After completing Ascend’s lower school program, students have developed the social and emotional capacities to thrive in a new environment where they enjoy increasing freedoms and responsibilities. Relying on the Responsive Classroom approach in middle school, we build a climate where our students’ desire for autonomy, competence, relationship, and fun are met; where students feel connected, heard, empowered, and safe; and where they are encouraged to begin developing independence of action and character.

The central focus of Ascend’s middle school culture is the development of agency—students’ knowledge that they are in control of their own lives and can act of their own free choices. The scaffolding of the early years is gradually pulled away so students can self-manage with increased autonomy.

This capacity will prove essential for further growth in high school, and in preparation for post-secondary life. Beginning in middle school, students transition between classes autonomously, take part in daily Advisory meetings, and choose their own elective enrichment classes.