EDUCATION


It’s important that Middle School is emotionally and


physically safe because students are taking risks and making mistakes. The school encourages them to step out and advocate for themselves. It’s positive for them even if they fail. They need to learn to make their own decisions and see that there will be challenges and that they won’t always be successful.


“ If they fall, they fall a little bit with the net underneath


them so they are not going to crash and burn.” —Scott Hardister, Head of Middle School


Middle School Head Scott Hardister (above, center) says


that’s all a part of growing up: “We want to give kids the opportunity to succeed and to fail without completely bottoming out. If they fall, they fall a little bit with the net underneath them so they are not going to crash and burn.” In the OES Middle School, the teachers have time to get


involved with the kids and the willingness to engage them. When a student has a problem, he or she can turn to any of a number of adults who will listen to them and help them. “We’re understanding more and more that the ability


for kids to learn depends on their connections with the teachers,” he said. “Our teachers connect with Middle School kids because they like the humor and the challenges that go with it. It’s easy to find experts in English and


12 OES MAGAZINE WINTER 2013 12


history and science, but it’s more about the ability to connect. I can’t say enough about the faculty. They are outstanding.” The teachers not only like the kids, they also like each


other. The community of teachers and staff model the respect and community that the children want to share. That sense of community also extends to parents, who are encouraged to become involved through the parent partnership days at the beginning of the year and by signing a parent pledge that says they will contact another parent if they see a child exhibiting some behavior that his or her parents should know about. They also pledge to be open to hearing from other parents regarding their own child.


“It’s a group endeavor between school and teachers and


parents,” Scott said. “The school communicates with parents and parents communicate with each other so we all have a common language and common understandings.” The safe community allows students to explore who


they are, who they want to be, and how they want to be perceived in the world. Ideally they are also discovering some passions around academics and finding how they learn and what study skills work best for them. Students can learn and can begin to envision a future for


themselves when they are living in a present where they are making friends, having new experiences, and being supported by their peers, their teachers, and their parents. The magic happens when all of those things come together.


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