Middle School

Socratic seminars, which are student-led and teacher-monitored structured discussions, promote critical thinking, active listening, and empathy. These seminars help students develop and refine their sense of agency and self, as they explore complex ideas and attend hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) labs.

Middle School students have a level of freedom and independence to develop and apply the executive functioning skills they have begun to build. They are responsible for getting to and from classes on time, managing and completing their assignments, and self-selecting their co-curricular activities and pursuits.

CSA strongly believes academic learning must be bolstered by developing our students’ critical Executive Functioning skills, which in turn will help instill confidence in interactions with others in future academic, professional, and social settings. We do this by training students heavily on a mix of power tools, such as coping mechanisms, the importance of eye contact, and how to present oneself to achieve desired goals.

Our goal is to ensure that students have a solid foundation in the core academic competencies by the time they arrive in Middle School. With that foundation, students are afforded extra time to develop life skills beyond a normal classroom. These varied areas can include early pre-algebra courses, high school placement courses to learn interview techniques and practice essay writing skills, and continuation of their social development.