Many middle schoolers follow their peers. Willow students lead them.

Leadership comes naturally to Willow middle school students. Here are some unique qualities that set us apart from other middle schools and foster responsibility and leadership during the crucial middle school years:

Designed for Leadership

As an Age 3 to Grade 8 school, Willow is intentionally designed for leadership. As they move through middle school, Willow students find they are not only the oldest but the most influential members of our learning community. Willow, our middle schoolers get to assume leadership roles by serving as mentors to younger students, and assuming true responsibility for Service Committees. By the time Willow students enter Grade 8, they have a strong sense of self; they understand their strengths, interests and weaknesses, and are ready to take an active role in choosing the best high school environment where they will thrive and excel.

Small School Community

While Willow students are part of a small class with an optimum student-teacher ratio, they also belong to the greater school community. Every middle schooler is known by faculty members, administrators, and students across every grade. Moreover, our students cannot fade into the background as is the case in many large middle schools. Students who enter Willow at middle school quickly discover that the community expects them to participate, engage, and contribute. By the time our students reach Grade 8, they have led Morning Gatherings, initiated multiple service projects, and presented evidence-based research projects to the school community. In their final year at Willow, our highly capable students can tackle enormous challenges and opportunities, and are fully prepared to advocate for themselves in high school and beyond.

Unrivaled School Culture

Willow students are certainly not immune from the struggles of pre-adolescence and adolescence. The difference we offer is a culture unmatched by other schools. Our Virtues Program sets the standard and guides the daily practice of kindness, respect, courage, compassion, and other attributes that we all live by. This remarkable culture, in combination with Willow’s emphasis on student-directed, experiential learning, bolsters intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Trudy Holmes ’15, now a freshman at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, put it this way, “Personally, I would not trade my Willow education for anything…I’ve found that much of my success stems from the problem solving, critical thinking, and focus on connection that Willow instilled in me.”

Let’s Start a Conversation

Please submit the form below and our Director of Admissions Lisa VanderVeen will connect with you.

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