The Vanguard School’s junior high builds on the base of knowledge created in the elementary while intentionally preparing our students for the rigors and responsibilities of high school. Direct Instruction methods continue to be used as appropriate while also challenging students to apply information in new contexts and exercise more critical thinking.
Junior high students have a comprehensive English class each day which covers reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. We use the Saxon math curriculum with a focus to have all students ready for Algebra I as they leave the eighth grade. Our history program is an intensive two-year study of American history emphasizing our founding principles and historical events that put those principles into action. In the sciences, seventh graders focus on life science with a unit on earth science near the end of the year; eighth graders primarily focus on the physical sciences. Students also are given the choice of art (with a strong emphasis on drawing), choir, band, drama, word processing, rocketry, etc. Finally, our junior high also has a wide variety of sports and extracurricular activities to help develop the whole person.
Character education is a fundamental piece in the development of virtuous students. In the junior high, we overtly discuss character through Encouragement Teams which meet each morning. Additionally, junior high teachers stress the importance of character and are intentional in finding opportunities to highlight virtue in their daily lessons. In alignment with the rest of our school, we continually emphasize the 5 Keys to Success: Citizenship, Respect, Integrity, Self-discipline, and Excellence. We believe that the embodiment of these virtues will help lead students to succeed in their personal lives and academic careers.