Each developmental stage in a child’s life has unique characteristics.  However, the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual changes that take place in children between the ages of ten and fourteen are particularly dramatic.  For educators, the challenge is to meet the unique needs of these young people, who not only experience rapid change, but differ widely in their maturity.  In other words, the middle school years are a time of great transition.

Middle school needs to be a bridge between elementary school and high school; it needs to have a different approach.

Children age ten to fourteen have special needs. They are neither older, larger versions of elementary school children, nor are they smaller, junior versions of high school students. Having a Middle School allows a school to recognize the unique nature of these children, and to address their unique needs. By creating a Middle School (school within a school), ISL strives to meet the psycho-social, as well as educational needs of its students.  It has often been said that junior high school students are “caught in the middle.”   By placing them in a middle school environment, they will now be “right in the middle.”

Advisory Program

The advisory class plays the role of the homeroom, and is a safe space where students are able to develop a sense of community.  The advisory class meets every day in the morning and afternoon.  Advisory classes are not divided by target language.  They are conducted in English and implement several different programs to create a unique curriculum that helps in the development of students’ social and emotional well-being.  Advisory is a place to facilitate both a peer mediation program and conflict resolution workshop.

6^th Grade:

Study Skills, test Prep and Adolescent Growth and Development (AGD)

7^th Grade:

Every Day Counts- Calendar Math 20 minute math review conducted in English

8^th Grade:

Conflict managers, International Studies, World Geography