St. Johns Zeros in on Transition to Middle School

The transition to Middle School is challenging, exciting, and full of unknown experiences for any student. That’s why St. Johns Country Day School developed the Grade 4 & 5 Academy, says Head of Lower School Otis Wirth. “We wanted a program that was developmentally paced to better assist students in the transition from the Lower School to the Middle School,” says Wirth. “We want them to have a positive experience that instills confidence while also helping them specifically acquire the skills they need to be successful in Middle School and beyond.”

In a program found nowhere else on the First Coast, the Academy was designed by education specialists to help students develop a variety of skills that are so important for success in Middle School. St. Johns has the advantage of having students from preschool through Grade 12 all together on one campus, giving teachers the ability to converse and discuss curriculum across the grade levels, allowing for consistent curriculum, messaging, and training to aid success from one grade level to another.

“Sometimes it’s the little things that cause the biggest hiccups in the transition to Middle School,” says Director of the Grade 4 & 5 Academy and Literacy Teacher Maura Rupert. “They get thrown by things like changing classes, or knowing which items to bring from their lockers to each class. So we’re starting them early, in an environment that is built for their success but where it’s safe to fail.”

Academy classrooms are positioned in their own area of the Lower School, with classrooms, the science lab, and gathering spaces all together. Students are assigned lock- ers, which are positioned in the hallway just outside classroom doors so students learn to plan and change classes while gathering materials needed for their next class.

“Data shows that students benefit from a deliberate plan to prepare them for Middle School life,” says Wirth, “so we built the Academy around that research—a place where students are empowered to make skillful and purposeful choices within a safe space and with an appropriate safety net.”

Grade 4 and 5 courses and schedules have been carefully designed to develop skills that range from executive functioning to providing tools necessary to navigate social and emotional issues often experienced by students aged 11-14. By introducing various methods of teaching, as well as small-group interactions, students leave the Academy with the self-confidence needed to take on the transition to Middle School.

“The overarching goal,” says Wirth, “is that on day one of Grade 6, students are ready and prepared to be a Middle School student.” This goal reflects St. Johns’ overarching educational philosophy and aim, to develop students who seek solutions, accept responsibility, and create collaboration, who are ready for next-level coursework and prepared not just for college, but for the 21st Century workforce beyond.

“We are very excited about this innovative new program,” says Head of School Valorie Baker. “The Academy, like our entire campus, supports our school mission to develop students who seek solutions, accept responsibility, and create collaboration.”