In virtually all schools students tend to move from grade to grade like they are on an assembly line. Yet, adolescents — indeed, all human beings — develop asynchronously (competency across different domains develops at different rates), at different speeds, and with vastly different abilities and interests. This is obvious — yet, schools tend to assume that age-based grouping is the primary way to organize students.
Many 8th graders are not ready — academically, socially, and/or emotionally — to matriculate from middle to high school. While all parents want their kids to be “above average,” by mathematical definition half of the students are below average.
The big idea here is to give students an additional year before high school to enable their bodies and minds time to grow and develop before the high stakes of high school begins. The 8th Grade Gap Year (8GGY) will establish a new norm, just like the gap year between high school and college, where students and families choose to delay starting high school for one year without incurring the shame of “being held back.”
8GGY will be an exciting and fun time that matches the developmental stage of adolescents. The program will revolve around five pillars:
- Social and Emotional Development
- Individualized Academic Experience
- Real-World Exposure
- Adventures
- Intentional Community of Students and Parents
On Education
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
Aristotle
Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.
Isaac Asimov
As soon as children find something that interests them they lose their instability and learn to concentrate.
Dr. Maria Montessori
8th Grade Gap Year 