MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM

Through program design grounded in neuroscience, the Daycroft Middle School attends to the three key needs of the young adolescent: academic and moral development, preparation for adult life, and self-expression.

Our Montessori curriculum centers each academic discipline in relation to the real world and makes learning relevant to the adolescent. A small-by-design middle school ensures that each student is known, valued and supported as an individual. Together, the adolescents develop a sense of justice through peer-mediated problem-solving within their learning community and place-based education that centers contemporary issues impacting our friends and neighbors.

Adolescents participate in and lead a variety of occupations at the Daycroft Middle School. These include running small businesses and all the practical work of production and exchange entailed. 7th and 8th grade students organize “going out” trips with student-planned itineraries to exhibit their learning at destinations throughout the continental United States and even abroad as the culmination of our toddler through 8th grade Spanish language program.

Adolescence is a time of increased creavity, fluid identity formation, and rapid physical change. We meet these sensitive young people with regular opportunities for personal reflection and self-expression through the fine and performing arts. Regular expressive movement through physical education helps the adolescent orient to their new body.

Daycroft School is proud to announce that our Middle School is set to open its doors to students in grades 6, 7 and 8 beginning in the Fall of 2027.

Read below for more information about the program, including the newest updates related to curriculum development, site selection, staffing and more.

Academic Development

Our middle school curriculum is aligned to the American Montessori Society (AMS) benchmarks and standards for grades 6-8 in Language, Science, and History/Social Studies. These subjects are not taught according to 45 minute bell periods, but rather we organize content into interdisciplinary themes that help adolescents make sense of the real world.
We utilize Math In Focus, the U.S. edition of Singapore Math. Students receive small group instruction according to their ability and pace. Our program prepares 8th grade graduates to complete the equivalent of Algebra 1 or Geometry 1.
This progressive approach to academic learning with an emphasis on depth of study both meets and exceeds Michigan state standards in all content areas. Daycro students complete NWEA MAP tesng twice annually in grades 3-8 and are well prepared to enroll in their high school programs of choice.
Preparation for Adult Life

Participation in the production and exchange of a small student-run business, or ‘microeconomy,’ is a hallmark of the Montessori middle school experience in which students gain first-hand knowledge of the value of their work in the real world. For example, we anticipate a partnership with a local farm to grow produce from seed, develop a shelf-stable product, package it for retail, and manage sales at the weekday Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
Our 6th grade students participate in the Montessori Model UN, which brings together students from around the world in New York City to co-construct resolutions to further human rights in a shared vision of Peace Education.
Our 7th and 8th grade students plan student-led itineraries to exhibit their learning. The students are the docents of the trip—booking travel, lodging and meals.
Self-Expression

Adolescents grow by trying out different roles and discovering who they are. This stage of life is about exploring new identities as they learn what feels true to them. Co-curricular courses in Art and PE offer essential opportunities for the creative and physical expression of the developing adolescent.
Students develop musicianship and ensemble skills through continued work with the string, brass, or woodwind instrument of their choice initially selected during Grade 5 of the Elementary program at Daycroft.
Moral Development

Our small-by-design cohort of middle school students is large enough to feature the wide range of personalities and interests that are ubiquitous to this stage of development, while remaining intimate enough to ensure that all the individuals within the group are known and accountable to one another through daily face-to-face interaction.
Conflict and problem-solving is inevitable for adolescents and all human beings. At the Daycroft Middle School, our program includes daily student-led Community Meeting time. Students are empowered to raise social issues and work them out amongst themselves, with the support of their teachers who model gracious and respectful adult interaction.