Middle School Experiences Growth

The addition of sixth graders in the fall of 2021 was undertaken with the intention of offering a complete and unified middle school experience. For the first time in many years, a qualified student who had successfully completed the fifth grade could leave his elementary school and immediately enroll at the Academy as a sixth grader. Previously, these students would have had to begin middle school elsewhere and then transfer to the Academy as a seventh grader, making Riverside their third school in three years.

The recent expansion of the middle grades has allowed faculty and staff to create a carefully tailored environment to better meet the developmental needs of these younger cadets. Following the construction of new classrooms on the third floor of The Sandy Beaver Center for Teaching and Learning, our middle school cadets have their own space to grow and a curriculum that leverages Project Based Learning as they investigate and respond to authentic, engaging, and complex questions. For example, Mrs. Heather Melchior’s eighth grade Physical Science classes recently completed an investigation of various states of matter using a hands-on experiment relative to crystal formation.

Middle School Experiences...

When asked about the project on states of matter, cadets were excited to share their thoughts. Cadet Lloyd Perryman shared... According to Academic Dean Dr. Cathy Moore, Project Based Learning will be enhanced next year through the addition of upgraded “smart” projectors in middle school classrooms. Dr. Moore also looks forward to the introduction of Projects Across the Curriculum in which students will bring multiple academic disciplines to bear on a problem. For example, students might rely on Math, Science, English, Spanish, and Art as they consider how they would design a world-class aquarium, stock it with compatible specimens, and market it to a bilingual community. A field trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta would no doubt aid in this investigation.

As excited as they are by these enhancements to the academic program, our middle school cadets may be more excited by a change to the uniform, trading their khakis for the more traditional “Class C” trousers worn by high school cadets. Contrasting shirt colors will allow middle school cadets to continue to stand out within the Corps even as the more cadet-like uniform gives them a greater sense of belonging and of their place in the long blue line.

I learned that supersaturated solutions are very unstable. They contain more solute, i.e., sugar, than can stay in solution, so, as the water evaporates, the crystals form.

High School

Middle School 12 11 10 9 8 7 6

RMA middle school now includes 6th grade