Always an Elementary School: From the Creek to the Classroom
By Geetha Holdsworth, Head of School
For over 90 years, The Miquon School has treasured and celebrated childhood. Growing, playing, and learning are the work of children. And our work as Miquon educators is to nurture, craft lessons, and encourage the inherent work of childhood. Currently, we serve children ages 3-12, or Nursery-6th grade, is another way of thinking about it. Over the years, the question of adding older grades has come up. After all, children have had an incredible experience in their younger years, why not continue it through adolescence?
Nonetheless, we have remained an elementary school for a very important reason: Miquon is a place in which we celebrate childhood. We know that these are the years in which a child’s journey of lifelong learning starts. And it is more than academic, this is a time in which children develop social-emotional skills, such as sharing, collaboration, persistence, and being a community member. We celebrate each of these milestones, knowing that children with a Miquon education are ready to tackle challenges with tenacity and compassion.
As a Progressive school, we also place an emphasis on learning by doing: the natural way to learn for most children (and I would argue for everyone). Being intentionally an early
childhood and elementary school, we leverage a child’s desire for play into a vehicle for learning. From observing the flora and fauna on our 10 acres to using a recent construction project to learn area and perimeter, children’s sense of adventure in learning is palpable.
And what about 6th grade? Why not end Miquon in fifth grade like some other elementary schools? We intentionally have our 6th graders as the oldest students before we launch them on to secondary schools. A 2007 study from Duke University strongly suggests that 6th graders in elementary schools had fewer behavior issues than their middle school peers. However, more importantly, keeping 6th graders in elementary school allows them to keep their childlike tendencies a little bit longer. And, as the big kids, it gives them opportunities to take on leadership roles and mentor younger children. It can also be a softer landing for some children as they enter the more challenging years of adolescence.
Miquon’s intentional focus on childhood through age 12 prepares our graduates to one day walk through the wider world with curiosity, confidence, and compassion.
