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With 54 students this year, North Shore Country Day’s eighth grade class is the largest in the school’s 105-year history. It’s so big, in fact, that the administration needed to create a fourth section to accommodate the additional students, so instead of having three classes of 16 for humanities and science classes, students are now split into four classes of 13 or 14. And when eighth graders head to Washington, D.C., for their annual trip later this month, they’re going to have to take a larger bus to accommodate everyone.

The pool of applicants was incredibly strong this year, explained Head of Lower and Middle School Tim Sheehan. In the past, they had always capped eighth grade enrollment at 48, but with 45 returning seventh graders and a long list of qualified applicants to choose from, they decided to bump up the maximum, and 54 was the number that made the most sense.

Assistant Head of Middle School Rachel Sun said low attrition in last year’s seventh grade class and new families moving to the area from out of state both played a role in this year’s high numbers, and ultimately, the quality of the program is what made the most difference. “People are recognizing the strength of our middle school program and realizing that if they bring their students over here for eighth grade, they'll have a leg up in terms of study skills and curricular understanding by the time they move on to the upper school,” she explained.

So what sets NSCD’s middle school apart?

Small size and shared values across divisions allow for quicker adjustments based on the needs of the individual students
“In 21st century education, being nimble and able to adjust to what is going on is worth a lot,” explained Tim. NSCD has a unique advantage, being a JK-12 school with cross-divisional faculty in a number of disciplines. This gives students easier access to higher-level classes like geometry and expanded world language offerings. So even as the class size grows, the individual student experience actually becomes more tailored. “Being able to partner as closely as we can with the upper school and figuring out how to create more cross-divisional experiences is all part of the luxury of an independent school,” he added. 

Faculty who not only excel in their discipline but truly enjoy teaching middle schoolers
Middle schoolers can tell if a teacher is passionate about a subject. “​​That's what engages them and makes the learning more meaningful for them,” Rachel explained. “Our teachers do a good job of nourishing a sense of wonder in the students, getting them to notice and interact with the world around them, to be curious students of the world.” 

But perhaps even more importantly than being experts in their subjects, the middle faculty are experts in child development and have a deep understanding of the 13-year-old learner. “There’s not another middle school that knows the children as well, that cares about them as well and enjoys the age as much as our middle school faculty—and that is a rarity,” Tim explained. “Everyone always rolls their eyes when they talk about middle school. But our faculty really likes this age. They have fun with them and they challenge them. And that makes a huge educational impact.”

Intentional touchpoints built in throughout the day to foster both intellectual and social emotional growth
When they enter middle school, each student is placed into a multi-grade advisory group, where they will engage in self-discovery, develop self-advocacy and leadership skills, and practice respect and empathy for others. “Our advisory program is a great opportunity for students to build multi-year, meaningful relationships with a trusted adult who can support them academically, socially, emotionally, and help them grow and set goals,” Rachel said. They also have consultancy blocks built into the schedule where students can work on homework, schedule meetings with teachers and seek out additional support in a structured environment. “It’s a good time for students to practice that skill of time management,” she added.

Clearly all of these things are making a positive impact on the students. While most adults would prefer to close the door on middle school forever, during last year’s eighth grade graduation ceremony, where every single eighth grader volunteered for a speaking part, the student council president said he wished he could go back and do it all again. “I think that was really telling,” Rachel said. “Where else would that possibly happen?”