Message from the Head

Its not enough to have a Middle School, you have to strive to understand Middle School.

 

At Crescent we have taken time over the previous years to reimagine Middle School and to craft a vision that is designed to demonstrate an insightful, research-driven understanding of early adolescent boys and their needs as they grow.

 

When we distilled these findings through the lens of Crescent’s core values — Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Compassion— we arrived at a fundamentally different starting point from most Middle Schools.

 

One of the most overwhelming findings about Middle School-aged boys is that they “learn the teacher, not the subject”. That is, boys will move forward positively in their learning when they feel a respect for and trust in their teacher. This comes at a juncture when boys are going through a highly complex time in their personal growth. It is a time of insecurity, of searching, of spectacular ideas and of bizarre decisions. It is a time when a boy’s social standing is based on perception rather than reality. It is a time when a boy is desperately trying to become the man he wants to be.

 

Teaching in that milieu without first being experts on the journey boys WILL go through at this stage can be incredibly limiting and even detrimental to a boy’s growth.

 

At Crescent Middle School we start, not from a platform of programs, but from a platform of mentoring. We see each boy as a complex whole who needs to be understood and valued in his fullness. It is around this core that we wrap our incredible programs.

 

Having our mentor program at our core allows each boy to be known and celebrated for the individual he is. It also allows a profoundly authentic vehicle on which we can partner with our parents. The whole community is accessed in the development of our boys.

 

At Crescent we are in the business of enabling Men of Character from Boys of Promise.  During the pivotal years of Middle School we work to show each boy that he has his own unique path towards that destination, and that there are many ways to be a Man of Character. By working hard to understand the wholeness of each boy as a thread through all we do, we feel we have the best chance of allowing each boy to find his own unique path to character.

 

Please take a moment to read about the details and rationale of our mentor system and how our curricular programs flow from this fundamental foundation. I think you will like what you read.

 

Of course the best way to see and more importantly feel what our Middle School is about is to come and visit – we would be happy to host you any time.

 

 

David Young

Head of Middle School