Middle School

The St. Andrew's-Sewanee Middle School serves 65 students in grades 6-8 and operates as a separate division of the school with its own academic wing. However, Middle School students are integrated into the whole campus through all-school chapel gatherings and an active Big Brother/Big Sister program that pairs middle school students with upper school mentors.

The Middle School focuses on the special concerns of sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Dedicated and experienced teachers provide a supportive environment especially designed to foster the academic, social, and personal growth of the middle school student. We recognize that each child is an individual and maintain small class sizes to allow our teachers to devote extra time and energy to each student. We want to ensure that each child’s unique abilities and interests are developed to their fullest.

Even though our Middle School has its own distinct identity, it remains very much a part of our entire school community, smoothing the way, intellectually and socially, into the Upper School’s rigorous college preparatory classes. As our teachers convey the importance of effective communication, problem solving, and hands-on learning, their emphasis is on teaching students to think, evaluate, and express themselves effectively. In middle school, students form the habits and skills that will provide a strong foundation for all that follows.

SAS is concerned with the wholeness of each child. Art doesn't simply "round out" the curriculum; aesthetic understanding is essential to being fully human. Chapel isn't required just because we're an Episcopal School; tending to spirit is essential to human wholeness. We do this everywhere at SAS, but with special attention to the uniqueness of the early adolescent in our Middle School. The Middle School curriculum seeks to capitalize on the energy, curiosity, sociability and love of learning of students in this age range.

Extra Support for Middle School Parents

We know that the transition from elementary school to middle school can be almost as tough on parents as it is on kids. In conjunction with our Parents’ Council, Director of Middle School Doug Burns leads a special “curriculum” for Middle School parents. Middle School parents’ meetings orient parents to SAS and, at the request of the parents, have increasingly focused on parenting issues such as Internet safety, understanding adolescent behavior, and effective parent-child communication. Each year, parents also choose one parenting book to discuss. Meetings take place five times a year.

“The meetings are a good opportunity to get information directly to parents,” says Mr. Burns, himself a parent of two teenage boys. “Parents have the opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns. Sometimes I am the one with the answer or potential solution but often it is fellow parents who can come to the rescue. The shared wisdom of the group is very helpful to me as both an administrator and as a parent.”

Participants appreciate the meetings not just for the information they impart, but also because it helps to foster a community among the parents. “We know that this is the age when children’s peers take on increasing influence in their lives and some children become less communicative with their parents,” explains Parents’ Council President Lisa Howick.

With the experience of raising four SAS students herself, Lisa has learned, “Getting to know your child’s friends and their parents is a good way to know where other parents are coming from when it comes to issues like curfews and appropriate gatherings.”

“Although our parenting styles may differ and the rules may be different from house to house, in the end, we all want the same thing,” says Howick. “We want to see our children grow up to be thoughtful, intelligent and responsible adults. Middle School parents meetings are another resource for helping that come to pass.”