Middle School Program (Secondary I)
Our Secondary I program meets students where they are at this stage of development. Young adolescents are on a journey of becoming a strong and worthy person, transforming from children to young adults. At The Hillsboro School students continue their Montessori education with challenging academic work, opportunities to work with their hands and are given the guidance and strategies to make good decisions. Our goal is for our students to come out of this program with confidence, optimism, self-discipline, tenacity and helpfulness.
Middle schoolers need to move their bodies. They also need to feel they can make a difference in the world and be taken seriously. Hillsboro students work outside in the garden, manage a farmers market, care for animals as well as volunteer to engage in social justice and environmental stewardship.
We follow the State of Alabama curriculum guidelines for each grade level. Hillsboro students, however, are not limited by their age or grade level and many work beyond the state’s minimums. A Montessori curriculum is not only academically rigorous, but teachers plan events and lessons that awaken a sense of wonder in students and students are able to explore subjects they are interested in.
Montessori Model U.N.
All students in the middle school participate in Montessori Model United Nations. Each year, students work on papers and speeches to represent countries for the MMUN challenge. If students choose, they travel to New York City for five days to participate in the MMUN each spring.
Field Trips
Students are encouraged to take their learning outside of the walls of the classroom community and explore their real-life applications. Imagine the learning, independence, and confidence that can be fostered by allowing students to plan their own lesson extensions, from planning travel time, coordinating with outside resources, calculating costs, developing self-directed research, engaging in meaningful learning, and then presenting this information to their peers!
Community Meetings
Through their community meetings, students gain daily practice in determining how their learning community is going to function. Intentional reflection on how they have worked together develops ownership and a healthy pride in how they constructively learn to make things happen.
Service Learning Projects
Through their community meetings, students gain daily practice in determining how their learning community is going to function. Intentional reflection on how they have worked together develops ownership and a healthy pride in how they constructively learn to make things happen.
