mathematical thinkers. They learn to represent and justify their thinking in multiple ways and to work effectively both independently and in collaboration with peers.
Third Grade
Students begin the year solidifying their skills by adding and subtracting numbers up to 10,000 that require regrouping. They explore multiplication as the repeated addition of same-sized groups and division as splitting apart into same-sized groups and gain confidence with multiplication facts. They begin using bar models to solve multi-step multiplication and division problems. Students are introduced to the idea of fractions, place fractions on a number line, and compare and order fractions. Geometry topics include finding the area and perimeter of a shape and connecting these ideas to addition and multiplication. Students also extend their work in measurement by learning the metric system for measuring mass and volume.
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders practice using all four numerical operations to solve problems, gaining confidence in selecting the operation and strategy needed for each situation. The year begins with long division and understanding what the quotient and remainder represent. The second half of the year focuses on understanding fractions and decimals as numbers. Students compare and order fractions, convert improper fractions to mixed numbers, add and subtract mixed numbers, and use bar models to solve fraction word problems. They connect fractions with decimals through their understanding of place value and compare and round decimals. In geometry, students are introduced to angles and angle measurement and classify triangles based on their angles.
Fifth Grade
Fifth graders review place value by multiplying and dividing by powers of ten with numbers up to 10,000,000. They then extend their skills by adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions and mixed numbers. They use bar models to solve word problems with fraction multiplication. Students also add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals and use decimals in real-world situations. In geometry, students complete an in-depth study of volume and calculate the volume of rectangular and composite prisms. The data analysis unit introduces graphing coordinate pairs on the x-y coordinate plane and representing data using line plots.
SCIENCE
Our goal is to engage students in the process of scientific inquiry, preparing them to succeed in middle school science and beyond. In elementary school, we focus on the development of scientific and engineering skills, nonfiction reading and writing skills, and content knowledge. We use the inquiry-based FOSS curriculum to guide our lessons as students develop an understanding of the world.
Third Grade
The year starts with a unit on plants and animals, observing and comparing life cycles, how they meet their basic needs, and how they adapt to their environments. In the motion and matter unit, students focus on how things move by investigating gravity and magnetism. Students then study the water cycle, conservation and protection of water, and water’s impact on the climate.
Fourth Grade
Students begin the year studying geology and how natural occurrences impact Earth’s landscapes over thousands of years. They then learn about energy and how it is transferred between systems. They end the year with a unit focused on the
interaction between plants and animals and their environments. Each unit consists of experiments, reading sessions, and math extensions.
Fifth Grade
Fifth graders build on their knowledge of matter, exploring what happens when samples of matter interact in mixtures, solutions, and chemical reactions. Students then explore the Earth’s position in the solar system and its interaction with the sun and the moon in the Earth and sun unit. In the living systems unit, students learn more about how organisms interact with their ecosystems and how the Earth’s biosphere interacts with other parts of the planet.
HEALTH
During advisory, students engage in the Health Smart curriculum, which positions students with the knowledge and skills to make healthy choices and develop positive habits. This comprehensive program covers emotional and mental health; personal health and wellness; safety, injury, and violence prevention; food and nutrition; physical activity; alcohol, drug, and tobacco prevention; and healthy relationships, growth and development, and sexual health (starting in fifth grade). In addition to understanding these concepts, the program focuses on skill development around goal setting, decision-making, accessing information, and advocacy.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECESS
We believe there is value in free play in elementary school, and students have a daily recess period for soccer, basketball, or four square; to make up their own creative games; or to relax with friends. During this time, our goal is to build collaboration, leadership, and creativity by offering students independence alongside thoughtful supervision.
Harlem Academy’s physical education program provides cognitive content and instruction designed to develop motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness. Held three times per week, this curriculum specializes in providing individuals with the tools necessary to grow their minds and bodies to overcome perceived limitations.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
In partnership with Harlem School of the Arts, elementary students take arts classes twice per week with professional teaching artists in
specialized art, dance, theater and music studios. The program allows students to study visual arts (fall, winter), dance (fall), piano/keyboards (winter), and improvisational theater. Celebrations of Learning include a dance performance, arts showcase, and theater performance.
A former docent of the Metropolitan Museum of Art leads an in-depth exploration, first discussing works of art in the classroom and then guiding students to view them at the museum.
CHESS
Our chess program offers students in kindergarten through fifth grade weekly instruction with a chess coach and time for independent play. Students in any grade are welcome to join the chess club and team, which meets weekly and participates in weekend tournaments.
ENRICHMENT AND HOMEWORK
Students in grades 2-5 are welcome to stay for enrichment, offering a chance to discover new interests and deepen their exploration of areas they already enjoy. Led by our full-time teachers, each day focuses on a different enrichment option: STEM, art, Spanish, sports/games, and chess club or academic support.
Enrichment is followed by a quiet period for students to complete their homework. Students are welcome to work with lead teachers during this period if they need extra help, but we encourage independence and the development of strong organization and time management skills.
SAMPLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
7:30 - 8:05 (optional) Play Yard and Library Play Yard and Library Play Yard and Library
8:05 - 8:25 (optional)
8:30 - 9:00
9:00 - 10:00
10:00 - 10:55 Math Literacy
11:00 - 11:35 Recess Recess
11:40 - 12:10 Lunch
1:20 - 2:20 12:15 - 1:15 Physical Education
Meeting/Snack 2:25 - 3:25
3:30 - 4:00 Closing Meeting/Snack Closing Meeting/Snack Closing Meeting/Snack
Enrichment: Chess Club and Academic Support
Enrichment: STEM Enrichment: Art
Enrichment: Spanish
Enrichment: Sports and Games
5:00 - 5:45 (optional) Homework 4:00 - 5:00 (optional)
Middle School
OVERVIEW
The middle school (grades 6-8) is designed around subject-based specialists, challenging students to navigate a schedule, multiple environments, and different class structures. Students can arrive as early as 7:15 a.m. and may stay until 6 p.m., with required programming running from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students end the day restoring their homeroom space, checking their planners, and gathering all their materials for homework and afternoon electives.
ENGLISH
The middle school curriculum builds on character analysis work students practiced in primary and elementary school. With each text, students focus on character motivation, the impact of actions on self and others, and analyzing their personal beliefs in the context of the story. Students are encouraged to reflect on who they are, what they value, and how their identity is shaped by ethnicity, gender, race, class, ability, and other identifiers. They share their personal stories through discussion and writing poetry, personal narratives, short stories, personal statements, and more.
Two significant partnerships to strengthen our middle school English program. Through a six-week collaboration with the Poetry Society of America, our sixth and eighth graders work one-on-one and in small groups with professional poets, who lead them through the creative process of writing, revising, critiquing, and performing original poems. The program culminates with the students and professional poets presenting side-by-side in front of the school community.
Through a partnership with the Classical Theatre of Harlem, each grade either has a unit focused on Shakespeare or playwriting. The sixth and eighth grade Shakespeare program opens with a weeklong workshop, where actors work with students to explore a play’s themes and the use of language to express character and plot. During the playwriting program, visiting actors guide seventh graders as they write one-act plays over five weeks. The unit culminates with the selection of one play for a staged reading by professional actors.
Sixth Grade
Sixth graders begin the year practicing habits and strategies of good readers, including identifying how an author develops an idea over the course of a text. They read short stories, write poetry, study Shakespeare, and begin to craft constructed responses as an introduction to literary analysis. Sixth-grade texts include:
• “Seedfolks” by Paul Fleischman
• “Before We Were Free” by Julia Alvarez
• “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson
• “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare
Seventh Grade
Students continue to develop their personal voices and share their stories. Students are introduced to a specific literary analysis response we call LASA, or “literary analysis short answer,” that they will use as the foundation for essays moving forward. They dive into nonfiction and dystopian fiction novels, consider the concept of home through free-verse poems, and write original plays. Seventh-grade texts include:
• “The Night Diary” by Veera Hiranandani
• “Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali” by P. James Oliver
• “The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey” by Rosemary Sutcliff
• “Bronx Masquerade” by Nikki Grimes
• “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
• “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry
Eighth Grade
Eighth grade English is the culmination of all the skills and strategies students have practiced during their time at Harlem Academy. They analyze classic texts through new and varied lenses and build on conversations and readings to craft and present original works of poetry. Students end the year by developing a research question and using the reading and writing skills they have built in their time at Harlem Academy to answer it. Eighth-grade texts include:
• “Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team” by Steve Sheinkin
• “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
• “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
MATHEMATICS
Students develop conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and an ability to apply their mathematics skills to real-world problems. The content is presented using the Math in Focus Singapore math program. This rigorous program helps students to model problems visually using bar modeling and to solve increasingly complex algebraic problems. The middle school program builds students’ ability to communicate arguments using mathematics and to respectively critique the reasoning of others. Students grow as mathematical thinkers and learn to select and apply strategies effectively. All students complete a full Algebra I curriculum in eighth grade. To differentiate instruction, students use the personalized online program IXL. Those who are ready for enrichment work receive instruction and practice using problems from the Middle School Math Olympiad contest.
Sixth Grade
Students start the year exploring positive and negative integers on the number line and are introduced to basic number theory, including prime numbers, factors and multiples, and squares and cubes. Students learn about ratios, including equivalent ratios, rates, unit rates, and speed and distance word problems. Students represent percents as both fractions and decimals, and they use models to solve problems involving percents. Students begin pre-algebra and learn to represent unknown quantities with variables. They simplify, evaluate, and solve one-step equations and inequalities. Students graph points on the coordinate plane and explore independent and dependent variables. The geometry unit includes
the area of polygons and surface area and volume of rectangular prisms. Students learn to describe the central tendencies of data sets using mean, median, and mode.
Seventh Grade
Seventh graders begin with a study of real numbers, classifying rational and irrational numbers and gaining fluency with all four integer operations. Students build on their pre-algebra skills to solve multi-step equations and inequalities. They complete an in-depth study of linear equations including calculating slope, graphing using slopeintercept form, and finding the equation of a line. Students are introduced to the concept of a function and identify functions and relations. Students also understand exponents as repeated multiplication and use exponent rules to multiply exponents with the same base. Finally, students are introduced to simple and compound probability and develop models for different scenarios.
Eighth Grade
All eighth graders complete a high school level Algebra I course. This curriculum includes a brief review of solving and graphing linear equations and inequalities before moving on to solving systems of linear equations and inequalities. Students understand the solution to a system is a value that makes the statement true. Students extend their skills with exponent operations and begin adding and subtracting polynomials. They then gain fluency with multiplying polynomials before an extended unit on factoring. Students practice multiple methods of factoring and learn to select the most appropriate method to solve quadratic equations. Students learn to graph quadratic equations and to solve projectile motion problems using quadratic equations and graphs. Students explore rational expressions and equations and explore what values make a rational equation undefined. The year concludes with a unit on the Pythagorean theorem and special right triangles.
“The academic program at HA hands down is one of the best ever. I don’t know where my daughter would be if we didn’t place her in HA.”
DANIELLE SMITH
PARENT, CLASS OF 2024
SCIENCE
Harlem Academy’s middle school science program was designed to (1) build the skills students need as they progress in the sciences, (2) offer rigorous and engaging academic content for adolescents, and (3) make connections between scientific concepts and future career paths.
Students hone the skills of scientists through scientific inquiry, analysis, and validation of experimental information and data. The curriculum strongly emphasizes nonfiction reading and writing. Students receive explicit instruction on reading challenging scientific texts and practice strategies for identifying important terms and summarizing shorter sections. By introducing these skills explicitly, in a logical sequence, and with ample opportunity for practice, the program prepares students not just for high school science, but also to read, write, and think like a scientist.
Sixth Grade
Students start the year with a study of geology, exploring the connection between Earth’s structure and the forces that shape Earth’s surfaces. They then study weather and water, focusing on meteorology, including an exploration of Earth’s atmosphere and the special role water plays in creating the planet’s unique climate. The year ends with a study of astronomy, beginning with the scientific revolution. Students learn about the Earth within the context of the solar system while exploring its potential origins and how the current celestial orientation evolved. Students conduct an independent research project on a celestial body, and the year concludes with a trip to the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium for a guided tour and session with an astronomer.
Seventh Grade – Human Biology
The year is divided into two units: cells and human body systems. In the cells unit, students trace how DNA drives anatomy and physiology. Students look at different types of cells under the microscope and conduct several labs to understand how cells function. Students then work in peer groups to explore cutting-edge applications of biotechnology, such as genetic engineering, stem cell research, and genetically modified foods, and the implications of these technologies. During the second unit, students study many of the organ systems that work together to help the body function. Students gain an understanding of how the body works through wet lab dissections and online virtual labs.
Eighth Grade – Applied Science
We begin the year delving into emergency medicine, which connects students’ extensive knowledge of body systems from seventh grade science to the appropriate response to emergency situations. Students analyze a patient to determine the injury and study wound management, shock, fractures, and heat-induced ailments. The second unit is a lab-driven study of chemistry, culminating in students developing, implementing, and documenting their own experiment. Students conclude the year with an architecture unit, where professional architects lead classes and guide students through the design and development of a building model. In culmination, students present their designs to a panel of architects. Throughout the year, students work in our hydroponics lab, harvesting herbs and vegetables as part of their study of sustainability and urban farming.
HISTORY
To prepare for daily work and larger projects, all lessons in the history curriculum emphasize the following skills: (1) Using evidence to construct and evaluate historical arguments; (2) Using primary and secondary sources to analyze point of view and context, and to understand and interpret information; and (3) Assessing continuity and change over time and across different cultures and geographic regions.
Sixth Grade – World History
Sixth graders study the interactions between and within different societies from roughly 600 to 1800 C.E. The first unit focuses on the rise and spread of Islam and introduces the forces that unify societies and the ways empires develop, which are recurring concepts throughout the year. During the unit on West Africa, students read excerpts from a transcription and translation of “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali” to examine how griots have preserved the history of the founding of the Mali Empire. The unit on Mesoamerica and South America includes our first “document-based question,” where students analyze a historical issue or trend through the lens of provided sources to serve as evidence. The final unit on interactions between societies of the Atlantic world from about 1450-1800 concludes with students using the content and skills they have learned to write interpretations of what fueled the Haitian Revolution.
Seventh Grade – American History (Prehistory-1865)
Seventh-grade history explores British colonization of North America through the Civil War using Ronald Takaki’s “A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America” alongside various supplemental primary and secondary texts. Our first unit focuses on the territory that eventually becomes the United States. Our study of the colonial era emphasizes the experiences of different groups of people during these 150 years in North America. The next unit is an examination of the American Revolution and its meanings to different groups of people from 1754-1783 followed by a study of the creation and content of the Constitution. During the next unit, students examine the long-term and immediate causes of the Civil War. We conclude the year with a study of the Civil War that asks students to determine what led to the end of slavery during that conflict.
“Harlem Academy helped me gain confidence and pushed me to challenge myself in ways that have made me who I am today.”
JADE MORTON-ALEXANDER CLASS OF 2016
WESTOVER ’20, TUFTS ’24
Eighth Grade – American History (1865-present)
Students examine how Americans simultaneously pushed to expand freedom and resisted that push within and outside the United States from the end of the Civil War to the early 2000s. Students begin the year studying the struggle over the meaning of the Civil War during Reconstruction. The next unit examines immigration’s impact on the United States in the decades following the Civil War using Ronald Takaki’s “A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America” as an anchor text. Then, the course shifts to a look at U.S. history in a global context for a study of World War II. The year concludes with the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, and the causes and effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
HEALTH
Our weekly health class follows the Health Smart curriculum, which positions students with the knowledge and skills to make healthy choices and develop positive habits. This comprehensive program focuses on emotional and mental health; personal health and wellness; safety, injury, and violence prevention; healthy eating; physical activity; alcohol, drug, and tobacco prevention; and sexual health. In addition to understanding these concepts, the program focuses on skill development around goal setting, decision-making, accessing information, analyzing influences, interpersonal communications, and advocacy.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECESS
Physical education is woven into our electives program each trimester, including an opportunity to join interscholastic track and field and crosscountry teams, and to participate in a general fitness elective in the winter.
Free play is an important component of the program even in middle school, and students continue to have a 40-minute daily recess block to play games or relax with friends in the schoolyard.
ADVISORY
Grade Block
Three of our six advisory blocks each week take place in grade-specific groups. During this time, students have health classes, develop executive function skills like organization and time management, focus on grade-specific secondary school placement tasks, and prepare for special initiatives related to the transition to high school described below.
Team Block
The remaining advisory blocks are in multi-age groups of around ten middle schoolers led by an advisor. These groupings offer opportunities to build new bonds and foster intentional advisoradvisee relationships. During team block, students focus on the community pillar of integrity, developing a personal understanding of what it means and how that connects to how a student participates as a member of the school community, their plans for high school, and their aspirations for their careers and as global citizens. Students use this time for mindfulness and reflection, connecting to the School Creed, and preparing for annual middle school trips.
Annual Middle School Trips
• Students spend three days at the PrincetonBlairstown Center each fall for outdoor adventure challenges and team building in a wilderness setting.
• Students spend weeks collaborating to plan a field trip called “Explore,” which includes visiting interesting sites in multiple boroughs, tasting new foods from different cultures, and testing their budgeting, mapping, and problemsolving skills.
Transition to Secondary School
In eighth grade, the transition to secondary school is supported by several innovative initiatives.
• High School Week: This initiative offers an introduction to life in high school, including a heavier workload, free periods, an open campus, and less support. It is a chance for students to learn where they may struggle in secondary school, develop strategies to overcome those challenges, and then test those strategies in a second round.
• Community Meetings: Pairs of eighth grade students work with their teachers to prepare a community meeting message. This challenges students to internalize the core habits valued at Harlem Academy. They must engage in thoughtful planning; consider a message that will challenge their peers to reflect on the school’s pillars of initiative, integrity, compassion, and determination; and practice public speaking.
• Washington, D.C.: Our eighth graders take a four-day leadership trip to our nation’s capital, where they meet with key leaders, visit monuments, and spend time with local alumni.
• Alumni visits: Graduates come back to visit our eighth graders to help them prepare for the transition to ninth grade.
• Graduation speeches: Students have their final public speaking role at their graduation ceremony. They take the podium to introduce a classmate and share how they have lived the School Creed and its four pillars: initiative, integrity, compassion, and determination.
ARTS AND SPORTS
The middle school schedule includes choice and flexibility to allow students to take initiative and pursue their interests and goals, with advisors supporting them in making choices that support growth, excellence, and wellness. Each
“I’m
so thankful that Harlem Academy had High School Week because it taught me time management. That’s the number one thing you need at boarding school, and Harlem Academy definitely helped prepare me for the challenge; I was ready.”
KYLE CUFFE
CLASS OF 2017
BLAIR ’21, SYRACUSE ’25
trimester, students choose between theater (e.g., Shakespeare, musical theater); athletics (e.g., track and field, general fitness, and cross country); and arts (e.g., comic book drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and illustration).
CLUBS AND STUDY HALL
Middle schoolers are encouraged to join our afterschool clubs, which include chess, math, Spanish, and STEM, or to take advantage of study hall to complete homework independently or work with our lead teachers if they need extra help.
Fun Fridays (4:35-5:45 p.m.) are a great way for students to end the week with informal, social time with friends. Activities are announced each week and include a range of offerings, such as ping pong tournaments and kickball games.
7:30 - 8:30 (optional)
8:30 - 8:50 (optional)
8:55 - 9:55
10:00 - 11:00
3:25 - 4:25
4:35 - 5:45 (optional)
Other Program Areas
TECHNOLOGY
Harlem Academy has a one-to-one technology program, meaning there is a device for every student. Primary students receive a tablet, elementary students receive a Chromebook, and middle school students receive a Windows-based laptop. Primary and elementary school students leave their devices at school, while middle school students can bring them home as a primary tool for writing, homework, and research.
Each student receives an email account, and significant time is taken to teach basic operations, web navigation, typing and word processing, and digital safety and citizenship. Technology is incorporated into each subject, giving students many opportunities to practice in a safe environment. At the same time, technology is treated as a means for learning – not an end unto itself – and teachers often choose physical books, a pencil, and paper.
Primary school students learn basic technology functions and use various programs in support of the curriculum. In elementary school, students learn to use technology for research, communication, collaboration, and creativity, with an emphasis on responsible use. In middle school, students
regularly incorporate slideshows, spreadsheets, and other applications into their work and have opportunities to explore technology-related interests in our STEM club.
MEALS
An important part of the school’s overall commitment to wellness is providing a nutritious breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack to every student, every day. Our meals focus on lean proteins, whole grains, healthy dairy, and fresh fruits and vegetables, always with some choice and with an effort to build positive eating habits. Meals take place by division, and we seek to reinforce our school culture of community and kindness, with teachers actively engaging with students and students supporting a clean and organized space.
MENTORING
Students have the option to work with a mentor, generally an adult or recent alumnus working as a volunteer, on a weekly basis. Mentors are assigned based on teacher recommendations and parent interest and can offer academic extension activities and additional engagement around writing or independent reading.
SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACEMENT PROGRAM
Our goal is to ensure that every student is positioned for continued growth with a placement at a secondary school that will challenge and support them toward the full realization of their potential. The right secondary school will push students with high expectations, provide new opportunities for exploration and learning, and open a door to college.
Harlem Academy’s secondary placement process begins with the premise that admission to and success at a top school is a shared responsibility among students, parents, and the school. Our program begins in sixth grade and includes the following key components:
Information and Training Sessions
We hold grade-wide information sessions, one-onone meetings, and drop-in sessions to help students and their families navigate the financial aid and application process.
School Visits
In eighth grade, our team provides transportation and accompanies eighth graders to boarding school tours and interviews.
Standardized Test Preparation
In seventh grade, all students take a benchmark ISEE to help determine academic skills that may need extra work and develop an initial list of target schools. Seventh graders receive standardized
entrance exam preparation on Saturdays in the spring, along with an online testing program and curriculum that provides them and their teachers with real-time feedback and resources. Tutoring sessions continue in the fall of eighth grade to ensure all students are prepared.
Interview Preparation
In seventh and eighth grade, students develop interview skills in class and work with trained volunteers who conduct practice sessions and provide constructive feedback.
Essay Support
Eighth graders work with their English teacher throughout the fall to hone their personal statements. Additional support for supplementary essays is also provided.
“Thank you for everything. Harlem Academy is a great blessing.”
KIRA BROWN CLASS OF 2014
STONY BROOK ’18, HOWARD ’22
ALUMNI SUPPORT
Harlem Academy’s alumni support program leverages strong relationships and consistent communication to guide students toward the fullest realization of their potential. This includes:
Ongoing Advising
We share email updates and regularly check in with all graduates to hear how they are doing and to collaborate on problem-solving as needed.
College and Career Access
We provide support throughout the college application process, including identifying a strong target list of schools and standardized test preparation. We continue to support students as they begin their careers, including in finding summer jobs and internship opportunities.
Annual Events
We host meaningful events each year for students to stay connected to peers and teachers.
Volunteering
Our volunteer program provides regular opportunities for alumni to continue to contribute at Harlem Academy.
School Creed
I am bold and creative. I take opportunities to lead. I seek help when I need it.
I am honest and reflective. I choose to do what is right Even when it is hard or no one is watching.
I listen carefully. I speak kindly. I care for my community.
I make the most of each day. I learn from my mistakes. I don’t give up.
info@harlemacademy.org For more information, please visit www.harlemacademy.org.