Middle School

Middle school is an important transition time.

Students are expected to become more independent while simultaneously managing increased workloads, multiple teachers, projects, more difficult content, extracurricular activities, and new friendships. For many students, middle school is the first time they are expected to independently manage their responsibilities rather than relying on parents or teachers to guide every step.

As a result, many capable students begin to struggle, not because they lack intelligence, but because they have not yet developed the executive function skills needed to keep up with increasing expectations.

Important middle school skills include:

Keeping track of assignments across multiple classes
Managing deadlines for assignments and projects that may be days or weeks from now
Studying effectively for quizzes and tests
Taking responsibility for missing work
Learning how to prioritize tasks
Managing time effectively
Developing organization systems that work
Building self-advocacy skills with teachers
Strengthening note-taking and study strategies
Learning how to persevere through challenging coursework

I regularly work with students who experience:

Learning Challenges
ADHD and ADD
Anxiety
Executive Functioning Challenges
Gifted and High-Achieving
Gifted and Twice Exceptional such as students who are gifted as well having ADHD and/or a Learning Disability

Middle school is the time when academic gaps often become more noticeable. Students who struggled in elementary school but made it through may begin experiencing greater difficulty as content becomes more demanding and work is harder.

Students often come to me feeling frustrated by missing assignments, stressed about grades, unsure how to study, or discouraged because they are working hard but not seeing the results they want. Others may avoid schoolwork altogether because they don't know where to begin. Challenges can include several factors. Students can be simply struggling in skills. For example, a student may struggle with math and simply require math tutoring. However, sometimes these struggles also lead to the tendency to start missing work, feeling overwhelmed, or not caring. Then a student gets further behind. Solving this challenge involves both the content learning for math as well as catching up with missing assignments, advocating with teachers for missed grades, and getting back on track with work that is being turned in on time and with learning mastery.

At the same time, middle school offers an incredible opportunity for growth. Students who learn strong executive function skills, study habits, and learning strategies during these years often enter high school with confidence and a strong foundation for success.

My Approach - Skill Building and Executive Functioning Skills

One of my greatest strengths is helping students take something that feels overwhelming and turn it into a clear plan of action as quickly as is possible with the student's best interests in mind.

Whether we are working on a math assignment, planning weekly assignments, studying for a test, completing a project, or catching up on missing work, I help students break large tasks into smaller, manageable steps and develop systems that are sustainable throughout middle school and high school. Once students begin to have success, and with ongoing support, they feel relieved, proud, and motivated to continue.

Learning should also be enjoyable! While we work hard and maintain high expectations, I believe students learn best when they feel comfortable, supported, and understood. I incorporate hands-on activities, coaching conversations, encouragement, problem-solving, and plenty of positive reinforcement to keep students engaged and motivated.

My goal is not simply to help students finish assignments or improve grades. My goal is to help them become confident, independent learners who understand how they learn best and have the tools to navigate challenges successfully.

Students will remember how they felt about themselves when they are older. Everything I do is designed with the student's future memory of themselves in mind. I want students to leave sessions feeling capable, successful, resilient, and proud of what they can accomplish. I also want them to remember that it was fun and that they felt good about themselves.

Monitoring and Accountability Program

For students who maintain weekly sessions with me, I offer ongoing assignment tracking and accountability between sessions via text and or phone calls as needed to maintain success. Both parents and student receive communication. This helps busy parents help their students maintain high effort and ensures that students are learning to meet the demands of increased rigor in preparation for high school and college success.

High School Classes in Middle School

Some students take high school classes in science, math, and foreign language while in middle school. These grades are especially important for our students as the grades will be included on the college transcript in several years. With the competitive climate of college admissions, it is especially important for students to be doing their best in these classes. Often students will have excellent skills and aptitude, as this is why they are offered these classes early. However, challenges with executive functioning skills can lead to late assignments that lower their grades and do not reflect their academic ability. In addition, study skills and learning how to study for these rigorous classes is also crucial to maintain their best grades.

High School Transition and Summer Between 8th and 9th Grade

Middle school is the most important time to be practicing and working out the kinks with assignment tracking and completion, learning how to study, and developing the habits of work ethic and maintaining high effort. This smooths the transition to high school where the classes and content will continue to be more advanced.

As soon as students begin to take high school classes, this is the time to have the conversation about a GPA and how it affects the future. Students in middle school do not understand how their grades impact their GPA, or even truly what a GPA really is. Taking some time to show and teach them how their grades in advanced versus regular classes affect their GPA is empowering and eye opening for middle school students.

The summer between middle school and high school is a time to plan for success through visioning, creating systems, and understanding the climate of college admissions. This helps students understand why their effort is important and how maintaining high effort makes a difference in their future opportunities. For the vast majority of students, this is not enough to expect their best outcomes. However, it is an important point of empowerment so that they understand the "why" behind good grades and high effort. Students will still need support and accountability, but empowering them with knowledge of their opportunities makes a difference in maturity.