As we consider our students' journey from PreK - 12, we have been thinking carefully about the needs of students at all important developmental stages, and I am pleased to share our resulting plans with you. At the end of this 5-year Restructuring: Building Bright Futures project, we expect to have consolidated our school into two campuses that are optimally equipped to serve grades PreK - 5 in one and grades 6 - 12 in the other. Grades 6 - 12 will be at our Cambridge campus. We highly anticipate that our younger students will have a beautiful consolidated campus in Somerville.
We are excited about implementing this first phase of the plan, which includes changes in our current grade-level structures. By making these changes, we are creating three communities designed specifically to support students within each important developmental age span.
Creating a Genuine Middle School Campus (Grades 6 - 8)
Students aged 11 - 14 experience a significant change in physical maturity and cognitive development, which is a very important period for social and emotional growth. A carefully designed Middle School attends to these specific student needs and developmental milestones and can better support the joys and challenges of early adolescence. It also serves as a key transition for these students between our elementary program and the high school.
Therefore, we plan to move our 6th grade to the Middle School campus in Cambridge, starting this fall. At the Middle School, 6th grade students will have specialized content teachers to ensure rigorous instruction. The Middle School provides innovative spaces such as a newly renovated learning lab (library and podcast/video studio) and formative opportunities such as Exhibition Night, where they reflect on their growth as they present their work publicly. Lastly, Middle School allows students to safely and age-appropriately develop the executive functions (such as organization, time management, and effective study habits) needed to succeed in high school and beyond.
Creating a Developmentally Appropriate Upper Elementary Campus (Grades 3 - 5)
Similarly, a well-designed intermediate program will serve students well for the learning and developmental steps typical for ages 8 - 11. At this age, students begin to look beyond themselves and their families to their role in the broader community. During these years, students further develop confidence, learn to take responsibility, and dig into more challenging work. Students focus more on applying the foundational skills learned in early childhood to learning about the world, making the move from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”
To create a strong age-appropriate intermediate program, grade 3 will move to the Upper Elementary campus. This move will allow for greater coherence of our intermediate instructional program, including a focus on building developmentally appropriate content knowledge and skills. Systems and structures will be designed specifically to meet the needs of students in this stage of their development, and the program will serve as the important bridge between early childhood and the Middle School.
Creating an Authentic Early Childhood Center (PreK-2)
PHA has been developing a true and authentic Early Childhood program for several years, and we are excited to center the Early Childhood campus on grades PreK - 2. Three years ago, we launched a PreK program with carefully renovated classrooms and significant professional development to center the new program in a Reggio Emilia-based approach. Subsequently, Kindergarten classrooms were similarly redesigned, and K teachers also participated in professional learning. A new literacy, science, and social studies curriculum was chosen for grades K - 2: Focus on Early Learning, designed specifically to meet the social, emotional, and academic learning needs of our youngest students.
Research and best practices identify the need for program design that honors the developmental stage of our youngest scholars and their need for play, movement, investigation, and exploration. Research further shows that the academic, social, and emotional learning skills that students develop in grades PreK -2 form the foundation for all that comes afterward and that this developmental stage is best supported by spaces, practices, and structures designed specifically for young learners.
Upcoming Community Meetings
We are confident that these changes will result in positive outcomes for our students, but as always, we want to partner closely with you. We want to ensure that you have a chance to ask any questions or to offer ideas during this next phase of our collaborative work. We do not yet have all the answers, but we invite you to join us for several opportunities to learn more and to share your thoughts about the changes ahead.
- Tuesday, March 18; 6:30-7:30pm: Session 1: Grades 2 & 3 Family Zoom Info Session
- Thursday, March 20; 6:00 - 7:00 pm: Session 1: Grades 5 & 6 Family Zoom Info Session
- Monday, May 5: 4:00-5:30 pm: Grade 2 & 3 students and families in person Open House at the UE campus
- Tuesday, May 6: 5:30 - 7:00 pm: Grade 5 & 6 students and families in person Open House at the MS campus
- Thursday, May 15: 6:30-7:30 pm: Session 2: Grades 2 & 3 Family Zoom Info Session
- Tuesday, May 13; 6:00 - 7:00 pm Session 2: Grades 5 & 6 Family Zoom Info Session
We look forward to seeing you at one or several of our upcoming community events.